Only greasy Islamophobes believe that Islam is incompatible with democracy. Who would have thought that Shahidullah Shahid was a greasy Islamophobe?
Ah, there you go again, Spencer, dodging the real question, which is that you and Shahidullah Shahid are both “extremists,” and you’re validating his “extremist” view of Islam and canonizing it as the only legitimate one.
I am, of course, doing nothing of the sort. Shahidullah Shahid has asserted that democracy is anti-Islam. There are plenty of reasons to think so in Islamic law: its denial of the freedom of speech and of equality of rights for women and non-Muslims, and its rule by laws derived from the Qur’an and Sunnah rather than by the consent of the governed being just the most notable. It is incumbent upon Muslims who believe that Islam is fully compatible with democracy to refute him on Islamic grounds, but they have never managed to do so in a way that would enable even one majority-Muslim country in 1,400 years to become a stable and pluralistic republic guaranteeing equality of rights for all its citizens. Turkey is the sole possible exception, but it was established in the context of an explicit rejection of political Islam.
So those Muslims who believe that Islam is fully compatible with democracy have yet to make their case. Shahidullah Shahid’s case has been made innumerable times, over many centuries.
“Taliban Vows to Impose Sharia Law Across Pakistan,” by Humaima Malik for the Pakistan Tribune, October 19 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):
Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesperson Shahidullah Shahid has said that Pakistani people have been fed-up of the anti-Islam system of democracy and are seeing towards Taliban for “˜change”.
Interviewing to a foreign publication at an anonymous location in Waziristan on Friday, the spokesperson of proscribed outfit said that the operation against Pakistani Taliban is continued from a decade that’s why they are not afraid of threats. He said that today Taliban are stronger and more organized then past.
He termed Pakistani government “slave and helpless”, saying it is not serious in holding peace talks, sometimes Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says that they”ll proceed with dialogue while sometimes demand Taliban to lay down weapons and abide by the Constitution of Pakistan.
Shahid said he wants to clarify on Nawaz Sharif that Taliban aspire to stick with with peace talks but they won’t negotiate under Pakistani constitution because it is a democratic constitution and the agenda of secular nations.
TTP spokesperson said that all the factions of Taliban are unified under the leadership of Hakimullah Mehsud and are geared up to face every type of circumstances, adding all Taliban are one group and different departments have been constituted to identify them.
He said Taliban have spilled out to different cities of Pakistan and now their aim is to make Islamabad the stronghold of Islam in real means where every decision will be made according to Sharia law. He said that the sacrifices of Mujahidin won’t go in vain and soon Taliban will introduce a system wherein every Muslim will enjoy equal rights….