Islam causes war: Part V. Separation of Church and State

Separation of Church and state.

Islam was designed and built as a system of governance. (In addition to being a ‘religion’.) Islam was around long before the modern national government evolved and became common. Throughout most of the Middle East, Islam has been the ‘law of the land’ since the 8th century, yet many of the modern governments in the Middle East were only established in the 20th century. The Ottoman Empire, which controlled the area for centuries, was based upon Islamic law and is in fact considered by most as being the last caliphate, or true Islamic government. As a result, loyalty to Islamic laws and culture is far more established than any government that has been put in place since. (Bin Laden was a good example. He was loyal to Islamic government, and no other) This is slowly changing, but the loyalty to the ‘Nation of Islam’ is still widespread. We still hear major Islamic leadership refer to the “Nation of Islam” and the “Sovereignty of the Islamic Nation”. We hear of Imams ‘declaring war’ upon the ‘occupiers of Muslim ‘Land’. (Osama Bin Laden and the Imams in Istanbul in 2008 are excellent examples) The modern world has no place for a ‘religion’ that can declare war.

The modern world cannot accept ANY ‘religion’ that can field its own armies to protect its own ‘land’ or ‘waters’ from ‘occupation’. Historically, national sovereignty issues of this type have required open warfare to resolve. These are not issues that people change their minds over easily, nor quickly. (If they ever change their mind at all.) This is why war is required to settle the issue. Islam has no separation of church and state. The very idea of separating the two has been, is and will be, fought violently both spontaneously and in an organized manner. The Islamic ‘army’ (Islamic terrorist groups) is fighting for the implementation of Islamic governance and ideology. Just look at how the terrorist groups get along with the ‘parent’ government of the areas where they operate. Even they don’t get along very well because of the conflict over the national sovereignty issues that separation of church and state resolves.

Wars were fought to rid the Pope of the ability to form and lead armies. People will wage war to protect the power they have. Imams wield REAL political power. Giving this up will not come without a fight. Historically, this is another very common reason for wars being fought. An election was held in Iraq. (2008) One Iraqi who was interviewed had said that his imam had told them to go vote, so he went. If the Imam had said to not vote, he would not have gone. In a sense, this Imam has greater power than the government. Another example: The Catholic Church is against abortion. However, the Catholic Church as NO power to overrule the law of the United States. As long as Catholics obey the law of the U.S., they can obtain abortions. All the church can do is attempt to persuade Catholics (And all others) to NOT obtain an abortion. We need to respect religious leaders, but Islamic leaders have far more power than the modern world can accept. Imams can enforce Islamic ‘law’. One example is Tribute.

Islamic Tribute specifies payment of non-Muslims to Muslim authorities and exempts them from military service. Taxation and conscription are two functions of the modern national government. Islam and Imams have no business being involved in either of these functions. Other examples are numerous, such as the many death penalties and/or chopping off of a hand for stealing or gouging out an eye. (Islamic law is literally 'an eye for an 'eye'.)

One way Imams obtain this power is by fielding their own armies. Muqtada al-Sadr in Iraq is a good example of an Imam who formed his own militia and is a political leader today. He can trace his lineage to Muhammad. He was a major religious figure under Saddam Hussein and when the U.S. Invaded Iraq in 2003 formed a militia to resist the 'occupiers'. This fielding of combat units and armies by religions must end, TODAY. (Islam is the only exception to the general rule that this practice ceased more than 400 years ago.)

Another way of looking at it: I keep hearing comparisons of “Islamic radicals” (Islamic nationalists) with our own ‘bible bangers’ or other radicals like Timothy McVeigh. In sheer numbers, there can be no comparison. Even more importantly, in capability, they are even further apart. Just compare the KKK with Hezbollah or any other Islamic nationalist group. Have you ever heard of the KKK fielding its own artillery? Not even close.

Removing the influence and power fielded by Imams has and will result in violence. People do not give up that kind of power by choice. Historically it has been shown that it will take warfare to resolve. Reason number five in my list of why Islam causes wars is the lack of separation of religion and governance. Concerning Islam, they are the same.