I’ve been hearing a lot lately from the braying pack of brayers over at ThinkProgress Watch about the supposed Leftist-Islamo-Stalinist-Jihadi alliance that they regard as a given fact and I regard as pure comedy. I decided to do a side-by-side comparison of the views of U.S.-based liberals and the Qur’an on some important social and economic issues. This blog post will be the first in a series of posts on the topic.
Disclaimer: Now, I recognize that I’m no Islamic scholar nor expert on all aspects of the economy or policy. Thus I invite experts in either area to provide their own interpretations of these issues.
Here’s what I found:
Democracy
Liberals, it would seem, love democracy. According to multiple studies, the blogosphere is chock-full of liberals talking politics, learning politics, and making informed decisions about the political process. From the Center for American Progress:
Since 2004, the blogosphere has grown over 100 times in size, according to Technorati.com. Progressives are dominating this new playing field. “Nielson ratings reported that the biggest political blog, DailyKos, is visited by 4.8 million people a month,” the New Politics Institute notes. “The Liberal Ad Network, which comprises nearly 100 of the biggest blogs that are aligned with the progressive cause, pegged readership at over 90 million page-views a month.” This change is critical, since Americans are using the web to get informed. More than 50 percent say they search for information about a candidate’s voting records, and 41 percent went online to double-check the accuracy of something a candidate claimed. This is especially true for the millennial generation: among people under 36, 35 percent said the Internet is their primary source for campaign information.
Wow! That’s a lot of political participation! I guess it’d be safe to say that liberals support democracy!
Now, what about Muslims? According to the Qur’an:
[42:36-38] So whatever thing you are given, that is only a provision of this world’s life, and what is with Allah is better and more lasting for those who believe and rely on their Lord, and those who shun the great sins and indecencies, and whenever they are angry they forgive, and those who respond to their Lord and keep up prayer, and their rule is to take counsel among themselves, and who spend out of what We have given them.
Well, this seems to be saying that people should counsel among themselves – that sounds an awful lot like democracy, doesn’t it? But wait – there’s more:
[4:59] O you who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and those charged with authority among you. If you differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if you do believe in Allah and the Last Day; That is best, and most suitable for final determination.
Hmm. Well, this is saying that God should be the final judge in matters of public policy. So here’s where Liberals differ from the Qur’an – we prefer a separation of church and state (hence the term Secular Progressives), whereas a strict interpretation of Islam states that no law can contradict Shari’a law.
Well, that’s not very liberal. Sounds rather Dobsonesque, if you ask me!
Liberal-Islamic Axis on Democracy: Basic Fundamental Agreement But Differences in Detail Vis-A-Vis Religion and State
Taxes
The issue of taxation, or Zakaat, in Islam is quite complicated indeed, according to scholars at USC:
Indeed, there are enough rules in Zakaat books to cover all types of business activity, be it cash or risk investment. If the business activity is analogous to commerce, it should be assessed the same rate as commerce. To subject the business to a different Zakaat rate of 10%, which is the rate of farm products instead of its correct rate of 2.5%, the rate of commerce, is unfair and unjustified. Besides, there is no proof, even a weak one, to justify this unfair arbitrary taxation. The difference between 2.5% and 10% is high. The Zakaat system is not like a state revenue collection, but Allah’s `ebadah. However, if a business person decides to give more than 2.5% after deducting all the expenses including depreciation, Allah (SWT) will accept it from him.
If I’m reading this correctly, there seems to be a requirement in Islam of a very low Flat Tax of 2.5% for individuals and 10% for corporations.
What about Liberals? I thought Liberals were always pushing for higher taxes, and opposed the Flat Tax as “regressive:”
The United States is fast approaching a “historic threshold: Should current trends continue — from higher payroll taxes to the potential impact of the Alternative Minimum Tax on middle-class earners — the U.S. system could tip from progressive to flat in a matter of years, at least for the top half of earners,” according to a recent economic study. Now, the case for comprehensive tax reform is more pressing than ever.
Well, it looks like Islam and Liberalism are at odds here.
Liberal-Islamic Axis on Taxes: Disagreement
War and Torture
I don’t think it’s any secret that Liberals are anti-war and anti-torture. Even the TP Watchers acknowledge that. But what about Islam? Several verses in the Qur’an discuss the topic:
[17:33] Nor take life – which Allah has made sacred – except for just cause. And if anyone is slain wrongfully, we have given his heir authority (to demand retaliation or to forgive): but let him not exceed bounds in the matter of taking life, for he is helped (by the Law)
[22:39] Permission (to fight) is given to those upon whom war is made because they are oppressed, and most surely Allah is well able to assist them;
[2:190-192] And fight in the cause of Allah with those who fight with you, and do not exceed the limits, surely Allah does not love those who exceed the limits.
So it would seem that the fundamental teachings of Islam dictate that one should only fight in self-defense, that killing is wrong, and that one should not exceed the limits. It would appear, then that Liberals and Muslims are indeed allied in their opposition to war and torture.
Liberal-Islamic Axis on War and Torture: Agreement
So there you have it. One area of agreement, one disagreement, one maybe. Pretty inconclusive, huh? I guess we’ll have to consider the myth of the Liberal-Islamic Alliance
BUSTED!
UPDATE: I address some dude’s inaccurate assumptions.
