Word: islamics
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...Islam is frequently stereotyped as unmitigatedly harsh in its code of law, intolerant of other religions, repressive toward women and incompatible with progress. Salem Azzam, Saudi secretary-general of the Islamic Council of Europe, feels that the present resurgence is considered "retrograde and reactionary" because Westerners confuse what is happening in Islam with a revival of Christian fundamentalism. "Not only is this a baseless and arrogant assumption," says Azzam, but it is tantamount to "a return to colonialism?indirect but of a more profound type." Defenders of the faith further argue that Islam is not monolithic, that it is compatible...
...Islam and Government. Muhammad's teachings are fundamentally democratic, since they proclaim the equality of all men before God. In practice, Islamic nations, like other countries, have both liberals and conservatives, democrats and dictators. The Islamic socialists of Iraq and Libya?not to mention Iranian moderates who want to see a parliamentary democracy established by their new constitution?look with disdain on a semifeudal monarchy like Saudi Arabia. Says Hussein Bani-Assadi, son-in-law of Iran's Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan: "Ideologically, this revolution cannot support systems like Saudi Arabia's. Islam has no kings." The Saudis answer that...
...Islam and Economics. A devout Muslim would be equally opposed to the materialism of the West and the atheism of Communism. Islam has a flexible view of economics, which lends itself to either capitalist or socialist interpretations. It approves individual initiative, respects private property and tolerates profits within limits. Muslims, in short, are encouraged by their faith to acquire the good things of this world, but the emphasis is on moderation and communal responsibility...
...Islam and Progress. Muslim scholars insist that nothing in Islam is incompatible with technological advance or industrial development. In the days of the caliphs, Islam led the world in scientific and intellectual discoveries. What Muslims object to are the evils associated with modernization: the breakdown of the family structure, the lowering of moral standards, the appeal of easygoing secular lifestyles. At the same time, Muslims are demanding the best of the West: schools, hospitals, technology, agricultural and water development techniques. Harvesting the fruits of modernization without absorbing some of its side-effects may prove to be impossible. But Sheik Mahmoud...
...doubt that Iran's revolution will have far-reaching effects, though it seems unlikely to be repeated. In many ways, the situation in Iran was a unique phenomenon in the Middle East. The Shah had a more limited base of support than the remaining monarchies in the Islamic world apparently have. Most Iranians belong to the Shi'ite branch of Islam, which predominates in Iran, Iraq and Kuwait. The holy men of Iran have a long history of political activism. As one religious leader toting a gun in post-revolutionary Tehran put it, "Politics is a part of life...