Inside Islam: A Guide for Catholics

(Jacob Rumans) #1

dress.



  1. It seems as if many Muslim countries are
    theocracies — that is, religious leaders control political
    affairs. Is this true?


Yes and no. In one sense, this is less true today than it
was at many points in Islamic history. At the present time,
religious leaders maintain a shaky grip on power in Iran,
and elsewhere in the Muslim world most countries are
secular states with little or no adherence to classic Islamic
law, the Sharia. These would include Turkey, Egypt, Syria,
and Iraq (during the rule of Saddam Hussein). Other states,
notably Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, follow the Sharia but are
not ruled by religious leaders as such; nonetheless, their
laws greatly discriminate against non-Muslims.


It is important to remember that Muhammad was a
political and military leader as well as a religious one. As a
result, politics and religion were more essentially intertwined
in Islam than in Christianity. From the beginning, Islam has
presented itself as a total way of life: a political and social
system as well as a religious faith. Many Muslims today
press for the full enforcement of Islamic law in their
countries simply as an aspect of their fidelity to Islam.



  1. Should Muslims be evangelized by Christians or
    be left alone?


Some say that Christians should not speak to Muslims
about our faith, both because it is useless (even impossible)
to do so and because Muslims have their own covenant with

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