Islamic State or Muslim Country – Is there a Difference?

 

Demystifying Islam

 by Dr. Ali Shehata

 

Islamic State or Muslim Country—Is there a Difference?

 

Amongst the major misconceptions that exist today amongst people in the West is the belief that "Muslim countries" are places where Islam is the rule of law from both a personal and governmental perspective. This leads many in the West to then equate whatever is going on in such “Muslim” countries with the practice of Islam—something which, in most cases, couldn’t be further from the truth!  It also leads many people in the West to wonder why so many Muslims are seeking to live in the West if they have Islam in their own homelands? The answer lies in the fact that "Muslim countries" are, for the most part, nations where only the population is predominantly Muslim, and not places where Islam is the primary law of the land.

 

In fact, the vast majority of these “Muslim” countries are run by severely tyrannical, oppressive dictatorships similar to, and in many cases worse than, governments like that of the World War II era dictators. A brief look into the policies and practices of countries like Egypt, Algeria, Syria, Jordan and Pakistan, just to name a few, will reveal severe and routine human rights violations and curtailed civil liberties. (Strupczewski, J. (2004, Dec 8). Experts: Men Distort Religion to Justify 'Honour' Killings. Reuters. Retrieved from: https://wwrn.org/articles/14661/ )

 

The dictators in these countries regularly rig elections, jail or murder any opposition party leaders and/or their followers, arrest entire families and keep them indefinitely in jail, without due process, and regularly practice acts of physical and emotional torture on prisoners, among other grave injustices and human rights violations.

 

For that reason, like the immigrants who came before them from Europe, many Muslims have fled these countries to come to the West seeking freedom and rights. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that Islam has anything to do with the oppressive conditions that caused these people to flee from their homelands. A basic understanding of Islamic law would show that Islam is the absolute opposite of what is being practiced in these countries.

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