Is Islam Evil?

Certainly, since 9/11, this is a question that many in the western world have been struggling to answer. Our own president continually takes pains to separate the acts of extreme elements within Muslim world from the tenor of the religion as a whole, describing Islam as a religion of peace. Yet, many people in the United States firmly believe just the opposite. Consider but a sampling of the comments left on Matt Singer's recent Political Machine article about Mitt Romney declaring that he would not appoint a Muslim to a cabinet level position in his administration.

A reader named Robert mused,

Why would the comment hurt him? Nobody in their right mind would trust Muslims anyway.

Another, named Dave, wrote,

When their country's leaders and religious leaders are calling for "Death to America" and are suicide bombing our embassies, and don't forget 9/11... Muslims, worthy of trust? Maybe some, but the overall perception is not good.

And Gutsy9 put it this way,

I'm afraid I have to agree with most of the posters. Only assimilated (i.e., westernized or secular Muslims) like Mansoor Ijaz are in my opinion suitable for holding important offices of trust.

Last week, we have read about a gang-rape victim being sentenced to jail time and 200 lashes by a Saudi Arabian court. Her crime? Associating with a man who was not her husband. Yesterday, the news came that a British teacher in Sudan was arrested, and may also receive lashes, for allowing a boy in her kindergarten class to name his Teddy Bear Mohammed. Though the boy himself carries the same name, christening an inanimate object with the prophet's title is considered a punishable crime.

Andrew Sullivan recently posted two salient quotes from the Somali author Ayaan Hirsi Ali on the subject of whether or not Islam could, as Gutsy9 suggests, be modernized.

"It's wrong to treat Muslims as if they will never find their John Stewart Mill. Christianity and Judaism show people can be very dogmatic and then open up. There is a minority [within Islam] like [reformists] Irshad Manji and Tawfiq Hamid who want to rain in the faith and reform it... Can you be a Muslim and respect the separation of church and state? I hope a large enough number of Muslims will agree you can, and they will find a way to keep the spiritual elements that comfort them and live in a secular society."

Anyone who has read Ms. Ali's riveting life-story, Infidel, however, cannot help but wonder if the Koran's unbending moral code and harsh treatment of women is something that can simply be re-written for modern times. Then again, though we still have our share of Biblical literalists, the majority of Christians and Jews now view their holiest texts (portions of which include their fare share of proscriptive violence) in an allegorical light. Why not Muslims?

So what about the current status of reform as it pertains to Islamic governments around the world? The BBC has a handy round-up which shows a pretty mixed bag. Yesterday's Washington Post ran an encouraging article about an the waning popularity of Islamic politicians in Jordan, Egypt and Morocco, but most every Islamic state knows the very real internal pressure to institute Sharia Law.

Lastly, from those who contend that Islam is inherently incapable of modernization, we should take a moment to consider the nation of Turkey, a secular democracy in which 99% percent of the population identifies itself as Muslim.