What is your personal opinion regarding political Islamism?

Your father sounds like a good laugh,

Politics, schmolitics. I'm with him on this.

Scimi

format_quote Originally Posted by Mustafa16

political parties calling for the implementation of Islam within the framework of a democratic society, or Islamist rebel groups seizing power in lawless areas and enforcing sharia? what is your opinion? my father hates political Islam with a burning passion, saying "political Islamism is a cancerous tumour, and its followers are brain dead zombies."

I have this feeling that I would get on very well with your dad. And this is my opinion on political Islam.

In my opinion, it's a basic form of religious supremacism, much like any other form of supremacism. And supremacism, I should clarify, does not flow out of Islam. It does not flow out of anything. Supremacism is something that can be attached to just about anything though, and where political Islam is concerned, it happens to attach itself to Islam.

Supremacism is the worldview that a particular age, race, species, ethnicity, religion, gender, social class, ideology, nation, or culture is superior to other variations of that trait and advocates that those who identify with it should dominate, subjugate, or control those who do not.

And political Islam, in general and to varying degrees, is basically what Islam looks like when supremacism is attached to it. Christendom is what Christianity used to look like when supremacism was attached to it. White nationalism is what white supremacists are all about, black nationalism is also a thing, and that's what it looks like when supremacism is attached to a certain race. Some form of extreme patriarchy is what it looks like when supremacism is attached to the male gender, and the examples could go on and on.

Supremacism exists. We all know that. Surely we all know that, right? We can't possibly wind up arguing about that. That's the initial claim that I'm making.

Claim two. Supremacism can be attached to just about anything, including any religion insofar as one religion seeks to dominate others within a society, including when one sect of a religion seeks to dominate a different form of the same religion. Perhaps this is what we wind up arguing about? Perhaps you'll refuse to concede the point that Islamic supremacism can exist, even as a concept?

Claim three. If you can imagine a scenario in which Muslims attach supremacy to their religion, it pretty much looks like political Islam in its various forms. Let's say you start with a situation where all religions are on equal footing, and supremacy is attached to no religion. How do you know when supremacy has been attached to....any religion, literally any religion at all? Well, if it's been politicized and the state is enforcing the unique rules of that religion while also giving that religion unique protections, that's a pretty good hint.

In general, I believe all supremacists should be treated the same on the basis of their supremacism. If a white supremacist is advocating for a separatist movement and the formation of a self-governing land that's just for white people (or for the vastly preferential treatment of a white majority), that's an awful idea that should be eliminated if possible. Not because of the skin color that's being favored, mind you, but because of the supremacism. Likewise, if a Muslim is advocating for a separatist movement and the formation of a self-governing land that's just for Muslims (or for the vastly preferential treatment of Muslims, which easily breaks down further to the preferential treatment of a certain kind of Muslim over another type of Muslim), that's an awful idea too. Not because of the religion, mind you, but because of the supremacism. It would be equally awful if it was Christianity, Hinduism, or Sikhism, just as long as supremacism is attached to any given religion in roughly the same way.

Oh, right, one final claim. When someone correctly identifies supremacism and says that's a terrible idea so do something different, that person is not a supremacist. And if you think that is a form of supremacism, it's quite possible that you are a supremacist who just doesn't like it when someone tells you to stop it.

Can you do me a personal favor? Run this idea by your dad and see what he thinks of it. I would be very curious to know if he basically agrees with it, or if there are certain things he would do differently in developing that sort of thought process.

Your dad seems to have a wise opinion about this matter.