Recently, Muslims have started to understand that their religion is fundamentally incompatible with democracy.  The Islamic worldview is that 'man's life remains under the supervision of Allah; it is Allah who guarantees man's freedom, and guides him in his life journey.' Further, 'in Islam, the ruler is not held accountable to the people; his responsibility is to Allah alone. Muslims have no right to reject the Shariah. To date, not one Arab ruler has ever dared to rethink or amend the Shariah's requirements. It is quite evident that Islam is not compatible with democracy; the very word "democratos" (people's rule) contradicts the essence of Islam, where rule belongs exclusively to Allah.'

These  are quotes from an Algerian writing on an Arab web site where he wrote an article: Muslims in the West: Lost within Modernity.

'Recently, in Bordeaux, France, the Moroccan Consulate objected to the cremation of a Frenchman of Moroccan origin, even though he specifically stipulated before his death that he wished to be cremated. Due to the pressures of the Islamists and certain Islamic governments, and in order to avoid serious trouble, the French authorities buckled and gave in to the pressures. One should note that in Islam an individual's wishes are subject to the will of the community. It is the Umma that possesses the final authority in matters of life and death. Manifesting the same Islamic outlook, the imam of the mosque in Lille, who heads the Islamic League in Northern France, declared recently: "The concept of citizenship does not exist in Islam; the group or the community is very important. To recognize a community implies the recognition of the laws that govern it." '

The writer is concerned that Muslims face a difficult conflict in trying to adapt to western life - in this case in France.  And that is a cause for concern whenever Muslims migrate to a western country.  In practice, within a couple of generations, one hopes that they will either give up their religion or at least moderate it enough that it is no longer a problem.  It would help of course if the new countries encouraged assimilation and not "multiculturalism" which would be suicide.

But there's another conclusion.  You can see that Saudi Arabia, Iran, Somalia, Sudan and quite probably many more Islamic states are simply never going to be democracies.  If the leaders do not report to the people but instead report to the imams and ayotollahs, then democracies and elections will never happen.  They will be a sham and mean nothing.  Why are we trying to install democracies in Iraq and Afghanistan?  And in Iran, their revolution will just swap one set of theocrats or mullahs for another.  (Unless the younger Iranians are not strict Muslims).

The same author goes on to say: "Immigrant Muslims don't care about what the laws of their countries say. Rather, they give heed to what the Shariah demands. In democratic lands where the rule of law reigns, Muslims prefer to seek guidance from Islamic fiqh."

"For example, Britain was, for the Muslim immigrants from Britain's former colonies, their "Land of Promise." Now that they have settled in the country, and become British citizens, they are working hard at its Islamization. Recently, Shaheb Hassan, the official speaker for the Islamic Council of Britain, called on the British to exchange their age-long democratic political institutions for an Islamic regime! Addressing them, he said: "Simply apply the Shariah, and this country would become a peace garden: amputate a thief's hand, and no one would steal; stone the adulterer and no one would commit adultery. British society would benefit greatly by adopting the Islamic Shariah."

The simplest thing to do would be to deport any Muslim like Shaheb Hassan back to a country that fits with his needs but the politically correct would not want to do that.  Pity.  As I've heard many say, "If you don't like it, go home."

The translation from Arabic was obtained from the site:  Islam Watch

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