Islam’s Awkward Taboo

Islam is an intriguing religion in terms of its huge number of adherents and its identity in the modern world (and by modern, I mean the past 200 years or so) – in that it has not set up a single successful, thriving society anywhere in the world, in accordance with the majority of values that underpin most modern democracies. The ancient Ottoman and Mughal Empires were vast and influential, but their values fall way short of the freedoms and rights that Western democracies have cultivated over the past centuries. And even modern day Islam has many values and dogmas that are antithetical to liberty, equality, human rights and progression.

Consequently, the inability of Islam to foster a successful, thriving society that embodies these values is something that many Muslims surely must find awkward. The nations where Islam has gained political and theocratic control are usually places where those who value democracy, liberty, freedom, equality of rights, meritocracy, and progression would not wish to live.

I believe that although the situation is complex, and although there are rare places around the world where Muslims have attempted to balance Islamic influences with democratic principles (Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey and Tunisia spring to mind), there probably is some kind of collective cognitive dissonance between Islam’s claim to being the right religion to follow, and the reality of its failed establishment as a nation with desirable values. It’s highly likely that this cognitive dissonance leads large swathes of Islam to try to establish themselves by sectarian force, oppression, authoritarianism, dogma and anti-Western extremism.