Nadeem F. Paracha spews more hatred for Islam

At the outset I must point out that erudition, like a typical Islamist, fails to spell out the specifics of his utopia. They merely chant "Islam! Islam! Islam!" and then took their countries downwards when they come into power and have to implement actual policies and laws.

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The big difference between sharia and any 'secular' law seems to me is that the latter either has mechanisms built in to make such needed adjustments whereas the former is held set in stone and unable to adjust.
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Exactly and your IP example is a good one. Another example is shariah's provisions on rape. Under shariah you need 4 *male *witnesses (just one of numerous examples of sexism under shariah) to prove rape. This is a ridiculous standard. Rapes don't occur in bazaars but in isolated places. You are never going to find 4 witnesses, let alone 4 male witnesses. Moreover, DNA testing was developed in the 20th century. That provides the best evidence of whether a rape occurred. Under archaic shariah law DNA evidence is irrelevant in a rape case because shariah's authors apparently were unaware that DNA testing would be invented. This is a joke. Every place that can afford it uses DNA testing--except the lands of 9th century shariah law.

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when there is no need for two religions to co-exisit, then the dominant one can prevail as law; but we have multiple religions in this global village that have to co-exist; that is why we need a law that is above all religions (eg the Constitution) to uphold justice
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That is because you believe in equal rights for religious minorities. Fans of shariah do not and hence could not care less about coexistence. They seek religious apartheid, not coexistence.

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Who will implement Shariah? Angels won't come to do it.

We have a lot of people who will do it when time comes.

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People like you. So tell us what laws your shariah entails. Why are you unwilling to do this? Is it because you know people would reject it if they knew what your ilk propose?

I never had to implement secularism. It has existed in my country for over 200 years. It has worked quite well here. Notice how many countries copy the American model of government? Few nations look to Iran or Sudan as a model.

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In fact Islam presents the real solutions. First there is self policing, which you secular system does not have.
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There is self policing in secular systems. This is another Islamist myth.

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Stealing software and intellectual property is stealing and is thus punishable as such.
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The fundamental issue in IP law is what is defined as "intellectual property." What is the shariah definition of what constitutes IP? Surely shariah, a law allegedly written for all situations and all time, would have laws regarding IP given its importance in the 21st century world.

We have given you two specific examples: IP and rape. How about a general issue? What is the shariah solution to the separation of powers? Most successful countries have separation of powers in government. What does shariah say about this? Shariah calls for political, religious, military, and social power to be united in the hands of a single man (always a man under shariah)...That worked in ancient and medieval times; it cannot work in modern times.

Human nature remains the same, societies and the needs of the societies change over time. This is why every law aside from shariah and Talmudic law provide the ability to adapt to changing times.

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In addition, by just emphasizing the penal codes, like Saudis and Taliban do, a major portion of shariah that is about social justice and welfare is ignored.
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The Saudis have plenty of welfare programs. Social justice? Very little given that it gives zero rights to non-Muslims, few rights to Shia Muslims, and treats women as "property' of their husbands.

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As I said earlier, and you dodged away from it, can you bring an example of the so called Islamic system today prevalent anywhere that comes close to the times of Khulafa ar Rashideen. Surely not.
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The burden is on you. You originally claimed "true" shariah is different from current shariah. List the tenets of "true" shariah and then compare that to the shariah that actually exists in several countries today. In my book shariah in Saudi Arabia is similar to the shariah of 7th century Arabia, but you are free to attempt to prove this wrong. Where do you think Saudi Arabia got its laws? Their laws are derived to a large extent from the laws and precedents of 7th century Arabia, with a dose of Roman law and Arab customs thrown in and frozen for the past 1,000 years. The Arab ulema who refined shariah for a few generations (and then essentially froze it for 1,000+ years) did so on these bases.

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Maybe the Scandanavian model comes closer to the Islamic welfare state model.
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This is an example of how much reliance Islamists have on mythology. The Scandanavian socialist model is far different than the 7th century Arabian state/Arab empire. For one, the Scandinavian model has tenets of equal rights for minorities, including religious minorities, and outlaws slavery. In contrast, the state you refer to allowed slavery and committed what would today be classified as ethnic cleansing when Umar expelled all non-Muslims from Arabia. Scandinavian countries provide extensive help to the poor; the Arab empire provided basics, such as food, but had a rudimentary welfare state (although advanced for its time. This is another example of what was cutting edge 1,400 years ago is insignificant in the modern world). For example, education was the domain of the rich under the Arab empire. In contrast, Scandinavian countries extensively subsidize education, including college education, so it is available to all of its people. A high school education is available for free to all and college is affordable to all due to the low subsidized price and loans/grants; not even a basic education was universally available in the Arab empire.

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You measure success by what? Islamic standards of success have spiritual as well as material wellbeing.
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Economic success, political strength.

So why are Muslims rushing to immigrate to the US, Canada, and Europe? Why not go to Sudan or Iran where they can experience your spiritual shariah success? Incidentally, your Islamist utopia in Iran has an epidemic of prostitution and drug use...

Turkey is more prosperous than Malaysia. Malaysia is the most overrated country by Muslims. It is nowhere near as affluent as Muslims imagine it is. Besides, a large share of the wealth in Malaysia is held by non-Muslims (especially the Chinese). Turkey is the best example for the Muslim world if it insists on looking to only an Islamic model.

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You fail to consider the amount of sanctions Zionist Americans have placed on Iranian people.
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What kind of excuse is that? Iran, according to its own rhetoric and ideology, has god on its side. God is supreme, right? So why doesn't the Iranian supreme leader, who claims to be God's representative on Earth, contact God to lead its nation to the promised heights of prosperity?

The USSR barely traded with the US and became a superpower. If the "godless" Soviets could do this with communism surely Iran with Islamism, the magic ideology, can do the same. Germany was in ruins and under sanctions far more severe than modern day Iran, which is sanctioned basically only by one country, and rose to conquer most of Europe in a matter of years.

Besides, the sanctions were placed after Iran took Americans hostage and started chanting "death with America." If you mess with the bull be prepared to feel its horns...Khomenini and his pals opted to poke the eye of the world's most powerful country because they believed they had god on their side and were immune from any consequences.

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Saudis are happy with the amount of money they are making. All other countries were poor anyway, shariat or not.

I don't buy that argument of yours.
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You have to listen to what Islamists promise. They promise utopia. They say shariah and Islamism create the "perfect" system with solutions to every imaginable problem. They say if only the magic of Islamism is implemented their country will rise to prosperity and power. You have to compare the record to the rhetoric. Just like communism, which made similar promises, Islamism has failed to deliver again and again and again...Islamism is so bankrupt it cannot even maintain the standard of living in societies it is implemented in let alone reach its prosperous utopia.

Re: Nadeem F. Paracha spews more hatred for Islam

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Besides, the sanctions were placed after Iran took Americans hostage and started chanting "death with America." If you mess with the bull be prepared to feel its horns...Khomenini and his pals opted to poke the eye of the world's most powerful country because they believed they had god on their side and were immune from any consequences.
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Bhai, Iran was always been messed with by the U.S. for half of the 20th century. If the U.s. didn't back the shah and instead allowed Mossadegh free reign, then Iran would've been better off.

Who says you cannot have DNA testing. There is Ijtehad that deals with these new things. Islam is not backward you who think it is backward actually are! in thinking that it does not offer solutions. It does! In fact, Quran enjoins people to think , no wonder Muslim scholars contributed to the Western renaissance. Ofcourse they did not reach renaissance directly from Dark Ages.

Most importantly, instead of looking at it negatively, in mnormal cases of sex before marriage, the wisdom of 4 witnesses is that such things should be hidden. If someone does it, it is surely hard to prove, so the point i sto hide it. Allah will decide on teh day of Judgment.

For you the only knowledgable people in Islam you saw were the Swat taliban. Try to to for once broaden your horizon. There are plenty of educated enlightened Islamists that will show what Islam really is. As an example, listen to him, maybe your ideas would change : Yusuf Estes
and this new issue of smoking:

I am sorry to say you are very ignorant about Islam!

This is your myth. I never saw self-policing similar to the Islamic one. I wonder what the Western people generally would do when their economic condition is as bad as the Muslim countries.

Why can’t you understand, teh basic set of rules are always the same. They will always be the same. Since humans will always be humans. Shariah does give broad and sometimes detailed guideliens. SO every prblem that will ever come will have a solution in shariah. Secular law is still learning how to manage a society, and you do not question its validity in the current times.

You are surely not aware of this also. Educate yourslef. This thread being about Dawn’s anti-Islamism, I will not go into these details.

What kind of an argument is this? Who practiced the most slavery? The Western world or the Islamic world? Even though it was not outlawed, who became the slaves in the later ceturies with secular laws, Muslims or the Westerners.

Also, I ask you why does the Western world not outlaw adultery and fornication? You think that is ok? Why does it not outlaw single mothers? Why can’t it say that every child has a right to have both parents and that parents have a responsibility to both take care of their children.

Because they know their never was and never will be shariah in their lands that can guarantee them an honorable life. Again it is you who is assuming sudan and iran have shariah. They don’t. I never said they did. Iran has a mullah theocracy, not Islam. It is equivalent to mideval pope system.

Plus they also know that the colonial dogs that are ruling them today, will never pursue policies for the benefit of the people. If you are aware of teh current Pakistani politics, you can easily conclude how much foreign intervention we have in our daily affairs.

Since Islamism is so bankrupt in everything, why don’t you openly declare you have left Islam.

Re: Nadeem F. Paracha spews more hatred for Islam

Back to the topic, Nadeem Paracha is an Islam hater! If he hates ISlam so much he can leave Pakistan.

Pakistan was created for Islam and such people must either change or spend their energies on something positive.

Re: Nadeem F. Paracha spews more hatred for Islam

Nadeem Kabacha needs to realize that even in a secular country, some of the stuff that he advocates or likes is not acceptable. I mean come on, the guy's a heroin addict for crying out loud.

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Bhai, Iran was always been messed with by the U.S. for half of the 20th century. If the U.s. didn't back the shah and instead allowed Mossadegh free reign, then Iran would've been better off.
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That was in 1953. There were no sanctions during the Shah's reign and Iran was a very prosperous society during the Shah era. The US did nothing when the Shah was falling because the State Department thought it would be a good thing and compared Khomenini to Gandhi. Iran's fundamentalist government has only itself to blame for the sanctions. Again, the sanctions were not imposed until after Iran took diplomats hostage (I believe the only country to ever do so...).

The sanctions cannot be used as an excuse for Iran's failure under the current government (see USSR, Germany examples). Besides, why does Iran want to trade with the "great Satan" that it wishes death to? That is the funniest part of Iran's crying.

I do agree, though, that the 53' coup was a mistake--and this is what most people in the US who know about it think today. Keep in mind, though, that in 53' all the US cared about was communism and Iran was moving toward the USSR at the time. This is no defense for the coup but it has to be noted that coup was about the Cold War, not an obsession with Iran. The US did not care at all about Iran from 1776-1950's until the Cold War.

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Who says you cannot have DNA testing.
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Your precious shariah! Shariah calls for 4 *male *witnesses in rape cases. There is no provision for DNA (why not?). Therefore, if you have conclusive DNA proof of rape but no 4 male witnesses you cannot prove rape under shariah. In fact, under shariah the woman is actually then prosecuted for adultery. What a joke!

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In fact, Quran enjoins people to think , no wonder Muslim scholars contributed to the Western renaissance.
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The irony of that statement is lost on you. The Quran says "think", Muslim scholars contributed to the Western renaissance. Guess what? Muslim scholars and Muslims in general did not think about the Western renaissance. They ignored it, they ignored the Enlightment, they ignored the movement to limit the rights of kings, they ignored the movement for the concept of equal rights, they ignored the movement for the concept of natural rights, and so on. The end result? The West left the Ottomans and Persia in the dust, and now the lands of Islam have fallen behind the rest of Asia and Latin America as well. The chief reason Islamic lands did not pay attention to the changes occurring in the West was because they looked down on the West as "kafirs" who had zero of value to teach Muslims.

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Most importantly, instead of looking at it negatively, in mnormal cases of sex before marriage, the wisdom of 4 witnesses is that such things should be hidden. If someone does it, it is surely hard to prove, so the point i sto hide it.
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That is "wisdom"? It is "wisdom" to cover up the heinous crime of rape? This is the "logic" of Islamists...

Smoking is hardly a "new" issue.

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I never saw self-policing similar to the Islamic one.
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Details? Self-policing exists because it is viewed as immoral to steal.

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SO every prblem that will ever come will have a solution in shariah.
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Again, what is the shariah definition of intellectual property?

There is no separation of powers in shariah. You are naive if you think "consultation", which even the Saudi king does to this day, is a check on abuse of power when religious, political, and military power is held in the hands of one person.

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What kind of an argument is this? Who practiced the most slavery? The Western world or the Islamic world? Even though it was not outlawed, who became the slaves in the later ceturies with secular laws, Muslims or the Westerners.
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Why are you changing the subject? You originally compared 21st century Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark to 7th century Arabia and then ran when the absurdity of that comparison was shown.

Shariah to this day--since it cannot change--allows slavery. Do you agree with that?

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Also, I ask you why does the Western world not outlaw adultery and fornication? You think that is ok? Why does it not outlaw single mothers? Why can't it say that every child has a right to have both parents and that parents have a responsibility to both take care of their children.
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Fornication yes, adultery no. However, neither should be illegal. Why? Because successful countries understand the concept of liberty and are not police states. In contrast, your heroes regulate every aspect of people's lives.

Why does shariah Iran have an epidemic of prostitution and opium use?

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Because they know their never was and never will be shariah in their lands that can guarantee them an honorable life.
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That makes no sense. They leave conservative Muslim lands for secular, foreign, non-Muslim lands because they are upset a mythological system does not exist in Muslim lands?

You have failed to state what "true" shariah consists of. It is obvious why: if you listed its tenets it would become clear "true" shariah is similar to "fake" shariah that exists today, just as "true" communism was a myth used by Marxists to excuse the failures and abuses of communism where it was practiced.

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If you are aware of teh current Pakistani politics, you can easily conclude how much foreign intervention we have in our daily affairs.
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That is the current complaint. In the 90's the complaint was Pakistan was "abandoned" by foreign countries. Which is it?

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Since Islamism is so bankrupt in everything, why don't you openly declare you have left Islam.
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I did. Thankfully I live in a successful land of liberty where I will not be killed for saying so!

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Back to the topic, Nadeem Paracha is an Islam hater! If he hates ISlam so much he can leave Pakistan.

Pakistan was created for Islam and** such people must either change or spend their energies on something positive. **
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This is the "freedom" of speech, thought, and religion Islamists provide. This comment by erudition says it all!

Pakistan was not created for Islamism/shariah. This is why the Quaid did not fight for 9th century Arab/Roman (Justinian code) law to be imposed.

This is the secular style dogma.

Whats the difference? Since you already left Pakistan , worry about the country you are in.... Leave Pakistan to Pakistanis!

Peace.

Exactly, the secular extremist won't accept sharia even if it's voted in by majority of Pakistanis...

Re: Nadeem F. Paracha spews more hatred for Islam

I've read a couple of his colums and he seems to belong to that class of wannabe westerners obsessed with "women emancipation" by which they usually mean making behayai common. I think his articles reek of feminism and musharraf's "enlightened moderation"..... I hate his articles.

Why are you and "CheGuvera" so desperate to make Pakistan into a splitting image of Saudi Arabia?

It's like you people would rather be slaves to the Saudis, yet you complain about secularists being slaves to the West. You would bend over for the Saudis even if they view you as a lesser being.

Re: Nadeem F. Paracha spews more hatred for Islam

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That was in 1953. There were no sanctions during the Shah's reign and Iran was a very prosperous society during the Shah era. The US did nothing when the Shah was falling because the State Department thought it would be a good thing and compared Khomenini to Gandhi. Iran's fundamentalist government has only itself to blame for the sanctions. Again, the sanctions were not imposed until after Iran took diplomats hostage (I believe the only country to ever do so...).
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No, it was not prosperous. Explain to me how a country with a 30% literacy rate in 1970 can be seen as "prosperous". Explain how a country in which the wealth was allocated to the elites can be construed as "prosperous". If it was "prosperous" as you claimed it to be, then how come the middle class rose up? Why was it that the Iranian diaspora in the 60's and 70's established anti-shah movements in the West?

Iran may be fundamentalist, but it is still relatively preferable to the illiterate tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan run by wacko Wahhabified Sunnis.

Re: Nadeem F. Paracha spews more hatred for Islam

Reason:

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What kind of excuse is that? Iran, according to its own rhetoric and ideology, has god on its side. God is supreme, right? So why doesn't the Iranian supreme leader, who claims to be God's representative on Earth, contact God to lead its nation to the promised heights of prosperity?
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Oh, but NONE of the Iranian leaders ever promised prosperity to be the reward of Islamic system. Actually, NO ONE in the ISLAMIC HISTORY has EVER promised it. Actually, most prophets of God have been quite *un*wealthy.
Muslims are not as stupid as you Westerners think of them. Muslims know that prosperity results from various other factors, and not necessarily from becoming a Muslim.

You need to go learn some basics of Islam before coming to a Pakistani website. Stop reading the conservative B.S.

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The USSR barely traded with the US and became a superpower.
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USSR had a big portion of world "converted" to communism. Secondly, the world was not as much under American Zionist control at that time as it is today. Thirdly, America was developing itself at that time, so American Zionists could not stop the advancement of USSR.

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Besides, the sanctions were placed after Iran took Americans hostage and started chanting "death with America." If you mess with the bull be prepared to feel its horns...
Khomenini and his pals opted to poke the eye of the world's most powerful country because they believed they had god on their side and were immune from any consequences.
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You just accepted yourself that the reason Iran is not as prosperous is due to sanctions from Zionist Americans and their slaves around the world. And that is the point I was making.

haha. "Powerful country" my a**. If Amreeka is SO powerful then why can't it attack Iran? ;)

Where on earth are you getting your history?

Iran was hardly propsperous, it was highly corrupt. Many social indicators were less than what they are today, such as female literacy.

The United States in no way shape or form compared Khomeni to the Mahatma...they were caught off guard as was the Iranian intellegence services...

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The sanctions cannot be used as an excuse for Iran's failure under the current government (see USSR, Germany examples). Besides, why does Iran want to trade with the "great Satan" that it wishes death to? That is the funniest part of Iran's crying.

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Sacntions imply other nations that are otherwise on the sideline are being pressured to isolate Iran.

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Your precious shariah! Shariah calls for 4 *male *witnesses in rape cases. There is no provision for DNA (why not?). Therefore, if you have conclusive DNA proof of rape but no 4 male witnesses you cannot prove rape under shariah.

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You cannot apply Hadd. You can apply lesser punishments.

Pakistan's penal code, which is loosely based on Shriah, applies a false-logic where accusation of rape is construed as admission of intercourse, and so barring definitive proof of rape that could lead to the application of hadd, the accused are aquited. Scholars have long called for that to be corrected, but instead their side-tracked into a definsive posture by people calling for the repealing, rather than reformation, of the laws.

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TMuslim scholars and Muslims in general did not think about the Western renaissance. They ignored it, they ignored the Enlightment, they ignored the movement to limit the rights of kings, they ignored the movement for the concept of equal rights, they ignored the movement for the concept of natural rights, and so on. The end result?

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Whatever you think the result is, it's clear that the rise of China is proof positive that there are many paths to success, power, and modernity that does not incorporate enlightenment values. We need to grow up and get over that...

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The West left the Ottomans and Persia in the dust, and now the lands of Islam have fallen behind the rest of Asia and Latin America as well.

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Not by much, but the rest of Aisa and Latin America may proove to be useful non-intrusive allies who we may be able to work together with for mutual prosperity.

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The chief reason Islamic lands did not pay attention to the changes occurring in the West was because they looked down on the West as "kafirs" who had zero of value to teach Muslims.

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The Moghals and Persians were too far removed, and the Ottomans were too far corrupt. The religious leadership did not see any value, but then it was hardly them in a decision making capacity. There were brilliant Ottoman scientists who were on par with other Western scientists, however the state simply paid no mind. Sadly, the Ottoman military was the one to suffer the most, unable to adapt to the rapidly changing Western tactics and technoloogy.

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There is no separation of powers in shariah. You are naive if you think "consultation", which even the Saudi king does to this day, is a check on abuse of power when religious, political, and military power is held in the hands of one person.

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The absolutist nature of your comment is absurd. Shariah is a body of law, without standard codified form and not a legal system. It places constraints on governments, legal systems, etc. without actually defining one...

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Shariah to this day--since it cannot change--allows slavery. Do you agree with that?

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All Muslim countries have signed onto anti-slavery treaties, which are fully Shariah compliant.

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Fornication yes, adultery no. However, neither should be illegal. Why? Because successful countries understand the concept of liberty and are not police states.

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LOL...the correlation is weak.

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Pakistan was not created for Islamism/shariah. This is why the Quaid did not fight for 9th century Arab/Roman (Justinian code) law to be imposed.[/QUOTE]

Nor did he forbid it's use by the state, as the Attaturk (his contemporary and associate) did. Jinnah as an exponent for a secular Pakistan is an old Canard. He didn't even want his own country...but that's another story...

It depends on how you define "prosperous." It clearly was prosperous compared to other Muslim nations in terms of per capita income.

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Oh, but NONE of the Iranian leaders ever promised prosperity to be the reward of Islamic system. Actually, NO ONE in the ISLAMIC HISTORY has EVER promised it.
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Listen to what Islamists say. You surely have heard it said numerous times that "when 'we' had a caliphate 'we' were strong. If we return to our roots 'we' will be strong again." That is standard Islamist dogma and one of the biggest selling points they have to the masses. This is the inevitable result if you have a "perfect" system which has a "solution to every problem." Just like Marxist theory led Marxists to the inevitable conclusion that communism would lead to utopia.

The Muslim world *was *prosperous and powerful for roughly 1,000 years. The Arab empire was the most advanced and most powerful civilization on the globe at its peak, as was Ottoman Turkey. The Mughals were also far more affluent than any entity in the non-Muslim world during their peak. So what happened? Ask an Islamist (and you have several here you can pose this question to) and they will say Muslims lost their way in religious matters. That if only they become religious, both personally and politically via a religious ruler such as a caliph, that they will automatically return to their past glory. Notice that Islamists don't blame the lack of openess, the lack of tolerance for minorities, the lack of democracy, the weak education system, etc. for the Muslim decline. They blame only the alleged decline in religiosity and various foreign entities since the Mongols.

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USSR had a big portion of world "converted" to communism.
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Yes--after it became a superpower. It was alone as a communist nation when it became a superpower under Stalin. It was only after World War II that it made Eastern European communist via military control, Mao took over China that there was a communist bloc. From 1917 to the early 1940's the USSR did it basically alone. The US did not even recognize the Soviet Union for nearly two decades.

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Thirdly, America was developing itself at that time
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Developing in what way? It was the world's most important and largest economy since the early part of the 20th century. It had no military of any significance and an isolationist foreign policy but it had power. Besides, the UK, France, and Japan were all very powerful during this time. The UK had long opposed Russia and Japan had beaten Russia in a war in 1905. The US had no influence on the USSR during its early period but other countries did.

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You just accepted yourself that the reason Iran is not as prosperous is due to sanctions
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Wrong. Sanctions, which Khomeni brought on himself, do not help but are not a valid excuse. Why does the "perfect" system need an excuse? As I pointed out, the USSR and Germany (which faced far tougher sanctions than Iran does) became great powers on their own. Why can't Iran do what atheist communists and Nazis did?

The sanctions are basically only American. Iran trades with Europe, Japan, Russia, and China.

What does Zionism have to do with Iran's stupidity in incurring sanctions?

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If Amreeka is SO powerful then why can't it attack Iran?
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It can attack Iran and wipe it off the face of the Earth tomorrow if it desired. You are confusing capability with will. Pakistan does not attack India over Kashmir. Does this mean it lacks any capability to do so, or just chooses not to?

Who is the most powerful country in your world? Let me guess: Sudan or Saudi Arabia?

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The United States in no way shape or form compared Khomeni to the Mahatma...they were caught off guard as was the Iranian intellegence services...
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That was before the revolution. After it the State Department compared him to Gandhi and did not recommend that the US do anything to overthrow the new government.

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Sacntions imply other nations that are otherwise on the sideline are being pressured to isolate Iran.
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And? Anyone with knowledge of foreign affairs could tell you what happens if you take diplomats hostage and make the "death" of a particular country central to your foreign policy and national identity. Iran asked for it, got it, and is now crying about it. Besides, sanctions do not explain Iran's failure compared to the promises of Islamists. Again, see the USSR and Germany for examples of isolated countries--more isolated than Iran, especially Germany--which rose to great power status.

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Pakistan's penal code, which is loosely based on Shriah, applies a false-logic where accusation of rape is construed as admission of intercourse, and so barring definitive proof of rape that could lead to the application of hadd, the accused are aquited.
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"Definitive proof of rape" under shariah is 4 male witnesses (why must they be male? I thought shariah guarantees equality?). That is a joke. Maybe 1 rape case out of a million has that since rapes do not occur in bazaars or outside cricket stadiums.

Why doesn't shariah say "4 male witnesses shall be needed to prove rape, until 1,400 years from now when Allah says DNA testing will be invented and can conclusively prove rape." I thought shariah was built for all times? How could it not prophesize the invention of DNA???

Some ulema say that--most don't. This is why in country after country with shariah they continue to use the 4 male standard.

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it's clear that the rise of China is proof positive that there are many paths to success, power, and modernity that does not incorporate enlightenment values
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China may be the exception that proves the rule. Look at every other currently successful or rising country. The current affluent ones are the US, Canada, Japan, and Western European nations. Then you have countries like South Korea, Israel, and Taiwan somewhere in between the first-tier economies and middle-income nations. Who are the rising countries? China, India are projected to become superpowers in this century. Other countries projected to rise to great power status are Russia and Brazil. Some people argue Mexico and South Africa will reach that level as well.

Notice anything about the list? All the nations in these groups are enlightenment/Western influenced except for China.

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Not by much, but the rest of Aisa and Latin America may proove to be useful non-intrusive allies who we may be able to work together with for mutual prosperity.
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That depends on what you define as much. What is clear is the average Latin American is more affluent than the average Muslim country (excepting the artificially inflated oil economies), and the Asian tigers are far ahead of the typical Muslim nation. Look at South Korea. Four decades ago it was economically on par with Egypt. Today its per capita income is 6-9 times that of Egypt, depending on what measure is used.

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The Moghals and Persians were too far removed
[/QUOTE]
Perhaps--but the Ottomans certainly weren't. The Ottomans were corrupt but corruption has nothing to do with why they looked down on Europe and hence ignored the enlightenment. Besides, Europe itself had plenty of corruption. Corruption is overrated as a reason for some countries not developing. Even the US had plenty of corruption when it rose to become a world power in the late 1800's.

[QUOTE]
There were brilliant Ottoman scientists who were on par with other Western scientists, however the state simply paid no mind
[/QUOTE]
For a while--and previously Ottoman scientists were far better than Western, African, or Asian scientists. However, look at all the inventions since the 1700's, when the Ottomans began to decline. They are almost all Western inventions.

[QUOTE]
Sadly, the Ottoman military was the one to suffer the most, unable to adapt to the rapidly changing Western tactics and technoloogy.
[/QUOTE]
Sadly? Are you for imperialism so long as it is Muslim imperialism? ;)

[QUOTE]
. It places constraints on governments, legal systems, etc. without actually defining one...

[/QUOTE]
Such as? There is a reason why every place which has separation of powers spells it out...

[QUOTE]
All Muslim countries have signed onto anti-slavery treaties, which are fully Shariah compliant.

[/QUOTE]

It is not shariah compliant--it changes shariah and Islamic doctrine of over 1,000 years. Yes Muslim nations have done that, and it is an "innovation", which Islamists whine about all the time. Islam, like Christianity, clearly allows slavery, which is why it continued unabated for centuries until foreign pressure was exerted against it. If you can "innovate" on slavery to change with the times why can't Islamists do so on other things, such as the rights of minorities or women's rights?

[QUOTE]
...the correlation is weak.
[/QUOTE]
Fornication is a byproduct of an open society. You realistically cannot have an open society if you are policing something like that. Fornication itself does not lead to national strength but it is an inevitable byproduct of policies of liberty.

[QUOTE]
Nor did he forbid it's use by the state,
[/QUOTE]
Are you claiming that just because he did not ban it that he implicitly endorsed it? So he was for something he did not fight for? You have to remember that shariah fever was not high in the 1940's. It spread like wildfire after the Saudis began exporting their ideology (and Saudi power...) through religious schools, institutions which carried its line (i.e. the obsession with Zionism is a great example of a Saudi export and now Saudi Arabia has Muslims from Vancouver to Jakarta echoing the Saudi line on this).

Please, one post per person...I almost missed this:

[quote]

That was before the revolution. After it the State Department compared him to Gandhi and did not recommend that the US do anything to overthrow the new government.

[/quote]

He was sitting in France, if memory serves correct...regardless, they were caught of guard by the revolution.

[quote]

And? Anyone with knowledge of foreign affairs could tell you what happens if you take diplomats hostage and make the "death" of a particular country central to your foreign policy and national identity.

[/quote]

It wasn't state policy at the time, and needless to say given the foreign medelling to that point in the particular country, the reaction was anything but understandable.

Regardless, there's much more to the story than the mere hostage crisis, which was a non-event by comparison.

The sanctions belied Ameircan notions that they had no ill design against Iran, and the weight and force of them was in no way shape or form commensurate to any provocation by iran, real or imagined. They were no longer pliant, and so had to be contained.

Last I checked, calling a spade a spade is hardly "crying"....

[quote]

"Definitive proof of rape" under shariah is 4 male witnesses (why must they be male? I thought shariah guarantees equality?). That is a joke. Maybe 1 rape case out of a million has that since rapes do not occur in bazaars or outside cricket stadiums.

[/quote]

Male is for financial transactions, don't know why it is applied to this. Further, it's for the application of the harshest punishment; failing that lesser pentalities may be applied. So your fixation on the witnesses aside, things are in order.

As for DNA, it is still an open question. There have been cases of false-positives, so there is a debate as to weather or not DNA evidence is equal to or better than eye-witness accounts (accounting for the fact that even eye-witnesses may be wrong).

[quote]

I thought shariah was built for all times? How could it not prophesize the invention of DNA???

[/quote]

Gasp...or the invention of cars...why no speed limits? Your line of reasoning is adolecent. Proof before punishment is the principle.

[quote[
Some ulema say that--most don't. This is why in country after country with shariah they continue to use the 4 male standard.
[/quote]

Red herring, as "most" and "some" are usless buzzwords...they're a handfull of inflential schools, and they're all too busy combating secular scumbags and their charges rather than reflecting on the problem at hand. They are inneffectual.

[quote]

China may be the exception that proves the rule. Look at every other currently successful or rising country.

[/quote]

South Africa did fine too. Hardly a liberal western state. USSR managed quite well too in terms of raw achievement...they just had a botched up economy.

India is borderline "free"...

Mexico is still an oligarchy, and is by no means a liberal democracy.

[quote]

China, India are projected to become superpowers in this century. Other countries projected to rise to great power status are Russia and Brazil. Some people argue Mexico and South Africa will reach that level as well.

[/quote]

Malaysia and Indonesia are much better off than the latter two. Brazil is consistantly overlooked...although that is one impressive nation in terms of economic development.

Mexico is on the verge of being failed state. It is a liberal democracy.

[quote]

Notice anything about the list?

[/quote]

No.

[quote]

That depends on what you define as much. What is clear is the average Latin American is more affluent than the average Muslim country (excepting the artificially inflated oil economies)

[/quote]

That's not clear at all. And why does oil economy consitute artificial economic growth? There are many nations that rely on natural resources....some, like Greece, even rely on tourism. Oh, and Greece is a liberal democracy too. Again the correlation is weak.

[quote]

, and the Asian tigers are far ahead of the typical Muslim nation. Look at South Korea. Four decades ago it was economically on par with Egypt. Today its per
capita income is 6-9 times that of Egypt, depending on what measure is used.

[/quote]

Yes. All thanks to a dictator.

[quote]

Perhaps--but the Ottomans certainly weren't. The Ottomans were corrupt but corruption has nothing to do with why they looked down on Europe and hence ignored the enlightenment.

[/quote]

LOL...no. Corruption had everything to do with it, since they were to busy dipping into public funds for their luxury, rather than for the public good. They didn't even attempt to industrualize fully, as Japan begun (which was Feudal and anything but a liberal democracy at the time, btw). It was spent.

[quote]

Besides, Europe itself had plenty of corruption. Corruption is overrated as a reason for some countries not developing.

[/quote]

Europe had a functioning system of governance. The ottomans did not. Corruption taken to it's logical extreme is indeed a reason why countries do not develop. Indeed, freedom is not a reason. Corruption is not a binary proposition...there are degrees. I cannot think of a European state that functioned and was as corrupt and useless as the Ottoman administration, which in it's end was reduced to pandering to the French, British and Russians to save themselves from an invasion.

[quote]

For a while--and previously Ottoman scientists were far better than Western, African, or Asian scientists. However, look at all the inventions since the 1700's, when the Ottomans began to decline. They are almost all Western inventions.

[/quote]

Yes. And that's the point...no patronage=no results.

[quote]

Such as? There is a reason why every place which has separation of powers spells it out...

[/quote]

Such as what? Seperation of powers is presumed outside the actual writ of the law...it is how governments are structured, not how law is written.

[quote]

It is not shariah compliant--it changes shariah and Islamic doctrine of over 1,000 years. Yes Muslim nations have done that, and it is an "innovation",

[/quote]

Canard.

If Shariah is silent on it, and it does not contradict it, it's allowed unless it's harmful, etc. That's the general doctorine...innovation is allowed if it is a 'good' innovation. Shariah as we know it today has many innovations (schools of thought, methodolgy of transmitting hadith, etc). that are considered 'good'.

[quote]

Fornication is a byproduct of an open society.

[/quote]

LOL...then clearly open socities are over rated. A society without it is open-enough. In any case, how is it a byproduct? Legalization of fornication is relativley modern among "liberal" socities.

[quote]

Are you claiming that just because he did not ban it that he implicitly endorsed it?

[/quote]

On the contrary, do you claim that because he never endorsed it, he wanted to forbid it's use?

I don't think he really cared. He did, after all, just want to be the Queen's representative of an autonomous reigion of the Empire.

[quote]

So he was for something he did not fight for?

[/quote]

Like an independent Muslim state...yeah. He was. How odd is that? The truth of the matter is, independence only entered into the discussion much later on.

[quote]

You have to remember that shariah fever was not high in the 1940's.

[/quote]

It was presumed...and for the most part adopted even during the time of the British as per the Muslim Family Law ordinances.

[QUOTE]
It wasn't state policy at the time, and needless to say given the foreign medelling to that point in the particular country, the reaction was anything but understandable.

Regardless, there's much more to the story than the mere hostage crisis, which was a non-event by comparison.

The sanctions belied Ameircan notions that they had no ill design against Iran, and the weight and force of them was in no way shape or form commensurate to any provocation by iran, real or imagined. They were no longer pliant, and so had to be contained.
[/QUOTE]

It was state policy after the state became aware and condoned it. The reaction was to the Shah receiving medical treatment. Look at the timeline. Khomenini took over in February, the hostages were taken in November. If it was a reaction to foreign meddling it would have occurred in February or March.

Of course one will have ill designs against a country whose foreign policy is based on your "death" and a "world without" you. Again, put down the Islamist dogma and look at the timeline. Why weren't the sanctions imposed in until almost a year later? The reason is the sanctions were a response to the hostage crisis.

It is ironic to see an Islamist defender of Iran's current government cite "foreign meddling", given Iranian mullah's love for doing today what they condemned yesterday.

[QUOTE]
Male is for financial transactions, don't know why it is applied to this.
[/QUOTE]

No, male is for rape cases. 4 witnesses must be produced to prove rape under shariah--and all four must be male.

Why the focus on it? It is a prime example that shariah cannot adapt to changing times.

DNA testing is usually very accurate and is far better than a ridiculous requirement that 4 men happen to see a rape occurring given the fact that rapes usually occur in private quarters. Under that ridiculous standard, rape is de facto legal since it can almost never be proved.

[QUOTE]
Proof before punishment is the principle
[/QUOTE]

And the proof is derived with "four male witnesses." In order to replace that standard you are changing shariah, which according to you guy's is written by god...

[QUOTE]
Red herring, as "most" and "some" are usless buzzwords...they're a handfull of inflential schools, and they're all too busy combating secular scumbags and their charges rather than reflecting on the problem at hand. They are inneffectual.
[/QUOTE]

I know Islamists like to pretend this isn't true, but shariah is in force in several countries. They all adhere to basically the same law. Islamists like to make people believe there is a great debate over shariah's provisions when in fact shariah has been basically the same for 1,000 years.

[QUOTE]
South Africa did fine too. Hardly a liberal western state. USSR managed quite well too in terms of raw achievement...they just had a botched up economy.
[/QUOTE]

South Africa is Dutch and British influenced, especially in its laws and form of government.

The USSR disintegrated. It was in decline before that because it too failed to keep up with the times because of a rigid, intrusive, very prescriptive system.

India is free compared to most countries, certainly compared to any Muslim country.

You are correct about Mexico and any projection that has it rising assumes it will correct those problems. Right now it is now on a path to power like China, India, and Brazil.

[QUOTE]
Malaysia and Indonesia are much better off than the latter two
[/QUOTE]

Wrong. Malaysia is vastly overrated by Muslims. It is affluent compared to Muslim nations but middle-income compared to the world. It ranks 66th in per capita GDP, behind 61st place Mexico but ahead of 83rd place South Africa. Indonesia is a joke, coming in 124th (CIA world factbook numbers). The figures vary based on source but it is clear that Mexico and Malaysia are basically on par with each other, South Africa is a bit behind, and Indonesia is far behind. This is in contradiction to your claim that they are "much better off."

The Mexico and South Africa talk is based in part on potential. No one sees much potential for Malaysia becoming a world power...

You can't say one thing at one moment and then another when it suits you. In one sentence you said Mexico is "by no means a liberal democracy", three sentences later you say it is a liberal democracy.

What you should notice about the list is the influences on the countries on it, excepting China, and also the lack of any Muslim nation making the list. If any Muslim country becomes a world power in this century it will be Turkey. This is not due to mere chance...

[QUOTE]
And why does oil economy consitute artificial economic growth?
[/QUOTE]

It takes no talent, no system. It is a product of sheer luck. What will happen to the oil reliant nations when oil is superseded? They will be exposed as backwards and fade into deep poverty because they lack any real economy.

Greece is more affluent than Israel. Islamists always talk about how strong and rich Israel is. How can you then say Greece is not affluent?

Fair point on South Korea rising mostly under a dictator, but they have been a democracy and risen to new heights in the past two decades.

[QUOTE]
Corruption had everything to do with it, since they were to busy dipping into public funds for their luxury, rather than for the public good. They didn't even attempt to industrualize fully, as Japan begun (which was Feudal and anything but a liberal democracy at the time, btw). It was spent.
[/QUOTE]

As if corruption was endemic to the Ottoman empire, and that it magically only began to happen after 1683...

Japan was not a liberal democracy at the time--neither was the UK, France, or Prussia (Germany), or Spain. You did not need to be a liberal democracy to be successful during that time since you were not competing against liberal democracies since none existed during that time. When a liberal democracy was created, the USA, it managed to grow from a small former colony to a world power in 100 years--surpassing all these nations which had centuries of a head start over it...Of course, the UK and co. were smart enough to recognize the merits of liberal democracy and adopted it after the US showed its merits.

[QUOTE]
Europe had a functioning system of governance. The ottomans did not.

[/QUOTE]

The Ottoman state was far more developed than, say, medieval England or France. The Ottomans had the system, power, and wealth to develop but failed to do so due to complacency and arrogance. Medieval England could not hold a candle to the Ottomans, Persians, Mughals, or China yet the small island nation eclipsed them all--and conquered one, took over the empire of another, and had significant power over a third. Why? Was it because of corruption in Persia, India, and China too?

[QUOTE]
Yes. And that's the point...no patronage=no results.
[/QUOTE]

Patronage suddenly stopped around 1700 too?

[QUOTE]
Such as what? Seperation of powers is presumed outside the actual writ of the law...it is how governments are structured, not how law is written.

[/QUOTE]

For example in the US the executive power is held by the president, the legislative power by two houses of Congress (which are themselves designed to serve as checks on each other), and the judicial power by the courts. Military power is shared by the executive and legislative branches. Religious power is in private hand. Islamism seeks to unite all these powers into the same hands--as was the case during the Rashidun and Muhammad eras. That worked then, it cannot work 1,400 years later.

[QUOTE]
If Shariah is silent on it, and it does not contradict it, it's allowed unless it's harmful, etc. That's the general doctorine...innovation is allowed if it is a 'good' innovation.
[/QUOTE]

Islamic doctrine is not silent on it. Look at the Muhammad and Rashidun era practices of sometimes taking slaves after winning a military victory. Clearly Islam approved of it if Islam's leading lights engaged in it (at least the taking of slaves for the community). Yet, even Islamists today have changed that provision because it flies in the face of the modern world.

[QUOTE]
A society without it is open-enough. In any case, how is it a byproduct? Legalization of fornication is relativley modern among "liberal" socities.
[/QUOTE]

It is a byproduct of allowing individual liberty and not having a police state. If people are free to do what they choose so long as they do not harm others then some people will inevitably engage in fornication. Isn't this why Islamists set up elaborate regulations and "religious police" to prevent it? A state that can regulate what occurs in the bedroom can regulate many other personal things.

You seem to think "liberal" is a constant set of beliefs. Times change, liberals change with them. What was "liberal" in 18th century England would be backwards in 21st century England. Fortunately, secular law allows countries to adapt--shariah does not.

Speaking of the obsession with fornication that Islamists have, why does your Islamist utopia in Iran have rampant prostitution? I thought that is one of the "big" (actually small...) things the Islamists were going to eliminate?

[QUOTE]
On the contrary, do you claim that because he never endorsed it, he wanted to forbid it's use
[/QUOTE]

I don't think he wanted to ban it but his vision was not of a country with shariah. If it happened, I don't think he would have lost sleep over it but it was not his preference.

Re: Nadeem F. Paracha spews more hatred for Islam

Re: Nadeem F. Paracha spews more hatred for Islam

Inform yourself about the Islamic Shariah… and MR. reason, since you are on Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s largest discussion forum, I would request that next time, you write our Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) name with more respect, by adding Prophet, or (pbuh). Otherwise, why are we wasting time arguing with a non-Muslim. With a non-Muslim, the discussion should be about, is Quran really God’s word.

Belief in Shariah or all that Quran brings depends on faith or eeman.

Learn about Shariah:

Sharia/Shariah (Law/Justice)

Thanks for proving the Islamist belief in a sort of religious apartheid. You, in adherence to Islamist doctrine, believe Muslims are superior to non-Muslims, who are not even worthy of debate.

Pakistan is officially 97% Muslim, although no one knows what the real number is because of the tyranny on “apostates”, which causes them to remain in the closet. Nonetheless, it is true that Pakistan is predominantly Muslim. The flip side is there are millions of non-Muslims in Pakistan who by civilized standards deserve equal rights.

It is hilarious how Islamists want to regulate every tiny thing. (look at the jokers in Iran demanding that mannequins wear hijab :rotfl:) I live in the land of liberty. You cannot force me to write four letters. Adding “prophet” every time is lame. In the US “prophets” are usually referred to by their names, i.e. Moses/Musa is called “Moses” and not “prophet Moses”, Abraham just that, Abraham.

Re: Nadeem F. Paracha spews more hatred for Islam

^ Although being against regulating every aspect of life, liberty does not always equate 'right'. If you do not want to add respect to the Prophet's names its your right, but calling it lame equally stupid.

Why does nobody seem to discuss the article in question?