See I find on the internet it is very easy to come off more educated then I truly am. A few times I actually had to consult friends of mine who are Islamic scholars and I have asked a few to proof read my postings here making sure I do not mis represent anything, I enjoy our discussion here because you and others make me think and force me to legitimize my beliefs in a way. Yet what we have here are just discussions I am not interested in debates.. I feel that these discussions you and I could have over coffee (or beer for you lol) and remain civil even while we disagree.. whereas with Milo and yes I have watched him and some of his stuff is amusing.. I find he likes to argue and debate (and I have a bad temper so it is probably not wise lol). Which are things I do not like to do, because it relies on a person's character and how well he can articulate a defense or launch an attack on the ball. Which I am weak at.
Now to the thick of it, it is very hard to defend against an enemy that is undefined and unidentified. So saying that religion or namely Islam has something "wrong" with it, but you are not sure what makes it tough to counter. But being a devils advocate and trying to put myself in your shoes as much as I Can, I would say and agree the Islamic World has something wrong with it. That thing being the teaching, appointment, education, tenure and credentials of people or persons put into position or places of influence in the Muslim community. Which really sucks to admit, but if we are looking for an issue maybe this is it. I still argue that the vast majority of Muslims are good, honest, hardworking chaps we would all love to have as our neighbour. Even the ignorant ones in places of power who unknowingly misguided people along a darker path are not inherently evil, but because they should have not been in that position to begin with evil has resulted and people were led to follow truly evil "preachers" by a person who would have never consciously done it. Then we have the truly insane, evil, pieces of work who should be put down faster then a rabid dog because of this issue.. and that issue speaks for itself, but to me that is an extremely small percent.. but coupled with other issues I think are the true reasons it results in what we have today.
I have also, since our last talks. Been watching and trying to stay aware of different emerging thoughts in the Islamic world and one, one that stands out for me and makes me happy. Is the one that a caliph (leader etc) is not actually an obligation for Muslims, it is a revival of an Islamic teaching from centuries ago when we had issues with Caliphs. A big group of scholars sat down to ponder the issue and decided essentially, I'm paraphrasing that if having an Islamic leader would cause a ton of issues, one is not needed in any way and that local leaders would suffice as long as they were just etc. I believe if you are interested Mufti Abu Layth has an hour or so talk regarding it, his talk is a simple primer on the subject.. but he laughs to much lol. Now as an add on to this subject and to touch on Recce's issues, which are also fair. A lot of Islamic scholars see the state and church as separate or at the very least they can be separate and it is not the end of world. Many instances in history show this, ie an Islamic caliph has non-Muslim specialists as the head of medicine or education etc and they have final say on those issues. (Sorry guys I am not sourcing as much as I should. We are buying our first home soon God willing and I'm sitting here thinking about places while I type this I will try to source it later). But I feel many Muslims are into protectionist policies, because that is the only way they feel they can protect Islam instead of letting Islam stand on its own two feet as a method for getting closer to God. So if Muslims essentially grow up and realize the more they try to protect and isolate Islam, the worse it seems to get and if they have Islam as the state religion and for the masses then if the masses truly want Islam then it will be reflected in their daily lives.. not forced on them by the government who, let's face it should not be trusted to dictate what you believe or how you believe. (This point of view has legitimate arguments against it, so if a Muslim doesn't agree he can be right and this belief is right too.. Which feeds your understanding me picking and choosing what I believe lol)
Now Kat I'll address what you said, you are right and wrong. We do not have a figurehead, for sure, so you are 100% right there. But the more I think on it, I think you are wrong too. See a few major sects of Islam have centers of power ie deobandi's their seat of power is darul uloom deoband, salafis have Saudi, eastern European Muslims tend to follow the rulings out of Russia's Islamic council etc etc etc. So I really do not know if your on to something or not.. or if you are more right then wrong. I am simply not that smart.
Now you asked me a question and bluntly so jarnhamar but can I answer with a question? You asked if i still think sharia should be in Canada.. well if you consider my views on different issues, would it be so bad? One of my obligations for it would be for it to have legally and democratically come to pass and only be enforced on Muslims. Since Islam is for Muslims. My vision of what sharia would be like in Canada assuming Muslims made up 51% of the population so they could legally pass it. Is let's say you are my neighbor and we decide to do a bbq, you have your beer, pork chops and we hit the beach in typical Canadian beach wear and guess what.. nothing happens. The police walk by, one of which is non-Muslim and he joins us for another beer.. and no one died... basically Canada would still be Canada. I'd still fight for your right to criticize Islam and have your own beliefs. Remember I believe breaking an Islamic injunction should not be punished in this life, but be sorted out in the next, so Muslims could break Islamic laws and they would not be dragged off kicking and screaming. The only real noticeable changes I could See, would be death for murderers and rapists.. Which is something many non-Muslims would support. You may also see a reduction in taxes ie no income tax, we would see an implementation of zakat without so many loopholes.. 2.5% of your inactive net worth is taxed.. ie second homes etc etc.. basically making ultra wealthy pay more tax lol I would also suspect you would enjoy the reduction in legal restrictions regarding firearms etc etc etc but remember this is my view and interpretation of Islam.. and this I see no issue with. But.. if a darker, more twisted view of Islam comes to power in Canada.. I may sadly lose my life fighting against it, but let's hope that never comes to pass.
I am happily living in Canada without Canadian law being as per the sharia, I can still live here and be a fully practicing Muslim happily and easily. My kids are safe here, my wife is happy, I don't have to worry about war, robberies or not coming home to my family. So I am more then happy with Canada (except maybe who our leader is and some of his idiotic decisions that will likely hurt our economy) and I have no desire to change anything here aside from maybe letting guys with Ar's take them hunting lol
But I suspect you knew all this
Abdullah
Ps God this was long