Tolerance, Pluralism Foreign to Islamic Doctrine

Cal Thomas | Syndicated columnist | Published: Oct 11, 2001

Tolerance, Pluralism Foreign to Islamic Doctrine

Want to hear some Islamic doctrine, just to know what you're dealing with? According to some of their literature from a mosque in Falls Church, Va., Jesus was never crucified, some Christians believe the Virgin Mary is part of the Trinity, and that Jesus prophesied, not about the coming of the Holy Spirit, but about the coming of Mohammad.

Writing in the Washington Times, Julia Duin quotes an Islamic scholar as saying that in classic Islamic law, the apostate (that's you and me) loses all their civil liberties in a Muslim state. In their societies, church and state have merged. There is no tolerance, no pluralism, and no freedom of conscience. It's the Islamic way or else. The "or else" can include imprisonment, deportation, even death. The State Department notes that a small evangelical seminary in Jordan has been targeted, and that some students in the supposedly modern country have been jailed and deported.

Islam can seem harmless when Muslims are not running a country, but there is no country where they rule that tolerance and pluralism aren't the first casualties.

Tolerance, Pluralism Foreign to Islamic Doctrine