Islam and theocracy

[The Grand Nudger]

Not really "their own little dark ages" we might be pullung a few levers on this one here and there.

[Jenny A]

Not really "their own little dark ages" we might be pullung a few levers on this one here and there.

We've interfered and probably haven't helped any. But the Dark Ages attitude is all their own. Christianity caused the last Dark Ages, and Islam is working on their own.

[mralstoner]

Why are so many Muslim countries, either theocracies or other forms of government highly influenced by religion?

Mohammed was a warlord, and Islam is a war doctrine. The key divide in Islam is not church and state, but Muslim and Kafir (non-believer). Islam recognises two main regions: Dar al-Islam (House of Islam), and Dar al-Harb (House of war) i.e. lands not yet conquered ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divisions_o...d_in_Islam

So, Muslim countries who try to separate religion from politics, are running counter to Islamic doctrine. After WW1 in Turkey, Kemal Ataturk did secularise religion out of politics. But time and again, Islam keeps reasserting itself. Turkey required several military coups to turf Islamists out of power. But alas, Muslim demography won out in the end, and the ruling AK Party is very Islamic (they recently imprisoned some 200 secular military personnel and journalists on bogus charges just to pre-empt another coup).

Islam is at odds with human nature, and so the fate of Muslim countries is to be eternally torn between Islam, humanism, and dictatorships etc. It's like watching a pendulum swing between the different forces. Egypt appears to now be swinging radically away from the recent Muslim Brotherhood period. Now hundreds of Brotherhood supporters have been give the death penalty.