quote on Islam

Quote from Ziauddin Sardar (very clever muslim academic)

But I soon discovered that when Islam and the state are one and the same thing, and when there is only one way of interpreting Islam and of being a Muslim, you end up with self-righteous fascism. If you believe that you possess the absolute truth, you naturally want to keep it pure and exclude everything that you see as falsehood. Moreover, you are keen to impose it on others whatever the cost. When you internalise Islam as a single ideology, you cease to be, in my opinion, human. In their excessive zeal to be guardians of their brand of hyper-orthodox Islam, many Saudis have forgotten how to be human.

When I first went to Saudi Arabia I thought I would discover a new level of humanity, a new, unparalleled appreciation of the dignity of difference. Instead, I encountered a type of religious xenophobia that I could not imagine. I realised then that Islam cannot be packaged into a single ideology. Later, revolutionary Iran and the Taliban further strengthened my belief. For me, Islam is all about knowing yourself as a human being. Before you can be a "good Muslim" you must be a good human being. Simplest, monolithic interpretations of Islam undermine this.

Full interview on http://www.opendemocracy.net/globalization/sardar_3547.jsp