On Equivalence of Monotheistic Religions
(Jan 7, 2017 version)
Jia Liang Han
Abstract
In this paper, first I will show that Jews and Christians worship the same God but not Muslims. Then I will explain that one of Jesus’ parables should lead to secular states. In a secular state, the social status of all religions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam, can be equal. This will require freedom of religion, separation of church and state and rule of law. Separation of power and faith is very difficult for Muslim societies, based on both Islamic holy books and the history of Islamic world. As some have proposed before, I consider reformation of Islam is essential and consider briefly two categories of reforms of Islam.
Introduction
It is widely accepted that monotheistic religions are all equal, advocated by leading scholars Isaiah Berlin, John Rawls among others (Crowder 2014). Monotheistic religions commonly refer to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, also known as Abraham’s religions. A review of evolution of polities by Fukuyama (Fukuyama 2010) shows that religions have had strong influence on political systems and institutions. I had problems with the above assertion of equivalence of monotheistic religions. For example, it is widely known that politics in predominantly Muslim countries have always been closely related to Islam (Lewis 2010, Lewis 2003, Ruthven 2006, Hamid 2016) while literal interpretation of the New Testament implies that Christianity is apolitical. If these two religions are equivalent, why their political systems are so different? I assume that it all depends on how the term equivalence is defined. I will study equivalence of monotheistic religions in this article. Before that, I will examine a related claim: Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Not long ago, a former Wheaton College academic made such a claim. I will show that this claim is false. On the other hand in a modern, secular state, Christianity and Islam (and other bona fide religions) should be treated equally in significant ways, for example freedom of religion, rights to worship and observing the laws of the state. For such a state to be peaceful and stable some critical issues must be addressed. Later it will become clear that Islam needs major reforms for Muslims to coexist peacefully with peoples of other faiths and for a Muslim state to become modern. For this purpose, I will suggest some potential reforms of Islam.
I wish the reader to pay attention to two aspects below since they are helpful to understand the logic of this article. Firstly, note the chronological order of events. I will largely proceed in the historical order of events, for example, in the order of Judaism, Christianity, Islam. If there is one and only one God, He should be consistent throughout history. Secondly, the holy books of these religions are critically important since they are considered words from God. The arrangement of this paper is as follows. Section 2 considers Judaism and the Old Testament, in particular the central importance of prophets. The next section discusses Jesus the person and the key difference between Judaism and Christianity, then explains why these religions might come from the same God. Section 4 examines Muhammad, Quran and Islam. According to the definition of prophet in Torah, the Islamic Prophet Muhammad is not a biblical prophet and Quran is not from God. In section 5, I explain why one of the Jesus’ parables implies separation of church and state and leads to secular states. A modern state is a secular state that ensures freedom of religion and rule of law. All bona fide religions are equal assuming that they obey the laws. Section 6 considers Muslim states and secular states. Islam needs major reforms if Muslim states are to coexist peacefully with other peoples and states. I will discuss key aspects of such reforms. Section 7 concludes.
God of Judaism-Christianity
Former Associate Professor Larycia Hawkins at Wheaton College claimed that Christians and Muslims worship the same God (Graham 2015). In order to evaluate this claim, we have to find ways to compare Christians’ God with Muslims’ God. One example of comparing God is mentioned in Isaiah 40:18. However, the comparisons in Isaiah 40 are with respect to idols and false gods, thus are not necessarily applicable here. A fundamental question is how to define God. Is God almighty? Is God righteous? Is God full of love? God may demonstrate all these attributes but these attributes cannot define God. We as creation cannot define the Creator, which belongs to a different ontology. Christian theology tells us: “God is related to us in two major ways. God is related to the world as Creator and as one self-revealed to the people of ancient Israel and to the new Israel, the Christian church.” (Allen and Springsted 2007, xxiii). Through natural theology, we may learn God partially as the Creator, which could be the same regardless of religions or no religion. On the other hand, God is ontologically different from anything else we know. We cannot know God fully just by studying the world. Throughout history, God revealed Himself to us which has been recorded in the Bible. Let us consider carefully God’s revelation in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Some might say what about Quran? The Old Testament was written from about 1,200 B.C.E. to 430 B.C.E. while the New Testament was formed in the first century C.E. (Smart 1998). On the other hand, Muhammad lived between 570 and 632 C.E., Islam began around 610 C.E. and Quran appeared many years, up to two hundred years, after Muhammad’s death (Donner 2006, Gilliot 2006). Obviously, we should examine the Old Testament first.
The Old Testament consists of mainly Torah, history of Israel, Psalms, and Books of Prophets. So the Books of Prophets are an important part of the Old Testament. God communicated with Israelites through two channels: priests and prophets. Deuteronomy 18:15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.1
So who would be the prophets? Deuteronomy 18:18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name. 20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.” 21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed. A few points to note here. 1) A prophet must be an Israelite. 2) This passage implies that a prophet would be able to perform some miracles or signs to prove that he/she indeed comes from God. 3) What a prophet said comes from God, thus must be true. No other tests or assertions can refute their words. Note that all prophets in the Old Testament satisfied these conditions. Jesus and some early prophets in the New Testament also satisfied these conditions.
The phrase the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob has special meaning. When the phrase appears in the Bible, it is often at the critical junction. When God asked Moses to lead God’s chosen people out of Egypt, He repeatedly mentioned the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob (Exodus 3:6, 15-16; Exodus 4:5) to show Moses who He is, to tell Israelites who He is, and to instruct Moses to perform miracles. We will come to occurrences of this phrase in the New Testament later.
Jesus and Tension within Judaism
Prior to Jesus, many Jewish scholars and leaders believed that God would send a Messiah to save Israel. Many Israelites understood this promise from a political perspective. Jesus was a Jew and performed many miracles. Jesus certainly qualified to be a prophet according to the criteria mentioned earlier. Was Jesus the expected Messiah? One telling narrative appears in the beginning of Gospel John Chapter 3. Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council, came to see Jesus to find out who Jesus really was. Jesus' answer in 3:13-18 implied that he is Son of God. This was hard for Israelites to comprehend or to accept. Many places in the New Testament confirm that Jesus is Son of God: Luke 1:35; Mark 1:1, Matt. 14:33, Matt. 16:16, Matt. 26:63-65, Luke 22:66-71, John 1:1-2, 1:14. The Old Testament has many passages that point to Jesus. According to some commentators, the Book of Isaiah alone has more than fifty passages that match Jesus or his work. One is about virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14). Another very important verse is Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
I do not think anyone in history can ever match this verse except Jesus alone.
To many Jews at that time, it was very hard to accept that God has a Son, let alone Jesus was Son of God. For political reasons, Jesus was condemned by Jewish leaders and was crucified. Only after Jesus was resurrected his disciples got together started a movement known as Christianity. At the beginning, those followers of Jesus were all Jews. Later Gentiles, i.e. non-Jews, joined them and they were called Christians. Around 70 C.E. Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman Army, after that Jews and Christians went their separate ways.
Although Jews and Christians differ in whom Jesus is, Jews and Christians worship the same God. Firstly, both regard the same Old Testament from God. Secondly, at the beginning Jews who believed Jesus and Jews who did not believe Jesus were the same group of people. Their major difference was whether or not Jesus is Messiah and/or Son of God. Note that Jews do not regard Jesus a prophet. Otherwise they have to acknowledge that Jesus is Son of God. Thirdly, the phrase the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, appeared many times in the New Testament as well. Recall that this phrase was used by God to call Moses. Here we see the continuity. Jesus used the phrase the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob in Matt.22:32-33, Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37 when questioned about resurrection. Peter used it in Acts 3:13-15 for Pentecost. Steven, the first martyred Christian, also quoted it in Acts 7:32. Fourthly, central to both Judaism and Christianity is faith. Faith is eloquently described in Chapter 11 of Hebrews, which gives examples of men of faith: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and so on. Note that all these people are from the Old Testament. The point is that the Book of Hebrews regards Christians have the same faith as these people of faith in the Old Testament. Again here is continuity. Besides the above, there are many other places that connect the New Testament to the Old Testament. Judaism and Christianity are really two branches of one religion and worship the same God.
Some may wonder why there have been no new books after the New Testament. There are several reasons. Firstly, Hebrews 1:1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, …… There is no need for more prophets in the sense of adding more books to the Bible. There are New Testament prophets such as 1 Corinthians 12:28 or Ephesians 4:11, but these are for building the Church not for adding more books to the Bible. John 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. The Holy Spirit has arrived (Acts Chapter 2) and instructs believers everything. In addition, the end of the last chapter of the book of the New Testament Revelation 22:18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll. It should be clear that the Bible as word of God is complete. If someone claims another book from God, such as Quran, it would contradict to the above. John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word here is singular, which means Son of God is One and Only as well as consistent.
Muhammad, Quran and Islam
The key figure of Islam is the Prophet Muhammad. Was Muhammad a biblical prophet? According to the definition of a biblical prophet (Deuteronomy 18 and section 2), he certainly was not. Firstly, Muhammad was a descendant of Ishmael. But God’s covenant is with Isaac. Genesis 17:18 And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” 19 Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. 21 But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” Genesis 21:12 But God said to him, “....... Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. ” Ishmael was born of Hagar, maidservant of Abraham’s wife Sarah. Although Ishmael was the eldest son of Abraham, but because he was born of the maidservant he was not entitled to inheritance (cf. Galatians 4:24-31). Here, the inheritance refers to inheritance of God. God’s blessings to descendants of Ishmael appear in Genesis 16:11-12 which implies that they have no part of the inheritance.
Isaac had a twin: Esau and Jacob (Genesis 25:23-26). Romans 9:10 Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” (also Mal. 1:2,3). The above establishes a line for God’s covenant and inheritance: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. Secondly, a biblical prophet must be a Jew and Muhammad was not a Jew. Thirdly, a biblical prophet should perform miracles (or signs) to prove that he/she has supernatural power. Muhammad had not performed miracles.
In contrast to the phrase the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, Quran has similar verses, for example 2.133, 2.136, 2.140, but adding Ismael. Quran 2 2.133 Were ye witnesses when death appeared before Jacob? Behold, he said to his sons: "What will ye worship after me?" They said: "We shall worship Thy god and the god of thy fathers, of Abraham, Isma'il and Isaac,- the one (True) Allah: To Him we bow (in Islam)." This does not agree with the earlier revelation, i.e., God’s covenant is with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob.
Discussion at the end of previous section also concludes that the canon of the Bible is closed. Quran, being more than four hundred years later than the New Testament, cannot be considered from God. Is it possible that God instructs Muhammad to establish another religion? Why God wants to do that since this would cause confusion? At least the differences between Judaism and Christianity are understandable. It is incomprehensible that God will establish another religion that contradicts to established earlier religions. Quran was formed much later than the Bible and included many figures from the Old Testament and the New Testament. If there is a God other than the Judaism-Christianity God, then its Holy book should not have quoted figures and narratives from the Bible as Quran does. Quran was based on Muhammad’s words alone. To me, it is much more convincing for books like Bible which were from numerous sources and spanning more than a thousand years yet consistent. In addition, the Bible implies that Jesus is the greatest, the One and Only (John 1:14, 18; 3:14, 18). Quran regards Jesus a prophet but denies that he is Son of God. 2.116 They say: "Allah hath begotten a son" :Glory be to Him.-Nay, to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth: everything renders worship to Him. Also 9.30 The Jews call 'Uzair a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth! This is inconsistent because if Jesus is a prophet then what he said is from God, thus he must be Son of God. You cannot have it both ways.
Although Genesis 16:11-12 prophesied that descendants of Ishmael would be hostile toward others, I do think that they also may obtain salvation if they acknowledge Jesus as the Lord. Ephesians 2:14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. In Ephesians 2:14, the two groups refer to Jews and Gentiles which include descendants of Ishmael.
Secular States and Equivalence of Religions
Even though Christians and Muslims do not worship the same God, it is still possible for Christians and Muslims to coexist peacefully in a state. A state is a secular state (or modern state which we regard them as the same) if it is agnostic to specific religions. In a secular state, all bona fide religions enjoy freedom of religion and separation of church and state and are protected by laws of the state. Equivalence of religions advocated by Isaiah Berlin, John Rawls and others make sense in such a state. In the past Western states were Christian states. Now most Western states do not have a state religion thus are often known as post-Christian states. Below I will explain why secular states agree with the Bible.
Firstly, I shall show that separation of church and state is implied by Jesus' teachings. A widely used Jesus' teaching for separation of church and state is “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” (Matthew 22:21). I disagree. In the context of this verse Jesus was asked about tax. Tax belongs to finance, which in turn belongs to economy, which in turn is part of state affair. Furthermore, Jesus in this verse taught obedience to authorities. See also Romans 13:1-7 for similar teachings. John 18:36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world…..” Therefore, we should consider other passages of the Bible.
I propose that separation of church and state may be derived from one of Jesus' parables, the Parable of Weeds, which appears in Matthew 13:24-30, especially 27-30. 13:27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ 28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’” Explanation of this parable appears in later of this chapter, 13:36-43. Here Jesus' teaching is in sharp contrast with Judaism. In the Old Testament, worshiping other gods, heresy or rebellion against the authority were punishable by death, for example the golden calf incident in Exodus 32, Chapter 13 of Deuteronomy, Korah, Dathan, Abiram in Number 16, and so on. Pay attention to Matthew 13:28. The weed was due to Satan. Therefore, even evil persons should not be punished. Romans 12:18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
On the other hand, for a state to function normally, crimes need to be punished. A logical approach is to introduce laws to deter and punish criminal activities while do not interfere with religious disputes including between different religions or heresies in a religion. In other words, a secular state should be agnostic about religions. So how should laws in a modern state be established? I think that Torah should be carefully studied. The laws in Torah may be separated into religious laws and criminal laws and only enact laws to punish criminals.
There are many accounts of the origin of Rule of Law (Tamanaha 2004, Fukuyama 2011, 245-261). According to Hayek (Hayek 1978, 162-175), Rule of Law has its origin in classical Greece. It was lost then rediscovered more than one thousand years later in Europe. Among the major ancient civilizations, Judaism-Christianity is the only one that has successfully developed Rule of Law (Fukuyama 2011, 245-318).
Islam Needs Reforms
Among founders of three major monotheistic religions, only Muhammad established a state. Muhammad set up a political system that still impacts Muslim states today. It is well known that politics in Muslim states has always been tightly integrated with Islam (Lewis 2010, Lewis 2003, Hamid 2016, Ruthven 2006, Roy 1998). A well known quote from Iran Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini is “Islam is politics or it is nothing.” Facing modernisation pressure in the last several hundred years, Muslims have experimented various political systems. The title of a well known book, "The Failure of Political Islam" by Olivier Roy (Roy 1998), pretty much summarises these efforts. I think that eventually secular states should be the political system for Muslim states as well. However, we have more pressing issues to consider.
Quran has many verses that offend or fight against peoples of other faiths. For example, Quran 9:5 But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, an seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practise regular charity, then open the way for them: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. 9:29 Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. Some might say that the Bible has similar passages. True to some extent. However, there are two important differences between the Bible and the Quran. 1) Such passages appear only in the Old Testament not in the New Testament. 2) Interpretation is crucial. Almost no Jewish or Christian groups apply such passages literally to anyone today. These are understood God’s revelation in the past and has its meaning at that time but no longer applicable today, at least literally. Islamic scholars need to work on Quran to allow peaceful coexistence of Muslims with peoples of other faiths.
Some may say what if Muslims do not want reform? Whether or not to reform Islam is of course entirely up to Muslims. However, without reform Muslim states will fall further behind the rest of the world. It is shocking that Middle East Muslim countries fall from the cradle of civilisations behind not only the West but also many other regions such as East Asian countries (Lewis 2003, 151-152). The book Heretic by Ayaan Hirsi Ali (Ali 2015) considers five reform areas of Islam. I think that it is helpful to divide Islam reforms into two categories. The first category consists of must-haves. Without these, conflicts with peoples of other faiths will be inevitable. The second category consists of suggested internal changes in Muslim societies. These may facilitate reforms of the first category and prevent or reduce conflicts within Muslim communities.
Firstly, recognise that Quran is not from God and establish Quran’s rightful position in Islam. The fundamental doctrine of Islam is that Quran is uncreated and eternal, divine and immutable. This doctrine is untenable based on earlier discussions and academic studies (Donner 2006, Gilliot 2006). Muhammad and Quran regard Jews and Christians as the People of the Book. Muslims are also the People of the Book. As quoted above, Quran has some verses hostile toward other faiths. If Quran is still considered words from God, some may take them literally and various potential problems may occur. If this is not made clear to all Muslims, then violence against other peoples could happen.
Secondly, establish a consistent system of interpretation to Quran and other sacred books of Islam. Interpretation is important. There are passages of violence in the Old Testament. Few Christians or Jews will apply them today because sophisticated interpretation systems have been established.
Thirdly, define fundamentals so that one may delineate orthodox Muslim groups from radical, militant ones. The term fundamentalism was originated from some Protestant groups in 1910s. It started from a small group of Protestants in order to defend fundamentals of Christianity (Hann 1983, 109-113) but was not properly articulated. Later a set of fundamentals were clarified which include the Trinity, Apostle Creed, and so on. The fundamentalists may include a wide range of Christian groups (Cairns 1996, 482-483). As Bernard Lewis (Lewis 2004, 15) and Robert Spencer (Spencer 2006, 22) pointed out, Islamic fundamentalism is a misnomer. Spencer in particular pointed out there exist no set of fundamentals in Islam at present. If Muslim scholars and leaders can articulate a set of fundamentals for Muslims, it will be helpful for others as well as Muslims to identify true Muslims.
Fourthly, Isam can no longer view non-Islamic states as in the House of War. In classical Islam the world is viewed as two parts: House of Islam (Dr al-Islam) and the House of War (Dr al-Harb) (Lewis 2004, Ruthven 2006). Such a view is not acceptable today. In the past, Christendom had Crusade. However, Crusade does not appear in the Bible and Christians no longer participate Crusade in the military sense. In fact now in the West the word Crusade means only moral struggle not war.
The following reforms are optional in the sense they are internal among Muslims. However, they may help political development within Muslim states.
Fifthly, Rule of Law. Fukuyama considers Rule of Law one of three characteristics of modern state. Development of Rule of Law in various ancient civilisations is overviewed in (Fukuyama 2011). Among the four major ancient civilisations, only Christian nations developed Rule of Law. Ruthven gave a detailed account of legal system history in Muslim states (Ruthven 2006). Near the end of its Chapter 4 (Kindle Loc.3273) “In practice Muslim rulers proved unwilling to submit themselves to the Shari'a when it affected their personal interests, and Muslim qadis were powerless to enforce judgements against high or powerful state officials. Thus, while in the realm of personal or family matters the Shari'a could be implemented on the basis of doctrines elaborated by the faqihs, in matters concerning the relation between the ruler and his subjects, land transactions, and even substantial areas of criminal law, power of decision remained with the rulers, who governed by decree or settled disputes through their own mazalim (complaints) courts.” In other words, it still was Rule by Law not Rule of Law.
Sixthly, political systems. One problem with Islam is that the ideal political system Muslims strive for is that of Muhammad or that of first four caliphs. Much have changed, sciences and technologies, industrial revolution, urbanisation, media, etc. The past should not be the future. Muslim intellectuals and political leaders need to work out what political systems they should have and how to implement them.
Seventhly, Muslim scholars and leaders need to reconsider apostasy and heresy in Islam. Current laws and customs on these might contradict freedom of religion and human rights. In addition, reforms need open discussions. Sometimes, unconventional, even wrong ideas could be allowed to air. Various ideas should be encouraged and debated in order to facilitate reforms. Thus, Muslims may consider relax the code of apostasy and heresy.
Conclusion
In this paper, I first consider whether Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Clearly they do not. Based on the requirements of prophet in the Bible, Muhammad cannot be a biblical prophet. One of Jesus' parables implies states agnostic of religions, i.e., secular states. Such secular states should guarantee freedom of religion, separation of church and state and Rule of Law. In such a state, all religions should have equal status. For Muslim states, there could be great obstacles to transform to secular states and major reforms of Islam may be necessary. I consider two categories of reforms of Islam. One category is necessary in order to coexist with other secular states. The other category may facilitate tolerance within Muslim communities and reforms.
Endnotes:
- All Bible verses are from the New International Version (NIV, web site https://www.biblegateway.com/).
- All Quran verses are the YUSUFALI version from Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement, University of Southern California. http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/quran/
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