Although I have no moral problem with classifying the ideology of Islam as being evil, that doesn’t mean that I classify all individual Muslims the same way. My studies of Islam have brought me to the conclusion that there are a vast number of Muslims who are oppressed by Islam. Some of them are oppressed into acquiesence with violent religious extremism, some are oppressed into turning a blind eye to misogyny and some fear for their very lives for speaking out about some of the moral deficiencies of Islam.
One such moderate and reformist Muslim who is currently under a fatwa from more Orthodox Muslim scholars is Paigham Mustafa. His story is currently being featured in the Scottish Sunday Herald and his tale should shock anyone who believes in the sort of religious freedom that has grown organically over many centuries in the United Kingdom.
Mr Mustafa has been under so much threat from Orthodox Islamic thinkers and those who follow such thinkers, that he had had to be placed under police protection. Does not this tell us a lot about Orthodox Islam and its theological and cultural attitude to heterodox Muslims? I think it does.
I’d strongly advise readers of this blog to click the link below and read the article by Jody Harrison of the Scottish Sunday Herald. It is an eyeopener as to the stresses, strains and impediments that Islamic reformists in the United Kingdom face.
