Islam, Theocracy, and Tyranny

In Islam, is there despotism or theocracy as the media assert?

Some people, just as they can use everything for evil, can exploit Islam and use religion for despotic rule. But this doesn't mean that Islam has a despotic side. I think such a claim is due to not comprehending this matter correctly. Islam has nothing to do with theocracy, which is, in one respect, a system of government put forth by the church fathers' interpretation. In Islam there is no church and no church fathers. In the meaning as Westerners understand it, the Office of Religious Affairs has no authority to determine laws for the community.

At this point, fundamentalism always appears...

In the words of Ziya Pasha: "There was no such thing before, this is a new rumor." Fundamentalism means fanatical and dogmatic adherence to a belief. As a movement, it appeared in America in the first quarter of the twentieth century. It cannot be denied that it has influenced several American presidents. It has nothing to do with Islam, even though some people ascribe the Iranian and Saudi movements to fundamentalism and try and blacken Islam's name. It is a mistake to consider Islam as fundamentalism or Muslims as fundamentalists. The matter is locked into conceptual confusion. First this has to be clarified. August 13-23, 1995

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