That argument doesn't relate to the point I'm making at all. I'm asking for reason to believe that the radicalism of Islam in the Middle East is the product of Islam, or if it is a product of the Middle East. Judging by the fact that Muslims in the US are moving left and in the near future will have >50% of its members in support of same-sex marriage, I think that this should be something that is strongly established, not merely assumed.
We have to remember that Christians were forced to the left, it's not like they happily came along.
Okay, I get what you're saying now. But asking whether it's a product of Islam or a product of the Middle East seems backwards to me, as the Middle East has been so deeply shaped by Islam. So it's a chicken or the egg kinda thing.
But is Islam inherently more prone to radicalism than Christianity? Maybe. I'm getting to a point where I'm not comfortable in my knowledge of Islam to debate this, but from what I've understood, there's no real separation of state and religion in Islam. Jesus' teachings are more about personal morality than law. There's passages like "Render unto Caesar what it Caesar's", establishing that personal faith and the state are different. This, to my knowledge, does not exist in the Koran. The Koran sets up laws for an Islamic caliphate, including laws about taxes and inheritance and so on. Of course it can be interpreted as a more personal thing, but the text is about establishing a religious state.
I admit I'm on shaky ground here. If someone knows more about Islam and thinks I'm totally off-base, please correct me.
The thing is, when we currently think of a "radicalised Christian", we think of abortion clinic bombers and crazy preachers. But if the definition of a radicalised Christian is someone who lives and breathes the teachings of Christ, I'd argue it describes someone like
Francis of Assisi.
Someone who reads the New Testament and is "radicalised" will sell their belongings, turn the other cheek, render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and
pray in private. If they truly take the text seriously, that is what they should do. There is no text in the New Testament urging believers to form a "Christian state". Someone who reads the Koran and takes it seriously will want to live in a caliphate where thieves have their hands cut off, because that's what the text says.
So if radicalism is defined as wanting to have a religious state, yes, I'd say the radicalism of Islam in the ME is the product of Islam.