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Discussion » Questions » Religion and Spirituality » If Islam became the dominant religion in Britain, would Britain become an Islamic nation?

If Islam became the dominant religion in Britain, would Britain become an Islamic nation?

Posted - April 23, 2017

Responses


  • 2219
    Britain would probably split up first 
      April 23, 2017 1:19 PM MDT
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  • 1305
    Thanks for answering, what do you mean by split up?
      April 23, 2017 1:24 PM MDT
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  • 2219
    Scotland and Northern Ireland would probably vote for independence for starters. 
      April 23, 2017 1:43 PM MDT
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  • 3191
    That would simply make it a Muslim-majority state.  Technically, the state religion would have to be changed to make it an "Islamic state".  That, in and of itself, would not make it a theocracy, though, as Sharia would have to be adopted for that.  Then again, with a Muslim majority, it could become a de facto Islamic state/theocracy, even without the formal changes.
      April 23, 2017 1:33 PM MDT
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  • 1305
    Thanks for answering Bozette
      April 23, 2017 1:50 PM MDT
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  • Sharia courts already operate in Britain for divorce, child custody and inheritance matters even though Sharia law goes against British law.  All it takes is for the Muslims to outnumber the native British people, then when voting they would vote in Muslim candidates and eventually it would become an Islamic country with Islamic government.  We already have a Muslim Mayor in London who has banned billboards with bikini clad girls.  A taste of things to come!
      April 23, 2017 9:42 PM MDT
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  • 3191
    I believe I stated above that even without formal changes it could become a de facto Islamic state were there a Muslim majority.

    I cannot speak to what is going on there regarding Sharia courts.  I found this, which says that used as arbitration in family matters does not supercede your laws.  How much oversight there is, though, I do not know.

    https://fullfact.org/law/uks-sharia-courts/  

    I do know that much disinformation is spread regarding Muslims, as I live near what is, or at least used to be, the largest concentration of Muslims in North America.  It is frequently called "Dearbornistan" on the internet, and I have been informed of how the city is a "no-go zone" by people who never stepped foot in my state, or even my country for some, but that is blatantly false.  On the other hand, doctors in Detroit (Dearborn borders Detroit) are facing the first ever federal charges for genital mutilation.

    https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2017/04/22/health/detroit-genital-mutilation-charges/index.html

    Religious arbitration is not unique to Sharia or Muslims, however.  It is and has long been used here.  It does not override our laws, but our courts have upheld its use and determinations.  There is arbitration available for Catholics, other Christians, Jews, and even Scientologists.  It is increasingly being used for contract matters as well, between businesses and consumers, as well as employers and employees.

    https://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/business/dealbook/in-religious-arbitration-scripture-is-the-rule-of-law.html

    http://www.pewforum.org/2013/04/08/applying-gods-law-religious-courts-and-mediation-in-the-us/ This post was edited by Bozette at May 2, 2017 9:10 AM MDT
      April 23, 2017 11:26 PM MDT
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  • 3719
    A chilling thought. Britain is nominally Christian, but secular in practice.

    The Muslims form only a very small part of the total population, and most are perfectly content to live alongside every one else; but there among them the sort of bigots every religion has, who want to stop the world and get off, dragging everyone else off with them.
      April 27, 2017 6:10 PM MDT
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  • 1393
    good reasonable answer except for the puzzling opener, "A chilling thought." 
      May 2, 2017 9:13 AM MDT
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  • 1393

    If Islam became the dominant religion in Britain, would Britain become an Islamic nation?

    ================================================================

    With Muslims forming no more than a mere 5% of the population Islam is already the second biggest religion in Britain.

    Your question is interesting because it makes one wonder what makes a nation Islamic. Which nation is more Islamic, one that upholds Islamic values of enlightenment, social justice and tolerance, for example, or one that has a vast Muslim majority but no Islamic values?

      May 2, 2017 9:30 AM MDT
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  • 3719

    "Chilling thought"... that the nation would be ruled by the sort of band of selfish, cruel tyrants we see in parts of the Arabic world, where all the religious, cultural, social and political freedoms we take for granted are swept away by a neo-Nazi regime pretending to speak for God.

    Essentially then, the second category you describe!

    This post was edited by Durdle at May 2, 2017 9:39 AM MDT
      May 2, 2017 9:37 AM MDT
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  • 1393
    I expect it is these very religious, cultural, social and political freedoms we take for granted which have lead some to the tolerance of sweeping statements like ""Chilling thought"... that the nation would be ruled by the sort of band of selfish, cruel tyrants we see in parts of the Arabic world, where all the religious, cultural, social and political freedoms we take for granted are swept away by a neo-Nazi regime pretending to speak for God."

    oh the irony
      May 2, 2017 3:30 PM MDT
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  • 3719
    You didn't need to quote the entire comment but why do you regard it as "sweeping" and ironic?

    I don't blame Islam itself. That's only a religion, and like Christianity if you don't believe in it, it does not mean anything to you. I am sure most British Muslims have no desire to turn the country into a rigid theocracy like Saudi Arabia, still less a nasty regime like that of the Taliban; though there are a few hot-heads among them who have stated such a desire.

    Theocracies work in their own way in countries where an extreme version of a single religious sect is the predominant faith for most of its inhabitants, but just try stepping out of line by changing to a different sect or religion, and see where that gets you. The difficulty that religious zealots have is accepting that whilst they may wish to live in a particular and worship their own god in a particular way, those around them may not want that at all.  

    One point about Islam is that it has no central moderator equivalent to, say, the Vatican, to give overall guidance on doctrine and reign in the zealots.


      May 2, 2017 3:48 PM MDT
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  • 1393
    Quite scathing Durdle, but a much more considered and understandable post nevertheless.

    The irony in the main answer is your espousing of enlightened values and then expressing dislike and intolerance of a group of people.

    Sweeping generalisations? There is a contender in your latest post too, in "a nasty regime like that of the Taliban" Are all aspects of it nasty?

    As someone who values "religious, cultural, social and political freedoms" I thought you would have welcomed and celebrated the fact that "One point about Islam is that it has no central moderator [authority] equivalent to, say, the Vatican"




      May 2, 2017 5:24 PM MDT
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  • 3719
    used a sthe excuse,Thankyou Clurt.

    The people for whom I expressed dislike are those who do not want to be tolerant, who want their way and their alone foisted onto the rest of us. If they wish to lead the life of the extreme ascete, let'em, but I don't want a society run by them, for them, forcing me to be one of them. I thought this was clear in my first post!

    I admit not all the individual members of the Taliban are ruthless thugs. Some simply wanted Afghanistan to be run by Afghans and saw the Western forces as just as invasive as the Soviet Union had been. Nevertheless, in power they were a hard-line dictatorship financing itself largely through drug-dealing; they despised women and hated the notion of educating women; and they could also be extraordinarily petty, banning music and all manner of popular pastimes on the spurious excuse of "non-Islamic". I don't know what that means, and I doubt they do.

    We have seen attempts in the UK by Muslim school governors to prevent children learning literature and music, or playing chess, for the same meaningless reason. Oh - and attempts by American commercial creationists with similar mind-sets to muscle in on British independent schools to further their own dark aims. 

    Ironically, the Afghan poppy farmers are caught now between the opium-selling Taliban and the drugs-hating followers of Al Quaeda and ISIS.  

    When you analyse the essential drives and means of groups of similar religious and political mentality to the Taliban, you realise that only the core belief used as the excuse differs. The basic attitude is the same, whether ISIS, Taliban, Nazi, Khmer Rouge or Soviet Union.  

    I see little real dictatorship from the modern Vatican. I am not blind to its faults, but it does not try to suppress other religions or sects, or kill apostates (it did in Mediaeval times, but later grew up). I do not agree with some of its less libertarian doctrines and its misogyny; and it will be long time before it throws off its terrible reputation. However, it does act as a unifying management, and it is that which in our times, stops it being taken over by blind bigotry.
      May 2, 2017 6:12 PM MDT
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