The mu'tazila were a rationalist school of theologians of the ninth century
who developed a theology of reason as a means of knowing God, and of
justice
as binding God to act according to his nature.They regarded men as endowed
with free will and responsible for their actions. Their thought led to a
flouri****ng of science and a relaxation of relations with non-Muslims.
However, their opponents, the Ash'arites, got the upper hand and formed
what
became orthodox Muslim theology. Acording to the Ash'arites men cannot
know
God by reason but must simply obey Him and accept his arbitrary
omnipotence
and will. The Koran has existed from eternity (this implies Divine
duality)
and as such is an object of wor****p and unquestioned obedience rather than
reasoned interpretation.
All this encourages forms of intellectual and political totalitarianism.
The suppression of reason and individual freedom is characteristic of
Islam
that opposes freedom of thought and democracy. The Ash'arite world view
sees
the will to power (cf Nazism) as the only absolute because that is what
God
is. The individual can only surrender unconditionally to God's will,
including a tyrannical political system akin to modern Fascism. This
inevitably leads to violence as the solution to all problems. Islamism is
dominated by this kind of thinking, which derives not only from
traditional
Islam but from Western Fascist and communist ideology. The evil pagan
world
system must be entirely destroyed so that pure Islam and the caliphate can
be restored on its ruins.
It is evident that the war against Islamism must be won on the
intellectual
plane as well as physically; this requires a radical reform of Islam.
