Critiquing Islam

Although a long time fan of author Don Richardson, I was disappointed with his latest book, Secrets of the Koran. It was not his conclusion that the militant version of Islam is the most consistent with the text of the Koran and the life of Muhammad, a perspective I still wrestle with, but rather the way in which he dismissed any positive result the religion of Islam might effect personally or in the world. Surely there must be something praiseworthy among the five pillar’s admonition to care for the poor. If the entire religious tradition of millions is simply dismissed as a sham - however justly deserved critiques might be, one will needlessly alienate many people. A more effective approach in critiquing any religious tradition, I find, starts with embracing the devotion and ethical imperatives embodied in a particular faith before suggesting points of inconsistency or insufficiency.
One of Richardson’s observations about Islam’s sacred text that I did find fascinating particularly in light of the timely reflection on the text of our country’s declaration of independence is the fact that the Koran has no concept of humans having been created in the image of God. When presented with this doctrine, many Muslims respond that this idea would be insulting to God. Richardson then implies that this perspective is somehow responsible for the lack of human rights accorded to individuals in Muslim countries as well as the resistance to democracy. Without a high view of human beings the trust and value required of them by democracy’s principles is misplaced. The highest value of a Muslim’s faith is submission to God a value that can comfortably slip into sanctioned oppression by the powerful without the equal emphasis on an individual’s worth.