SarathW wrote:Islam is a political ideology like capitalism and communism?
Capitalism and communism appear to be economic ideologies, which affect politics. Both appear to be forms of economic dictatorship because, when capitalism is unregulated, it leads to monopoly or oligarchy.
'Capitalism' is not necessarily 'free enterprise' or 'fair trade' or 'democracy'. The common correlation between capitalism & democracy I think is erroneous. The very formation of capitalism was from feudal dictatorship. That billionaires are now comprising of the US govt (rather than appointing puppets or proxies, such as Obama) shows how far the US is moving in the direction of economic dictatorship ('plutocracy'); where a president personally decides, on a whim of opinion based on tears from his daughter & the bliss of chocolate cake, to give an order to fire 59 missiles into another country. But capitalism and communism are not 100% political ideologies because they have no rules about crime & punishment in respect to non-economic human behaviour.
Islam is a political ideology because its tenants are about ruling a nation or society, including having laws about crime & punishment, the same as any other nation. All nations have legal systems with punishments for murder, theft, defamation, drug taking & drug trafficking and most used to have punishments for adultery, including fault in divorce. Buddhism only recommends certain behaviours and has no recommendations for punishment and no aspirations for national sovereignty. Therefore, Buddhism is not inherently a political system (even though its value can influence a political system).
I would speculate the original Muslims believed they were bringing a better civilisation to the world; which for many small groups was actually the reality (as has been posted by others on this thread). This is similar to the USA which claims to want to liberate nations (but actually destroys nations).
Buddha Vacana wrote:Are you suggesting that Malays who wish to stop being Muslims should move to some other country so as to maintain some (impossible) religious homogeneity in Malaysia?
Wasn't it your good self that recently wrote elsewhere that you & others appreciate a core & stable culture? I think it is religious or moral values (rather than race or superficial identity group) that historically create a stable culture. For example, when Trump won the election & the left-wing were rioting shows these people do not believe in democracy. They believe in a different culture. When I have travelled in Muslim cultures, I ensure I dress & behave in ways that are suitable to that culture. Generally, interest in Christianity (generally Protestant) by a Muslim is a sign of less moral values; similar to Christians who are interested in Western (liberal) Buddhism. Once core & universal morals break-down, societies break down. For example, when Buddhists lament the decline of Buddhism in Thailand or Sri Lanka, this is usually due to the introduction of new cultures (such Western corporate liberalism). At least this is how a conservative would view things.