ISIS Says NO to Political Islamwww.secularislam.org ISIS is happy to endorse the campaign against Political Islam, since it accords well with our principle of separation of religion and state. In modern, multifaith societies the only way to ensure peace and harmony between the different communities, and to guarantee the equal rights of all citizens - men and women, believers and nonbelievers, followers of the majority religion and followers of all the minority faiths – is to return religion to the personal sphere, where everyone is free to practice their religion in their own fashion, and where religion can continue to give meaning to the lives of millions of people. We also believe that the combination of religion and politics leads inevitably to the Inquisition, where a dominant faith tries to force its own narrow interpretation of the Holy Scriptures on all, both followers and nonfollowers. Torture in the name of orthodoxy clearly violates all the tenets of a civilized and democratic society, above all the freedom of conscience. ISIS defends freedom of expression, freedom of thought and belief, freedom of intellectual and scientific inquiry, freedom of conscience and religion – including the freedom to change one’s religion or belief - and freedom from religion: the freedom not to believe in any deity. These freedoms are best defended by erecting a firm wall of separation between religion and state. We are also committed to defending the rights of all citizens, including their right to worship whatever faith or creed they choose, and in whatever manner they wish. Unfortunately, Political Islam tries to legislate for and regulate the religious, social and political life of mankind in all its aspects, but above all the life of its followers without qualification. Thus the daily life of the believer and the Islamic community is controlled down to the minutest detail in a way that is totally incompatible with freedom of conscience and thought. The first victims of Political Islam are Muslims, the ordinary, decent Muslims who wish to be left alone to practice their faith in privacy, discretion and decorum. Life in contemporary, industrialized - and increasingly urbanized - society is complex. It is so complex that every state must devote considerable energy, time, money and human resources to solving the economic, social, political and human problems that seem to multiply year by year. In order to deal with these problems we have to see them as economic, social or political problems, and not always as religious problems. The Holy Scriptures, written centuries ago, can of course continue to guide us morally, but they cannot help us resolve the countless social and economic conflicts of trade and commerce, employer and employee, banks and industries, transport, communications and technology that arise today. These conflicts require democratic, man-made laws and regulations and an effective wall of separation between religion and state - a wall of separation that Political Islam is constantly seeking to destroy.
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