Nope.. not at all..
being a good Muslim means you follow the basic tenets..
1. Beleif in God and Mohammad as the last messenger of god.
prayers 5 times a day, fasting in ramadan, give alms(zakat).. and if possible.. the hajj pilgrimage once in your life.
Thats the basics.. that qualifies you as a on par Muslim.. but..
to get to the good grade.. all you need to do... are promote and practice good deeds..
which can range from helping an old lady cross the street.. or teach people traffic laws...
In other words.. a good Muslim is one who is able to fulfill his basic tenets.. 95% of the time. ..be a humanitarian.
Now.. that a single muslim.
what about a collective majority of Muslims..
say one settled in a despots society.. like the ex soviet republics.
In that case.. keep your religion intact.. keep the values alive. as those people did by teaching the Quran in closets..
Now is establishing an Islamic state compulsory..
No.. not unless you as a collective group.. make up a majority..
even in that case.. It is foremost to ensure the minorites are protected.
the Islamic state of 1500 years ago..
Is NOT applicable as it is today.
But that is a different debate.
If there is a Muslim living in Israel..
Its his compulsion to respect the laws of the state..
if he sees injustice being done.. speak against it.. but under the laws of that state.
While in that state.. if the state's laws permit him to request him being tried under sharia.. then prefer those.. but if they dont.. accept those laws..and pray for justice.
In that state.. all those citizens of the state are your fellows..and you shall take them as such.
You dont have to have the Chrismas rum pudding.. but there is no harm in attending the party..
The above I stated for one reason..
You are needed to seek the Islamic state for a reason..
the laws that make an Islamic state(Pakistan is not one, neither is Saudi arabia..or any of those that use that prefix)..are those laws deemed just and exact by god. Yet they are open to interpretation.. if a witness for a case in the 5th century was human..a sample of dna verified by a forensics expert can be a witness today.
But the basic layout of those laws remains unchanged.
I cant believe that the requirement in a law that if you own a piece of land.. and you arent growing anything from it.. or using it for the benefit of anyone.. should be taken from you and given to somebody who can grow food from it.. or find water.. and help others.
What could be more humanitarian than that.
To a Muslim.. these are the best laws for human beings and socity to follow..
but to promote them by force is the last resort..the first and foremost duty is to show their advantages..and their just nature.
Unfortunately ... our current clergy..and the folks you see burning flags.. and protesting.. like to present a twisted version of the Islamic ideals and state..with "god forbid".. barabaric ideals.. and promoting god as vengeful..instead of promoting his mercy.
I m taking away the pir title from you Santro...
(jus kidding)
There are some flaws in your argument which require a detailed discussion... Dont want to go off topic here but I think Chogy's question is a good one which would require indepth discussion and exchange of ideas... Why not setup a new thread with Chogy's question and your answer and we can carry on from there?? I ll only deal with the obligation of having an Islamic state...
if I may add a point that is often overlooked by our people (believe me I did not understand it myself at one point) is that the spread of Islam essentially is due to the companions of the Prophet saw... when they reached a consensus on an issue, it becomes the strongest daleel (evidence) for legislation in Islam... This principle is so important that without it the whole of Islam would fall apart... I ll give you just one example... Why do we Muslims believe the Quran that we have is the same Quran that was revealed to the Prophet saw... It is because there is consensus of Sahabah RA on the Usmani Mushaf (the copy of Quran that was prepared by the third Caliph Uthman RA)... if this foundation is shaken then there is nothing left in Islam... infact it is one of the definitions of the Quran... a copy of the Uthmani Mushaf!!! interestingly this is unknown to many Muslims today!!!
So by this same principle if you look for other things that the companions agreed upon with absolute consensus on the issue, having an Ameer (Caliph) is one of them (they differed over the selection of the Ameer so there is no difference on this issue with the Shia, they wanted Imam Ali as Caliph which is perfectly legit) and infact they gave this matter such importance that they delayed the burial of the Prophet saw for three days until a Caliph was chosen... we all know that burying the dead is a fard upon the Muslim community... but here we had the companions delaying it for three days and not engaging in this fard until they selected an Ameer... (which one is the more important fard then...
think)
This is just the principle behind the issue... There is more explanation to it which would clarify the matter... and when you go into the details of Islam then there is absolutely no way that you can implement its economics, social, political and judicial systems without referring it to the texts and Ahkam e Sultaniya... The bare minimum are always applicable and one remains a Muslim if he makes sure he keeps the pillers... but you then do not have Islam (you have a Mullah's Islam however)... It is not Islam as an ideology rather it becomes like any other religion...
So Chogy, you dont have a Buddhist state because Buddhism has absolutely no guidance as to how to set up a state and run its politics/economics and social systems... hope that makes it clear...
I do agree with Santro that the justice of Islam should be presented to the people... where I would disagree with is to make it an academic pastime and not engage politically to actually implement that justice... Santro's example about the land that is unused is of such importance that if properly applied, Pakistan's agri output can double (as there is half of the cultivatable land not being cultivate because of Feudalism/Capitalism)... We can keep talking about it but unless it is applied no one will benefit from this rule... Its implementation (along with a holistic implementation of all other rules is what the Islamic State is)... and if the Prophet saw is any role model... then he bled for the cause of making Islam dominant and supreme...
