[GOTFIVEONIT]

secularism is a joke. even in India, secularism has done nothing to offer freedom of religion. go ask the muslims of gujarat how free they are to practice Islam. go ask the Muslims in bombay how free they are while living under the thumb of bal thackery's goons. even in Hyderabad our own mosque, one of the biggest mosques in India was bombed.

And secularism in Muslim countries itself is a joke. half the countries in the middle east are secular governments. they are nothing more than military run governments who abuse thier people while robbing them blind.

secularism is no garuntee to freedom of religion or freedom of worship.

If anything, I admire the AK party in Turkey, as i see them as a true and good example for other Islamic political parties throughout the Muslim world to emulate.

Im no fan of fundamentalists like Jamaat Islami in Pakistan, or other parties and groups similar to them, but the AK party is a very good example for these parties in other muslim countries to follow. instead of condemning them we should be praising them.

Just because Abdullah Gul's wife wears a hijab doesnt mean that they are going to start chopping people's hands off.

If secularism means athiesm then we shouldnt support it at all. Why are hijab's banned from Government property in Turkey? What's wrong if Mosques recieve public funds for thier maintainence and use? What's wrong if Islam is taught in publically funded schools in Muslim lands? What's wrong if the Government subsidizes Haj? Whats wrong if the Government uses the Islamic divorce code in courts, versus the secular codes? Whats wrong if the government deducts the zakat from people's paychecks?

now the last one can be arguable, since it is in the end a choice, meaning you cant be forced to do it, you have to choose to want to pay the zakat - or answer to your maker in the afterlife.

But that's where secularism gets it wrong. secularism has brought nothing but socialistic ideas making countries dwell even deeper in poverty. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and his pakistan people's party is a prime example of this and his version of 'islamic socialism'.