Sharia law ... a proper governmental system?

[Belgian Pie]

That's a good one ... never thought about it that way ... sharia law, a good governmental system ...

It's not only about chopping off hands and legs, stoning people to dead ... but that's the part that's a little over the top and I can't see it as a 'proper' governmental system.

[Chris]

Anytime religion mixes with politics, the result is diminished freedom.

[Jaboney]

...and a diminished religion.

[SuchAFob]

Anytime religion mixes with politics, the result is diminished freedom.

Could you please go explain this to my government?

[urodacus]

proper for the middle ages. great unless you are a woman or some other minority. black and white view of the world that entrenches feudalism and restricts moral choice to the imam's interpretation of a supposedly divine handbook. and have you everr read any of the prohibitions in the koran? man, that thing is evil.

religion is the domain of your brain and your beliefs, not mine. please don't let your poisoned thoughts restrict my freedom to think what I want.

[Screaming Jesus]

That's because you are a hellbound fool with no respect for the theocratic traditions that make our people great.

[redandy]

Define what you mean by "mixing" please. I ask because sometimes it seems that some of the more brilliant political movements --- abolitionists, civil rights,tax benefits for individual and corporate charity, to name a few, were at least in part motivated by religious beliefs.

[Tyc00n]

That's because you are a hellbound fool with no respect for the theocratic traditions that make our people great.

When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said "Let us pray." We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.

[Jaboney]

Define what you mean by "mixing" please. I ask because sometimes it seems that some of the more brilliant political movements --- abolitionists, civil rights,tax benefits for individual and corporate charity, to name a few, were at least in part motivated by religious beliefs.

Absolutely; religion does much political good. The problem comes when it's not religious motivation or moral inspiration, but over zealous religious enthusiasm that's doing the political work.

Mixing corrupts both politics and religion. Obama gave a great speech on this not so long ago:

For one, they need to understand the critical role that the separation of church and state has played in preserving not only our democracy, but the robustness of our religious practice. That during our founding, it was not the atheists or the civil libertarians who were the most effective champions of this separation; it was the persecuted religious minorities, Baptists like John Leland, who were most concerned that any state-sponsored religion might hinder their ability to practice their faith.
[...]
This brings me to my second point. Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God's will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.

This may be difficult for those who believe in the inerrancy of the Bible, as many evangelicals do. But in a pluralistic democracy, we have no choice. Politics depends on our ability to persuade each other of common aims based on a common reality. It involves the compromise, the art of the possible. At some fundamental level, religion does not allow for compromise. It insists on the impossible. If God has spoken, then followers are expected to live up to God's edicts, regardless of the consequences. To base one's life on such uncompromising commitments may be sublime; to base our policy making on such commitments would be a dangerous thing.

[Gao Bohan]

and have you everr read any of the prohibitions in the koran? man, that thing is evil.

Yes it is. And before you say anything Jaboney, the Old Testament/Jewish Bible is too.