Islam is far more liberal and egalitarian than most people think it is, which is one reason why I don't accept that religion either. Islam is less 'based' than any non-Leftist sect of Christianity on a wide variety of issues.
Abortion is the first that comes to mind: most forms of Islam are quite permissive on abortion so long as it is done before a certain time after conception. This is because Allah did not ensoul the body until that certain time period, and so a fetus is not regarded as a living thing until that time; ergo, it is not murder. I say 'certain time' because the specifics are disputed by Muslim authority figures. Indeed, some forms of Islam believe that abortion is permissible up until four months after conception.
This is remarkably liberal by all but the ultra-permissive late-modern standards which seem to be aiming at the very least to incrementally push for abortion on demand right up until birth. Whether abortion ends there or whether postnatal 'abortions' begin to be seriously argued for in future remains to be seen.
Additionally, there is at least one select circumstance where abortion is usually considered permissible up till birth, namely in the threat of the mother's life. To be fair, most other usual exceptions, such as in the case of rape or incest or deformity, do not permit abortion.
By contrast, proper Catholicism from the times before hegemonic liberalism destroyed it in all but name did not approve of abortion under any circumstances whatsoever.
I think that many Westerners get the impression that Islam is what would happen if a bunch of brown fascists, reactionaries and other types that the supposedly enlightened late-modern people strongly tend to hate got together and formed a Far-Right ideology with a God at the head of it. But most of Islam isn't like that at all, even though it is true that more Right-wing Islamic groups have popped up to challenge the more dominant liberal/egalitarian Islam all throughout its history.
Islam is far more liberal and egalitarian than most people think it is, which is one reason why I don't accept that religion either. Islam is less 'based' than any non-Leftist sect of Christianity on a wide variety of issues.
Abortion is the first that comes to mind: most forms of Islam are quite permissive on abortion so long as it is done before a certain time after conception. This is because Allah did not ensoul the body until that certain time period, and so a fetus is not regarded as a living thing until that time; ergo, it is not murder. I say 'certain time' because the specifics are disputed by Muslim authority figures. Indeed, some forms of Islam believe that abortion is permissible up until four months after conception.
This is remarkably liberal by all but the ultra-permissive late-modern standards which seem to be aiming at the very least to incrementally push for abortion on demand right up until birth. Whether abortion ends there or whether postnatal 'abortions' begin to be seriously argued for in future remains to be seen.
Additionally, there is at least one select circumstance where abortion is usually considered permissible up till birth, namely in the threat of the mother's life. To be fair, most other usual exceptions, such as in the case of rape or incest or deformity, do not permit abortion.
By contrast, proper Catholicism from the times before hegemonic liberalism destroyed it in all but name did not approve of abortion under any circumstances whatsoever.
I think that many Westerners get the impression that Islam is what would happen if a bunch of brown fascists, reactionaries and other types that the supposedly enlightened late-modern people strongly tend to hate got together and formed a Far-Right ideology with a God at the head of it. But most of Islam isn't like that at all, even though it is true that more Right-wing Islamic groups have popped up to challenge the more dominant liberal/egalitarian Islam all throughout its history.