13th August:

One of the things that separates Islam from most other world religions is the fact that Muslims have an implied duty to work towards making the rest of the world Muslim too. Of course, moderate Muslims are quick to point out that this should never involve violence of any kind, the desire for peace far out-weighing any duty to convert non-Muslims to the faith. However, the fact remains that Islam, on paper anyway, has a clearly articulated political agenda. And this is perhaps why so many people fear it.

A conference and rally in Indonesia last weekend, attended by some 100,000 people, called for the re-establishment of a 'caliphate' (a single unified Muslim state) across the Muslim world. The vast majority of attendees were Indonesian women, and many of the speakers due to appear at the rally cancelled at the last minute over security concerns, but it's still an impressive turn-out. Critics were, predictably, quick to suggest that the Indonesian group which had organised the event was ideologically aligned with jihadist extremists. But how concerned should secular societies in the West be at this mass demonstration, no matter how fringe?

The late 11th Century saw the beginning of The Crusades - the 200 year-long attempt by Christian armies to liberate Jerusalem and the 'Holy Land' from Muslim rule. Given that Islam was founded in the 7th Century, some commentators have suggested that the 21st Century is the pertient historical time for a new counter-Crusade, as Muslims all over the world seek unity, political power and a universal adoption of the laws of God as set out in the Koran in preference to laws designed by man.

The same commentators also point out the Islamic faith's seemingly uneasy relationship in certain countries with democracy, human rights and the equality of the sexes, and the question is therefore an intriguing one: just how can a religion with an ideological political agenda operate comfortably within the realms of a secular and democratic society?