Islam is a command and control philosophy/religion. Consequently, it is marked by authoritarian command and control structures. It is one of its main characteristics which "does not compute" in the West. Some western apologists for Islam have argued that the authoritarian nature of Islam is not intrinsic to the religion itself, but reflects the more primitive authoritarian cultures in which it began and continue to this day.
The basic thesis here is that various authoritarian cultures and societies have shaped Islam, giving it an authoritarian cast which is not germane to the doctrines and teachings of Muhammad. As evidence for this idea, Western commentators cite thousands of Westernised Muslims who do not hold to the authoritarian structures found is almost all Islamic cultures and nations.
A weakness in this thesis is that as Western Muslims come to take their religion more seriously, authoritarian command and control structures rear up once again. In other words, the laid-back, easy-ozie Western Muslim is regarded as not true to the faith, but is compromised. As soon as he is "converted" and becomes a strict Muslim, taking the classical teachings of the faith seriously, he slots right into the prevailing Islamic authoritarian world view.
Christianity is not a command and control philosophy or religion.
How come? Both religions believe in a deity that is all powerful, all commanding, all determining. But the deity of Islam, Allah, is monistic. The God of the Scriptures reveals Himself to be trinitarian. The difference and consequences are fundamental. It is essential that Christians understand the differences.
In the Christian doctrine of God, there is only One God, in three Persons. One consequence of this is that in all the work and actions of God, the one and the many are equally ultimate. The many (the Persons of the Godhead) are not subordinated to the Oneness of God. While God is One and His Will is One, it also is the one will of unanimity amongst the three persons of the Godhead. God the Father agrees with the Son and with the Spirit, and the Spirit with the Father and the Son, and so forth. They consult, they consent, they agree together in unity and unanimity.
God's creation reflects the equal ultimacy of the One and the Many. There is one God, but many institutions and authorities reflecting His will and command. In the realised and consummated Kingdom, all the institutions and authorities will agree together in unity and harmony. The authority of all creatures is limited, not just because men and angels are finite, but because God has commanded many servants, each of whom has authority from God to carry out their designated duties and tasks. No man can countermand or contradict what God has established.
This works out in wonderful and distinct ways within Christian institutions as the Holy Spirit calls them into being and imbues them with His presence and saving grace. Consider relationships in the the Church, for example.
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped . . . (Philippians, 2: 1-6).Contrast that with the spirit of Islam where pride is considered a matter of virtue and taking offence a holy duty. Consequently intra-Muslim institutions and nations are marked with mutual hatred, violence, and a lust for power.
Further, consider the following with respect of not judging or despising others in the Church of Jesus Chrsit with whom you may differ:
As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel with his opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgement on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (Romans 14: 1-4).Consider, further, the radically different nature of authority and control/command in the Kingdom of God.
But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20: 25-27).Extending this from within institutions to its application across institutions, we are taught that in the creation the Family, the Church, and the State are equally ultimate. Each has its sphere of duty and responsibility to God and cannot command the other spheres and authorities beyond its own God-given authority. God establishes His rule in the Church through His officers; consequently the secular Prime Minister and the Supreme Court justice can only sit in the church as members in the pew, not as officers or rulers. They must remain subject to the lawful authorities God has ordained in the Church for the Church. On the other hand, the Church elder or the Church councils cannot act as if they held authority in and over the civil and criminal law courts and the administration of justice and the punishment of evil doers. In these spheres, the elder is a subject, not a ruler.
Islam has none of this in doctrine; its praxis suffers accordingly. There is only the monistic will of Allah, which works itself through command and control structures of society. There is no church in Islam; consequently, there is no church and state separation, with equal, but separate spheres and powers. The ruler, the caliph, is totalitarian in the very nature of the position. He is Allah's commander. What he says goes, and none can stay his hand, or refuse him, or deny him without facing his judicial wrath. In marriage, the man is an ultimate authority, subject only to the state. The woman is inferior in being, not a co-equal, as the the Persons in the Godhead are equal.
In summary, authority in the Christian faith is a mutual submission of the willing to one another in love and service, even as God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit have eternally served and loved one another in the Godhead. In Islam the essence of authority is qualitatively different. It is a command and control system which reflects the power of the One:
One Ring to rule them all
One Ring to find them
One Ring to bring them all
And in the darkness bind them.
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