Similarities Between Islam and Communism

When many people think of Islam they tend to believe that which they have been told endlessly by politicians, journalists, academics, and other sources of presumed authority that Islam is simply a religion that, like most religions we know, values peace and shares many of our values in the West. Nothing could be further from the truth. If I was pressed to define Islam in terms that many in the West are far more familiar with, I would equate it with Communism with the difference being instead of the superiority of the State, the Laws of the State, and the Party Leaders being the final authority in Communism, Islam replaces the State with Allah, the State Laws with the Koran and the Hadith, and the Party Leaders with the Imams.

Further investigation leads to numerous other similarities. In Communism one is expected to fully surrender themselves to the dictates of the State while Islam demands on surrendering themselves to Allah and the defined laws attributed to Allah by Muhammad. Communism grants to the Party Leaders the power to define the desires and rules of the State while Islam gives the power to issue religious edicts known a Fatwas to the Imams. In addition, the Imams also have the power to choose which verses of the Koran, as many are contradictory, the faithful must follow and also interpret the Hadiths and define the actions attributed to Muhammad which are to be imitated by true followers of Islam.

Communism fully expected that their form of governance was superior and would inevitably spread throughout the world, even if it needed a little help by conquest when any resisted the march of Communism. Communists defined peace as the lack of opposition thus peace could only be attained once everyone had surrendered and fallen under the control of the World-Wide Communist State. Islam believes it is the final and ultimate religion and fully defines what one must obey to lead a perfect life. Islamic leaders and many of their followers believe that not only is Islam the only true path, but that Islam must be spread, even by the sword, until every single person has surrendered to Allah and follows the edicts of the Imams. Islam divides the world into two states, the World of Islam (Dar al-Islam) and the World of War (Dar al-Harb). In Islam peace is defined as the point at which the entire population of the world follows Islam and fully surrenders to Allah and Islam.

Communism often used propaganda and would intentionally misrepresent production in order to guarantee that every quota set was met or exceeded. Misrepresenting and outright falsehoods would be used by Communist countries, especially in negotiations with non-Communist nations and would break treaties whenever it served their purposes. In Islam, all these same attributes are referred to as Taqiyya. In simple English one would define Taqiyya as lying. In a political and more general sense Taqiyya would be considered as propaganda, misrepresentation, or misleading all in an effort to further the aims of Islam, especially in order to gain influence or territories. Further, should one reach a treaty of peace with an Islamic Country, they would refer to the negotiation not to be an actual peace treaty but rather a Hudna. A Hudna is, in truth, a truce negotiated not to exceed ten years and may be broken at any point where the Muslim side feels it then has gained military advantage and will defeat their foe. A Hudna is the only allowance in Islam to be negotiated between Islamic entities and any non-Islamic entities. The only real peace in Islam is the complete and total defeat and surrender of the foes of Islam, thus no such thing as a peace treaty can be negotiated with an Islamic Country.

In Communist States the Party Leaders are considered infallible and their rule is absolute. Party Leaders have the power to arbitrarily change the rules and invent charges in order to arrest and remove any persons who are seen as obstructing the State and imprison them in a work camp for life or execute them should they pose a real threat. In Islam the Imams are considered to speak for Allah as his representatives on Earth and as such are infallible. The Imams have the power to arbitrarily change the rules as they see fit and accuse and convict any person who has become troublesome of working against Allah and thus be incarcerated indefinitely or simply executed.

The actual difference between Communism and Islam is one of emphasis. Communism is a form of governance that makes the State the highest authority and thus makes worship of the state as a substitute for religion. Islam is a religion that has total rules for all aspects of life including the establishment of a theocracy placing the Imams, Islamic religious leaders, as the rulers, courts, and authority responsible for governance as demanded by their religion. To put it in a nutshell, Communism is governance usurping the House of Religion; Islam is religion usurping the Halls of Governance.

Beyond the Cusp