al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah Quotes
Nudity in public baths is henceforth prohibited. Towels must be worn around the waist.
al-Mansur Abu Ali. This quotation demonstrates that the extreme concern about nudity and even exposure of arms and legs that is claimed by Muslim Fundamentalists did not have a basis in traditional Islam. Jews and Christians for examples at this time would have seen men or women parading around in baths with just a towel around their waists as sinful. In many ways Islam was then the modern religion and culture.
Al-Hakim, 985-1021, Sixth Fatimid Caliph in Egypt, Reform Decree [Manshur], 1012
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
He is often referred to as The Reformer as he was a modernist. In particular, the told his people that there was no religious obligation is Islam for wearing a veil or a burka. These are just customs. Yet most Muslims still believe that veils and burkas were required by God. The only Koranic statement on the subject simply says that women should dress modestly. Despite his efforts, veils and burkas are still required by most Afghani families and most people think the requirement is religious.
See {617160} for a similar legal opinion. The concern was that poor Muslims may desert their faith when they see how well-dressed the tolerated people, Christians and Jews, are. They might conclude that Christianity or Judaism is better at making people wealthy than was Islam. See {617162} for a Koranic support of the idea. The Western view of this is generally, that is what the marketplace of ideas is all about. In 21st century America, Jews and Mormons on the average were the wealthiest religious groups. The logic of al-Ramli is that Mormons and Jews—each only 6 percent of the population—should not be allowed to show their wealth, lest Roman Catholics for example—25 percent of the population—will convert from Catholicism to the other two religions. From a democratic point of view, the response should be, we so be it. That is their choice. But America is the living proof that the assumption of conversion and loss of faith is per se wrong. The Mormons and Jews are visibly more successful, yet there are very few Roman Catholics leaving their church and converting to the two wealthier religions. There are some, but not at any greater rate than people convert from “wealthier” religions.
This quotation illustrates the difficulty when a jurisdiction adopts an established religion. From a freedom point of view, it is bad that Hamas insisted on all these rules for Muslims, but when they insist that Christians (and others) follow them as well, it becomes very difficult to have a harmonious society.
The National Organization for Decent Literature was a pressure group made up mostly of Roman Catholic Priests. It was founded 1938, and ran until the late 1960s when changes in society had obsoleted their “values” and rigid concepts of “decency”.
This is the philosophical root of Islamic Fundamentalist terrorism. If this principle is accepted, then it is very easy to rationalize anything to change a situation where Islam and Islamic law does not control anywhere
Abu Ali al-Mansur (13 August 985 – 13 February 1021), better known by his regnal name al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, was the sixth Fatimid caliph and 16th Ismaili imam (996–1021). Al-Hakim is an important figure in a number of Shia Ismaili sects, such as the world's 15 million Nizaris and 1–2 million Musta'lis, in addition to 2 million Druze.
