Religion Politics Quotes
At the time the Pope had secular, diplomatic relationship with many of the states of Europe:
For many they are.
Bangladesh had fared very poorly as a part of Pakistan. When it revolted and became independent, it adopted a secular government whereas Pakistan had been, and is, a heavily Islamic state. However, the vast majority of Bengalis were Muslim and some were extreme fundamentalists. Rahman was under constant pressure to make the government more “Islamic” and while he did so somewhat, he tried to advocate for separation of church and state. Bangladesh is not as extreme as Pakistan which is not yet a theocracy but religious forces dominate every aspect of the society.
Later in his career the priest ignored this earlier admonition and campaigned virulently against Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal and even helped found a political party. The Priest was the right wing demagogic radio host of his day. Virulently anti-Semitic and anti-Black, he was threatened with excommunication by the Catholic Church, which finally ordered him to cease us weekly radio show and stop the political hate.
For most of human history, religion and politics were totally intermingled. It was so even in the democracy of ancient Greece.
Gabriel exaggerates in the sense that while the quotation is correct for many Muslims, it is by no means true of all. Iran for example is an Islamic theocracy, but Turkey is a 99 percent Muslim nation which is totally secular and in some ways is much more restrictive of Islamic teaching and practice than most secular democracies. The fundamentalist Muslim view of the state and religion is essentially the same as the ultra orthodox Jews and Christians. It is true that a greater proportion of Muslims believe in the merging of civil and religious law than Jews and Christians, but by no means all. The non Arab Muslims are much less likely to see the unity of state and religion.
