Some theological points
Hassan Butt, the former Islamic extremist, makes some specifically theological points in his discussions (here and here for example) of Islamic violence and terrorism — points indeed that it should not be necessary, after all this time, for him to make:
By refusing to challenge centuries-old theological arguments, the tensions between Islamic theology and the modern world grow larger every day. It may be difficult to swallow but the reason why Abu Qatada — the Islamic scholar whom Palestinian militants recently called to be released in exchange for the kidnapped BBC journalist Alan Johnston — has a following is because he is extremely learned and his religious rulings are well argued. His opinions, though I now thoroughly disagree with them, have validity within the broad canon of Islam…
the foundation of extremist reasoning rests upon a dualistic model of the world. Many Muslims may or may not agree with secularism but at the moment, formal Islamic theology, unlike Christian theology, does not allow for the separation of state and religion. There is no ‘rendering unto Caesar’ in Islamic theology because state and religion are considered to be one and the same…
Muslim scholars must go back to the books and come forward with a refashioned set of rules and a revised understanding of the rights and responsibilities of Muslims whose homes and souls are firmly planted in what I’d like to term the Land of Co-existence. And when this new theological territory is opened up, Western Muslims will be able to liberate themselves from defunct models of the world…
We have previously made the point that, for the most part, the secular Western world has no idea what it means to live in a culture so suffused with religious dogma and practice as are many of the traditional societies in the Islamic world. Nor has there been in the mainstream any serious attempt to understand and explicate Islamic theology, including its unpleasant bits. Instead, there is pablum and worse from politicians, the media, and the academy. Such efforts at understanding as there are, take place on the fringes.
That this continues to be so, after lo these many years now, is an indictment of our political class, the willfully ignorant and insipid media, and those who fancy themselves the intelligentsia. All in all, a sad story, a self-inflicted tragedy.