In discussions devoted to Islam, people often have difficulty separating the ideology, the doctrine contained in the Koran, Hadith and Sira, and the adherents identifying with this ideology. This happens on both sides of the spectrum: some people think all Muslims behave in full accordance with the Islamic doctrine, which is not true, and some people think the Islamic doctrine is OK, because they know some nice Muslims, which is illogical as well.
However in broader context, if we look how Islamic ideas influence the society, it doesn’t really matter if people who support and promote them are Muslim or not.
Until very recently, in Greece Muslim women were to inherit twice less than Muslim men: https://apnews.com/5bcf5c42fa6c40d9b70fffdf02ec79c8
Did the Greek secular government apply this Sharia remnant of Ottoman rule over Greece because Muslims are majority in the country? No. Was it because Muslims hold dominant political positions in the country? No. It was probably the idea that Islam is more important than principles of gender equality and equality before law, and that Muslims (including Muslim women whom this law put in unequal position) might get offended if they are not allowed to implement this aspect of Sharia. So we see a paradox situation where non-Muslim secular government enforced Sharia on Muslims. Luckily this law was finally abolished.
Another widespread situation in today’s secular world is non-Muslims, probably guided by best motivation, trying to enforce Sharia requirement that Islamic doctrine and prophet Muhammad should not be criticized. Under the guise of accusations of “Islamophobia”, all critics of Islam are smeared as irrational haters, deplatformed, restricted in possibilities to present their views, and there is a flow of legislation initiatives aiming to make criticism of Islam illegal. And again, most people engaged in attempts to stifle critical examination of Political Islam are not Muslims.
Ideas matter, because they influence what people do. In the 20th century, the world saw disastrous effect of following the violent totalitarian ideas of Communism and Fascism, which started out very small, and which brought to the world a lot of destruction, suffering, and deaths. That is why it is important to examine critically the doctrine of Political Islam contained in the Koran, Hadith and Sira, Islamic source texts, and look what implementation of those ideas can bring. And it doesn’t matter if those ideas are supported and promoted by Muslims (who are their first victim by the way) or by non-Muslims.
Do you think it is important to know what ideas the Islamic doctrine contains, and how their implementation influences the society?