Islam is a direct threat to civilization.

Thank you for the debate challenge, before we begin I would like to make clear that I hold InsertNameHere in high regard, my issues are not with her, nor with most individual Muslims, but with the net results of Islam as a political and cultural force. In addition, as I have indicated in the comments section and as my opponent has accepted I specifically regard it as a threat to 'western liberal civilisation' (which I regard as higher civilisation). A purely semantic interpretation would deny the obvious fact that Islamic countries do have civilisation. I would like to like to offer the following definition for Islam. "1.the religious faith of Muslims, based on the words and religious system founded by the prophet Muhammad and taught by the Koran, the basic principle of which is absolute submission to a unique and personal god, Allah. 2.the whole body of Muslim believers, their civilization, and the countries in which theirs is the dominant religion. " http://dictionary.reference.com... Arguments 1: Islam is anti-democratic. A key feature of western and indeed higher civilisation is democracy. Islam is however anti-democratic. This is according to Islamic Scholars. http://www.jihadwatch.org... If we are too look at every country with an Islamic majority we will see that they are by and large dictatorships or 'faux' democracies. http://en.wikipedia.org... Turkey is possibly the most democratic of the Muslim majority countries, but is secular, spent it's first 20 or so years as a single party state, has suffered four military coups and has survived two attempted military coups in the past two years. http://en.wikipedia.org... Conversely France, which can be taken as an example of an unstable western democracy has retained democracy since 1871 (apart from the short lived Vichy period). In most situations Islam will create dictatorial countries, with all the abuses of civil rights and personal liberty this entails. This put it at odds with western civilisation. 2: Islam is unequal. Though true equality is impossible due to differences in wealth, ability and personality, western civilisation is based on the assumption of equality in the eyes of the law. This is a key feature of what we regard as civilisation, and has actually been regarded as a vital facet of civilisation for some time. Islam rarely acknowledges the equal legal rights of men and women. By dismissing and disenfranchising just over half of its population it is clear that it is in opposition to western civilisation. This is shown by their attitude to the education of women. http://en.wikipedia.org... The widespread practice of honour killing. http://en.wikipedia.org... 3: Islam is spreading in the west. Points 1 and 2 would be irrelevant if Islam was neatly confined to it's own section of the world. It is however growing in the west due to immigration and conversion. http://en.wikipedia.org... Islamic Crimes Against Civilisation To emphasise my argument I would like to provide examples of where Islam has actively harmed civilisation. The Library of Alexandria Though several people have been accused of damaging the Library of Alexandria, the final act of destruction was performed by Muslims. This atrocity may have permanently damaged the progress of human civilisation. http://www.shekpvar.net... The Buddhas of Bamyan, destroyed by the Taliban. http://en.wikipedia.org... The Parthenon, used as a gunpowder store by the Turks. http://en.wikipedia.org... It is for these reasons that I defend my claim that Islam is a threat to both western civilisation and higher civilisation.