Islam is a necessity in the modern world.

This is straw-man argument by Maybenihilism. It looks like hehad his latest post typed out even before I had sent my rebuttal. It is soirrelevant to my post. His fascination for ‘Farting Devil’ continues, and heseems more occupied with exhibiting his writing skills than present any logicalargument. I had in my answer clearly explained what Islam’s positionon the ‘Farting devil’, “Allah hateth the Farty”, “Devil laughing at the yawner”etc are. Though Maybenihilism is the one who raised these points in the firstplace, he had nothing to say about my responses. I had also explained that my point was not about science butmoral/ethical teachings; however, Maybenihilism (indulging in straw-manargument) continued under the assumption that it was all about science, and hencehis tired jokes about ‘converting fart into fuel’ (which honestly by now isbeginning to grate on the ears). He can be irrelevant if he chooses to, but lethim at least think of new jokes so that the reader is not bored. However, thanks to Maybenihilism for devoting at least thelast paragraph to answer at least one of my points. As he doesn’t care toexplain his argument in clear terms, sticking tardily to the sarcastic tone, Ihave to interpret what he means (for the benefit of the reader) before I answerthem. Maybenihilism’scriticisms are the following: Islamic economics is retrograde because we seethe Muslim countries simply depending on their oil resources and are notmanufacturing any products of value. Islam has not given the world any modernscientific inventions, but it’s the west that has. Therefore the west is superiorto Islam. Islam does not give equal status to women, orapprove of gay rights. Therefore Islam is inferior to the western civilizationwhich has given all of this. My responses Before I analyze each of his points, let me give a generalanswer to all his assertions. In a debate on ideology, it is childish to pointout bad examples of the followers of that ideology to discredit the ideology. Forexample, it’s like arguing that the theory of evolution is a hoax because of CharlesDawson’s Pilt Down man hoax. Or like saying Atheism is a failure because of thefailure of communist states. To analyze an ideology, we have to analyze itssources, or what the founders of that ideology stated. That’s a basic logic. Now coming to each ofMaybenihilism’s points: Oil economy of Islamic states. Any cursory analysis of the history of economics wouldclearly show that wealth is a circular phenomenon. Nobody gets to control itpermanently. Different civilizations in different parts of the world at differenttimes have been in control of wealth for different reasons. This is also theunderstanding of wealth from an Islamic perspective. This is why Islam layssuch great stress on charity. In fact,it’s the only religion that collects charity like tax. You must be knowingabout Zakat (tax collected to help the poor). In the modern world, it’s thewest that is in control of wealth. The Muslims countries like so many othernations are backward economically. A few Muslim countries (in the Arabian Gulf)have found a temporary reprieve from poverty through oil wealth. If oil runsout, these countries will be poor again. Muslims simply see it as part of a naturalprocess of wealth rotation. Moreover, the west’smode of wealth accumulation has been extremely unethical – look at all the warsit started in the world to control natural resources, look at the way itexploits in the most inhuman ways the labor of third world countries forprofits, look at the Brettonwood’s Agreement and its subsequent cancellation byRichard Nixon to ensure the domination of dollars, the list goes on. So, if youthought the west’s wealth comes from ethical manufacturing practices, you arewrong. Since the times of colonialism, West has been living off the blood ofothers. Here is where the question of ethics comes into significance. What theworld really needs today is a strong value system, which according to myargument, can be provided only by Islam. There was a time when Europe was in darkness, and the Islamicempire was at the height of glory. If you are true to history, you wouldn’t beable to deny the fact that the concept of manufacturing started in the Muslimempire. Islamic Spain was into production at an industrial scale. The productwas soap. So, the fact of the matter is that civilizations rise and fall, power and wealth constantly changehands... but whether poor or rich, weak or strong, Islam says there is a valuesystem you have to abide by. Only this can lead to a just and fair world. Islam and science This once again is closely tied to my answer for the firstquestion. When there is economic progress and political stability, there’sintellectual development. This is a simple truth. Because of the economic prosperityof the west (obtained through means stated above), the west is currently enjoyingthese luxuries. However, any student of history of science knows the massivecontributions made by Islam to science and technology. You name any field ofscience, and you will find a Muslim scientist (from the medieval times) makingthe most seminal contribution as a fountainhead of that discipline. Al Khawarizmi, Al Farmi, Al Qushji (Maths andastronomy), Ibn Sirin, Al Kindi, Al Zahrawi (biology), Khalid bin yazid, JafferSadiq (chemistry)... these are just a tip of the iceberg. Similarly, there are other civilizations in the world whichhave made great contributions to science like the Chinese, Mesopotamian, Greeketc. Therefore, science is also not the monopoly of any one civilization...today it’s the west, tomorrow it could be someone else. Women’s rights and Gay rights This is the only point which I feel directly tackles thetopic in question. However, Maybenihilism has only touched upon it without gettinginto the details. Therefore I don’t know what exactly his concerns areregarding these issues in Islam. With regard to women’s rights, people mostlypick on the veil. If that’s what he is talking about, then he should understandthat the veil for a woman is any dress that covers her full body with theexception of the face and hands. This according to Islam is a modest dress forthe woman. But if you watch closely, most men in the world are nearly dressedin this fashion. Look at Obama for example... what parts of his body areusually seen when he is out in public... the face and the palms only. While commonsense tells us that a woman has more to cover than a man, Western values haveimpressed upon us that a woman has to reveal more than a man. If there are other issues regarding women’s rights, I expectMaybenihilism to spell them out clearly, instead of rambling in sarcasticobscurities. Next is the question of gay rights. That calls for a morefundamental question? Is homosexuality natural or unnatural? I know that’s adeep subject. But here is something to think about. Look at the bodies of a manand a woman, and you will readily see how they complement each other (sexuallyspecially). During sexual excitement, the bodies of a man and a woman undergochanges that facilitate the sexual gratification of each other. What happens inthe case of two men? Because of the incompatibility there, gays resort to usingparts of the body that are not designed for this purpose. This is harmful forthe both partners. Islam prohibits all that is harmful to man. I think, I have answered every point raised byMaybenihilism. I expect more relevant points from him in this round. At leasthe should try and respond to my rebuttal, point by point, instead of givingunrelated generalizations.