Christianity and Judaism have gone through the laundromat of humanism and enlightenment, but that is not the case with Islam.

There is tension between the values of modern society and the principles of Islam.

Modern society places an emphasis on individual responsibility, whereas Islam places an emphasis on collective responsibility and the family.

I have no desire to go through the emancipation of women and homosexuals all over again.

Biblical, Talmudic, or Koranic literalists remind me of children wrinkling their noses at Belon oysters and asking for more Chef Boy-E-Dee. They want the world to be as simple as they are.

In Judaism, life is valued above almost all else. The Talmud notes that all people are descended from a single person, taking a life is like destroying an entire world, saving a single life is like saving an entire world. In Islam, He who kills a soul unless it be (in legal punishment) for murder or for causing disorder and corruption on the earth will be as if he had killed all humankind; and he who saves a life will be as if he had saved the lives of all humankind.” Can't we all get along!