I see Islam as the 7th Century version of Scientology. Anyone not part of Scientology sees it for what it is: a scam and a racket that made a very good living for L. Ron Hubbard, and which continues to do so for his successors. That’s obvious to us, because Scientology was first promulgated within the memory of folks currently living, and was in fact well documented, as was Hubbard’s boast about being able to make big bucks in the religion game. Likewise, Mohammed made a very good living out of the prophet biz.

Nevertheless in most countries we still grant Scientology the status of a religion, for the simple reason that any attempt by the State to pass judgment on the legitimacy of any religion is fraught with danger.

So if we grant legitimacy to a modern-day scam like Scientology, then by default we have to grant legitimacy to an antique scam like Islam, particularly since most of its practitioners have simply inherited their religion, such as it is, from their parents. For them it is a fact of life, and the question of its fundamental legitimacy never arises.

Let us not try to ban Islam, then, but do let us be vigilant in opposing the excesses and the cruelties practiced by some of the more radical practitioners.