ABSTRACT
Given the insistence with which Islam forces itself on our attention that has caused a tsunami of commentary along with denunciations of its role in recent terrorism, there would seem to be little that can be added. There are some comments that may not be entirely unoriginal coming from the consideration of state secularism, which is one of its primary subjects. In Islam, the exclusions of doctrine and reformulations of worship styles are obviously not within a common tradition but constitute in large part a radical simplification of both Judaism and Christianity. Beyond theological considerations, the effects of Muslim radical simplification of the monotheistic tradition may be seen as the cause of both Islam's policy of nearly totalitarian internal governance and in its warlike posture with non-Muslim societies. Islam as an institution will not be able to dominate the politics or the culture and must therefore settle on a more pacific approach in place of its innately aggressive stance.
