-''As I wrote here last week, Islamism is a modern political ideology. It is not equal to Islam, it is only one of the interpretations. I am a practicing Muslim and would like to have freedom to practice my religion in the public arena, as long as I do not harm anyone. Yet I am not an Islamist. I do not think that Islam is an ideology. I do not think that Quran and Sunnah offer a detailed blueprint for a political system. For me, Islam is overwhelmingly about spirituality, self-discipline, worshipping, ethics, morality, justice and public order. Islam only offers general guidelines with regard to public issues. Thus, any political project devised by Muslims is only one of the possible interpretations of these general guidelines. As Muslims have a right not to accept all ijtihads, similarly they do not have to agree with Islamist interpretations. Rejecting these does not make anyone a bad Muslim or an Orientalist.'' -''Fethullah Gülen is a phenomenal example of these new ijtihads as he has repeatedly declared that Islam does not need state support to survive, and that civil society in a democratic nation is enough to ensure its survival. This does not make Gülen a worse Muslim, as opposed to what many Islamists have been implying. On the contrary, I find this approach more Islamic. Without the state’s unjust support for Muslims alone, Muslim individuals would need to take the issue into their own hands and would need to intellectually and mentally struggle, to make an effort, to make sacrifices to serve Islam, without passively waiting for the state to take care of it. If life is a test, this is part of the test.'' -''Unfortunately, in this age there are people who do not want to sacrifice their time and money for the Islamic cause, but rather expect the state to spend taxpayers’ money. Is this just or Islamic?'' http://www.todayszaman.com/columnistDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=282726#.T8-HW-87ub8.facebook