Ayaan Hirsi Ali on Islam, Catholicism and democracy

The former Dutch deputy Ayaan Hirsi Ali analyses the links between democracy and religion in an interview with Jose Maria Marti. "As a group of principles, Islam is very consistent, very coherent, very simple and not at all compatible with liberal democracy. The principles of liberal democracy consider human life an end in itself, whereas Islam says that a satisfactory life can only be obtained by submitting oneself to the will of God. ... Catholicism isn't compatible with democracy either, but Christian societies have established a separation between Church and State. As a result, this religion does not have the power to punish those who fail to respect its principles. ... I think that the majority of Muslims could assimilate the principles of democracy if they had the same debate as the Catholics, accepting that dogmas can be questioned and that these questions can lead to answers that won't please them."

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