Following are excerpts
from an interview with Saudi scholar 'Aql Al-Bahili, which aired on
Daleel TV on February 3, 2012:
'Aql Al-Bahili:
I know and I acknowledge that there is freedom in the Koran. Many Koranic
texts state that people are free. But when the political implementation
of a certain ideology has failed to accomplish justice for over 1,400
years, whereas others [i.e. the West] have managed to instate justice
by means of a [different] political ideology, I believe that even though
[Islamic justice] preceded them, this does not detract from the credit
due to those who have reformed the path of human society, infusing it
with freedom through an ideological platform other than Islam. Today,
all the Islamists acknowledge that the freedom enjoyed in the West is
a hundred times better than in the Islamic countries.
[…]
Indeed, I am aware that
Islam is all-encompassing. Our problem is that sacred texts are being
cited by tyrants, by honorable people, and by Islamists alike. Today,
we must adopt general principles by which human society abides: People
must obtain their rights, public funds must not be plundered, a doorman
may become a minister, and a minister may become a doorman, people must
have the right to be safe from attacks, as well as the right to establish
companies and political parties. These are the principles of human societies
on planet Earth.
[…]