What is the Islamparadox / Islamic Paradox?

The term "Islamparadox" seems to stand for topics that don´t seem to be discussed within Muslim communities, even though they obviously should be discussed.

It first appeared in reviews of V. Rationi´s German book "Das Religionsparadox" (The paradox of religions), where she examined where highly religious countries rank on the "Global Peace Index".

Astonishingly the secular countries rank higher in peacefulness than most of the religious countries.

But there seem to be a lot of other statistical data that raise questions about Islam, eg.: does Islam make people happy (World Happiness Report), does it lead to social progress (Social Progress Index), and why is violence against children so widespread in Islamic countries (and: does it lead to the psychological phenomenon of "authoritarian characters" / "authoritarian personalities")?

Religion and Misogyny

Nearly every religion claims to be peaceful. That should, of course, include nonviolence in the family and the absence of domestic violence aganist women.

But what can one see in worldwide data regarding this topic?

Every religious person who also lives in a highly religious country should take a look at the "Women, Peace and Security Index" to find out, how good women are protected in their own society:

https://giwps.georgetown.edu/

Maltreatment of women - or denying them the same rights as men - is a sign of misogyny.

Misogyny in Islam

 Is there more misogyny in Islamic countries than in secular countries?

One way to find out is to look at the "Women Peace and Security Index" which ranks countries worldwide according to the rights and the safety of women. Most Islamic countries rank very low on this Index.

But what could be the reason?

Psychology says that whenever there is overprotection by a parent, the adolescent seeks the distance, because he feels locked in or overcontrolled in some ways.

If a religion demands women to stay in their homes, or maybe offering women no other perspective than being a mother or a housewive (whereas the father ist rarely present) Misogyny could be the result of these religious rules.

And it could be enhanced, if a child experiences corporal punishment by the mother (see the wikipedia page "child corporal punishment laws").

A third factor is the different treatment of boys and girls within a religious culture: If boys are treated like kings whereas girls are raised to be servants the boy learns, that women really are or should be the servants of men.

Psychologist Nancy Hartevelt-Kobrin argues in her books, that even terrorism could be the reaction of a man who grew up in a dysfunctional Islamic family. Especially if at the same time the parents are persons of respect, who should never be objects of hatred or revenge (rooted in child abuse).

Psychotherapy for Muslims. New Book.

 New Book by Sultan Califi: "Psychotherapy for Muslims. Why it is often important." Seems to be only available at www.lulu.com/ .

What does the hashtag #muslimaparadox mean?

The meaning of the hashtag #muslimaparadox is explained in an ebook by Sultan Califi. It seems to be a term for a lack of discussion among muslimas, e.g. about the fact that there is no sura in the Qu´ran demanding the covering of the head, and on the other hand, about what picture of the Muslim man is conveyed to secular societies if women must wear a headscarf or hijab. It might also relate to the book "Das Religionsparadox" (E: The Paradox of Religion) by Victoria Rationi.

The Paradox of Religions and the Cycle of Religions

The "Paradox of Religions" and the "Cycle of Religions" are two terms suggested by German Psychologist Victoria Rationi in her new book "Das Religionsparadox" (=The Paradox of Religions):

Once again (like in "Religiophobia") she argues that a high religiosity does obviously (looking at the Global Peace Index) not lead to more peaceful societies than secular societies.

She then explains her theory of the "Cycle of Religions", which presumes that religiosity prevails in societies with absent or distant fathers (and some other factors) whereas religiosity declines in societies where "caring masculinities" are on the rise.

Religion and the Science of Happiness

The World Happiness Report 2019 seems to show that most of the happiest countries in the world tend to be the least religious (according to the Gallup polls on religiosity):

The World Happiness Report 2019 and Religion

The World Happiness Report 2019 shows once again, that apparently countries with a high level of religiosity are among the unhappiest countries in the world:

The Authoritarian Personality and Religion

Is there a connection between the Authoritarian Personality and Religion? Research should start, if the following criteria of can be found in a religious community:

• Conventionalism: Adherence to conventional values.
• Authoritarian Submission: Towards ingroup authority figures.
• Authoritarian Aggression: Against people who violate conventional values.
• Anti-Intraception: Opposition to subjectivity and imagination.
• Superstition and Stereotypy: Belief in individual fate; thinking in rigid categories.
• Power and Toughness: Concerned with submission and domination; assertion of strength.
• Destructiveness and Cynicism: hostility against human nature.
• Projectivity: Perception of the world as dangerous; tendency to project unconscious impulses.
• Sex: Overly concerned with modern sexual practices.

( Source: this Wikipedia Article )

Cultural Violence and Religion

Can Religion be a cause for Cultural Violence? Johan Galtung wrote:

"Cultural violence" refers to aspects of a culture that can be used to justify or legitimize direct or structural violence, and may be exemplified by religion and ideology, language and art, empirical science and formal science"

(Galtung, Johan. "Cultural Violence," Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 27, No. 3 (Aug., 1990), pp. 291–305)

Reasons for Judeophobia

Possible reasons for judeophobia can be found in this Wikipedia article .

Reasons for Christianophobia

A possible reason for Christianophobia is the list of sexual abuse cases that have occured in the Catholic Church - as described in the Wikipedia article "Catholic Church sexual abuse cases"

Reasons for Islamophobia

A possible reason for Islamophobia is the widespread violence against children in many muslim countries. The following chart from the UNICEF publication "A familiar Face" (2017) can be compared with the Wikipedia article "Islam by country":

Religiophobia

Religiophobia is the fear of religion. You find some data which can be a reason for religionphobia in the publication "Religiophobia" by Victoria Rationi.

Religion and Violence against Children

UNICEF Study "Hidden in Plain Sight" about violence against children states in Figure 5.4 in which countries children experienced severe physical punishment:

Top ranked are some of the most religious countries:

Yemen, Egypt,  Chad, Afghanistan, Republic Congo, Central African Republic, Vanuatu, Nigeria, Tunisia, Niger, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, Cameroon, Iraq, Congo, Palestine, Algeria, Morocco, Syria,

Religion and Happiness

.. or does Religion make you unhappy? Do you see counties with a very high religiosity among the most unhappy countries according to the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Happiness_Report (May 2017)?

Central African Republic, Burundi, Tanzania, Syria, Rwanda, Togo, Guinea, Liberia, South Sudan, Yemen, Haiti, Madagascar, Benin, Botswana, Afghanistan, Angola, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Chad, Malawi, Niger

Happiness and Religion

Does Religion make you happy? Viewing the top ranked countries of the World Happiness Report ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Happiness_Report  - May 2017) you find many of the least religious countries in the world among them:

Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, Finland, Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Sweden Israel, Costa Rica, Austria, USA, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, UK, Chile

Corruption and Religion

Here are the least corrupt countries according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index (May 2017):

Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Singapore, Netherlands, Canada, Germany, Luxembourg, UK, Australia, Iceland, Belgium, Hong Kong, Austria, USA, Ireland, Japan.

Religion and Corruption

Here are the top ranked countries (meaning: the most corrupt counties) in the Corruption Perceptions Index - according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index (May 2017):

North Korea, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Lybia, Sudan, Yemen, Afghanistan, Guinea Bissau, Iraq, Venezuela, Angola, Eritrea, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Haiti, Congo, Cambodia, Republic Congo

The most Religious Countries

If you are a religious person, maybe you also want to live in the most religious countries - according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Importance_of_religion_by_country (May 2017):

Sri Lanka, Malawi, Indonesia, Yemen, Niger, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Burundi, Djibouti, Mauritania, Somaliland, Somalia, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Laos, Guinea, Morocco, Egypt, Comoros, Thailand