"America is the head of heresy in our modern world, and it leads an infidel democratic regime that is based upon separation of religion and state and on ruling the people by the people via legislating laws that contradict the way of Allah and permit what Allah has prohibited. This compels the other countries to act in accordance with the same laws in the same ways...and punishes any country [that rebels against these laws] by besieging it, and then by boycotting it. By so doing, [America] seeks to impose on the world a religion that is not Allah'…"

By calling secular democracy a "religion" the speaker closes the listener's mind to the idea that it is possible to separate church and state.

I'm interested in comments like these because there is a perception that "solution" to the problem with conflict between the US and radical Islamic countries is to increase economic interdependence (and therefore communication). I'm not convinced that a long term resolution of this sort of problem is possible without the rise of a secular form of islam which observes the separation of church and state. The reason I beleive this is that when you put God on the throne you eliminate the possibility of questioning the government. If citizens cannot question their government then their government will inevitably become violent and oppressive.

Statement by Al'Qa'ida