"PSS--I am reminded that one of the pivotal differences between Islam and the Judeo-Christian tradition is that in the latter case, God is thought to have created the world just once "in the beginning," in accord with fully rational principles that may be comprehended by human beings. Allah, on the other hand, rules by whim, creating the world moment by moment, so that it is futile--not to say blasphemous and grandiose--to try to fathom his ways. Allah's radical freedom results in tyranny, obscurantism and fatalism on the ground."