Thursday, February 25, 2010

Does Islam need a Reformation? Nope.

On countless occasions over the years I have heard this comparison: Christianity has undergone its reformation, so why not Islam? The European Reformation took centuries—why wouldn't an Islamic reformation also take time? Isn't it all a matter of time?

This line of thinking arises from a worldview that looks at ideologies through the lens of "progress" or "evolution," shaped by a kind of Darwinism. The underlying presupposition is that human societies evolve as time passes, progressing and becoming more humane and more advanced.

Time has become a yardstick to measure the ever-improving character of human social order. It is the embedding of the idea of progress into our everyday language which gives credibility to the question. "Can Islam not undergo its own reformation, too?"


From HERE.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Have you read "Hagarism" by Crone? Perhaps this is old news to you, but see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagarism:_The_Making_of_the_Islamic_World

and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Syro-Aramaic_Reading_of_the_Koran

Anonymous said...

I don't believe it is possible to moderate Islam. The best that can be done is expose it for the fraud it is. If there is ever an islamic reformation, it will be an invention of history much like their claims of being good stewards to their Christian subjects. The writer is correct in saying that its teachings are too simple to re-interpret.

[---
The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) sent a military expedition to Awtas on the occasion of the battle of Hunain. They met their enemy and fought with them. They defeated them and took them captives.
Some of the Companions of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) were reluctant to have intercourse with the female captives in the presence of their husbands who were unbelievers. So Allah, the Exalted, sent down the Qur’anic verse: (Sura 4:24) "And all married women (are forbidden) unto you save those (captives) whom your right hands possess."
(Abu Dawud 2150)
---]

[---
"O Allah's Apostle! We get female captives as our share of booty, and we are interested in their prices, what is your opinion about coitus interruptus?" The Prophet said, "Do you really do that? It is better for you not to do it. No soul that which Allah has destined to exist, but will surely come into existence.”
(Bukhari 34:432)
---]

JackOfClubs said...

I agree. The Christian reformation was (at its best, anyway) an attempt to return to the roots of Apostolic teaching after having been corrupted by ignorance and venality. If Islam attempted the same thing, it would not produce a "kinder, gentler" Islam but one more violent and imperialistic. In a sense, Wahabism is the Islamic reformation.

Abu Daoud said...

Not sure how long you all have been following the blog, but I am inclined to agree with this writer. I wrote a post on 'reformed' Islam some time ago. You can check it out here, if you like:

http://abudaoud.blogspot.com/2008/07/part-vii-reformed-islam.html