Islamic Ideology
Generosity is a virtuous trait that every Muslim should strive to
attain. As for the believer who closely adheres to the teachings of Islam,
kindness and giving from what he has become part of his good character....
To clarify words, sentences or verses from the Qur’an that are not
easily understood by most people. Some verses may be comprehensive or general
in their meaning, and the Sunnah clarifies and defines them through the
Prophet’s sayings, actions and confirmations....
Progressive Muslims represent the voices of the voiceless, empower the
powerless and restore the dignity of the Mustad’afin (the downtrodden who are oppressed
by tyrannical leadership). They are definitely not deviant....
The Qur'an has taught us several ways to prevent terrorism and
injustice. Three of these are of the utmost importance: (1) abstaining from the
Fasad Fil Al-Ard’ (mischief or moral corruption against God and
disturbance of the public peace in the land) (2) avoiding irrelevant issues and
interference into the affairs of others, and (3) establishing justice and
peace....
According to Islam, the other prophets who preceded Muhammad were all
true prophets, and Islam is nothing but a confirmation of the true faith taught
by previous religions and teachers. Religion is certainly a vital force in
every society and Muhammad made Islam a permanent force of vitality by giving
it a natural and rational basis….
Ijma and Qiyas (analogy) and the contemporary ethical principles are
emphasized in Islamic Shariah, should be observed when providing reproductive
and sexual health services for Muslim families or communities. The Family is
the basic unit in Islam. Safe motherhood, family planning, and quality
reproductive and sexual health information and services and assisted reproductive
technology are all encouraged within the frame of marriage. ...
This crisis is occasioned by outdated dogmas and dispositions that
Muslims have refused to abandon or discard. These are traditions that are
incompatible with the canons of human rights and tolerant pluralism....
Based on the incidents faced by Muslims over 23 years during the time of
revelation and the stories of former nations, the Qur’an provides guidelines in
the form of commandments, prohibitions, and good advice, which are
simultaneously incident-specific and universally relevant, dynamically forced
and firmly static....
Contrary
to popular opinion, the Qur’an does not endorse a worldly punishment for the
sin of blasphemy, at least not one to be meted out by humans. In fact, quite
the opposite: the Qur’an tells believers that the proper response to
blasphemous and irreverent talk is to ignore such ignorant people.....
Rusul woke to find herself alone. Her new husband had gone. The marriage had lasted just three hours. It wasn't the teenager's first marriage. It wasn't even her second, third or fourth. In fact she's been married too many times for her to count....
Sultan Shahin, Founding Editor, New Age Islam
Sultan Shahin, Founding Editor, New Age Islam
So it is good that Sufi ulema, under attack from Wahhabi militants, are coming out to denounce the Salafi understanding of Islam. But is this enough? Do they not need to ask why it’s Salafis who are winning this ideological war? Have Sufi ulema been able to bring back to the Sufi fold even a single Islamist terrorist? After all, all the terrorists of today, at least from the South Asian and African Sahel region were part of a Sufism-oriented Islam until recently. Wahhabism existed mainly in the Arab regions. There were very few Salafis anywhere else. Easy availability of petrodollars for the propagation of Salafism has certainly played an important role. But can money alone bring about this kind of transformation? Why is the Sufi counter-narrative not effective enough to make a difference?
Writing in this space, almost exactly a year ago, I had made an earnest appeal to the Sufi Ulema and Mashaikh gathering in Delhi for an international conference. I had asked them to go beyond the usual shibboleths and utilse this great opportunity to consider this most urgent question: why is the Sufi focus on positives of Islam not working? The more Sufis and other moderate Muslims denounce terrorism, the more followers this Satanic ideology finds. I had pointed out the basic reason behind this conundrum: the radical theology of violence and exclusion and the current theology of consensus of all ulema, including Sufi ulema, are by and large one and the same. Any differences are cosmetic...
This is, however, to mischaracterise the arguments of the majority of
mainstream scholars in Islamic history down to the present who, following
explicit Qur’anic and Prophetic teachings, opposed supporting tyrannical
rulers. None of these scholars ever advocated the removal of government altogether.
They only opposed tyranny....
Who are the Mushrikun mentioned in the Quran? What are their
major characteristics? How does the Quran refute them? Do these Mushrikun
differ from the Mushrikun living in the 21st century? Such are the
questions to deal with which, we have gone through the Quran, its popular classical
commentaries (Tafasir) and descriptions of scholars....
Reports in the Saudi press have spoken of growing concerns over the
number of children fathered by Saudi males in their trips abroad, and abandoned
for all practical purposes. ...
Blasphemy laws continue to be on the statute books, for instance, in Pakistan. Salman Taseer, the liberal Governor of Punjab was murdered merely because he showed compassion for a Christian lady wrongly accused of blasphemy and asked for the repeal of the blasphemy law. On the basis of this law, religious minorities can be arbitrarily accused of blasphemy and killed, either by a lynch mob or by the judiciary. No evidence is required, as that would allegedly amount to accusers being asked to blaspheme the Prophet again. Similarly, attacks on minority Hindu, Christian, Shias and Ahmadis continue under different legislations. Pakistani laws prohibit the Ahmadis from identifying themselves as Muslims.
It’s time the Council found some way to see that the countries that agree to its covenants also practice it.
Such anti-minority legislations not only violate the UN Resolution, but also Islam’s primary scripture. The Holy Quran does not prescribe any punishment for blasphemy. Nor does it permit any one to declare others kafir. It clearly says: La Ikraha fid Deen, (There can be no compulsion in religion). (Chapter 2: verse 256).
If not the UN Charter, Muslim countries should at least follow their own primary scripture, the Holy Quran.....
The Quran inspires conviction by appealing to the aspects of the inner
life of human beings, namely, to the heart and the mind. Intuition and
experience work in tandem with logic and reason to arrive at a state of
certainty in faith....
They are diametrically opposed to each other. They are different to each other as night and day. Islam is not of Wahhabism and Wahhabism is not of Islam. One can never be the other. They are enemies of each other....
There is neither Nikah nor share in the inheritance for the 'property'
or 'possession'. On the contrary, they will be transferred as a property. For
example, if a man has slave girls, they will be transferred to his son after
his death in the same way as his property. So you should understand that this
was the case whether you like it or not. We should not try to bring changes to
this concept to make it palatable....
While the social behaviour of animals is
instinctive or built into their DNA, in the case of the progeny of Adam, it is
learned. Humans have enormous capacity to transform through learning and unlike
every other creation; they are not complete slave even to their instincts.
Allah’s revelations through the ages have played an exclusive role in the
learning to control instincts to behave as “moral agents”...
Mr. President,
Even17 years after 9/11, terrorism in the name of Islam is nowhere near its end. Yet, all that one hears from Muslim leaders is rhetoric against Islamist terrorism. No concrete action has been taken to cleanse the Islamic theology of totalitarianism, xenophobia, intolerance and a historical urge to expand the land of Islam through offensive Jihad. One would think that at least Sufi Muslims, who have been for long a victim of Jihadism, an offshoot of neo-Khwarij Salafism, would introspect and look into their own theology and purify it from elements of political Islam.
This may sound strange to some. For, Sufism has been identified as the antidote to Jihadism. But we must also understand that Sufi theologians too have been votaries of Islamic world domination. The strangest thing that is happening now is that rather than cleansing their theology of traces of political Islam, sections of Sufi Muslims are actually engaged in what can be called a Wahhabisation of Sufism. The inclusive doctrine of Wahdatul Wujood (unity of being) has been replaced by exclusivist doctrine of Wahdatul Shuhood (unity of perception). Enlightening Sufi books teaching mysticism, ethics and morality have been taken out of the courses of study from Sufi madrasas and women are being barred from visitation of shrines.
I would like to appeal to Muslim governments represented in the Council to introspect and cleanse the Islamic theology of elements of totalitarianism and offensive Jihad for world domination. There are war-time instructions in Islamic scriptures that should not be considered applicable to us Muslims today in the 21st century. Instead, what even earliest Sufi and Salafi theologians have said is that one so-called sword verse alone has abrogated 124 early verses of Quran preaching peace and pluralism....
Since the beginning of our
faith, Muslims have been wrestling with how to understand the revelation of the
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in changing times and
circumstances, in new languages, over new food, in new climates, and among new
faces. In the Qur’an, God orders us to use our reason and also to cling to the
teachings given to us in revelation (Qur’an 22:71, 17:36, 24:15; 2:76; 3:65,
30:80)....
The other superpower of 7th century was Persia. They were Zoroastrians,
worshipping fire, however with faith in Kirdar-e-Naik (nobility in
character) Pindar-e-Naik (nobility of thought) and Raftar-e-Naik
(nobility of demeanour)....
Scholars of every religion have every right to present the ruling of
their respective religion on particular social practices or crimes. But while
discussing the subjects in public or before the family, the scholars should
follow standards of social and religious behavior. Unfortunately, the scholars
of Peace TV showed a total lack of understanding of true Islamic norms and
spirit....
A person may be a Kafir (disbeliever), Momin (believer) Mushrik
(polytheist), Muwahhid (monotheist), Fasiq (sinner), Zaalim (oppressor), liar,
traitor, cheater, thief, honest, black, white, Dalit, Brahaman, Ansari, Sheikh,
Sayyid or Pathan and whatsoever. However at the same time, he is a human being.
He deserves respect as being human being....