The Case for Islamic Reform - Response
By
Naseer Ahmed, New Age Islam
18 March
2024
Contrary To Popular Belief, The Traditionalists
Are Neither Literal, Fundamental, Nor Puritans. They Shun The Literal Meaning
As Made Clear By The Quran Itself And Interpret The Quran In Ways That Satisfy
Their Bigoted And Misogynistic Notions.
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The link to
the original article: The Case
for Islamic Reform
Large
sections of Muslims hold beliefs that are detrimental to themselves and
society. There is, therefore, a case for reform in our theology. Several
approaches have been attempted. The traditionalists take the “back to the Islam
of the first generation of Muslims or the Salaf approach” because they would
like the old days of glory to return. The moderates are dismayed by this for
obvious reasons, but their counter is ineffective. They call such people puritans,
literalists or fundamentalists. To a believer, these words are high praise. Why
would a believer do anything else except follow the pure, pristine, literal
meaning of the word of God and be a fundamentalist to the core?
The
moderates try to cast doubts about the authenticity of the Quran as the word of
God, as the article does, by speaking about the existence of manuscripts not
included in the Quran, the manner of compiling the Quran, the existence of
multiple versions before they were destroyed, etc. These tactics work with
lukewarm Muslims but do not affect firm believers. The use of such tactics is
proof to the believers that the would-be reformists are a bunch of hypocrites
who must be shunned.
So, how is
reform of the believing population possible? Only by using the Quran. By taking
the most extreme literal and fundamentalist approach and showing that Islam is
literally and fundamentally a religion of peace, justice, tolerance, and
inclusiveness and that the Islam that the bigots follow is abhorrent to Allah.
Is this possible? The question itself displays a lack of faith in God and the
Quran as the literal word of God.
Contrary to
popular belief, the traditionalists are neither literal, fundamental, nor
Puritans. They shun the literal meaning as made clear by the Quran itself and
interpret the Quran in ways that satisfy their bigoted and misogynistic
notions. The record can be set straight using the Quran alone. I have done this
in my articles and demonstrated the methodology to be followed.
Brief Summary
of the Gains from the Methodology-Driven Study
The
methodology-driven study looks at the Quran ab initio without preconceived
notions or theological leanings. The conclusions, based on following the
methodology outlined, are far more liberal and inclusive than those of the most
liberal scholars because even a liberal scholar has not found a way to escape
the gravitational pull of Islamic scholarship of the past, which is biased and
bigoted. A sound methodology guarantees finding the correct meaning and
overcoming the fear of going against the weight of traditional scholarship.
The
following is a summary of how different the authentic message of the Quran is
from the beliefs of the Muslims:
1.
Allah does not play favourites with the followers of any particular
religion. A person born a Muslim does not have an edge over those born in other
faiths. Heaven is not the exclusive preserve of the followers of any particular
belief system.
2.
The Quran explicitly endorses several religions and, in general, all
people who believe in truth, justice, and the Hereafter and do good deeds
3.
Only a believer can be a kafir and not a disbeliever. Kufr is rejecting
the truth after learning it. Polytheism is kufr for those who know that it is
kufr but not for those who lack the required knowledge.
4.
The verses about war are faith-neutral and apply equally to people of
all religions. This is because war is commanded only against oppression and
nothing else. In particular, war is not commanded against a people for their
religious beliefs. Just war includes war against Muslim oppressors, even if the
oppressed are non-Muslim
5.
“Let there be no compulsion in religion” is an unconditional principle,
universally applicable under all circumstances.
The Quran
makes perfect sense without treating any verse as abrogated. The meaning of many of the allegorical
(Mutashabihat) verses that remained hidden has been uncovered by science and
brought out in my articles. For more on
the methodology for determining the precise meaning of the Quran, read The Quran Is Logically Consistent and Unambiguous
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A frequent contributor to NewAgeIslam.com, Naseer Ahmed is an
Engineering graduate from IIT Kanpur and is an independent IT consultant after
having served in both the Public and Private sector in responsible positions
for over three decades. He has spent years studying Quran in-depth and made
seminal contributions to its interpretation.
URL: https://newageislam.com/debating-islam/islamic-reform-response/d/131947
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