Why is There No Exit Option from Islam?
By
Arshad Alam, New Age Islam
4 May 2022
It Can
Only Mean That Islam Is Unsure Of Its Foundation
Main
Points:
1. Askar Ali
was hounded by family and society for renouncing Islam.
2. If a person
has the freedom to join Islam, then he/she should also have the freedom to
leave it without any kind of repercussion.
3. But those
who want to leave Islam are branded apostates who can be legitimately killed.
4. Taqlid or
blind adherence has been the bane of Muslim society.
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Representative Image/ Image Source: Zee
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Askar Ali,
a native of Mallapuram in Kerala was scheduled to speak in Kollam, at an event
to “promote scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform
society”. He alleges that he was prevented from doing so by a group of Muslims
who apparently kidnapped, misbehaved and threatened him. It must be mentioned
here that Askar Ali is himself a student of Islamic theology and he wanted to
speak on his experience of going through such a scholarship. Ali was finally
able to deliver his speech in the presence of police but the whole incident has
left him traumatized. Ali also says that his family members were the first to
oppose him.
But what is
the issue here? Why did the Muslim society oppose Ali to speak his mind? Well,
that’s because Ali has renounced his faith in Islam and his journey towards
“humanism” dictates his conscience to speak against all dogmas. Since he is
most familiar with the tradition of Islam, he wanted to speak on how Islam
needs to be reformed so that Muslims are able to inculcate rationality and
scientific temper. But then, some followers of Islam seem to have decided that
it will have a detrimental effect on the minds of Muslims, especially the
young, and hence resorted to all sorts of illegal practices to stop Ali from
speaking.
We haven’t
heard the end of it. Kerala has a registered body of ex-Muslims (Muslims who
have left Islam) and they are sure to take up Ali’s case. On the other hand,
the state also has some very conservative religious factions who are bound to
oppose him. A year ago, a video of a madrasa teacher in Kerala went viral as he
was seen advocating killing those who leave Islam. It must be mentioned that
amongst all those Indians who went to join ISIS, the majority came from Kerala.
No wonder then, Muslims who become unhinged from Islamic teachings have a tough
time articulating their views.
But this is
not the case of a lone Muslim in one state; rather this is a problem which all
Muslim societies are facing for a long time. Many Muslims who no longer believe
in the doctrine lead double- lives, pretending to have Iman (faith) in
front of family and friends while opening up only within a select group. It is
also true that Muslim society is tolerant towards such Muslims who despite
leaving Islam do not publicly proclaim it. The minute he or she decides to air
their views, hell breaks loose on them. First, they are ostracized from the
family and society and at times they are even attacked for their non-conformist
views. While the Ulama in Egypt understand atheism as a mental illness, the
Indian Muslim society brings inordinate amount of pressure to bring the person
back within the fold of Islam or even threaten to kill him.
An
individual is not a citizen till the time he or she has the freedom to speak
freely. In not allowing non-believing Muslims to speak their minds, the Muslim
society is infringing on their basic freedom of thought and expression. Even
saner Muslims argue that non-believing Muslims spread chaos in society through
their unconventional views and that in the process they hurt the feeling of
others (Muslims). But the same Muslims never have an issue when all kinds of
nonsense are spoken by believers. One can hear the Ulama rubbishing other
faiths, especially the “idol worshipping Hinduism” in trying to proclaim the
finality of Islam. Saner Muslims never challenge even the idiocy of those Ulama
who try to prove scientific facts in the Quran and end up making a fool of
themselves each time they do it. Why then the same courtesy is not extended to
those Muslims who think Islam needs to be critiqued and reformed.
The problem
is much deeper. Taqlid (blind adherence) has become the defining principle of
all law schools, especially amongst the Hanafis in South Asia. It simply means
that Muslims have to follow whatever has been ordained for them by the Ulama in
their writings. Such authoritative writings can only be extended by arguing for
it but never against it. Theological knowledge in Islam can only have additions
to approved principles. That’s even the likes of traditionalists like Ali Dashti
and Fazlur Rahman, who tried a fresh interpretation (ijtihad), have been thrown
out or relegated to the margins of Muslim religious imaginary. And we know that
blind adherence of anything is not conducive to intellectual growth. This also
runs inverse to the Quranic teaching which tells the believers to wonder and be
curious about the world around them.
Anyone who
thinks out of the box is branded an apostate. This label puts the life of the
accused in danger but also inhibits any kind of religious inquiry within
Muslims. Someone who renounces Islam should be asked to repent failing which he
or she is liable to be killed. This principle is upheld by all law schools,
various hadith literature and even from the Quran itself. The only difference
amongst scholars is by whom such a punishment should be given: the people, the
Islamic state or God himself. Under the impact of such a theology, it is not
entirely surprising that Muslims want to kill anyone who is even slightly
suspected of being an apostate. In, India the situation might not to be as dire
as it is in Pakistan, but given the general direction of religious orthodoxy,
one cannot say that such things will not start happening in India.
The case of
Askar Ali is therefore not an exception. Muslim society brings its full might
on anyone who opposes this tradition of blind adherence to theological
consensus. This happens to even those who want to remain within the orbit of
Islam but are perturbed by its theology and have some genuine questions about
slavery, gender equality, etc. Rather than satisfying the intellectual
curiosity of such people, Muslim society starts doubting the intention of such
persons. The result is that he or she is forced to seek an exit from Islam. But
even that is not acceptable to Muslims. Because the minute you go outside the
fold, you are liable to be killed. While Islam claims that it spread through
persuasion rather than the sword, its failure to give an exit option to Muslims
belies its own principles.
A society
that does not ask critical questions of its own traditions, which always adores
the past as perfection is a society unsure of its foundations. After all, why
can’t questions raised by the likes of Ali not be answered in a true
intellectual fashion? Or is it that Islam does not have an answer to questions
raised by the likes of Ali?
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A regular columnist with
NewAgeIslam.com, Arshad Alam is a writer and researcher on Islam and Muslims in
South Asia.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-ideology/askar-taqlid-islamic-theology/d/126931
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