A Herculean task of cleaning the Augean stables of Islam
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
04
November 2022
Main
Points
· NAI has been interpreting the essence
of Islam, the Qur'an, Sunnah, and Hadith for many years.
· NAI has been cleaning the Augean
stables of Islam and refurbishing it for the deluded readers who think that
Islam is an embodiment of divine purity.
Recently,
I read an article in a leading Bengali broadsheet, entitled, "Hindura aito
ugro kaino hoye cholecchhe ? " (Why are Hindus becoming so violent and
cantankerous?) The writer of the piece argued that it was the morbid
assertiveness of Muslims that made Hindus react just like the way Muslims react
when they feel that their Islam has been slighted. Got to say, the observation
is quite right. This is what we call reactionary emulation. This is bound to
happen when a religiously assertive and exclusivist reader from the US writes:
"Islam is Ageless. It is the First and the Last - all prior Messages to
the Ancients - Al Awwaleen and the Later Generation ... plus "all of us in
the modern period are subject to the same incontrovertible Message of Allah
Subhanahu ta'ala."
He
further questions the relevance of the name New-age-Islam as he thinks, of
course, erroneously, that the message of Islam is eternal and, therefore, it
needs no further and new interpretations. To him, Qura'an and Islam are
self-evident. Aren't Hindus doing the same by calling their Hinduism Sanatan
Dharm (Forever new)? Obviously, the followers of both man-made faiths are
wrong. Islam suffers from Finality Syndrome: Final Prophet, Final Book, Final
and most incorruptible message, that proverbial sea-green incorruptible type.
This is mental zealotry that soon manifests itself as open and physical
fanaticism.
NAI
has been interpreting the essence of Islam, the Qur'an, Sunnah, and Hadith for
many years. It's been trying to accommodate Islam in a modern age with fresh
perspectives and different optics. This attitude that Islam needs no change or
betterment can be seen in Muslims’ grovelling reverence for Muhammad and
Qur'an, both being sacrosanct (as they think), and can never be questioned or
probed.
Muslims
must realize that life cannot be regulated by a 7th-century book with spurious
verses and innumerable interpolations. You need to dust them off to get to the
core of not just Islam but all faiths. All religions, your Islam as well, have
gathered the algae of negativity and corruption over the years, nay centuries.
So, all faiths must undergo a process of overhauling to be fit for the New Age.
NAI
has been cleaning the Augean stables of Islam and refurbishing them for the
deluded readers who think that Islam is an embodiment of divine purity. It's a
Herculean and thankless task when you try to reform a faith as rigid and
fossilized as Islam has always been.
…
A
regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative
religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the
world's premier publications in several languages including Persian.
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