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. ------ 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 ----- 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 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism