Understanding Ethos, Spirit & Zeitgeist In The Context Of Religion

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 8 May 2024 "What you recommend is blindly following the ethos of the 21st century, which is to question God, religion, and Scriptural guidance." "Rebellion against God and religion has always been the dominant ethos, as we learn from the stories of every prophet." Aren't the aforementioned observations of Mr FP paradoxical? Anyway, he seems to have a problem with those who question god, religion and scriptures. Let me quote a passage from Umberto Eco's speech as a part of Semiotics which he delivered at Oxford University in 2012. It was entitled Ethos, Spirit and Zeitgeist. He said, "The dominant ethos of a majority of mankind has always been blind belief in all esoteric phenomena. But there have been a handful of individuals in all ages and eras who have fought against this slavish submission to god, religion and books. I call this a rebellion spirit of a few individuals. When this rebellion spirit of a few assumes a bigger and more concrete horizon, it becomes a zeitgeist which's an intellectual exercise. The zeitgeist of the 21st century is to question the validity of all man-made faiths, fabricated god or gods, dubious prophets and antediluvian scriptures. The aim of this zeitgeist is to undermine, if not detonate, the all pervasive and age-old ethos of blind submission by lending credibility to individual spirit. " But the problem with the Muslim 'intelligentsia' is that it's unwilling to imbibe the spirit of Ijtihad (questioning/independent reasoning or personal interpretation) and unable to accept the fact that the Quran may be adulterated, Muhammad may not have been a perfect human as he's often projected by the followers of Islam and Allah could be different from the Quranic projection of it. Anyone who dares question these issues are condemned as a Murtad (apostate). Islamic intelligentsia, its apologists and clerics don't want to change the status quo. They remain firm on Ijma (Ijma refers to the consensus of the Muslim community on a particular issue). It's considered to be one of the sources of Islamic law and is based on the belief that the Muslim community, as a whole, cannot err in matters of religion and law. Ijma is considered to be a strong source of authority in Islamic law and is often used to resolve disputes and interpret the Quran and other primary sources of Islamic law). Not just Islam but all faiths have failed because none of them wholeheartedly welcomed dynamism and change. Islam is the foremost on this count. Welcome the zeitgeist of the 21st-century which regards nothing as divine and sacrosanct. This is not anarchy or nihilism. This is cerebral emancipation. But all religions, particularly Islam, abhor emancipated individuals and try to eliminate them. ---- 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. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/ethos-spirit-zeitgeist-religion/d/132278 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