Reform Muslim - Maajid Nawaz
Reply #6 - March 24, 2016, 08:00 AM
Trying to put a label distinguishing Muslims, and by that attempting to discredit certain groups from representing "real Islam", from other Muslims in this context is futile. Take for example salafis; a group I myself found to be amidst for almost a decade; there is not one salafi ideology. There are several subgroups, all identifying as salafees but who all have clear and sometimes fundamental differences (hence why the salafi community is not always so harmonious). Sometimes, "regular" conservative and/or fundamentalist Muslims are labeled wahhabi/Salafi. Then we have the salafi type who refuses to identify as salafi. "We are only Muslims who follow the sunnah of the Prophet and the four blah blah blah". And so on. Labeling, trying to discern "true" Islam, is a fool's job. There is no "real" Islam. The Islam during the 7th century is far removed from what we had during the 8th, 10th, and definitely from what was happening in al Andalus or IS in today's Shaam. We have Islams, just like we have Christianities.
I don't think we can "reform" Islam. Protestantism is a reform of Christianity (more specifically, the Catholic church). And believe me, Protestantism isn't that nice and pretty as some would think (especially us, who have today's Scandinavian version of it, think it's the "nice" version of Christianity). It isn't. What can be done, though, is reforming Muslims.
Today's Christians, those who aren't crazy bigots, ignore the nasty parts of the Bible and stick to the nicer ones. They also, maybe without knowing it, take influences from other faiths, philosophies, and such. That's when you end up with a personal faith that gives you comfort while not having the need to shove it down someone else's throat. That's when you have a personal god whom you pray to, without having the need to drag said god into the political arena. That's when you get 21st century Christianity that cares more about fundamental principles like goodness, generosity, charity, and love. And not so much about chastity and honour, crusades, hellfire, and sticking to the rules and laws of the Middle Ages.
Of course, I might be exaggerating a tiny bit. Perhaps even romanticizing in order to get my point through. However, the biggest, and perhaps even only, reform Islam needs is for Muslims to accept that the Quran is not the literal and unchanged word of god. Until then, trying to reinterpret and engaging in mental gymnastics will continue to be a fool's job. Meanwhile, groups like IS and others to come will only grow in our polarized and unfair world we live in. Accepting the Quran to be a historical, maybe even "inspired", piece of (man-made) work will allow Muslims to reform and make a better Islam(s). It is also the hardest and most difficult task.
And somehow I'm glad to be an ex-Muslim who no longer has the need to struggle for my faith and religion. It is liberating, but at the same time immensely worrying since I, being the occasional pessimist I am, can't see the only needed reform happening anytime soon.
"The healthiest people I know are those who are the first to label themselves fucked up." - three
Topic: Reform Muslim - Maajid Nawaz