Thanks for linking the book and articles. I only glanced at a few so far. I will tackle a few more today as it is my day off.
I think there's a lot to your question.
For one thing, what do you mean by Islam?
A lot of the 'good things' that you mention that come out of Islam have nothing to do with Islam itself, but can be derived from almost any group dynamics. That sense of ummah is just a sense of belonging. I don't mean to belittle it. In this age of individualism, that sense of belonging can definitely be yearned for. Yet, it can be found just as easily in political groups, other religions, Scientology...
When most people here speak of Islam, it is going to be from one of two perspectives.
1. A textual/rational approach. What do the texts of Islam say and the interpretations and just how bad it is.
2. The social implications of all the rules of Islam.
If you don't care about what is true and untrue and what is based and not based on text and just wish to have something called Islam, then sure, it can be a very regular thing.
The reality of the situation is that Islam was a religion founded 1400 years ago in the tribal lands of arabia. It is a religion that contains the values and lifestyle of those people. It is full of violence, slavery, subjugation of people, anti-gay, anti-women, anti-freedom, spreading of the islamic state by force...
You could say that about almost any major group 1400 years ago. That people today continue to think Islam is the perfect religion and need to follow specific versus on how to dress, go to the washroom, what to eat, what to drink, what to say, how to pray... does take them back to those times.
It is simply not something any reasoned and goodly person can subscribe to in this day and age.
Now, again, this is not to say people can't twist thing to keep their tradition and morph it into something more usable. A general belief in god, and good family values. They certainly can and you can definitely see value in that and talk to all kinds of nice people who speak of the goodness of Islam and how it brings them peace and happiness and community.
But again, what do you mean by Islam?
Both points of view I have heard is Islam is not just a religion but a way of life, laws, customs, human rights, banking system, etc. To put it simply its the end all be all of everything. All these different idea and systems are due to the various schools of Islamic thought. These schools of thought develop all these concepts using the Quran as a base. I guess that is why in certain views can never change as it would go against the Quran, or at least interpretations of the Quran that are more documented by Hadiths and early work from various schools of thought. As I said Islam taught to me is as you said, pretty much everything anyone will do or face in life and after death.
I can understand many people will reinterpret their religion to fit with modern times. Although from my experience Christians do not deny actions of God in the OT such as the eradication of various ethnic groups. Mostly I just hear a response that those people deserved it due to their own actions so it was "good" that God exterminated these people by his hand or by his "chosen" people. In the case of the OT most of these verse can be completely ignored due to the new covenant. Yet with the Quran verses talking about wife beating for example just baffle me. I see the two steps leading up to it are fine; talking to a wife then removing yourself from the home. However the last option, beating a wife, is reinterpreted to mean beat her with a small stick or feather. To me this is just silly. The first two steps would have a greater chance at success than the humorous image of a man beating someone with a feather. Maybe the idea is to win a wife over using comedy?
When it comes to truth I look try to look at the Quran and Islam the same way I look at the other Abrahamic religions. I go to the older sources and work regarding these sources. Modern views just seem like rationalization in light of the modern world. If complementary sources, and I use the word loosely, hold certain views that are now being ignored I question the modern views even more.
Am I incorrect in the view that Islam is supposed to be the end all be all of everything past, present and future?
Topic: Student with questions