|
||||||||||
|
|
By Jacob Thomas 12 Julu 2009 I couldn’t believe my eyes! How would any Arab intellectual dare
to write a serious article with this shocking title: “So That Islam Might
Not Die” حتى لا يموت
الإسلام “Hatta la Yamutu’l Islam?
I read it on the last day of May, 2009, on the Kuwaiti website, www.kwtanweer.com The writer manifested a great concern about under-development in
the Islamic world, and attributed it to the Muslims’ inability to break from
their traditional interpretation of the Qur’an. In order to cope with the
challenges of modernity, he called on Muslims to adopt an enlightened
hermeneutic of the Qur’an, a prescription that is actually quite revolutionary.
He went on to claim that unless such a step is taken, Islam will not survive!
It was this strong conviction that made him choose this title for his article! Here are excerpts translated from the author’s essay: “This is my concluding article in a series that dealt with the
subject of development. To achieve this goal requires an open mind and
liberation from those fixed and fanciful positions that offered ready-made
solutions to all types of human problems. We must acknowledge that traditional
Islam, with its totalitarian worldview is standing in the way of progress and
development. A genuine and serious reformation can only take place by adopting
a complete separation between Allah and Muhammad; Allah
is an absolute and unchanging Being, while the Prophet is not. It is
true that Muhammad was the primary founder of the Islamic Umma,
but as a human being, he acted within the cultural and political contexts of
his day. Therefore, all the texts which the Prophet brought, including
the Qur’an, are purely historical texts, and as such, cannot be considered
absolutely authentic or accurate. “Our problem does not reside in a belief in the existence of God.
A person may be a believer and free at the same time. The real problem is that
belief in a person or a group of people who claim to be representatives of
Allah. This faith must be rejected before any genuine reform can take place.
Take for example, Protestant Christianity. It confesses the divinity of Christ
and at the same time, it does not acknowledge any person that acts as his
representative on earth. This has enabled Protestants to worship Christ
according to their convictions, while at the same time leaving earthly matters
to be dealt with in a secular fashion. We conclude that a separation of
religion from politics is the sine qua non, for the rise of a
progressive and non-totalitarian religion. “To sum up my thesis; it would be difficult and unthinkable for
Muslims to reject or abandon their religion in order to achieve progress and
development. The best solution for their predicament is to strip Islam of all
its totalitarian impulses.” It is refreshing to read articles by Muslim intellectuals who are
very eager to see Islam delivered from the shackles of its attachment to those
rigid and irrational elements of their religious heritage. The only way for
Arab nations to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century is to break
loose from their traditional Qur’anic hermeneutics. But what struck me the most about this author’s essay was his view
of the Qur’an itself. As he put it, “Therefore, all the texts which the
Prophet brought, including the Qur’an, are purely historical texts, and as
such, cannot be considered absolutely authentic or accurate.” For anyone who is familiar with Arabic, and the history of Islamic
theology, these words sound extremely radical, even revolutionary. Notice how
he formulated his view of the Qur’an, not as a book that descended upon
Muhammad, but as a book that the Prophet brought, and which is on a par with
the other sacred texts of Islam, such as the Hadiths! The writer has gone
beyond the views of the Mu’tazilites of the 9th
century who denied the eternal nature of the Qur’an, and stressed its
historical nature. He suggested a hermeneutic that would allow for a “higher
criticism” of the Qur’an, for the development of a kinder and more
compassionate Islam! At this point I realize that a Westerner reading my translation of
this article may not be struck by its full impact. But to read it in Arabic is
nothing less than feeling the full impact of a proposal that would shatter a
foundational tenet of Islam, namely that Muhammad was the recipient of the very
words of Allah. For an orthodox Muslim, whether Sunni or Shi’ite, the author’s
prescription is unthinkable and amounts to kufr, i.e. utter
blasphemy. In the final analysis, the dilemma for Islam can only be solved by
Muslims. Non-Muslims can study and reflect on the history and challenges
that have faced Islam across the last fourteen centuries. We cannot but sympathize
with the author and appreciate his “modest proposal” for Islam’s survival in
our globalized world. He is absolutely convinced that unless Muslims adopt a
new and open-minded hermeneutics, their future remains in doubt. Note The following is a transliteration of the author’s words about his
view of the nature of the Qur’an. Inna’l bidaya li-ay Islah Islami jad, hua al-fasl al-tam bayna’l
Allah wa’l-Nabi. Fal’Allah mutlaq, baynama al-Nabi laysa kathalika. Innahu wala
shak mu’assess al-Umma al-awwal, walakinnahu bashar, kana ya’malu dimna’l itari
al-thaqafi wal-siyassi lizamanihi, wa-bittali fa-inna kaffat al-nusoos allati
ja’a biha al-Nabi, bima feeha al-Qur’an, hiya nusoos tarikhiyya bahtat,
wa-laysat nusoos sahihat bishaklen mutlaq. .إن
البداية لأي
إصلاح إسلامي
جاد هو الفصل
التام بين
الله والنبي،
فالله مطلق
بينما النبي
ليس كذلك. انه
ولا شك مؤسس
الأمة الأول
ولكنه بشر كان
يعمل ضمن
الإطار
الثقافي
والسياسي لزمانه
وبالتالي فان
كافة النصوص
التي جاء بها
النبي بما
فيها القرآن
هي نصوص
تاريخية بحتة
وليست نصوص
صحيحة بشكل
مطلق. The link for the 31 May, 2009 article is: http://www.kwtanweer.com/articles/articleforprint.php?articleID=2242 Share with others to save the Humanity: ·
written by Jacob
Thomas 15 Responses to ““So
That Islam Might Not Die” – “Hatta la Yamutu’l Islam”” 1.
1. redjupiter58 Says: You really have to read
it in Arabic to appreciate the full impact what he is saying. Surprised he
hasn’t been killed yet. in essence he is saying that to move forward, the Quran
does not ready made solutions (imaginary he calls them) to humanity. A person
cannot be worshipped. Europe and the Far East achieved this by utilising this
separation, he also notes that in the Islamic world, when such a system came to
life it has been destroyed. Worship the oneness of God and forget about the
Quran and Mohammed who is just a messenger. Brilliant. 2.
2. Jack Eliud Says: Development and progress
have nothing to do with religion.Islam provides and sets a stage for
development.Arab states are not capitalists states.The writer is simply
advocating for capitalism where its “lets take everything for ourselves and
damn everybody else.” The authenticity and
divine nature of Quran is something that every rational individual can see not
unless you are born of a whore like this little minded writer. Islam is there to stay
whether you like it or not. 3.
3. PramodCosmopolitan Says: Oh my god!!! It has to be counted(the
article) among one of the modern wonders of the world. And it is amazing that
of the past 14 centuries nobody has ever raised his/her voice and survived.Most
importantly the western world has been surprisingly An average boy or girl
in Europe or the west wakes up daily thinking of playing football,tennis or
cricket where as an average boy
in most Muslim countries wakes up thinking playing with his A.K-47 or
Kalashnikov This evil cult needs
open criticism from all the corners of the world. All were ancient
civilizations with significant contribution in shaping the modern world. It is not a coincidence
that these places are terrorist breeding grounds.The only People of the civilized
world now must stand united to destroy ISLAM .I am not 4.
4. Raisin Head Says: #2 Islam is dying as we
speak. No sane man or woman will remain inside of the evil expoused by Allah
the Devil, the greatest Liar and his Messiah Prophet Muhammad. This is why
Islam has remained dead for 1400 years and will never rise but continue to blow
up people who invented medical advancements to save people from disease and the
likes. Muslims lie like algebra is from India not Islam, until they stole it
and claimed it as Islamic. Today we know how Islam lied and lies. The Sex Jihad is in
progress and infidels still are so kind that we feed them. Maybe we need to say
to the Muslims, either you feed yourself or return back to Pakistan, India,
Africa and other Islamic cesspools. 5.
5. farishta Says: Very hopeful news for
the good of Muslims. Once again it exposes
the Q U R A N for what it is. Q uestionable 6.
6. pathfinder Says: Non-muslims should take
quran and whereever there is mention of kufr, non-believer, jews, christians,
idolator etc is there, replace it by Muslims. Muslim cities also face
a huge problem.Cities like dubai(concrete jungle) etc built on Sand and they
have 20 times more population, then they can survive. Dubai like places will be
gone within 30 years. 7.
7. Ibn Kammuna Says: Dear Jacob Thomas, 8.
8. Marie Says: Jack: Development and progress
have nothing to do with religion.Islam provides and sets a stage for
development.Arab states are not capitalists states.The writer is simply
advocating for capitalism where its “lets take everything for ourselves and
damn everybody else.” I say: In capitalism everyone
must work hard to make money. Those that don’t work hard complain. Also if it
weren’t for capitalism the oil rich arab countries would not be so wealthy. 9.
9. Saleem Says: A very interesting
article. Good to see that more
Muslims are waking up to fact that Islam is a fraud. 10.
10. Marie Says: By the way if religion
has nothing to do with human progress then why are Muslims still stuck in the
stone age while most of the kafir world is making progress? 11.
11. Raisin Head Says: Many black Muslims are
leaving Islam after seeing the evil words spoken about them from allah and
Muhammad and the other holy behind scholar. when I showed them the scholar from
Saudi Arabia who called them infidel if they refused slavery they immediately
left Islam. The word is gertting out and the word is also getting out to whites
about being mamluks(white slaves) Islam is now known as
the ARABIC SLAVE MACHINE. aMERICAN mUSLIMS ARE NOW KNOWN AS TRAITORS AND WOMEN
WEARING ARAB DO RAGS. 12.
12. Poma Says: Great Work Dear 13.
13. kenmirzz Says: to Jack Eliud #2 You said: “The
authenticity and divine nature of Quran is something that every rational
individual can see not unless you are born of a whore like this little minded
writer. Can you analyze Suraa At
Tahrim please? Then see from which point of view that the story is morally
justified or superior? Study one more Suraa, Al-Masad, it’s divine curse, quite
“beautiful”. Indeed, these two Suraa are a shame in Islam as they narrated
events that possessed no ethical values at all. How can you rationally accept
these garbage to be part of your holy Islamic doctrine? In Suraa An Nisa’, it is
stated that equality is the basis of polygamous marriage. However, Suraa At
Tahrim elaborate on the inequality practiced by the “prophet” Muhammad with
regards to his wife that cause them to rebel against him. Unless you walk the
walk and talk the talk, you are an impostor hypocrite as in the case of
Muhammad. Humanity is but one
family. 14.
14. Moooo Says: # 13 Forget to respond
to this pathetic jackass elewd. he would run like all his big mouth brothers.
Divine nature my ass. 15.
15. jonc Says: Jack E wrote: Jack E wrote: http://www.faithfreedom.org/2009/07/12/%E2%80%9Cso-that-islam-might-not-die%E2%80%9D-%E2%80%9Chatta-la-yamutu%E2%80%99l-islam%E2%80%9D/ |
|||||||||
