Online Journal
Front Page 
 
 Donate
 
 Submissions
 
 Announcements
 
 NewsLinks
 
 Special Reports
 
 News Media
 
 Elections & Voting
 
 Health
 
 Religion
 
 Social Security
 
 Analysis
 
 Commentary
 
 Editors' Blog
 
 Reclaiming America
 
 The Splendid Failure of Occupation
 
 Satire
 
 The Lighter Side
 
 Reviews
 
 The Mailbag
 
 Online Journal Stores
 Official Merchandise
 Amazon.com
 
 Links
 
 Join Mailing List
Search

Religion Last Updated: Jul 15th, 2010 - 00:27:38


The reformist delusion
By Samar Esapzai
Online Journal Contributing Writer


Jul 15, 2010, 00:20

Email this article
 Printer friendly page

As we progress further into the 21st century, religion, it appears, is becoming more and more particularized. Seemingly religious folks are now choosing which interpretation they want to follow, while at the same time, rejecting antediluvian historical interpretations of religious scriptures, deeming them as being corrupted; thus, they now feel that it is their duty � or perhaps mission in life � to re-interpret these religious texts in order to rectify them; and in turn save humanity from its impenetrable darkness. And to further add to this, these are people who allow for error in historical interpretations, but not error in content.

The most frustrating of this lot, to me, are the Reformist Muslims. (These are �Muslims� who vehemently believe that they are returning back to the beliefs of the early Ummah, by re-interpreting the Qur�an in such a way so as to distance themselves from traditional and less liberal interpretations of Islamic law, as they consider those to be �culturally-based,� and without any universal relevancy.) This new wave of pseudo-intellectual Muslims, in debates, become very quick to either distance themselves or outright reject any Hadith that contradict their beliefs/arguments, no matter how authentic they may be. They claim that if the teachings of the Hadith are not mentioned in the holy Qur�an then, by all means, it should not be trusted and simply rejected. To them, the Qur�an is the only source of reliance.

Though, the irony is that when the time comes for them to support their arguments, they don�t shy away from quoting Hadiths. (And these are Hadiths that obviously agree with their beliefs/arguments, no matter how unauthentic they may be.) The fact of the matter is, while the Quran is the quintessence of Islam, a surfeit of religious beliefs are comprised from Prophet Mohammed�s traditions, known as the Sunna, which is based on his sayings/teachings (in Hadiths), and hence is considered second to the Qur�an in its importance. So, in order for one to be considered a Muslim, she/he must not only comply with Qur�anic teachings, but also Hadiths no matter how contradictory they may seem.

It is, however, important to note that the reason why such Muslims indubitably reject Hadiths as being �unauthentic� is simply because it is hard to reinterpret or manipulate their meanings, as they tend to be in a language that is not only very thorough and detailed, but also filled with a plethora of narrations that leaves little room for discrepancies. On the other hand, the Qur�an tends to be a little vaguer in terms of content, filled with language that is more metaphorical; hence making it more susceptible to re-interpretations, which, of course, leans more in favour of Reformists.

The most disturbing facet of this issue is the way in which Reformists� shamelessly focus all their attention on teachings/beliefs of Qur�anic verses that they don�t agree with, or find intolerable and inhumane. One can�t help but wonder why they always feel the need to reform/re-interpret only verses that they consider to be �bad,� while completely ignoring verses that they think is �good,� only because those verses comply with their beliefs. Since Reformists believe that the bad verses have been historically misinterpreted, then couldn�t it be so that the good verses are as well?

For this reason, Reformist Muslims, in my opinion, are befuddled. In fact, I find them to be borderline Agnostics/Atheists. While they may not disbelieve in a supreme deity, their views and beliefs are no different than that of Agnostics/Atheists. And this is exactly why mainstream Muslims disapprove of them and goes on to call them �kafirs� or non-Muslims. And I don�t disagree, for the standard method of analyzing historical documents is to accept the older documents as authentic, unless, of course, there is strong evidence of corruption. Without such evidence, it is erroneous for Muslims to point out any of the historical interpretations or teachings as being �false.� Additionally, it is rather contradictory for someone to announce that God�s revelation is incorruptible, while at the same time, defend that revelation by maintaining that God�s word was corrupted. Because this then leaves orthodox Muslims with the idea that God cannot preserve His word from interpolations and errors.

Nevertheless, this is not to say that I, personally, have a problem with reformations and re-interpretations of religious texts, for they may indeed serve as a positive step towards tolerance and progression in the 21st century. Hence, my problem is not with reformation per se, but with Muslim Reformists� who are deluded with the belief that despite their �picking� and �choosing,� while rejecting (or ignoring) a myriad of other fundamental teachings as being corrupted, they still consider themselves as Muslims and their beliefs as �Islamic� when literally and traditionally they are not.

Samar Esapzai is a Pashtun-Canadian who is very passionate about international development and humanitarian issues around the world Her blog is SesapZai � Artist. Poet. Writer.

Copyright © 1998-2007 Online Journal
Email Online Journal Editor

Top of Page

Religion
Latest Headlines
Regarding US Muslims: A misguided debate
�Ground Zero Mosque� inflating Islamophobia
Growing anti-mosque hysteria in the heart of America
Bible cherry-picking at its most ludicrous . . . and lethal
Let�s give the Christians what they want: let�s make America a Christian nation!
Kill gay couples: A sign of the times?
The reformist delusion
When your job is to write hateful, inflammatory, irresponsible, and just plain dumb things
New efforts, new claims from the failing Christian Right
Pope condemns gay marriage but covers up pedophilia
When the Holy See pretends not to see
How Christian is the pope, really?
The lucrative business of selling irrationality and redemption
Words, money and anti-gay theopolitics
No pagan trees for Christmas warriors
Zionism�s un-Christian Bible
A matter of faith?
God has left the building
The Catholic Church plays victim, again
Christian nationalism: The darkest side of religion