“And [remember] when Moses said to his people: ‘O my people, call in remembrance the favour of God unto you, when he produced prophets among you, made you kings, and gave to you what He had not given to any other among the peoples. O my people, enter the Holy Land which God has assigned unto you, and turn not back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin.’” [Qur'an 5:20-21]
I make the following prediction, or possibly state a truism:
Any Muslim who believes the text quoted above is G-d’s law will also:
a) see Islam as a civilised and modern law system, a system that reformed pagan law because it was outdated and wrong
b) believe in technical gender equality (that is equal rights but not necessarily the same recommended behaviour or clothing)
c) consider science a way to learn more about G-d’s creation and something that needs to be supported and that is of equal value to studying th Quran
d) accept the theory of evolution in the spirit described above as a result of studying G-d’s creation
e) see Islam as a great culture which has once ruled the known world and can again rule the known world because of its advantages over other cultures
f) abhor idolatry, dismiss the supposed “power” of amulets, reject astrology, and believe only in G-d, G-d’s laws, and what he can see with his own eyes
g) hold the Quran, the Tanakh (Jewish Bible), the Christian Bible in great respect, as well as related scripture from other monotheistic religions, other (old) religions and scientific books, and anything written in general, in that order
h) understand that the most important gift G-d gave us is free will and the law and that what makes holy scripture holy is the fact that it is law; and that G-d’s word and law are one and the same
i) know that G-d and the prophets are above satire and cannot be insulted by blasphemers, that no insult can reach G-d, and that the prophets were only men and are not to be idolised
j) know that is better to ridicule a prophet than to idolise him and that the first should be avoided because of the respect owed to the prophet while the second must be avoided because it would be a direct violation of G-d’s law
k) know that G-d must be feared and not His self-proclaimed followers
l) realise that faith can only exist where the option of not believing also exists, that belief in G-d is only true faith when believing in G-d is not more convenient than not believing in G-d
m) insist that dying for the faith is martyrdom but that murdering and committing suicide can never be martyrdom
Cairo: Egypt’s top cleric yesterday denied in a statement that he had said a Muslim can give up his faith without punishment.
Ali Goma’a, the mufti of Egypt, was quoted as saying in a posting on a Washington Post-Newsweek forum that Muslims are free to change their faith and this is a matter between an individual and God.
“What I actually said is that Islam prohibits a Muslim from changing his religion and that apostasy is a crime, which must be punished,” Goma’a said.
What Islam needs is to reject Arab nationalism and the Wahabi and Khomeini heresies and Islam will be fine as it was before.
Islam was capable of building a civilisation at a time when Christianity had evolved into an ideology that indeed needed reform. But Islam has never evolved into such an ideology, Islam has been replaced by such ideologies.
Andrew Brehm…I totally agree with U. adopting nationalistic ideologies and trying to islamize it confused everyone.
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Name: Drima Abu Hamdan.
Location: Deep, Deep Down the Orgasmic Rabbit Hole of Epistemology.
Bio of Awesomeness: Traditionalist Muslim, Turned Free Thinking Sufi Lover. Social Media Consultant to NY Times Best-Selling Authors. Author of Upcoming Memoir. Belief Systems Junkie. Afro-Arab Libertarian Music Freak. Vehemently Anti-Islamist. Loud and Drop Dead Gorgeous. The High Priest of Mischievous "Blasphemy." Read on and Have Your Brain Spun. You've Been Warned!
"If I don't have the freedom to disbelieve, I cannot believe."
— Abdullahi An-Na'im
"Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because, if there be one, he must approve the homage of reason rather than of blind-folded fear."
SudaneseThinker
SudaneseThinker
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Goodo. Now, if only they’d go against suicide bombings, which I’m afraid the Egyptian Mufti mentioned allows when it is directed against Israelis.
The path is a good one though, but it’s going to be one bumpy ride…
“And [remember] when Moses said to his people: ‘O my people, call in remembrance the favour of God unto you, when he produced prophets among you, made you kings, and gave to you what He had not given to any other among the peoples. O my people, enter the Holy Land which God has assigned unto you, and turn not back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin.’” [Qur'an 5:20-21]
I make the following prediction, or possibly state a truism:
Any Muslim who believes the text quoted above is G-d’s law will also:
a) see Islam as a civilised and modern law system, a system that reformed pagan law because it was outdated and wrong
b) believe in technical gender equality (that is equal rights but not necessarily the same recommended behaviour or clothing)
c) consider science a way to learn more about G-d’s creation and something that needs to be supported and that is of equal value to studying th Quran
d) accept the theory of evolution in the spirit described above as a result of studying G-d’s creation
e) see Islam as a great culture which has once ruled the known world and can again rule the known world because of its advantages over other cultures
f) abhor idolatry, dismiss the supposed “power” of amulets, reject astrology, and believe only in G-d, G-d’s laws, and what he can see with his own eyes
g) hold the Quran, the Tanakh (Jewish Bible), the Christian Bible in great respect, as well as related scripture from other monotheistic religions, other (old) religions and scientific books, and anything written in general, in that order
h) understand that the most important gift G-d gave us is free will and the law and that what makes holy scripture holy is the fact that it is law; and that G-d’s word and law are one and the same
i) know that G-d and the prophets are above satire and cannot be insulted by blasphemers, that no insult can reach G-d, and that the prophets were only men and are not to be idolised
j) know that is better to ridicule a prophet than to idolise him and that the first should be avoided because of the respect owed to the prophet while the second must be avoided because it would be a direct violation of G-d’s law
k) know that G-d must be feared and not His self-proclaimed followers
l) realise that faith can only exist where the option of not believing also exists, that belief in G-d is only true faith when believing in G-d is not more convenient than not believing in G-d
m) insist that dying for the faith is martyrdom but that murdering and committing suicide can never be martyrdom
Wow! Lets hope this ruling becomes increasingly accepted.
OT: But I thought that Israel was an apartheid state
Well, scratch that idea. The cleric is now denying he ever said that.
“But I thought that Israel was an apartheid state.”
For some people any state that grants Jews and non-Jews equal rights is an “apartheid state”. It goes against the natural order.
Well, as Tommy said, Goma’a has changed his mind.
I would have been amazed had he not done so.
Islam doesn’t need reform.
What Islam needs is to reject Arab nationalism and the Wahabi and Khomeini heresies and Islam will be fine as it was before.
Islam was capable of building a civilisation at a time when Christianity had evolved into an ideology that indeed needed reform. But Islam has never evolved into such an ideology, Islam has been replaced by such ideologies.
Andrew Brehm…I totally agree with U. adopting nationalistic ideologies and trying to islamize it confused everyone.
Leave a Comment