Irshad Manji and An-Na’im at Heretic Muslims Conference

7 Responses to “Irshad Manji and An-Na’im at Heretic Muslims Conference”

1. anna on April 2nd, 2008 6:31 pm

   reformation, so many meanings. What do people mean by reformation, rewriting religious books or swapping less favourable texts for ones that suit the current cultural climate? puzzler

   I personally think he’s not going to gain any ground with his rather bizarre approach of emphasising that he is promoting heresy and making mention of sufism. He needs to take the approach of people like Moez Masoud- some of the stuff he says I’d say borders on heresy, but people take it in hook line and sinker because he’s a captivating speaker, he hits all the right buttons with his topics- stuff that pertains to people’s lives as oppose to distant religious and political ideas- and he does the image thing like a pro, Gant shirts & chinos, slick promo videos all make the message more palatable. Guys like him are more likely to get a reformation going than some dude at a conference talking about abstract ideas that are far removed from everyday life.

2. Drima on April 2nd, 2008 6:50 pm

   Moez is more of an Islam-propelled social change kinda guy.

   An-Na’im is a scholar, a major one. The change he’s striving for is theological and philosophical. It’s not about rewriting the religious texts but reinterpreting them. It’s a reform in favor of pluralism, justice and freedom.

   Both men to one extent or another have different audiences on different intellectual levels, possessing different interests.

   As for the heresy theme, you misunderstand the concept. Read more on what it means here:

   http://tabsir.net/?p=506

   To the conservatives, liberal democracy is a man-made idea, a heresy. To those who believe in liberal democracy, it isn’t since Islam in theory is and in practice can be compatible with democracy. Those we seek to convince are the ones who view our ideas as “heretical”, something An-Na’im says isn’t unusual given how many orthodoxies in history started out as heresy. He’s right.

3. anna on April 2nd, 2008 11:30 pm

   why reinterpret? when does a particular interpretation lose its usefulness so that another one is needed?

4. Sheema on April 3rd, 2008 1:50 am

   I think the fact that he’s apparently got a solid following among Muslim youth in Malaysia and Indonesia is extremely exciting, encouraging, and proof enough that he IS striking a chord with people.

   Why reinterpret? Because human societies aren’t static - we change with the times and even with geography. That’s why religious interpretation must never be allowed to ossify (love that word!).

5. Andrew Brehm on April 3rd, 2008 9:58 am

   From the article:

   “The essence of the Sufi’s message had been that certain verses in the Koran represented the universal, eternal message of Islam, while others were relevant to a particular historical context and no longer viable.”

   Yes. That makes sense.

6. Ait-hamad on April 3rd, 2008 5:26 pm

   This could be a thing to discuss only. I am not sure as to its implementation, because anything implementable and thus altered is called “bidaa” and is a sin and thus will be seen as a heresy by Muslim reformers themselves. Reformation in Islam will require more than just discussion (but I agree, first things must come first) there is a need for a power relations change.

   When one woman in Canada last year was trying to change a habit in Islamic prayer, she was almost put to death by her community. Her small change was to allow women to stand with their husbands and children at payers in the mosques. It created an uproar. If these mysogynst males uphold the worth of their famialy members at heart, what could be more fitting to see your own family praying and reciting the verses of the almighty Allah.

   I guess I am wrong to underestimate to powerfull hormones of lust of men standing by and imagining all the sexual desires these woemen exhume. By the way these women are already covered from head to toe.

   Think about it my friends, if this small and beneficial and unharmful call of change is seen as a calomny and detestable in the eye of Allah, what else could their change in Islam, the written word of Allah himself.

   These poeple can praise El Rumi or El-Ghazali all they want, I might even join in the dancing and singing these brilliant heretics that Islam has even produced. In fact many of them (El-Ghazali) paid with their lives. The fact remains that the only dream there is is that we live in the 21st century and lives of all muslims (fanatics or not) is being dictated by a semi-literate religion and has proven to itself and to the world that it is unshackable and just and fair for all mankind. One way out if this mess is to leave Islam and become an agnostic and piece of mind will follow.

7. Don Cox on April 5th, 2008 8:27 am

   It isn’t only the Islamic State which is a dead end. The Christian State (which has been tried many times), the Hindu State, the Ancient-Egyptian-Religion State - they are all dead ends.

   One reason is that sacred books don’t tell you how to manage water and sewage systems, health care, transport, communications, currency and inflation, or scientific and medical research. All of these are essential functions of a modern state.

   We have to find out how to do all this stuff by constant experimentation and hard thought. The trainer wheels are off.

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