69 million page views

Islam: Reformation May not be the Answer

Reader comment on item: A Muslim reformation?

Submitted by SAbry Fawzy Gohara, M.D. (United States), Oct 5, 2003 at 14:11

Although it seems that it makes sense to initiate and implement a reformation process in Islam, yet there are many challenges that are difficult, if not impossible, to tackle before a favorable outcome of such a reform can be achieved if at all.

Unfortunately, the Koran itself contains verses that clearly urge the "believers" to fight and kill the infidels (the Jews and the Christians). No Moslem is capable of or will be willing to abrogate a single word from Islam's holy book. Removing these hate inducing verses from the Koran, as should be the first step towards any attempt to implement a permanent reform, is simply impossible.

Moreover, the Koran tells every believing Moslem that the only accepted religion to Allah is Islam, and that Abraham, Moses and Jesus were Moslems!

Another difficulty with a possible Islamic reformation and its chances to succeed is that there is no, and there will never be, a recognized authority to interpret and implement such a reformation. Islam prIdes itself on the fact that it does not have a priestly class which can shape up and carry out such a reform. Any Moslem is encouraged to interpret his faith the way he understands it. The end result is that there are as many versions and variations of Islam as there are Moslems in this world. And as the world will never cease to produce fanatics and eccentrics, it will always remain under the threat of an aggressive interpretation of Islam that spawns acts such as those masterminded and executed by Ben Laden and his likes.

It is not a surprise that the calls for an Islamic reformation are arising from the West.
Here, Moslems are a tiny minority that lives in a society that does not assume that any one faith is superior than others, and which does not emphasize organized religion as the axis around which the world revolves as is the case in the parts of the world inhabited by Moslem majorities. Western Moslems not only benefited from their experience living in an open world where accepting the other the norm, and understood that this is the basis upon which any successful society must operate, but also those among them who still harbor ideas of hatred and aggression towards the "infidels" know that they can't express these views in the open with impunity .

The fact that there were 70 libraries in Moslem Cordoba, as indicated by Miss Irshad Manji, does not mean much. It only points to the fact that there was so much talk then about the superiority of Islam and the need to subdue the "infidels" and convert the whole world to the religion of Allah regardless of the means by which such a conversion is imposed. As a matter of fact, the Moslem fanatics of today often refer to these writings to justify their acts of aggression and violence. One may therefore conclude that the roots of the suffering that the world is currently experiencing at the hands of some Moslems, in every corner of the planet, go back to some of those books that were sitting one day on the shelves of Cordoba's many libraries.

On a more optimistic note, a reformation that is destined to succeed will need Herculean efforts and a vast expanse of time to penetrate through the minds of the billion Moslems or so who are living under Islamic rule in states that have proven their failure since they were "liberated" from the Western influence.


Sabry Fawzy Gohara, M.D.
Submitting....

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

Submit a comment on this item

<< Previous Comment      Next Comment >>

Reader comments (34) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Why this pessimism? [75 words]Mahendra MathurApr 7, 2008 19:04124994
Examples of obsolete and harmonious verses [89 words]Mahendra MathurApr 15, 2008 08:40124994
Dignity of Muslim women [305 words]Mahendra MathurApr 21, 2008 22:05124994
Equal [105 words]AK_83Nov 18, 2008 06:16124994
Muslim women [81 words]Mahendra MathurNov 18, 2008 16:56124994
Women in Islam [246 words]Mahendra MathurDec 6, 2008 20:21124994
islamophobia [69 words]adalJun 1, 2007 07:0695624
My response to some of these comments... [1316 words]Adil Manzoor.Dec 11, 2005 14:5629775
Hope and a better understanding over fear and prejudice [80 words]TimothyJul 6, 2004 09:5015897
allah [19 words]adnanOct 8, 2007 13:0115897
verse (9:11) Quran [31 words]Glen BosFeb 24, 2004 23:3313990
Doubt about Qur'an 9:11 [90 words]Ray ThibodeeauxFeb 15, 2006 16:1313990
It is a hoax [205 words]LuiAug 24, 2007 13:3913990
Spread the Message of Allah and His Messenger Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) [25 words]K.J.Haroon BashaSep 18, 2007 18:0113990
evil of 911 [52 words]akifSep 29, 2007 16:1913990
Wrong verse [47 words]TuranJan 14, 2009 19:3213990
Doubt about Qur'an 9:11 [28 words]M MalikJan 26, 2009 15:0413990
Irshad Manji's Inconsistencies... [427 words]RichardFeb 9, 2004 18:1313818
irshad is a hope [32 words]HasanJan 16, 2004 19:1413382
Difficult problem [127 words]Josef ZuaresOct 26, 2003 09:2611904
21st Century Islamic Warfare [161 words]An InsiderOct 23, 2003 01:0211888
salaam [5 words]adalJun 1, 2007 08:4111888
Muslim reformation and small players like Irshad Manji [273 words]Pund KamathOct 8, 2003 09:5811752
A Muslim Reformation? [96 words]Albert DowshenOct 6, 2003 13:0511708
Look at the History of the Christian Reformation First [91 words]Peter J. HerzOct 6, 2003 01:1911703
Moderate Muslims vs. Islamists [52 words]Bob BornOct 5, 2003 21:1711700
Question [29 words]Boris FeinmanOct 5, 2003 21:0911699
Missing part of the boat [150 words]Tova MatteroOct 5, 2003 19:4811698
Islamic Reformation [109 words]Arlinda DeAngelisOct 5, 2003 18:1111697
Re-discover Islam,,,Re-Socialize muslims [154 words]nawaz khanMay 11, 2009 03:2711697
Quran - the primay source [97 words]Mahendra MathurJul 21, 2009 23:2411697
Islam: Reformation May not be the Answer [581 words]SAbry Fawzy Gohara, M.D.Oct 5, 2003 14:1111694
A Muslim Reformation? [115 words]Mr. Menahem DunskyOct 5, 2003 10:2411690
is the prison arena actively recruiting conversions to the Muslim religion? [21 words]vanessa crossOct 4, 2007 11:1311690

Follow Daniel Pipes

Facebook   Twitter   RSS   Join Mailing List

All materials by Daniel Pipes on this site: © 1968-2024 Daniel Pipes. daniel.pipes@gmail.com and @DanielPipes

Support Daniel Pipes' work with a tax-deductible donation to the Middle East Forum.Daniel J. Pipes

(The MEF is a publicly supported, nonprofit organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Tax-ID 23-774-9796, approved Apr. 27, 1998.

For more information, view our IRS letter of determination.)