Essentialist Islam?

Submitted by Carl Goldberg (United States), Jan 2, 2006 at 20:41

Dear Dr. Pipes,

You say that Islam has evolved over its 1400 years. Yes and no. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. Religious Moslems, as you well know, insist that the essense of Islam -- the Koran, the Sunnah and the Sharia -- do NOT evolve but remain constant and binding on all Moslems. This doctrine has not evolved.

To the extent that religious Moslems guide themselves by the Koran, they must honor the requirements of jihad and dhimmitude, just like Islam always has done to one degree or other depending on the mood of the particular ruler. Religious Moslems would argue that, yes, Islam does have an unchangeable essence that makes it different from all other religions. I agree with them. However, whereas they see this as positive, I see it as negative and extremely dangerous.

Essentialism may or may not be a fallacy. It depends on what we are talking about. To argue that essentialism is always a fallacy is, itself, a fallacy.

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