I wasn't very happy with Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's remarks to the World Council of Churches, and it turns out Muslim leaders in Malaysia weren't either -- for very different reasons. From Straits Times, with thanks to Nicolei:
The Prime Minister, who has an Islamic Studies degree, called for Muslims to keep in mind contemporary conditions in relation to the relevance of fatwa handed down hundreds of years ago.'We are not saying that such fatwa are wrong. They were correct during their era...But whether it is correct or not at the present time, this we should consider,' he said, without making direct reference to the fatwa and opinions of religious scholars here.
Yesterday, he elaborated on the theme, saying that review was important in view of the challenges posed by advances in science and medicine.
A 60-page document outlining just what Islam Hadhari is will be launched this month, but PAS leaders have already stepped up their attacks against the Prime Minister's credentials as a Muslim leader, with some declaring the progressive philosophy 'a new religion that is no longer Islam'.
Islam Hadhari has been translated as 'Civilisational' and 'Progressive' Islam. It has been described as an attempt to adapt Islamic doctrine to modern life and to encourage Muslims to be moderate and to seek knowledge. ...
Datuk Seri Abdullah's critics blasted him earlier this week for speaking at a conference of the World Council of Churches. 'In Islam, the true religion of God is Islam and to officiate at such a function is an acknowledgement that other religions are equal to Islam,' said PAS deputy spiritual chief Idris Omar.
How can there be a "progressive Islam" if Muslims believe that every word in the Koran is set in concrete. Thus, the later and more extreme verses supplant the "kinder, gentler verses." Islam won't be Islam without violent Jihad. This isn't rocket science.
its no surprise at the attacks, any attempts at reforming this obnoxious pestilence will be like handing a crucifix to a vampire and telling the vampire to hold it up to himself.
This would be self destructive and they know it....the "Borg" are into preservation at all costs.
Robert has made an irrefutable case that Islamic scriptural traditions must be confronted if Islam is going to get anywhere. And the first thing to be done is confronting the texts and practices that cause horrific the violence, which stare us all in the face everyday.
In Hugh's posts, it seems to me there is more: the 'system of belief' of Islam, traditions, history, psychology, texts, ideas, texture...everything, is disfunctional and constantly moving, by its own internal forces, in the direction of domination and control: the ultimate aim of the Koran, of scriptural traditions, of cultural traditions, of Islam itself.
Hugh has shown these ideas in different ways with such power so many times now...
The idea of giving up supersession (that Islam is the 'last word' in religion, which can be done without abandoning a religion), or of admitting that there is something 'wrong with Islam' is like a log floating down a stream stopping, sprouting legs and arms, and swimming in the other direction...Islam must undergo a metamorphosis (something Irshad Manji seems to 'hope for') or procede in its natural direction and go over a cliff, and we must not allow ourselves to be swept along with it.
The proposal: get Islam away from us and let Islam die of its own accord with minimal impact to us; but nonMuslim suffering because of Islam is inevitable, and the more we allow Islam into our lives and societies, the more we will suffer...
Which is why a culling in the Mid East is very important. I like the idea of it starting with a Turkey Vs. Syria over the Euphrates waters. Dragging Hizbullah and Iran in. Then the Kurds step up.
If Islam has to be stopped then the best is to look into history. India and Europe have good examples. Until mossies are thoroughly humiliated you cannot talk to them.
A thinning of the cult is very necessat at this point in time. War, pestilence should help them out of their misery of living.