I discussed the Islamic reforms of Syed Ahmad Khan in my 2003 book Onward Muslim Soldiers. His life, as this retrospective shows, illustrates why there are so few Islamic reformers, and the enormous difficulties they face. "How the clergy wanted Sir Syed beheaded," by Arif Mohammed Khan in the Times of India, October 19 (thanks to Mohan):
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was the first Muslim voice of reform in India. He emerged on the scene at a time when Indian Muslim society was sunk in obscurantism and inertia and showed no desire to struggle out of its medieval grooves. The unwholesome influence of clergy had made them view modern education as incompatible with and hostile to religion.The abortive uprising of 1857 and the cleric call to jihad made Muslims target of British wrath and reprisals. Sir Syed as a judicial officer served the government during the crisis but the aftermath of disturbances deeply impacted him.
He wrote: "I reflected about the decadence of the Muslim community, and came to the conclusion that modern education alone is the remedy of the ills they are suffering from. I decided on a strategy to disabuse their minds of strong communal belief that the study of European literature and science is anti-religion and promotes disbelief."
The objectives of Sir Syed, born in early 19th century (October 17, 1817), were educational and social reforms; he had no desire to dabble in religion. But all his initiatives were opposed in the name of religion.
Describing his dilemma, Sir Syed said: "We were keen to avoid any discussion of religion, but the problem is that our behaviours, social practices and religious beliefs are so mixed up that no discussion of social reform is possible without provoking a religious controversy." Frustrated with the clergy, he added, "When urged to give up something harmful, they say it has religious merit and when asked to do something positive they assert it is prohibited by religion. So we have no options but discuss the religious context to push our agenda forward." [...]
The intensity of opposition can be understood from the comments of Maulana Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi in his book "Islamiat aur Maghribiat ki Kashmakash" written more than 60 years after Sir Syed's death. Maulana says: "˜The education mission of Sir Syed and his advocacy of Western civilization became correlatives and caused apprehensions and doubts in the minds of people. A wave of opposition took hold of the religious circles and his movement met with a simultaneous call for its boycott."
First Sir Syed was targeted when he shared food with the British and defended his action in a signed article. The opposition became fierce during his stay in London. Sir Syed responded through a memorandum saying: "The terrifying call of Kanpur, the lyrical satire of Lucknow, the idle tattle of Agra and Allahabad, the fatwas of Rampur and Bareilly and the snide remarks of holy men of Delhi grieve me not. My heart is overflowing with the idea of welfare of my people and there is no room in it for any anger or rancor."
Conscious of cleric hostility Sir Syed offered not to have any role in matters of religious instruction in the college and invited leading clerics to prepare the syllabus. Maulana Qasim Nanotvi and Maulana Yaqoob of Deoband shot down the proposal saying they cannot associate with an institution which will have Shia students on the campus.
Maulana Hali in his biography of Sir Syed says that 60 maulvis and alims had signed fatwas accusing Sir Syed of disbelief and apostasy. There was total consensus among the Indian clerics, only divine approval was missing. Maulvi Ali Bakhsh did the needful and travelled to Mecca and Medina on the pretext of pilgrimage and secured a fatwa calling for beheading of Sir Syed if he repented not and persisted with his plan to establish the college....
Another poster at this blog once asked me how Islam could be reformed.
I replied - Start over.
"the uprising of 1857"
Think of the Black Hole of Calcutta (often described as the work of "Indians") and then think, inexorably, of Muslims.
I reflected about the decadence of the Muslim community, and came to the conclusion that modern education alone is the remedy of the ills they are suffering from.
Boy, that best laid plan didn't work out. Instead of knowledge disinfecting the dark spaces that inhabit every Moslem skull, it only armed those spaces with further weapons of the tongue and the field.
*** 70:1 ***
Nice try, though.
From "The Innocents Abroad"
Here's Muslim Society as Mark Twain observed it in Syria in the 1860's:
"When you ride through one of these [Syrian] villages at noon-day, you first meet a melancholy dog, that looks up at you and silently begs that you won't run over him, but he does not offer to get out of the way; next you meet a young boy without any clothes on, and he holds out his hand and says "Bucksheesh!" --he don't really expect a cent, but then he learned to say that before he learned to say mother, and now he can not break himself of it; next you meet a woman with a black veil drawn closely over her face, and her bust exposed; finally, you come to several sore-eyed children and children in all stages of mutilation and decay; and sitting humbly in the dust, and all fringed with filthy rags, is a poor devil whose arms and legs are gnarled and twisted like grape-vines. These are all the people you are likely to see. The balance of the population are asleep within doors, or abroad tending goats in the plains and on the hill-sides. The village is built on some consumptive little water-course, and about it is a little fresh-looking vegetation. Beyond this charmed circle, for miles on every side, stretches a weary desert of sand and gravel, which produces a gray bunchy shrub like sage-brush. A Syrian village is the sorriest sight in the world, and its surroundings are eminently in keeping with it."
Meanwhile, yet another American has turned up among the ranks of the mujahideen, this time in Pakistan.
Hey Styrer, does this article answer your question about reforming islam?
It can't be done.
Ban islam.
Yes, the Ottoman Empire was such a glorious thing.
Maulana Hali in his biography of Sir Syed says that 60 maulvis and alims had signed fatwas accusing Sir Syed of disbelief and apostasy.
....................
Well, there's the rub, isn't it? Any "reformer" or even "moderate" faces the constant threat of being proclaimed a hypocrite or an outright apostate. At best, they are then considered irrelevant by the Muslim community; at worst, they are are subject to fatwas and calls for their blood.
That is why most "moderates"--to the extent that they exist at all--tend to keep quiet and a very low profile, lest they arouse the savagery of their more devout co-religionists.
How do you spell insanity: r-e-f-o-r-m-i-s-l-a-m
Beating ones head against a wall might make more of a dent in things -- at least in the wall, that is.
Muhammad was evil. Evil cannot be reformed. Crush evil. Nuff said.
OVER 100 years later and no change at least the Catholics and Protestants have quit trying to kill each other in northern Ireland , now if we could get the Shiites and Sunnis to do the same as well as stopping trying to kill any else who is not of there sect or non Muslim SIGH