At the risk of sounding like a talking parrot, I must repeat something I said in Islam Unveiled and many times since then: Islamic reformers will always face an uphill battle, because jihadists will use the Qur’an and Sunnah against them, and charge them with straying from Islamic authenticity.
From ChannelNewsAsia.com, with thanks to Twostellas:
JAKARTA: The highest Islamic authority in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-populated nation, is mulling edicts to fight “liberal Islamic thought”, a senior Muslim cleric said.
Ma’aruf Amin, head of the edict committee of the Indonesian Ulema Council, said the move was being considered as a means to fight deviance and secularism in the country, most of which adheres to a moderate strain of the religion….
The Council is officially the highest authority on Islamic matters in Indonesia but its edicts have not always been closely followed by all Muslims, who make up 88 percent of the population of officially-secular Indonesia….