ISLAM TODAY - What in God's Name do We do Now? Part 1

Qu'ran:

‘Oh humankind, we created you from a male and a female, and we made you races and tribes for you to get to know each other.’ S49:13

‘Men and women who submit, believe, obey, are truthful, patient, humble, almsgiving, fasting, guard their private parts, remember God, God has prepared for them forgiveness and a mighty reward’. S33:35

Modern reality:

'The abaya is used to deny that a normal human being is under the material. It restricts movement of the hands and feet, vision and speech, all further belittling the woman. The abaya makes women appear humiliated, submissive, and blindly obedient to men; and for men, it represents their sexual thoughts.' Maha Al-Hujailan, Saudi columnist

‘If learned Muslims could replace the enormous quantities of hate contained in our schoolbooks, both religious and secular, with studies that focus on loving other people, regardless of their religion, racial origin or nationality, they would help to save the entire Muslim world from its backwardness, hunger, poverty and ignorance.’ Wafa Sultan, author

Remember that I believe that Islam can be rescued from itself if Muslims (with help from the world) trounce the ticwms and truly reform their religion enough to allow the 21st century to welcome them. The Qu’ran stresses the five ‘pillars,’ respect for ‘the Book,’ compassion, care for the weak and poor, education and knowledge for all. And it includes a few gems that reflect how humanity’s relationship with God could truly flourish.

S33:35 above was revealed to Muhammad after one of his wives asked him why it seemed sometimes as though God only spoke to men, not women. God’s response came soon after:

'Men and women who submit, believe, obey, are truthful, patient, humble, almsgiving, fasting, guard their private parts, remember God, God has prepared for them forgiveness and a mighty reward.'

To me, this is a most beautiful and equally crucial ayat, which reads almost like God giving Muslims their own ten commandments in a single sentence; contrasting pre-Islamic tribalism, where women were basically property and had virtually no say in anything, here is God’s proclamation; here are the basic elements of a life well-lived, for men and women alike.

Note that in S33:35 there is not even a trace of a hint of a suggestion that men should mistreat and marginalize women, and certainly no edict that they should cover every inch of their bodies except their hands and eyeballs. Just the basic pronouncement accepted implicitly in the ‘civilized’ world to this day. Just cover your privates.

So this, in a nutshell, is the worthy religious path of Islam. The direction God would have us take. For me? Wondrously pithy and quite sublime.

The would-be reformer, modern-day Muslim man must call S33:35 the core of the new, true Islam. As he screams out to save his soul from a hi-jacked Islam, he knows he does the same for women, because any path that Allah/God/Spirit truly wants us to follow can’t possibly include mistreating women, or any woman or child (or owning, beating, raping, torturing or killing anyone, for that matter.)

Noteworthy as well: The bookends of the ayat are ‘men and women… remember God,’ which gives rise to ‘God’s forgiveness and reward.’

So that’s my answer to the title question, folks! When in doubt, return to S33:35; the Qu’ran reduced to its ultimate truth.

Still…despite the fact that there are fine middle eastern Muslim men out there, the obviously male-dominated culture systemically lacks humanity and compassion. I know because I read and listen. To truly grok the problems of modern-day Islam, we must listen and learn from real women, in the trenches, describing the hell that has so often been their lives. They point out, with the scars to prove it, brutality and depravity found nowhere in the Qu’ran. It’s male Muslims’ own tribal, reptilian-brain depravity, the need to dominate, pure and simple. In 2020? Loathsome.

Time to look at some of these activists and reformers, with their viewpoints on the problems of the Islam imposed on them, and with their impassioned pleas for reform; pleas for fellow Muslims’ help to enact changes necessary to make Islam a vibrant member of the 21st century religious community.

Starting with Irshad Manji of Canada:

Ground-breaking (not unlike a tornado) iconoclastic Muslim woman, author of two stirring books, 'The trouble with Islam’ and 'Allah Liberty and Love’ (translated into numerous languages,) Ms Manji is a tireless, outspoken critic of today’s Islam, speaking her truths on innumerable international stages. Back in 2003, the NY Times called her, ‘Osama bin-Laden’s worst nightmare.’

"'The Trouble with Islam’ is an open letter from me, a Muslim voice of reform, to concerned citizens worldwide – Muslim and not. It's about why my faith community needs to come to terms with the diversity of ideas, beliefs and people in our universe, and why non-Muslims have a pivotal role in helping us get there…that doesn't mean I refuse to be a Muslim, it simply means I refuse to join an army of automatons in the name of Allah."

She embodies the anger and frustration over "the inferior treatment of women in Islam," which includes "the continuing scourge of slavery in countries ruled by Islamic regimes."

“Why are we squandering the talents of women, fully half of God's creation? What's our excuse for reading the Koran literally when it's so contradictory and ambiguous?…if more of us don't speak out against the imperialists within Islam, these guys will walk away with the show."

She reveals that she was often treated better traveling in Israel than in Muslim countries, and rails against rampant anti-Semitism, born of fear and hatred which have no place in the 21st century.

And she shows us why she lives that determination to stay with Islam; because she knows that underneath the corrupted format we see in complacent governments, recalcitrant imams and hideous ticwms, there is the peace and love of the God of us all.

In ‘Allah Liberty and Love,’ she speaks often about ijtihad, the use of creative reasoning and questioning to arrive at truth.

Ijtihad was very much at the forefront of the Muslim cultural blossoming following the expansion of Islam in its early centuries. This reasoning and questioning informed Muslim art, science, philosophy and cultural exchange, and marked a creative upswing that flourished into the 11th c. It meshed, on at least equal terms, for centuries with its European counterparts; a high point many feel has been deteriorating ever since.

“Embracing ijtihad isn’t about leaving Islam, but about staying, with integrity. Faith allows us – actually it implores us – to experiment. The Qu’ran is studded with overtures to think, reason, examine, reflect, dissect and think again, with the safety net of the final truth being God’s, hence the liberty, duty and humility behind asking our questions. Ijtihad is faith at its fullest.”

She quotes reformist scholar Khaled Abou el Fadl, "Muslim thinking has remained either pro-west or anti-west instead of focusing on a far more important question: Is Muslim thinking in the modern world pro-human or anti-human?" Paraphrasing Irshad’s forceful and urgent response: 'to be pro-human, we’ll need to snap out of the illusion of neutrality, which only cements brutality, and it throws honest-to-God reformers under the bus.’

The Qu’ran puts it like this:

‘God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is inside them.’ S13:11

Another major stumbling block (they seem to be everywhere, don’t they?) for moderate Muslims: avoiding individuality to maintain cultural identity.

As Ms Manji puts it, "under the Arab code of honor, Muslims are taught to abdicate our individuality and accept our fate as property of our family…consider the pressure on you to quash your questions when the honor of your entire family rests on your self-censorship.”

Again, fearful tribal customs of the seventh century superseding individual pursuits in the modern world.

Finally, what she calls 'moral courage.’ "Nothing is more painful than being rejected by your own people. This is why I show how one develops what Robert F. Kennedy termed 'civil courage' – the willingness to say the truth to those powerful in one's own group, for the sake of a higher good.”

Manji urges all of us to wake up and face with moral courage what we find to be wrong in our own circles, in our countries and in the world. Our apathy “throws honest-to-God reformers under the bus.” We 'don’t want to get involved,’ we 'don’t want to rock the boat.’ Folks, it’s time to rock the damn boat! We all need to speak up. Be counted. Ask questions. Dialogue. Listen and learn. And start over, til we begin to get it right. With Islamic injustice and with injustice and hurtful laws all over the world.

Ms Manji’s ’Allah Liberty and love’ is so impactful and insightful, I feel compelled to add critiques to show how deeply it has affected others; partly because 'ijtihad‘ and ‘moral courage’ are, to me, such universal imperatives, presented here with such compelling force, and partly because of the diversity and passion of the persons critiquing (and there are many more):

"Irshad Manji's Allah, Liberty & Love is a passionate argument for passionate argument - in all of life and especially within Islam. I leave these pages strengthened by her humor, intelligence, bravery, fairness and faith." Gloria Steinem

“Like the uprisings against Middle East dictators, Allah, Liberty & Love is a jolt of adrenalin in the struggle against enemies of humanity—those who would coerce a people’s rights or an individual’s conscience. Manji is a brave woman whose moral courage brings threats against her life. Now, even as she equips her Muslim brothers and sisters to 'stay with integrity’ in their effort to replace dogma with faith, Manji challenges us who are not Muslims to take on the closed minds of our own religion, party, community or clan. This is a passionate yet practical guide for the journey of moral courage that each of us must begin if we are to live with dignity on a crowded planet.” Bill Moyers

"An audacious, thoughtful call for people of all religions to move beyond hate, fear, and intolerance." O, The Oprah Magazine

"Irshad Manji is the new voice of reform, not only for Islam, but for all religions. When we realize that liberty and love, meaning and purpose are more sacred than ideology and dogma, our spirituality will come of age." Deepak Chopra

"The book is for all who hope to make the world a better place.” U.S. Catholic

There are numerous other books written with enormous courage by Muslim women reformers. Many of these women have been through more suffering, more angst, more fear than we can imagine. They deserve our admiration, support and prayers. I have chosen five of many compelling books to write about, including the two by Ms Manji. I highly recommend them.

But before moving on to the last three books, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a powerful book edited by Ida Lichter: ‘Muslim Women Reformers: Inspiring Voices Against Oppression.’

Ms Lichter covers Islam in every country with significant Muslim impact, from the Middle East to Indonesia, from Germany to the US, with capsule histories and a recap of recent reform in each country. These are followed by noteworthy reformers’ stories, filled with harrowing and sometimes brutal events in their lives, plus inspiring quotes, brushes with intransigent family and regimes, and organizations they founded or joined. It is truly hard to prepare for the breadth and depth of inhumanity and despair, coupled with hope and heroism, that one uncovers in its pages. I was deeply moved.

The three remaining books are often at odds with each other, largely a function of the dichotomy of the Islam of the Qu’ran and the Islam practiced by Muslim countries today.

The first is a woman doctor who witnessed first-hand the atrocities against women in her native Syria.

The second, a self-told unfurling of the life of a woman who goes full circle from strict observance of the Qu’ran in Salafi Saudi Arabia to questioning the stifling mode of Islam practiced there. She becomes a vocal activist in the ongoing struggle of Muslim women against repression and misogyny.

The third is authored by a woman learning about Islam from a Muslim sheikh, fully aware of these atrocities, but living by example the Islam prescribed by the Qu’ran. We learn a tremendous amount about true Islam through his daily life, his insightful interpretations, his teaching, and his remarkable research and writing about Muslim women scholars throughout history.

Peace all over the world.