Islamic Reformation Required
By Sam Stone
Islam must undergo a conscious Reformation. Islamic scholars must - as Christian scholars have done repeatedly throughout history - gather and redefine their faith. All 164 Koranic verses supporting the concept of Jihad must be excised, or re-written. Likewise passages supporting the taking of child brides, treatment of “infidels” in Muslim lands, and the killing of LGBT individuals. Modern Islam has a majority of adherents who have undertaken what are essentially their own reforms in these areas – choosing to set parts of the Koran aside – but so long as all the passages supporting violent, pedophilic behaviors remain, a sizeable percentage of the world’s 3 billion Muslims will continue to follow them as they have since Islam’s creation in the 7th century.
Religions are a product of their creation in both time and place. Christianity has reformed itself multiple times. In 382 A.D., the Council of Rome officially canonized the New Testament. Changes continued for the next two hundred or so years, then settled in until the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. The following three hundred years saw the slow, but steady, dissolution of Christianity as cause or justification for conquest. Over years since that time, numerous smaller changes and interpretations have taken place, most recently under the last two Popes who have sought to abrogate Biblical censure of LGBT individuals.
The result is that modern Christianity bears little resemblance to the observation and practices of ancient Christianity. And that’s a very good thing. Islam, on the other hand, has been officially unchanging. And that’s a problem. Modern Christianity does not condone conquest in the name of God. Or plural marriage and child brides. Modern Christians do not stone their wives to death for not being virgins when they’re married. The Koran has remained unchanged, and does.
Part of the reason is the perceived nature of the Bible vs the Koran. Christians, from the earliest days of their religion, have entertained varying ideas and vigorous debate over the form of their faith. No one person wrote the Bible, it is a socially sourced construct, responsive to the needs of followers within the guiding teachings of Christ. The Koran is unchanging because its singular creator declared himself the earthly manifestation of primordial light, who transmitted the eternal word of God. This is the barrier to reform that has stood against any attempts to modernize a religion based on the social sensibilities of ancient desert tribal societies. But those sensibilities have only a very limited place in the modern world.
And Muslims around the globe should rejoice that the Western societies have rejected the domineering Christianity of the past. They wouldn’t exist otherwise. Since World War II, the Western Christian world has had the capability of wiping Islam off the face of the Earth. It’s time for Islam to reciprocate the modernizing accommodation of religious and social freedom. And there are good signs that doing so would be not merely accepted but welcomed by the majority of practicing Muslims. Note, for example, the near total silence of the Gulf States while Israel conducts their operations in Gaza. The world is ready to move past the era of violent, religious contestation, and has been for a long time. It’s time for the official form of Islam to catch up.
Note: the opinions expressed herein are those of Sam Stone only and not his co-host Chuck Warren or Breaking Battlegrounds’ staff.
They won't udate/revise their 'book', or modify their violent and murderous ways. There is only one way to deal with them and that's with methods they use and understand. Otherwise, we will dealing with them killing innocents for the rest of eternity. I just calls'em as I sees'em.
I believe the imams and religious leaders should instruct their worshippers to stop killing anyone and everyone who is not a Muslim. There is room for other religions. Jewish nation has a right to live and survive in the world. Christians have the right to live freely and worship as they wish.