Reforming Islam

Many of us engaged in the culture "wars" (or the struggle to modify the meme-pool) are focused on the arguments of Christians and weeding out the religious influence in our western liberal democracies. However, those of us who are secularists with a Muslim background or with friends or family with a Muslim background the "war" is at a very different stage.

In many Muslim countries if you convert away from Islam, either to Christianity or to Atheism, you have signed your suicide note and will be killed (this happens in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and probably several other Muslim countries). This is simply an unacceptable situation that Enlightened people around the globe should work to resolve.

In Iran if you are a non-believer you have no rights; no human rights at all according to their civil code. Don't fall for the Islamic Declaration of Human Rights, it's a propaganda move and amounts to nothing more than Sharia Law written in a format digestible to the Western reader and does not apply to non-believers.

So where does that leave us and where do we go from here?

We attack Sharia Law by using the Quran and providing intellectual material for moderate Muslims who believe in God (whatever that means) and who have the credibility to argue against Sharia with the Quran.

Surah 3 verse 7 from Skeptics Annotated Quran:

He it is Who hath revealed u nto thee (Muhammad) the Scripture wherein are clear revelations - they are the substance of the Book - and others (which are) allegorical. But those in whose hearts is doubt pursue, forsooth, that which is allegorical seeking (to cause) dissension by seeking to explain it. None knoweth its explanation save Allah. And those who are of sound instruction say: We believe therein; the whole is from our Lord; but only men of understanding really heed.

Same verse from jannah.org:

He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: In it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except God. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:" and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.

This verse of the Quran is our intellectual jackpot. It basically states that parts of the Quran are literal and parts are figurative and it's up to the wise men to figure out which verses are figurative and what they mean. Under the limitation that no one but God can be perfectly certain of the figurative meaning but people are free to search for their best interpretation (which amounts to consensus view).

Along these lines I'll be reviewing the Quran and making future posts on how best to water-down Islam for the 21st century. If we do not prepare for an intellectual offensive from Islam we will be defenseless when Muslim's try to bring Sharia Law to the west, which they have already tried to do in Canada. Canada is specifically being targeted by the forces that are working for an Islamic World because Canada has unique protections for religion that are not available in the USA and parts of Europe.

By Peter