MALAYSIA: A 'MODERN FACE' FOR ISLAM...

Editorial: Giving Islam a modern face
11 Dec 2006

IN asserting that "if we don’t want others to hurt our feelings, then we must not hurt the feelings of others", Dr Juanda Jaya, the deputy mufti of Sarawak, echoes the universal message of compassion that is found in every major religious tradition.

This universalist reading may not sit well with those who want to draw clear distinctions between Islam and other religions — from those who refuse to send festive greetings to non-Muslims to those who think that it would be sacrilege to allow non-Muslims to eat the meat of animals slaughtered as sacrificial offerings.

At a time when a more assertive manifestation of Islamic identity and purity is expressed in modes of behaviour which draw such borders between Muslims and non-Muslims, the views of the Sarawak religious official and Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, the mufti of Perlis, are reassuring reminders that that there is a less "scary view" of Islam.

Indeed, like in all religions, there have been different schools of thought and interpretations in Islam. In articulating a more open and accommodating perspective at a time when Muslims seem to have become more orthodox and exclusivist, the views of the two scholar-officials give hope that the trend of thinking of the younger generation of scholars is becoming less rigid.

In asserting that he wants to present Islam in its "modern face", the Perlis mufti affirms that he is not rooted to the static past that the older, more conservative scholar-officials seem determined to preserve and perpetuate.

To be sure, the Perlis mufti has the official status and the right credentials which give him the authority and legitimacy he needs to free Islam from the clutches of conservatives.

But if Islam is to be liberated from the dogmas of the past, there is a need to expand the space for the expression of informed opinion from all points of view. Not only is the interpretation of the Quran and Sunnah "open to evaluation", as he asserts, no institution has a monopoly on the meaning of Islam.

At the moment, other Muslim intellectuals and activists are "attacked" when they speak, as he pointed out, simply because they have not been educated in the traditional institutions of religious learning.

At a time when young Muslims are not content with the traditional discourse on religion and demand evidence-based, rather than rubber-stamp explanations as the deputy mufti of Sarawak put it, there is a need to widen the rules of entry to the debate on Islam.



Pertinent Links:

1) Editorial: Giving Islam a modern face