This morning there was an interesting item on BBC Radio 4’s news. It reported that in Turkey the are being revised to reclaim the original pure Islam as given by the Prophet Mohammad rather than all the later politically-motivated additions. All harsh and misogynistic entries will be removed. As the The Hadiths are the source of 90% of Sharia law the outcome could be quite interesting.
I did a Google search and found that this had been reported in the Washington Post (though the emphasis was on the treatment of women) back in July 2006. Why is the BBC reporting it now? One report I read said that the revision would be completed by 2008 so perhaps that’s why.
Anyway, to me this could herald an Islamic Renaissance which would be what the many Muslims long for.
[url]Washington Post July 16 2006[/url]
Since the 19th century, traditional Muslims have felt forced to choose between their faith and modernity -- a dilemma that has been fueling a reactionary strain of radical Islam. The Islamic world needs an alternative -- a path between godless modernity and anti-modern bigotry. With its revision of the traditional Islamic sources and with its rising Muslimhood that embraces democracy and open society, Turkey may just be opening the way. The West should be taking notice -- and encouraging other Muslim countries to take inspiration from Turkey's moderate course.
Here is another link I found today which is interesting:
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Photo archive of ancient manuscripts of the Quran
The Lost Archive --- Missing for a half century, a cache of photos spurs sensitive research on Islam's holy text
By Andrew Higgins
12 January 2008
The Wall Street Journal
Love and peace,
Judy
This morning there was an interesting item on BBC Radio 4’s news. It reported that in Turkey the are being revised to reclaim the original pure Islam as given by the Prophet Mohammad rather than all the later politically-motivated additions. All harsh and misogynistic entries will be removed. As the The Hadiths are the source of 90% of Sharia law the outcome could be quite interesting.
I did a Google search and found that this had been reported in the Washington Post (though the emphasis was on the treatment of women) back in July 2006. Why is the BBC reporting it now? One report I read said that the revision would be completed by 2008 so perhaps that’s why.
Anyway, to me this could herald an Islamic Renaissance which would be what the many Muslims long for.
[url]Washington Post July 16 2006[/url]
Since the 19th century, traditional Muslims have felt forced to choose between their faith and modernity -- a dilemma that has been fueling a reactionary strain of radical Islam. The Islamic world needs an alternative -- a path between godless modernity and anti-modern bigotry. With its revision of the traditional Islamic sources and with its rising Muslimhood that embraces democracy and open society, Turkey may just be opening the way. The West should be taking notice -- and encouraging other Muslim countries to take inspiration from Turkey's moderate course.Here is another link I found today which is interesting:
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Photo archive of ancient manuscripts of the QuranThe Lost Archive --- Missing for a half century, a cache of photos spurs sensitive research on Islam's holy text
By Andrew Higgins
12 January 2008
The Wall Street JournalLove and peace,
Judy
Very interesting post P. and surprised that no one has commented on this.
The Hadiths are not considered religious doctrines by most Muslims and are not a problem. The problem is the Koran itself. Abrogation of it is strictly prohibited in Islam and punishable by death. The harsh entries in the Koran cannot and will not be omitted and therefore whether the hadiths are revised is irrelevant.
Any non-believer is a kuffar or infidel according to the Koran and should they not accept Islam then they are to be beheaded.
Here are over one hundred quotes from the Koran vilifying non-Muslims. Let me know if you need any more to be convinced that Islam is wholly intolerant to other faiths.
For the moderators the source of each stanza is quoted from the original Koran.
[LIST=1]
Cited in the [url]Hamas Charter[/url] (Article 27) to condemn the idea of a secular state.
Unbelievers will burn forever in the Fire.
Chankya 
Hi Chankya,
Well, that does not make for comfortable reading!
I'm actually on holiday and am in the hotel office, using their computer, so won't be able to get back to reply properly for a couple of weeks. Just didn't want you to think I was ignoring you!
Love and peace,
Judy
Well, I’m back and must just say that I never dreamed when I posted this good news above about a revision to the Hadiths, that it would unleash this from the Q’uran!
I have heard some Sufi scholars discuss passages like those above and they use the word "unbeliever" against themselves when they have doubts – trying to find the higher, more spiritual meaning. Sadly, not everyone searches for a deeper meaning in their sacred texts and taken literally, you can understand the way hatred is inflamed. But there are some pretty horrible passages in the Bible too – especially in the Old Testament. The way we interpret scripture can lead to either the most heinous crimes or lead to great goodness, charity and mercy.
I did a search to try to find some balance and have come up with a link to 10 mainly positive passages about the “People of the Book” – the Jews and Christians – OK 10 doesn’t exactly balance 101 above, but these are specifically about Jews and Christians, rather than the general umbrella of “unbelievers”.
Here’s one:
005.069
YUSUFALI: Those who believe (in the Qur'an), those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Sabians and the Christians,- any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness,- on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.
This too is nothing like those horrible passages above:
“Do not argue with the followers of earlier revelation other than in a most kindly manner – except those of them who did wrong and are oppressors – and say ‘we believe in that which has been sent down to us and that which has been sent down to you; for our God and your God is one and the same, and it is unto Him that we surrender ourselves.’” - Qur’an 29:46
I found this reflective Sufi article that I really resonate with too:
[DLMURL] http://www.australiansuficentre.org/article_testhardship.htm [/DLMURL]
In the name of Allah, The Merciful, The Compassionate
With so much unrest in the world and fighting between the nations, it is important that we recognise the misuse of religion (whether deliberate or unconscious) as a means of propagating conflict and violence. One wonders if those who are involved or causing such devastating actions or policies, have ever properly understood their respective scriptures and their teachings. As a Muslim, I need to be more critical of my own people since we have the book of Allah (swt) from which “nothing has been left out”, nor has it been contaminated by the hand of man. But alas, like most religious scripture, the Qur’an is being read by many Muslims at an exoteric level, and as a result it is often misunderstood and misused………..
Mary Baker Eddy who was a religious reformer of the 19th Century had much to say about interpreting the Scriptures from a spiritual rather than literal and materialistic way. In fact, I know of quite a few Muslims who study her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures as they find that it helps them to understand the deeper, spiritual meaning of the Q’uran better.
These are some of her words about Scriptural interpretation:
Tyranny, intolerance, and bloodshed, wherever found, arise from the belief that the infinite is formed after the pattern of mortal personality, passion, and impulse. (Science and Health p 94)
The one important interpretation of Scripture is the spiritual. (Science and Health p 320)
The Scriptures are very sacred. Our aim must be to have them understood spiritually, for only by this understanding can truth be gained. (Science and Health p 547)
Love and peace,
Judy