I’m not a religious scholar but it is always laughable to me
when people say Islamic texts are inherently violent. Without examining the
context within which they were written, pretty much all religious texts can be
interpreted negatively. And they are. Islam is about 600 years newer than
Christianity and if one thinks back to Christianity in the 1400s, one can
easily find out how violent Christianity was capable of. It takes a long
time for any kind of religious reformation to happen and it never stops.
I don’t think the Bible itself has changed too much but the
way it is interpreted is markedly different now from even 100 years ago. And in
fact, reformation in Christianity still continues. The Pope himself seems to be
ushering in a new brand of Catholicism. People have a problem with Sunni and
Shia divisions, yet everyone seems to accept the 10+ different brands of Christianity that have developed over time and
block out the clashes between Catholics and Protestants. Even now, even in
America – in the so called land of the free, Christian groups want to stop
progress. They would take away women’s right to choose and LGBTQIA people’s
right to even exist.
I myself grew up in a fairly progressive but devout
household. My maternal grandfather was an Islamic scholar and taught me to read
the Quran. My paternal grandfather built a Mosque and Madrasa right in front of
our family home in Bangladesh. But growing up, none of the women in my family
wore a burka or even a hijab (my dad is one of 9 siblings and my mum is one of
6, so no shortage of women in the family). But this has changed in the last
decade. A lot of my cousins and primary school friends have started to wear the
hijab and it has become sort of a cross between fashion statement and distinguishing
socio-economic factor. Wealthier folks tend to be embracing this new “religion
as a fashion statement” movement.
Many in western countries seem to think that Islam needs
reformation. They are not incorrect but my observation is that Islam was
already on the path to reform well before the western world took any notice. People think Islam needs reformation
because of terrorism, whereas Muslims like myself think terrorism is what’s
stopping actual reformation.
The victims of Islamic terrorism are overwhelmingly Muslim.
The countries that are root cause of this problem are tied to the United States
and Europe. When I look at pictures of Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan
in the 70s and how progressive women’s clothing was and compare them to the
situation now it becomes very obvious to me that Islam was already being
practiced in conjunction with progressivism but it was halted. War and
political unrest fueled by US and UK involvement has not only prevented
reformation, it has taken it backwards. In the absence of personal security,
people turn to their faith and anyone who can promise them security. People are
afraid and most importantly terrorists and their ideology have a lot of power - the combination has proven to be lethal to all who are involved.
Progressive Muslims are not backed by anyone. Feminists,
academics, and scholars are working independently to try to affect change with
no help and constant threats. Think about the regimes that US and UK support,
think about the amount of war that is waged on innocent civilians, think about
how Muslims are treated in the Western world. All of this contributes to the
hostility we see all around the world. I have no problems reconciling my feminist
values with my faith but that seems to be incredulous to everyone because the
only interpretation of Islam anyone ever talks about is politicized Islam in
the context of terrorism and violence.
There is no doubt that Islam needs to be separated from the state’s
business. But this is challenging. Just look at Christianity in American politics.
There is no doubt that women’s voices have to be included in this reform. There is no doubt
that barbaric acts should be denounced whether they are in the name of religion
or notions of freedom and security. Our collective humanity cannot justify
torture for the security of wealthy white people while denouncing beheadings.
We cannot claim that Islam condones oppression of women when domestic violence
and our rape culture continues to oppress women in our own society. New Zealand
is not an Islamic country, so then why are women oppressed here?
Eradication of Islam will not eradicate terrorism. We need
to fundamentally re-think our foreign and military policy, our allies, and who
we fund in order to eradicate terrorism. Self-determination, implementation of
universal human rights, democracy in the form people’s ability to participate
in free elections, economic security, and freedom from war is the antidote to
terrorism and a progressive Islam.
People ask for liberal voices in Islam. Well I am here but nobody actually wants to listen to me or those who are like me. White men in power and hawks who control the military agenda don't actually want to listen to us. They would rather put terrorists on a pedestal on our behalf and listen to their rhetoric. Fox News would laugh at us. Illegitimate "leaders of Islam" would put fatwas on us.
All the while Rome burns.
