[lit-ideas] Islamism and Islam
- From: "Lawrence Helm" <lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 25 Feb 2006 17:51:38 -0800
There is a reference in the Wikipedia article I posted to Andrew Bostom. He
wrote a very interesting article that pertains to the subject:
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=18230 As the
Wikipedia article indicates, Bostom considers differences between Islamism
and other forms as Islamism as exaggerated. Here are some pertinent
highlights from the above article:
"Combining lucid intellectual and experience-based understanding with rare
valor, uncompromised by politically correct apologetics, Hirsi Ali has made
explicit the threat that orthodox Islam (as she stated, "The problem is the
Prophet and the Koran" )-not "Islamism"-poses to the Western civilization
she has come to cherish, and staunchly defend. She identifies the core
Muslim texts-Koran, hadith, sira-their codification into Islamic Law (i.e.,
Shari'a), and the orthodox interpretation of this sacralized literature by
seminal Muslim jurists-noting Ibn
<http://www.americanthinker.com/articles.php?article_id=4495&search=bostom>
Taymiyya's "pure" Islamic exegesis, specifically-as being responsible for
the incompatibility between Islamic and Western values. In particular, the
principles of the Universal Declaration of Human
<http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/lang/eng.htm> Rights, versus the Shari'a-based
Universal <http://www.faithfreedom.org/Articles/ohmyrus30816.htm>
Declaration of Human Rights in Islam (Cairo, 1990).
The Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam included the triumphal
statement that the Shari'a has primacy over the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, and the specific proclamation that God has made the umma
(Islamic community) the best nation, whose role is to "guide" humanity. This
formulation captures the indelible influence of the uniquely Islamic
institutions of jihad and dhimmitude
<http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=4857> on the
Shari'a, rendering sacred and permanent the notion of inequality between the
community of Allah, and the infidels-reiterated in the Cairo Declaration.
Hirsi Ali's response to the standard non-sequitur apologetic about the
putative existence of, "different Islams", is unequivocal:
"No that is an erroneous idea . If one defines Islam as the religion founded
by Muhammad and explained by the Koran and later by hadiths, there is only
one Islam that dictates the moral framework."
Finally, she concludes that true reform of Islam, to render it compatible
with modern human rights standards, must include criticism of both its core
sacred text, and founder:
"You cannot liberalize Islam without criticizing the Prophet and the
Koran.You cannot redecorate a house without entering inside."
In stark contrast, despite repeated death threats which mandate 24-hour
protection, clandestine living arrangements, and a virtually non-existent
social life, Hirsi Ali remains, as described
<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/magazine/03ALI.html?ex=1270267200&en=7272
f7f8332d2c15&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland> aptly by journalist Christopher
Caldwell ,
".a democracy campaigner for whom the role of an ordinary democratic citizen
is off limits.Hers is a big heroic life that moves her fellow citizens but
now gets lived mostly in locked rooms and bulletproof cars."
Hirsi Ali, condemned Muslim "apostate", and intrepid politician committed to
maintaining the democratic vitality of her adopted Dutch society, epitomizes
the powerful, effective voice Ibn Warraq foresaw in
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1591020689/qid=1057774452/sr=
1-3/ref=sr_1_3/002-5243996-1991229?v=glance&s=books> Leaving Islam.
Recalling The
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0006D63Z2/qid=1117070959/sr=
1-10/ref=sr_1_10/002-5243996-1991229?v=glance&s=books> God that Failed, a
collection of testimonial essays by ex-Communist intellectuals and their
warnings about the all-encompassing oppression of body and spirit intrinsic
to Soviet-style Communism, Warraq noted that the accounts of these
ex-Communist "Cassandras" appeared eerily similar to the ex-Muslim apostates
whose testimonies he had compiled. Warraq concluded,
"Communism has been defeated, at least for the moment.unless a reformed,
tolerant, liberal kind of Islam emerges soon, perhaps the final battle will
be between Islam and Western democracy. And these ex-Muslims.on the side of
Western Democracy, are the only ones who know what it is all about, and we
would do well to listen to their Cassandra cries."
Hirsi Ali's practical efforts in the Netherlands mirror the strategies
outlined by Warraq in a thoughtful essay
<http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=7906> about reform
(somewhat ironically) of Middle Eastern Muslim societies. She clearly shares
the unapologetic views about the obstacles to such reform presented by Islam
itself, which Warraq characterized as follows:
"There are some (I believe, misguided) liberal Muslims who deny any such
transformation is necessary, that Islam need not be marginalized for liberty
to flourish. These liberals often argue that the real Islam is compatible
with liberal democracy, that the real Islam is feminist, that the real Islam
is egalitarian, that the real Islam tolerates other religions and beliefs,
and so on. They then proceed to some truly creative re-interpretation of the
embarrassing, intolerant and misogynist verses of the Koran. But
intellectual honesty demands that we reject just such dishonest tinkering
with the Koran's text, which, while it may be open to some
re-interpretation, is not infinitely elastic. The truth is there is no real
difference between Islam and Islamic fundamentalism - at most there is a
difference of degree, but not of kind. There are moderate Muslims, but Islam
itself is not moderate. All the tenets of so-called Islamic fundamentalism
are derived from the Koran, the Sunna, and the Hadith - the defining texts
of Islam - and elaborated in intimate detail by the classical Muslim jurists
from all four schools of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence, as well as by Shi'ite
jurists. The only solution is to bring the questions of human rights out of
the religious sphere and into the sphere of the civil state, in other words
to separate religion from the state and promote a secular state where Islam
is relegated to the personal. Here, Islam would continue to provide
consolation, comfort, and meaning, as it has to millions of individuals for
centuries, yet it would not decree the mundane affairs of state."
"First, we who live in the free West and enjoy freedom of expression and
scientific inquiry should encourage a rational look at Islam, should
encourage Koranic criticism. Only Koranic criticism can help Muslims to look
at their Holy Scripture in a more rational and objective way, and prevent
young Muslims from being fanaticized by the Koran's less tolerant verses. It
does not make sense to lament the lack of a reformation in Islam, and at the
same time boycott books like
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1591020115/qid=1116806268/sr=2-2/ref
=pd_bbs_b_2_2/002-5243996-1991229> Why I am Not A Muslim nor to cry
'Islamophobia' (or 'fatwah!') every time a critique of Islam is offered.
Instead, political leaders, journalists and even scholars are bent on
protecting the tender sensibilities of the Muslims. We are not doing Islam
any favors by protecting it from Enlightenment values. . We can encourage
rationality by secular education. This will mean the closing of religious
madrassas where young children from poor families learn only the Koran by
heart, learn the doctrine of Jihad - learn , in short, to be fanatics. What
kind of education? My priority would be the wholesale rewriting of school
texts, which at present preach intolerance of non-Muslims, particularly
Jews. One hopes that education will encourage critical thinking and
rationality. Again to encourage pluralism, I should like to see the glories
of pre-Islamic history taught to all children."
Here is a Wikipedia site reference facts about Hirsi Ali:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayaan_Hirsi_Ali Notice that some
representatives of Denmark think highly of her.
Lawrence
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