In non-Islamic countries, there are Muslims who say that Islam should be reformed and they often gain support from outside the Islamic community (i). This comes from conflating people with doctrine – the people are nice, therefore the doctrine can be made so.
Regarding the Koran, it has been suggested that only the earlier verses, intolerant towards unbelievers but not violent, should be retained, but on this point the Koran is clear: The later verse is better or stronger than the earlier one (K2:106)
It has also been suggested that the Sunna (traditions and practices) of Mohammed could be revised or removed. But revising the life story of a dead man is not possible, and it is Allah who sent Mohammed with guidance and Islam to make it ‘victorious over all other religions’ (K61:9). Even the five pillars of Islam rely on his example.
There are only two experts we can look to for answers that will be accepted by the entire Islamic community – the Koran and Mohammed.
Here’s what they say:
The Koran is perfect (Koran 2.2)
Mohammed is an excellent pattern to follow (Koran 33.21)
Whoever changes his religion, then kill him’ (Bukhari 6922)
“The best talk is Allah's Book (Qur'an), and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad.“ (Bukhari 6098)
Allah will not accept any fasting, prayer, charity, Hajj, 'Umrah, Jihad, or any other obligatory or voluntary action from a person who follows innovation (Ibn Majah 49)
Removing all reference to unbelievers (51%) and jihad (31%) would leave little text (ii)
No follower will say that Allah and Mohammed were wrong.
Anything that contradicts them – is not truth in Islam.
To remove over half the text means to create a new one, not to edit the old one.
There are no authorities to oversee such a process.
The final arbiters of Islam are Mohammed and Allah, so who will confirm reformed texts?
The process of jihad has been successfully and continuously practiced for 1400 years as an essential component in the growth of Islam.
What would be reformers and non-believers dislike about Islam is now and always has been, the tool for its success.
In addition, Islam has a built in fail-safe to prevent reform. Mohammed said: “Allah will raise for this community at the end of every hundred years the one who will renovate its religion for it.” (Dawud 4291) This is intended as a factory reset, to remove any deviation or innovation such as those being proposed by reformers. (iii)
Logically, for adherents, reform will have to come from within, but how is it possible to reform texts that cannot be criticized? In Islamic countries even a Twitter/X post can result in prison or death (iv). There is no satisfactory solution to this conundrum.
There is another option:
For non-Islamic countries, discovering ways to mitigate the negative aspects of Islam lies with education and full disclosure of the doctrine from the standpoint of the unbeliever. An option that has never been tried but has much to recommend it.
This is a peaceful, practical and realistic strategy for reform that unbelievers can manage for themselves, be certain of the content, and begin without delay. Individually or collectively, all that is required is the doctrine and the will to study it.
Sources:
(i) Douglas Williams, Christine “The Challenge of Modernizing Islam – Reformers Speak Out and the Obstacles They Face” 2017 Encounter Books Pub.
(ii) Statistical analysis: https://www.cspii.org/learn-political-islam/articles/statistical-islam/
(1) Koran 2:106 https://legacy.quran.com/2/106
(2) Koran 2:2 https://legacy.quran.com/2/2
(3) Koran 8:39 https://legacy.quran.com/8/39
(4) Koran 9:60 https://legacy.quran.com/9/60
(5) Koran 33:21 https://legacy.quran.com/33/21
(6) Koran 61:9-11 https://legacy.quran.com/61/9-11
(7) Hadith (Bukhari 6922) https://sunnah.com/bukhari:6922
(8) Hadith (Muslim 523e) https://sunnah.com/muslim:523e
(9) Hadith (Muslim 867a) https://sunnah.com/muslim:867a
(10) Hadith (Bukhari 6584) https://sunnah.com/bukhari:6584
(11) Hadith (ibn Majah 3) https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:3
(12) Hadith (ibn Majah 14) https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:14
(13) Hadith (an-Nasa’i 1578) https://sunnah.com/nasai:1578
(14) Hadith (Tirmidhi 1432) https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:1432
(15) Hadith (Muslim https://sunnah.com/muslim:2889a
(16) Hadith (Dawud 4291) https://sunnah.com/abudawud:4291
(17) Hadith (Ibn Majah 49) https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:49
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