2 - Muslim Responses to Political Change

Summary

In its September 2004 edition, the New Statesman addressed a provocative question: Can Islam change? The article, which was written by renowned Muslim scholar Ziauddin Sardar, gave a clear answer: Islam is indeed able to change. What Sardar meant by “Islam” was primarily shari‘ah or Islamic law. It is shari‘ah that regulates Muslims’ heavenly and worldly matters. For several decades and particularly since September 11, Sardar argues, Muslim reformists have persistently questioned the conservative Islamic doctrines rooted in shari‘ah. From Morocco to Indonesia, Muslim reformists “are acknowledging the need for fundamental change in their perception of Islam. They are making conscious efforts to move away from medieval notions of Islamic law and to implement the vision of justice, equality and beauty that is rooted in the Koran”. Sardar and many “non-essentialist” scholars would argue that Islam is really able to change. Like many other religions, Islam is a product of history and civilization. It was created and developed within the dialectical events of human history. Therefore, change is unavoidable.

Since the early nineteenth century, Muslim reformists have been arguing for the compatibility of Islam and modernity. They believed that Islam is a dynamic religion which can go through the challenges of human history. Islam is a universal religion whose claim of being “valid for all times and places” (salih li kulli zaman wa makan) attests that it is amenable to both change and reform. Reform (islah) is believed to be an integral part of Islam, partly because there is a Prophetic tradition that says “at the beginning of every century, God will send to this community someone who will renew religion”. Various rational concepts in Islamic jurisprudence, such as ijtihad (reasoning) and maslahah (public interest), attest to Islam' readiness for change. Unlike the “essentialists”, Muslim reformists firmly believe that “Islam reformed is still Islam.”