Turkish theologians have nearly finished a project that could revolutionize Islam.
For the past three years, they've been re-interpreting the hadith. These are traditionally regarded as the sayings of the prophet Muhammad, but they also involve a lot of legal and moral instructions that construct the basis of Sharia law.
Turkey is a secular country with a Muslim population, so its interpretation of the holy work could serve as a bridge between the Islamic world and the west. A modernised hadith may also improve Ankara's chances of being accepted into the European Union.
Turkish commentator Mustafa Akyol told Radio Netherlands about the effort to re-assess the hadith, especially the ones that are more controversial to modern sensibilities.
He says that many of those interpretations are looked upon as fake hadith, but despite that they are believed by many people. This explains attitudes they may have, such as looking down on women, or their support for a more totalitarian society, Mr Akyol says.
"Since the 19th century, many muslim reformists have said we have to question the hadith, some of them are not really authentic and they have the wrong messages." Two years ago the Diyanet, Turkey's state body for religious affairs, began the revision project that is now nearing completion. The previous
hadith revision dates back to 1923.
Accepting change
Turkey decribes itself as a secular country, although the majority of the population are muslim. For many, the hadith constitute their moral code of living. Mr Akyol thinks that a revised hadith tradition
"might allow Turkish muslims to accept modern concepts, such as equality between men and women, more easily. So it will be a step to change mindsets. The majority of muslims, including the conservative ones, actually want to keep their muslim identity, but want to also change."
Mr Akyol adds that some ultra-conservative circles would not be happy about any change in the Islamic tradition, but such views are marginal.
Turkey analyst Fadi Hakura in London agrees it is likely that the revised hadith will be generally accepted, because
"...this reform movement is not being implemented by a secular group, but by the ruling justice and Development Party and by the prime minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is very religious and conservative. So this is an authentic internal process of change."
Other countries
In the long run, a modernised hadith may filter through to other Islamic countries, Mr Akyol thinks, although it will take time.
"Turkey is a country in its own cultural sphere, and Turkey has customs and traditions different from those in the Arabic world. Turkey is an important country in the islamic world, and the developments that are taking place in Turkey, especially in the judiciary realm, look interesting to many Arabs, especially intellectuals."
European Union
Western public opinion was one of the reasons behind the Diyanet project. Mr Hakura says that Turkey is very aware of Western attitudes towards Islam.
"Following 9-11, there has been a lot of examination of Islam in the West. And Turkey has come to realise the need to upgrade and modernise the religion, in their eyes to go back to the original faith that was based on reason and logic. And that is essentially the reform programme that the Turkish islamic authorities are undertaking in the country, to bring back the religion to its original faith."
The current hadith reform is hoped to allay European fears that Turks will not be able to integrate effectively in European society, Mr Hakura says. Western public opinion may become more favourable towards Turkish EU membership if a modernised hadith is introduced.
The re-interpretation of the hadith is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Mustafa Akyol is deputy editor of the Turkish Daily news
Fadi Hakura is a Turkey analyst at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London.
Tags:
Diyanet,
Fadi Hakura,
hadith,
Islam,
Mustafa Akyol,
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,
Turkey
Tani Datuimam,
21-06-2008
- Philippines
I welcome the initiatives of Turkish Muslim scholars in revisiting the Hadith to explain why such particular guidance is made which may be applicable to certain period or situation.
Islam needs not be reinvented but we have to understand the fundamentals of Islam, the original Islam as brought and preached by the Prophet, and see whether there is any difference between this Islam and the Islam that we believe in and practice today.
We cannot change the fundamentals of Islam or we will be changing the message and teachings of Islam as brought by the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad. We will, in fact, be changing the religion of Islam. And it cannot then be Islam anymore. All we can do is to determine whether the Islam of today has deviated due to the interpretations of the fundamentals in order to suit changing circumstances. We cannot and must not accept a “New Testament” for Islam.
jasmin,
04-03-2008
- India
You are right Sandra. I was reading the New Testament and the Psalms some weeks back and was shocked by the content you have mentioned. And the following quotes from the Ten Commandments confuse me too:
"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;
3 Do not have any other gods before Me.
4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me,
6 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments." (Wikipedia)
It is quite a contrast to the Hindu religion which has that every atom is worthy of reverence as it has God in it and that there are millions of gods in Hinduism who are worshipped and the God isn't jealous.Even the husband is equivalent to God for a loving wife and she can worship him and she won't have to worry about the punishment from God.
Now considering that God is one, how can you justify the conflicting statements?
Grace,
03-03-2008
- UK
My understanding of what theologians are doing is that it's not so much 'modernisation' as removing the 'misinterpretations' of the Qur'an's message. Islam was never intended to restrict or oppress women but to honour them and their role and to protect them. Sadly this has been misinterpreted in some cases as happens over time in any religion. People add and subtract according to their own needs. The TRUTH always applies as much TODAY as it did in the begining of life, so it's right that periodically ALL holy books and teachings should be looked at to ensure that nothing has been misinterpreted and wrong information has been passed down the generations. Well done Turkey!
Sandra,
02-03-2008
- Nederlands
Mike, I agree with you. If anyone knows their bible, whether it be old testament, new testament or both, it has modernized over time and is more in tune to today then the past biblical times. For instance, There are many passages in the Bible which demonstrate religious intolerance, including the murder of non-believers entering the temple, and of men entering into inter-faith marriages. One of the worst incidences is described in 1 Kings 18:17-40 when Elijah challenged 450 priests to a contest. The latter worshipped another God. Elijah won; the other priests were executed.
Also Human slavery existed before the time of Abraham. The Bible justified it (Genesis 9:25-27). Slave owners could beat their slaves to death, as long as they died a slow death (Exodus 21:20-21). Many biblical passages regulated slavery. No biblical passage condemns slavery.
Mike,
01-03-2008
- USA
Hiram, the interpretation of religious texts differs in every generation. At one point the Christian bible was used in America to support slavery. Today, we know slavery is wrong. So Christians had to stop viewing the bible as promoting slavery. It's not changing the religion or updating God's word. It's updating the interpretation of God's word. These Turkish religious leaders aren't trying to change Islam, they're trying to change the way people interpret Islam. What you believe to be "true Islam" is really just one way of interpreting Islam.
Also, you seem to imply that it's a negative thing that Christian churches allow homosexual and women pastors. Why? What is wrong with homosexuals? There is nothing in the Christian scriptures nor in the Islamic scriptures against homosexuality as it exists today. Many people interpret the scriptures as being against homosexuality, but if you study the differences between ancient society and modern society, you realize that sexuality was a very different thing in the ancient past, and the scriptures were written during that time and encapsulate the social reality of that time. Every generation since then religious scholars, both Muslim and Christian and Jewish, have re-interpreted the scriptures to reinforce the social mores of their time period. If people don't realize that their religious leaders do this, they are more likely to be taken advantage of by their religious leaders. This happens when religious leaders preach against homosexuality - many people then believe that God hates homosexuality, when really that is just the preacher's interpretation, it's not necessarily what the scriptures really say. If the scriptures were truly clear and written in stone, there would be no need for pastors or preachers or imams or religious scholars of any kind. They have always existed to interpret scripture so that the scripture is meaningful to the people of every generation. That means also that each generation puts a different emphasis on different parts of the scriptures. That's a natural part of religion, and has always been an important part of Islam and Christianity and Judaism.
Hiram,
29-02-2008
- USA
"Turkish theologians have nearly finished a project that could revolutionize Islam." 1. To modernize Islam in order to meet "modern sensibilities" makes no sense. Changing one's belief system to meet the standards of modern times (each and every day is a modern time and therefore the Koran would have to change each day) destroys one's belief system. One reason Islam is at war with the Western culture is due to the West's non-religious beliefs in the laws and traditions of Islam. How can one believe in the laws of Islam one day and the next day change it to meet the standard of "modern sensibilities?" 2. The Christian church once believed by scripture that women and homosexuals were not allowed to be pastors of churches but it is now allowed in some churches because of what some call "modern sensibilities." Modern sensibilities has destroyed the church for one reason. If a passage in the Christian Bible is devine inspiration from G-d in the year 35 AD, one would conclude the same passage would be devine all the time. Therefore, if Islam changes it belief system to meet the "Modern Sensibilities" approach as some would have it changed, one would think Islam would follow the path of Christian churches and it's lack of believe in G-d's inspired words. I doubt the Muslims will allow the change of it's prophet's divinely inspired revelations because they the Muslims, unlike Christians, believe in their profhet's inpsired words; whereas, the modern Christian church believes in nothing but compromise.
