|
I'll add this to clarify why it's more than just "there's lots of violence in the book."
Islam is at its core the way of Muhammad. This isn't in question; 99.999infinity Muslims agree with it. Because Muhammad was violent, violence is a fully legitimate doctrine within Islam. In order for this to not be the case, Muhammad (or at least the violent parts) would have to be delegitimized. As far as I know, there is no movement to do so and there's no scholarly backing for it.
BUT not all Muslims are violent. In fact, it is probably true that most aren't. How are they legitimizing a "way of Muhammad" doctrine that does not include one particularly important way of Muhammad? Well, as far as I can tell, they're doing it by mysticizing it and steeping it in cultural tradition. Perhaps if enough of this can be done, Islam would rid itself of its inherent violence. Yet, there still is the problem that any change in interpretation based on fundamentalism goes back to the violence. Given that textual fundamentalism is one of the most legitimate and prolific practices in all religions, this is unlikely to go away. But, hey, maybe it could.
Perhaps the best thing we can do is admit that fundamentalist Islam (Salafism) is on par with Nazism, and should be treated as such. Mysitical Islam (Sufism) is compatible with human values.
|