Well, for one thing, Muslim moderates at best are shouted down, while Muslim reformists face death threats. It's no wonder they seem to be in short supply. It also explains statements like this:
"I keep hearing, 'Why are liberals silent?'" Said al-Ashmawy, an Egyptian judge and author, recently said. "How can we write? Who is going to protect me?"
The fact that such Muslim "liberals" need protecting speaks volumes.
Should a non-Muslim criticize Islam they are killed ala Van Gogh.
There are a few dissenting Muslim voices trying to be heard as Anchoress points out. Read the whole thing for this is the kind of dialogue we need and need to encourage. In this exchange, her Muslim reader puts the blame for Islam's problems on Islamic Jurists and Muslims themselves. Very refreshing.
"There was no such thing as a fatwa while Muhammad was alive. Fatwa came about with the jurists in later centuries and means “non-binding legal opinion.” Each and every Muslim can accept or reject a fatwa based on his or her personal determination. The fact that lay Muslims simply think that a fatwa is God’s word is not because a fatwa is authoritative, but because individual Muslims have conceded their individual autonomy to the scholars."
And
In other words, the problem isn’t that a person releases a fatwa, it’s that a believer doesn’t know, or doesn’t want to know, that he still has room to make up his own mind. A large part of this has to do with historical conditioning. Jurists have for the longest time controlled the “Islamic” discourse within Islam. In other words, if you want to talk about Islam, you first have to qualify for being a jurist. That’s absurd because the Prophet and the First Caliphs used to have debates in public squares with men *and* women who thought their decisions were absurd and yet were illiterate or country bumpkins. There is no clergy in Islam, yet we’ve created it.
Here is his blog.
In a strange coincidence, I recieved an email from a Muslim I criticized in an earlier post. She says I misunderstood what she wrote and wanted to update me on some points.
She was kind enough to email me this link where she posted her dissenting views. She too, as a Muslim, takes some of the responsiblity for today's image of Islam. She also blames Muslim scholars. I'm not sure if in Islam, there is a difference between a jurist and a scholar.
Talking about the aftermath of the 7/7 bombings, she has this to say.
"All of the Muslim community was hell bent on proving, “these people are not one of us, they are not true representatives of who we are.”
What exactly will it take to make the Muslim community need to understand the implications of the problem this constant denial has caused? I say if a bunch of misguided Muslims have created terror on the streets of London, proclaiming it in the name of my religion, it is indeed my problem as well.
Who has given these people the right to flaunt their absolutely ignorant and blood-ridden views on mainstream media in the name of “my” religion? And more importantly, where can I find someone to stop them?"
Well, Fe'reeha, I think you just did. I'm certainly willing to work with you and judging from the Anchoress's post so is she. I'm betting there are many more non-Muslims that want to help get the Muslim reformist voice heard. To that end, may I suggest Fe'reeha start her own blog. I'd link to her.
In a sign of how intimidated these voices are, Fe'reeha, in her email, gave me some confidential information which I shall keep confidential.
What does all this tell us? That there are dissenting Muslim voices that want to be heard, but just like the Western media, they are afraid to speak out. It also tells us that we need to do all we can to encourage them and get their message out. And it tells us we need much more dialouge like these.
Hopefully, I will be able to start such a dialouge with Fe'reeha and be able to post some of that.
Stay tuned.
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