The Progress of Liberty

I have always been of the opinion that the war of ideas in our time is not a war on Islam as such, but rather a war on intolerance and fanaticism in general – and these can come under the guise of any ideology. Earlier, I elaborated on this subject in “The War on Fanaticism, Savagery, and Murder – Not on Islam.” Thus, I welcome any effort within Islam to foster greater tolerance and appreciation of modernity and individual freedom. This is precisely what is happening in Turkey today. This article from BBC News details a courageous and eminently wise effort by theologians at Ankara University to literally rewrite the Hadith – the sayings of Mohammed – and get rid of much of the historical baggage that has accumulated there. It turns out that it was not Islam or the teachings of Mohammed as such that are responsible for many of the socially restrictive customs of today’s Middle East. Rather, these customs existed on their own, and their adherents tried to twist Islam to justify them.

The empirical evidence exists that societies with predominantly Islamic populations can be just as peaceful and civilized as societies with predominantly Christian populations. Dubai is a marvelous case in point. Turkey is getting there. We can only hope that the entire Middle East will follow, and that we can welcome its inhabitants – Muslims and non-Muslims alike – into the amazing modern world.

Sincerely,
Gennady Stolyarov II

Editor-in-Chief, The Rational Argumentator: http://rationalargumentator.com

Writer, Associated Content: http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/46796/g_stolyarov_ii.html

Author, Implied Consent, A Play on the Sanctity of Human Life: http://rationalargumentator.com/impliedconsent.html

Author, A Rational Cosmology: http://rationalargumentator.com/rc.html

Author, The Best Self-Help is Free:  http://rationalargumentator.com/selfhelpfree.html                      

Author, The Progress of Liberty Blog: http://progressofliberty.today.com/

Trackback URI | Comments RSS