They ARE the Reformation

By Mark Durie

In December 2009 former Muslim Wafa Sultan debated with Daniel Pipes about whether a 'moderate' Islam is possible.  Although both oppose Islamic radicalism, on this question they disagreed.

Sultan argued that Islam is Islam, pure and simple, and there can never be such a thing as 'moderate Islam', but Pipes maintained that the answer to radical Islam must be moderate Islam.

Someone in the audience suggested that Islam today is not that different from medieval Christianity.  He speculated whether the acceleration of change in the world around us could allow a reformation of Islam to happen more quickly than has happened with Christianity.

On countless occasions over the years I have heard this comparison:  Christianity has undergone its reformation, so why not Islam?  The European reformation took centuries: why wouldn't an Islamic reformation also take time?  Isn't it all a matter of time?

This line of thinking arises from a worldview which interprets everything through the lens of 'progress'.  The underlying assumption is that human societies evolve as time passes, steadily becoming more advanced.  But do societies really tend to get better as time passes?  Do societies inevitably tend to improve?  And is progress more than just an idea - is it a law which governs the history of religions?

I find it very difficult, looking back over the ethical wreckage of the 20th century, to subscribe to the idea of progress.  The worst atrocities of the past 100 years were perpetrated by regimes which held up an ideal of social evolution.  One recalls Hitler, Stalin, Mao Zedong and Pol Pot.  Such shameful monuments to 'progress' as National Socialism and Communism do not inspire confidence that human societies and ideologies can and must improve with time.

There is another problem with comparing today's Islam with pre-Reformation Christianity.  From medieval time the idea of reformation (reformatio) was prestigious, and many reformers both Catholic and Protestant chased after it. Francis of Assisi was one of the most famous examples. He read Jesus' words about giving away one's possessions to feed the poor, so he went and did the same.  St Francis's radical Christianity took him back to the Jesus of Gospels, but he was certainly not inspired by a vision of making Christianity more moderate or progressive.

Likewise Martin Luther, another radical Christian, recalled the words of St Paul - 'for freedom Christ has set us free' - to exhort the German nobles to claim their freedom from church control.

The European reform movements arose from a desire to re-form Christianity a second time, taking it back to its roots.  They sought to move ahead by going backwards.  This idea had nothing to do with the modern idea of progress.  The Reformation was not a 'progressive' movement in the modern sense, but 'regressive', seeking to reinstate the example of Christ and his apostles.

Therefore, according to the original meaning of reformatio, reforming Islam  would mean making it more Muhammadan. An Islamic reformation would produce a religion which is closer to the Koran, and above all, closer to the example and teaching of Islam's founder.

Would this be a good thing?  What would it mean to follow Muhammad's example more closely?

As it happens, such a movement has been underway for more than 100 years, and is in full swing today.  This is what we know as Radical Islam, a movement which has resulted in a global jihad movement, and a global push for sharia revival.

There are two main reasons why renewing the example of Muhammad leads to Islamic radicalism.

One is that Muhammad combined within himself the offices of king, judge, general and religious leader, thus unifying politics, law, the military and religion.  To follow his example means creating a theocratic political order, where the laws of the land are controlled by Islamic theology.

In contrast, Christian tradition has always distinguished the secular from the ecclesiastical, based on the Old Testament distinction between priests and kings.

The second reason why renewing Islam leads to radical Islam is that many of the harsher elements of sharia law - such as death for apostates, stoning adulterers, cutting off the hands of thieves, enslaving one's enemies, and killing non-believers - are firmly grounded in Muhammad's example.  If you go back to the root, you will produce the same fruit.

Australian Muslim Waleed Aly was entirely correct when he said Islam has already had its Reformation, and the outcome has been Islamic radicalism:   "Still, Western calls for an Islamic Reformation grow predictably and irrepressibly stronger, while those familiar with the Islamic tradition easily observe that radical and terrorist groups such as al-Qa'ida and the Taliban, cannot be cured by Reformation for the very simple fact that they are the Reformation."  [People like us: how arrogance is dividing Islam and the West, p.xv].

For those today whose world view is shaped by the ideal of progress, and look out upon Islam peering through the frame of Western assumptions about social evolution, Waleed Aly's insight can be difficult to grasp.  Yet it is essential that it be understood and appreciated.

In today's world, if what is needed is more moderate manifestation of Islam, then the very last thing that could ever accomplish this would be an Islamic Reformation.

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About Mark Durie

Mark Durie is an Anglican pastor in Melbourne.  He has written a new book, The Third Choice (Deror Books, 2010), which looks at the situation of non-Muslims living under Islamic rule. 

Muhammad himself offered third choices to infidels; the first choice was conversion to Islam; the second was the sword; and the third was surrender and life under Islamic rule.

Durie observes that where there have been examples of weak responses by Western leaders to radical Islam, including confessions of inferiority and gratitude by leading politicians such as Prime Minister Blair, President Sarkozy and President Obama, this is due to the underlying influence of the ancient third choice worldview. This worldview demands that non-Muslims who surrender to Islam must accept being inferior, and they must adopt an attitude of gratitude to Muslims for sparing them.

A compelling and riveting read, The Third Choice  offers essential keys for understand global politics in the world today.