There is a war being waged in Egypt against Muslim reformers. These reformers call themselves "Koranists" because they focus solely on the Koran and advocate a modern interpretation of Islam that rejects Shariah law. The International Herald Tribune has an article on this matter by Ahmed Subhy Mansour (picture) of the International Quranic Center in Washington. He writes:These self-declared leaders of the "Islamic Reformation" number in the thousands and are connected globally through the Internet. For nearly a decade, as this movement has gained momentum, they have come under increased attack from the Egyptian government for their religious ideas. Al Azhar University, which is based in Cairo and is the leading center for conservative Sunni learning in the world, has rejected the views of the Koranists and has sought to systematically dismantle the movement.
To curry favor with this influential religious establishment, the Egyptian government has brutally cracked down on members of the Koranist movement, leading to the imprisonment and torture of over 20 members and the exile of many more. This unique collaboration between the government and Islamic traditionalists refutes current claims by the state that Egypt is secular and that it is working to fight extremism and terrorism.
In the latest effort to destroy this fledgling reform movement, a young Koranist blogger named Reda Abdel Rahman was arrested on Oct. 27 and charged with "insulting Islam." Rahman's popular blog criticizes the religious establishment - largely based on his training at Al Azhar. His blog calls for widespread religious and political reform in Egypt and the larger Muslim world. According to Rahman's lawyers, his arrest was requested by the head of Al Azhar after Rahman refused to suspend his blog. He was then detained and tortured in an unknown location for over a month until international pressure forced the government to disclose his whereabouts. More HERE in the IHT
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It is a result of certain people coming to the unavoidable conclusion that the Hadith are horrifying. In addition to providing us with the words and deeds which show the prophet to be an awful excuse for a human being (and not that bright in most aspects), they also give the closest thing to a chronology for the Koran's "revelations" and this chronology is not just vital but disturbing.
With the concept of later verses abrogating earlier ones, all the semi good verses become meaningless and the "kill every Jew" and the "fight the unbelievers to the last" verses are all one has.
But as much as I would like to see Muslims trash the Hadith (returning the Koran to it's incomprehensible state rather than it's unconscionable one), it can not happen. The Koran constantly tells Muslims to look to the words and deeds of the prophet as a perfect example of how to live. The Koran has none of these words and deeds. Well, except for the ones he spoke as Allah but we are not supposed to acknowledge that those were Mohamed's. Without the Hadith there is no way to practice Islam.
Some have hypothesized that this "Koran only" movement is evidence that many Muslims are starting to realize some uncomfortable things about Islam and are trying to solve the dilemma through doctrinal slight of hand. Evidence, so to speak, of a growing weakness in Islam's creaking edifice.
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