Reformation?
One "solution" often bandied about to the problem of Islamic fascism is the equivalent of a "Reformation". A discussion that the resurgence of fundamentalism might indeed already be this Reformation, or at least that the issue is more complex than that, is found here:
It must be noted that what was "reformed" in Christianity was not the text that motivated it, nor of the basic doctrines behind it, but rather simply the institution of the Church. It was a bureacratic reformation.
With Islam on the other hand, there is no "church" to reform. What's worse, the problems are rooted in the texts of the koran and the hadith. That's intractible.
Because to reform a religion's text, rather than merely its institutions, is essentially to destroy it, and that's going to get a lot of resistance.
The effort required would be more akin to "deprogramming" a massive cult, than a Reformation:
Interestingly, such efforts have already begun!
What Islam really needs to in order to modernize is an Enlightenment, which would bring the separation of the church and state, democratization, liberalization and the acceptance of principles and practices of tolerance, openness, innovation and progress. Yes, in many ways the Enlightenment was a child of the Reformation, but the Western world had to go through two centuries of conflict and upheaval to get there. Today, we don't have that much time to wait until the Muslim world truly embraces modernity.I would add the following critical observation.
It must be noted that what was "reformed" in Christianity was not the text that motivated it, nor of the basic doctrines behind it, but rather simply the institution of the Church. It was a bureacratic reformation.
With Islam on the other hand, there is no "church" to reform. What's worse, the problems are rooted in the texts of the koran and the hadith. That's intractible.
Because to reform a religion's text, rather than merely its institutions, is essentially to destroy it, and that's going to get a lot of resistance.
The effort required would be more akin to "deprogramming" a massive cult, than a Reformation:
During participant-observation at a Unification Church training camp, the author found, to her surprise, that her intellect was unaffected; the “brainwashing” affected her emotionally (limbic system). Cult life involves much ritual behavior (R-complex) but de-emphasizes intellectual processes (neocortex). Interviews with deprogrammers indicated that their goal is to get the cultist to see contradictions between cult doctrine and practice—in essence, stimulating the neocortex. Thus, cult conversion and deconversion emphasize different parts of the brain.Hmmm, what major religion demands intrusive, repeated ritual behavior several times a day, every day?
Interestingly, such efforts have already begun!
Saudis "deprogramming" terroristsI'm not convinced they're serious about this, but it could be a positive development.
One of the approaches used at times to "deprogram" cult members is an examination of the leader's claims within a broader historical context.
It seems the government of Saudi Arabia understands this principle. They have decided to do their own form of "deprogramming," in an effort to solicit information from incarcerated terrorists and apparent followers of Osama bin Laden.
Islamic clerics are now working with prisoners to point out how far they may have strayed from basic Moslem teachings. By untwisting the Koran they hope to eventually "deprogram" the terrorists who might then provide helpful information, reports Newsday.
The FBI is observing this approach apparently with some interest.
One Saudi official stated, "It can be effective."
Though a Saudi professor of religious studies observed that some of the terrorists "have been brainwashed to a point of no return."
posted by RDS at 9:43 PM
2 Comments:
Hmmm, what major religion demands intrusive, repeated ritual behavior several times a day, every day?
Don't lots of major religions include similar behavior?
I would say no, they don't, not to the extreme degree of Islam. Certainly those who choose to enter religious orders may use ritual to enter a different state of consciousness, but Islam demands, for example, repeated prayer 5 times a day, every day, by all its members, who are considered "slaves of Allah" (which is the literal meaning, for example, of the common name Abdullah). I don't know of any other major religion that expects that much prayer from anyone but its small numbers of monks and cloistered nuns.
Islam goes even further than that, and I don't mean just in terms of dietary laws, which actually served a hygienic purpose in Jewish bronze-age times. The koran includes instructions from mohammed that govern all bodily functions, for example, from literally how many stones -- and of what type! -- one must use to wipe one's butt, to what to do if one farts during prayer, to how to clean your nose to keep out satan. This is a qualitative difference, that elevates "normal" ritual to the level of cult-like behavior modification.
Reading the koran, one finds mohammed was not only a homicidal pedophile and rapist, but also an anal-obsessed control freak of the highest order.
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