Islam Need To Be Reformed

Day 2 - Keynote Address by Kyai Haji Yahya Cholil Staquf  ( Islam and Liberty Network - https://youtu.be/F_Q5BjovB_w?si=4VOW4_R82uyHgZzE )

Assalamualaikum waramaallahi wabarakatu, I want to firstly express my thankfulness to our host, the Istanbul network, Mr Ali Salman, for giving me the honor of this stage. Yesterday, we all repeatedly hear one particular question "is Islam compatible to democracy, or is democracy compatible to Islam". Well, we are then facing a question about definition what is democracy & what is Islam. In practical level, our question would be "what is the mindset of the mass of muslims have about democracy & what is the mindset that the mass of muslims have about Islam". We may all agree that democracy is about freedom, rights, dignity, tolerance, & peaceful coexistence amid diversity, but then do the mass of muslims have the same perception with us, do they really think that democracy is really about dignity, equality, tolerance, & so forth. And then what is Islam, yesterday I had some smokes outside together with one of our friend, Dr Camil Bairam, & we have this conversation about the Malaysian Council Of Fatwa issue a fatwa forbid muslims from smoking & that it is already become allowed here, so what do we do & then interestingly Dr Camil said "well, then i am not muslim", because he want to smoke.

So, what is Islam in the mind of the mass of muslims, what is the reference that the mass of muslims use to define Islam. Think about this, we need to understand that there are some references that are considered to be the most authoritative references for muslims to find the right Islam, because when muslims seriously want to be a good one then he needs to find a reference to guide him to become a better muslim. The most authoritative references for guidance that muslims would look into is first of course the Quran & Hadith, & actually also the authoritative discourse of Islamic thoughts that already has been developed for centuries & the most authoritative sources among this discourse is the one from the classical discourse of Islamic thoughts.

We are talking the school of thought like the Syafii, Maliki, Hambali, Hanafi, Asyari, & so forth, for when we are thinking about whether Islam is compatible to democracy or not, then we have to observe the mindset of muslims about Islam. So the question would be "is the mindset of muslims about Islam compatible to democracy", now when we look into the references in classical discourse of Islam, we will find several problematic elements there, I can point out among many-many problematic elements 4 centers of concerns related to not just democracy but to the nature of our current civilization :

1. The first is the teaching about the relationship between muslims & non muslims. In the classical discourse of Islamic teaching, the dominant view about this matter is that muslim & non muslim are enemies, the basic norm of the relationship between muslim & non muslim are enmity, that is what dominant in the classical discourse of Islamic teaching. We have, for example, in the tafsir quran by Aktobari or Aktobroni or Ibnu Khadir, it was stated that non muslim meaning infidels, infidels is permissible to be killed literally because of his infidelity, that is there in the discourse. We also, for example, have in the very famous book in Syafii tradition "The Iiana Talibi", it is stated there that muslims has the collective obligation to do expansive jihad toward non muslim at least once a year, it is there in the discourse. So we still have this problematic elements in the references that still considered to be very-very authoritative among mass of muslims all over the world. So the fist problematic elements is the teaching about the relationship between muslim & non muslim

2. The second problematic element is the teaching about conflict of religion itself. What kind (category) of conflict that is eligible to be considered as conflict of religion. For example, when the Budhists in Myanmar attack muslims then it is already legitimate reason for muslims everywhere in the world to declare war against the Budhists, I believe you all aware that this kind of arguments has been also used by the terrorist groups such as ISIS & Al-Qaeda to attract muslims to join them, because the infidels from America attack muslims in Iraq, in Middle East, then it is legitimate reason for muslims to attack any western infidels all over the world, that is their argument & it is justified in the classical discourse of Islamic teaching

3. The third problematic element would be the existence of nation states. Nation states is now the base of our current world order, the world order that we have now based on the existence of nation states. But this is something new & there is no normative base about nation states in the classical discourse of Islamic teaching, what is dominance there in the discourse of Islamic teaching is the obligation for muslims to struggle for one grand imamah, meaning one universal political system under one muslim ruler, that is what there in the classical discourse of Islamic teaching

4. The fourth problematic thing would be the status of state laws, as the alternate of the Sharia. What would Sharia sees the state laws, state laws as produced by modern political processes, by democracy. Is it an obligation for muslims to follow the state laws, or should they reject the state laws & follow the Sharia instead. Is following state laws, such as the traffic regulation, an obligation for muslims (a Sharia obligation for muslims) or is it just worldly affairs, not related to religion.

So, all of these are center of concerns regarding Islamic teaching, because it is still recorded in the most authoritative references of Islamic teaching. If we want the muslims to go toward democracy, then we need them to accept ultimately some relevant views, such as :

1. Muslims should view others (non muslims, the infidels) as equal members citizens of this global society, & muslims should treat them without enmity, without discrimination or segregation. If muslim are not willing to have this view, then democracy is not for them, because democracy demand equality among fellow citizens.

2. If we want muslim world to accept democracy, then we should demand muslims communities to accept view that people must not use religion as justification for political conflicts anywhere in the world, because if they do so, then any conflicts in any parts of the world would be seen logically as universal conflicts of religion.

3. We have to demand for muslims to accept the existence of nation states as political system binding all the citizens (muslims & non muslims) equally, & not pursuing what so called the caliphate, because once they do that, they will end up doing like what ISIS & Al-Qaeda do, pursuing caliphate, & then triggering conflicts all over the world.

4. We have to demand muslims to accept state laws as the result of legitimate modern political processes, to bind their lives, all together with their fellow citizens, muslims & non muslims, & not using Sharia as justification to defy the state, to defy the laws, or to rise for rebellion against the legitimate government.

While we have the reality that many-many mass muslims still see this authoritative references, this classical discourse of Islamic teaching, to be the most authoritative references for religious guidance, then we will always face the challenge of muslims being radicalized in the name of authoritative Islamic teaching. Earlier this year, on last may, our organization Nahdlatul Ulama held a gathering of ulamas from all of the world, we have at least ulamas from 20 different countries gather more than 300 of them. Then as the result of that gathering (the conference), we declare what we call as "Declaration On Humanitarian Islam", the view is that we have to think about how Islam can contribute more positively to our current human civilization, what we have been witnessing at least for this last maybe 30-40 years, is that this world is facing problems continuously from the direction of Islam, until the problems of terrorism that we have now & still no sign of decreasing.

So to make the effort so that Islam can be a positive contribution to our current civilization, then before that, we have to deal with our internal problem (the problem of Islam) first. This reference that contain problematic elements of views in Islamic teaching is still there & considered to be authoritative by many muslims must be resolved, so what we call for the muslim worlds is to re-contextualize Islamic teaching, because now we are facing a very different reality that what it was there when those discourse of Islamic teaching were created. The classical discourse of Islamic teaching emerge in the era when muslim world was relatively integrated into one consolidated political system & territory, with Ottoman Empire rule most of the era, so in that time conflicts between Islam & other religions would be conflicts between different states, such as Ottoman against European States, & the war (the fight) was the fight among soldiers, nowadays we have the reality where muslims live together with non muslims everywhere in the world in the same neighborhood, so if we allow conflicts of religion what will happen would be a social catastrophe, that most certainly would lead to genocide of muslims living as the minority in the majority of non-muslims, & genocide of non-muslims living in the muslims majority society, so conflicts of religion for the context of our current reality is just not acceptable.

We need the significantly powerful alternative of views on Islamic teaching altering the old authoritative established view of Islamic teaching, at least regarding these 4 center of concerns that I mentioned, of course we have many-many others to discuss about the elements of Islamic teaching, but these 4 center of concerns are the most critical things that we have to deal with.

So we need to be honest to deal with these problem, the way I see what ISIS did was that they want to force the reality of today's living to be following what is there in the source of Islamic teaching. Every thing they did they have the justification from the authoritative reference of Islamic teaching, they have justification from the Quran, Hadith, & the classical discourse of Islamic teaching. That should tell us that we need to re-contextualize those elements of Islamic teaching, so that Islam would be really compatible, harmoniously function in our current civilization, not just to democracy, but to the entire civilization that we are living today. Without re-contextualization, then having democracy as a formal procedure for political processes in muslim countries would even produce more problems, because there we will find political actors who want to use these problematic elements of Islamic teaching as a weapon for their political purpose to gain support & legitimacy, & it will be very-very dangerous to the whole society because when muslims are called to this kind of cause, then muslims will be willing to sacrifice anything because they see it as divine call, a divine obligation, & we are seeing this all over the muslim countries, from social unrest to civil wars.

Also when we talk about transition to democracy in muslim world, we should also consider muslims living in non-muslim world, because we are living in a less border reality now, this is a borderless world we are living now. What ever happen in muslim world will affect the live in non-muslim world, whatever muslims do in their society where they are the majority will affect the live of muslims living as minority in other parts of the world. So think about this, I would say that we need to be aware & acknowledge that we are facing a civilizational problems here, & it is not just for muslims to do something about it, because it concerns the whole world, it concerns the whole human civilization. We have 1.6 billion of muslims among around 7 billion citizen of the same planet, so whatever direction this thing will go then will determine the fate of the entire planet.

Is it possible to do the such recontextualization like we proposed ? We believe that it is possible, why, because we did it in Indonesia, we actually did it in Indonesia. In Indonesia, our muslims leaders produce an alternative discourse about the state, the relationship among group of different religions, we practically produce alternative discourse about all things related to all those 4 center of concerns, & more over we manage to make this alternative views of Islam to be dominant among our muslims society in Indonesia. It doesn't mean that then we have no more problem, we still have the challenge & the challenge keep coming over & over, & we have to deal with it frequently, but up until now we manage to survive, meaning to keep this alternative views of religious teaching dominant among our muslims society.

This is not just about creating a new alternative discourse as an intellectual efforts, because the problem that we have is also related to authority. We have many-many different ideas in the market, but which ideas would be adopted by the mass of muslims, that is a matter of authority, which ideas are considered to be authoritative or more authoritative than others. So this is also problem of authority, & authority is a function of politic, so this is not just about to win debate between the new ideas versus the old ideas, but it is also about political struggle. So the way we manage to keep our alternative views dominant, we do it through political struggle. So what we need is to consolidate globally to face this challenge together. Thank you, assalammualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatu.

~   Q & A Session   ~

I will try to put a set of responds on all those questions.

First, the key of all these matters is honesty. We have to be honest in acknowledging the problems, because this really the problems that need to be solved. If we do not acknowledge the problem, how could we solve the problems.

First, is it possible to contextualize Islam, because it is said that Quran is eternal, intangible, & so forth. You see, even each verse of Quran was revealed related to a particular context of reality when it revealed, so in understanding Quran, each verse of Quran, people can't detach the verse from the context of reality when it was revealed, that means that contextualization is inevitable. Islam is meant to be a grace for humanity, not problem, so if Islam then drive people to have problematic live because of the conflicts between the teaching & the reality, then it is just unacceptable.

When we acknowledge the problems, then we can later on more over identify the problematic actors, because the nature of orthodoxy is it has a structure from authoritative sources of reference to the whole body of religious life that is effective among muslim society, that include the imams, mosques, madrasa, ulama, & so forth. The problem in dealing with the structure of orthodoxy is that most of the structure of Islamic orthodoxy now are still not aware about this severe problems or even not willing to acknowledge. We have been seeing many-many denials everywhere about these problems.

If we want to talk about a global consolidation to deal with it, we need to demand for the whole international community to be aware & acknowledge these problems & together put a demand to the entire muslim world to respond to this problem & let all those elements of the structure of Islamic orthodoxy to engage in this problems & find solution & encourage them to do so.

Last year, January 2016, there was an international conference of muslims course in Marrakech, Morocco, the topic was about the rights of religious minority in muslim majority countries, that was the topic. So the questions that were supposed to be asked in that conference was such as "are non muslims have the rights to worship freely following their religions", "are non muslims have the rights to build places for worship", "do people have the rights to convert", "do muslims have the rights to convert without punishment", these are supposed to be the questions, but there were no answers so ever, the only thing that the conference declare is that they call for muslim scholars to review, to observe & review these problems & try to find solution following the tradition of Fiqh heritage, the tradition of heritage of Islamic jurisprudence. This give us a picture about how authoritative the classical discourse of teaching is, so even more than 400 international muslim scholars didn't dare to challenge the authority to produce alternative discourse, because it still there dominant in the classical discourse of Islamic teaching, that apostate to be killed, non muslims should not be allowed to freely worship, & so forth. There is a book entitled "Kifaiatul Akhyar" written by an ulama from 14th century named Taktidin Bin Muhammad Al Hussaini. In that book, it is stated that discrimination on non muslims is obligatory, non muslims should wear some signs, so that they are non muslims, some velg or something, non muslims should not be allowed to ride vehicle, non muslims should not be allowed to walk in the same road that muslims use, it is there in the book & that book is still considered to be one of the authoritative source of Islamic jurisprudence, so this is all problem.

Being aware that the challenge, the problem that we are facing is so huge then we need to consolidate sufficiently, to make a powerful authority to deal with it. That's why we need a global consolidation, we need to post this problem to the world so that the whole world will be aware about it & together demand muslim world to respond properly, that's what we need. I was had this conversation with the American friend when I was in Washington, & there is repeatedly coming questions from non muslims to muslims, this friend said "well this is the Islamic problem, so you muslims have to deal with it", I said "no, this problem concerns you, this problems concerns your security, your future also, so you have all the rights to engage with this problem & determine the result". Because this is the problem of our current human civilization, we have to deal with it together, because if we not then we have to think about an alternative civilization or maybe we have to think about the coming doom. So again, this is not just about the ideals of individual independence, individual freedom, & so forth, this is civilizational problems.

Related to freewill & the rights of free thinking also, because if you don't deal with this problem, you see when a person, when people embrace religion, it is natural that they want to be a better adherent of that religion. If you are muslim, you naturally you want to be a better muslim, so you seek the guidance to be a better one, you need to find authoritative sources for that, if we don't deal with this problematic elements, then free will, free thinking, it will not be compatible to Islam, if we allow Islam to be defined mostly by these problematic elements of teaching.

What happen with the USA forcing the Saudi to reform their religious educational system is something good, I would say it's a good thing to do, & also recently we heard the Crown Prince Of Saudi stated that he wants to bring back Saudi to moderation, but now the problem is not just about the Saudi, what we need is not just the Saudi to reform themselves to be moderate, we need Saudi to get involved in the effort to solve this problems in global consolidation, that's what we need, thank you.

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https://x.com/SohailSNAhmed/status/1861746200996614602

Thread: The Urgent Need for Reform in the Islamic World

1/ Let’s stop sugar-coating it. Current Islamic thinking perpetuates and sanctifies medievalist theology, clinging to an outdated worldview shaped centuries ago when slavery was normal.

It has utterly failed in modernity.

2/ No, it’s not ‘just a few bad apples.’ The issue is systemic.

A majority of Islamic scholars are educated in pre-modern jurisprudence and vehemently shun extensive and meaningful contextualisation. 

Their theological frameworks were developed in an era totally alien to ours.

3/ Medievalist theology refers to religious works rooted in a time when:

Theocratic rule was dominant.

Gender, class, and group-based hierarchies were rigid.

Scientific understanding was minimal.

War and violence were the norm.

4/ Examples of problematic teachings:

The dehumanisation of women and sexual minorities.

Hatred of non-Muslims.

Scepticism and even downright hostility towards reason, philosophy, science, secularism, progress, and adaptation.

Offensive holy war (jihad).

5/ Extremist narratives build on the foundation of outdated theology. Even when imams and preachers do not explicitly support violence, their teachings can provide a fertile ground for extremism to grow.

This presents problems for Western countries with Muslim populations.

6/ Scrutiny is necessary. Silence enables harm.

This isn’t about demonising Muslims. It’s about:

Transparency: Ensuring the Muslim community is inclusive.

Accountability: Holding preachers accountable for their teachings.

Reform: Encouraging theological dialogue and progress.

7/ Is reform un-Islamic? No. Islam has a tradition of ijtihad (independent reasoning). Many of history’s greatest Islamic scholars adapted teachings to fit the contexts of their time.

Reform doesn’t mean rejecting faith; it means keeping to Islam's original evolving nature.

8/ Think about it. Islam is uniquely positioned for reform given that according to the religious tradition, each verse was revealed in real-time in response to a specific event or context. Over time, the teachings changed to adapt to specific circumstances.

9/ Do you really think the need for that process of contextualization and adaptation and change suddenly ended once the prophet died?

Anyone claiming as much is frankly insane.

10/ Reform must include:

Encouraging critical thinking and engaging with science & philosophy.

Reviving the Islamic tradition, and opening the doors of ijtihaad (independent reasoning) wide open.

Engaging with academics in Islamic Studies departments in Western universities.

11/ If we don’t address this:

Extremists will exploit the massive disconnect between Islam and modernity.

Generational disconnects will widen, leaving young Muslims disillusioned.

Islam will lose its relevance, becoming a relic.

People will leave Islam in droves.

12/ The current state of the Islamic world is embarrassing. I'm almost embarrassed to call myself a Muslim.

The irony is that Islam is the most amenable religion to change and progress relative to the other Abrahamic faiths, yet we're the ones stuck in medieval times.

> This thread hits on a hard truth: the Islamic world’s resistance to reform and its continued sanctification of medievalist theology is a major obstacle to progress. These outdated ideas not only fail to address modernity but actively perpetuate oppression, from gender inequality to the defense of practices like slavery in historical contexts. It’s time to stop shielding Islam from necessary scrutiny. Every other major faith has undergone reform to align with the modern world—why should Islam be exempt? Real progress requires confronting these issues head-on and rejecting the idea that outdated doctrines should dictate the future.

< You're absolutely correct to say that Islam and Muslims should be scrutinised and critiqued. This is why I am so against blasphemy laws. Blasphemy stymies progress and self-reflection. We can evolve and improve if we are open to criticism.

> The hatred and terrorism from the Islamic world is what really concerns me. Thanks for being one of  those in the front willing to take on the issue of reform in the Islamic World.

< It all stems from in-group vs out-group dynamics. It stems from the dehumanisation of non-Muslims.