The BBC reports about a project for a new interpretation of Islamic scripture. This is indeed big news.
I have written about these scriptures, Islamic law interpretation based on them and how they reflect the Shia-Sunni divide.
To recap – Islamic law is based on:
- Quran – God's own words written down by the prophet Muhammad
- Hadith – Historic tales of the "practice of the prophet" as a supplement to the Quran
- Ijtihad – case-law developed through interpretation of the Quran and Hadith
- Quiyas – For the Sunni school of Islam Ijtihad was closed several hundred years ago and development of new case-law is not allowed. Application of Islamic law to new social circumstances and technical development is therefore based on analogies, quiyas, from the old case law. Scholar consensus, Ijma, is needed for acceptance of a analogy-interpretation.
For the Shia school of Islam Ijtihad is still open and religious/legal scholars can and do develop new case-law.
Both Shia and Sunni see Quran and Hadith essentially as given. Whoever doubts these is accused as aposta and heretic.
An official program for a new reading of the Hadith is therefore an enormous and risky endeavor. Here, BBC reports, Turkey is taking the lead:
The country's powerful Department of Religious Affairs has commissioned a team of theologians at Ankara University to carry out a fundamental revision of the Hadith, the second most sacred text in Islam after the Koran.
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The argument is that Islamic tradition has been gradually hijacked by various – often conservative – cultures, seeking to use the religion for various forms of social control.Leaders of the Hadith project say successive generations have embellished the text, attributing their political aims to the Prophet Muhammad himself.
This project is at least two years old. Interestingly a German Jesuit and prominent scholar on Islam, Felix Koerner, is involved.
Instead of literal reading of Quran and Hadith, which was revived by the Saudi Wahabi school in the late 19th century, the project is encouraging critical reading of the text and setting it into its historical context. A Turkish scholar gives an example:
"There are some messages that ban women from travelling for three days or more without their husband's permission and they are genuine.
"But this isn't a religious ban. It came about because in the Prophet's time it simply wasn't safe for a woman to travel alone like that. But as time has passed, people have made permanent what was only supposed to be a temporary ban for safety reasons."
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Prof Gormez points out that in another speech, the Prophet said "he longed for the day when a woman might travel long distances alone".So, he argues, it is clear what the Prophet's goal was.
There are several scholars like Jamal Al-Banna (interview: 1, 2) who for years are arguing for a renewed interpretation of the Hadith. The real big news now is the official support for such.
It remains to be seen if and how this will effect the interpretation of religion in the Arab world. It certainly will lead to new discussions, but fundamentalists will likely reject it.
Historically broad new interpretations of a religion, like through the Christian reformation, lead to splits and even wars about the "true belief". So while this is welcome news, it might have some dangerous implications.