Start of the Reformation in Islam?

[Prime Junta]

OK, that's probably jumping the gun more than a little bit, but this is a new development: Islamic scholars applying historiographical source-critical techniques to the Hadith, in an attempt to reform Islam in a way that would get rid of the deadwood that has accumulated over the centuries -- and help it adjust to the realities of the 21st century.

[ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7264903.stm ]

I'll be keeping a close eye on this one. Similar things have been attempted before -- not coincidentally many of them in Turkey or Turkophone countries; in particular, the "Jadeed" movement of the early 20th century springs to mind. That fell through, though -- cut short by the secularism of Atatürk on the one hand, and Communism on the other (it was also strong in Bukhara and Samarkand, which came under Soviet rule.)

Good luck to them, I say. If this works out, we'll book our next vacation in Istanbul. (Might go there anyway, though.) :)

[blatantninja]

There's also a group in northern Africa actually condoning female Imams. Hope it is a sign of good things to come.

Ohh, and Istanbul is pretty secular. I have a lot of Turkish friends and I asked them about visiting (too much cool Roman and early Christian stuff for me not too!). They said not to worry about anything.

[Prime Junta]

I have some Turkish friends as well; Istanbul has been pretty high on our "to-go" list for a while now. I just thought that with this sort of thing they'd deserve a little extra encouragement. :)

[magerette]

That's an interesting read, Prime J and excellent news if it can be brought off well. From my readings in Anderson's Islam I get the impression that a lot of the interpretation of Islamic law is based on the Hadith and that, like the New Testament, it represents more the narrative of those around the Prophet concerning his responses and sayings and so forth. Is this too much of a simplification?

If that's reasonably accurate, then it does seem comparable to the liturgical revamping of Christianity during the Reformation--but that brings up the idea of a serious conflict arising between new and old versions as in Europe, when everybody who belonged to one side got together and burned everybody they could find from the other side at the stake...there was a lot of secular interest involving the redistribution of wealth there, though, which may not run parallel with the Islamic experience. Hopefully this is a positive sign.

[aries100]

It should also be noted that in Marocco, The King and the Women have gotten a new law through Parliament while the more conservative imams foamed. They foamed because they couldn't say anything at all, since this Reform(ation) was
made doable by a new interpretation of the Koran and the Hadits.

Anyway, I am pleased to hear this :)

[JemyM]

http://jemym.no-ip.com/iraqpatch.jpg