I think that this article explores something important. When we come across about praises of Islam, such as the most beautiful, complete and a tolerant religion, at the same time we find no tolerance in Muslims.
For me it is a positive article and not criticism of Islam.
Article requires id identification, so I post the complete article…..
The Region: Another kind of Islam
A Saudi mother, a college professor, recently wrote about a remarkable experience. Shortly after September 11, 2001, her son came home from fifth grade and sang the praises of Osama bin Laden, repeating what his teacher had told the class. Three years later, that same teacher was one of the Islamist terrorists who attacked the Saudi Interior Ministry.
It is quite clear that terrorists in the Arab world are often the direct product of what they were taught in school about Islam. And even if the graduates make good, pro-regime citizens they are also inoculated against supporting political reform, democracy or moderate Islam.
That is why a recent article by Latif Lakhdar in the March issue of MERIA Journal – and in an earlier Arabic version published in Middle East Transparent Web site – is so important. For Lakhdar shows how this vicious circle can be broken, and is in fact already being broken in one Arab country.
Lakhdar, a Tunisian liberal who lives in Paris, contrasts how Islam is taught in his native country with what is done in places like Saudi Arabia and Egypt. In those places, he explains, Islamic education “instills in the younger generation a religious fanaticism which entails a phobia toward dissimilarity and a rejection of the other, even to the extent of killing.” Any debate about religious precepts is an unacceptable deviation that must be punished.
In contrast, there is a way of teaching religion rationally, in a manner that does not bar science or logic. Such an approach includes the comparative study of religions, which shows there has been a historical development. It demonstrates not only the lack of a monopoly on piety but also that change is a natural part of religion.
The sociology and psychology of religion can be either a tremendous benefit or manipulated to serve the interests of unscrupulous people. Linguistics encourages the careful study of texts to show that they have always been interpreted.
And, as Lakhdar describes, this is what has been introduced into the Tunisian school system, even at Zaitouna University, the highest institution of religious teaching in the country.
Many moderate teachings and traditions that exist in Islam and could be used for this purpose are ignored by the far stronger forces of radicalism that pick the theologians and passages they want, then claim their version is the only legitimate one. Yet students can be taught to think for themselves rather than merely worship their ancestors.
For example, Lakhdar points to 13 different verses from Islam’s founder showing that his intention was to be a preacher and influence rather than a politician or dictator. One states that if people ignore the message, nevertheless, “unto thee belongeth preaching only.” Another says, “Wherefore warn the people; for thou art a warner only.”
At Zaitouna University, Lakhdar explains, three central concepts in religious studies are vital to reforming the prevailing conception of Islam, and changing society for the better.
They are: “The promotion of ijtihad” – the interpretation of texts – “without any restriction on rational thinking; the reliance upon rationalist thought and the humanities as part of learning about religious texts; and realization that Islamic consciousness must reinstate the other, particularly the Jew and the Christian.”
To prove this point Lakhdar presents the curriculum of the university’s Higher Institute of Religious Fundamentals.
Among required courses students must “understand the historical and scientific difficulties” of turning religious texts into legislation.
On each subject the classes stress that Islamic scholars had different opinions, saying in one case, “Each doctrine has its own perception, closely related to the society” in which it was formulated, “with respect to time and place.” Another course, “Introduction to Scriptural Religions,” is defined as teaching about “Judaism and Christianity in a manner which respects the words of their founders.”
This is clearly far different from the hostile image inculcated into students in virtually every other Arab country. Aside from a thorough grounding in Islamic sources, Zaitouna also has courses on the Judeo-Christian Bible, comparing Western and Muslim concepts of freedom, human rights in Islam, liberal and conservative Islamic theology in the past, and the varying interpretations of different Muslim sects.
To top this all off, there is an example of a final exam at Zaitouna University in which students are asked to discuss the important Koranic saying “Let there be no violence in religion.” It specifically says no one should be forcibly converted to Islam.
Students are then asked “to elaborate on the Koran’s stance on the freedom of belief, and the question of accepting the other who is different in religion.”
They are told to discuss these issues “in accordance with modern requirements to found the civil society, which prerequisites tolerance and coexistence in order to guarantee progress and security, and in accordance with the aspirations by the global community to build interactions on a base of the exchange of interests, regardless of color, sex or religion.”
The Tunisian experience shows that moderate Islam is possible, but only if Arab states and societies teach their children that it is legitimate, and give them the tools needed to live and believe that way.
The writer is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. His forthcoming book is The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East.