January 11, 2006

Pope: No Hope for Islam

Often in the pages of The Jawa Report we ponder the question of whether or not Islam can be reformed to meet modernity. Except for very liberal Muslims, we have found little hope. For instance, not a single Islamic country has either full religious freedom or freedom of speech. While a Hindu is permitted to practice his faith privately in many Muslim countries, he may not do so publicly. Nor can the believing Buddhist try to convert a Muslim or criticize Islam in any way in any Muslim country.

So, can Islam be reformed? I have speculated in the past that such reform might come, but only at great cost and through external circumstances. But, I have remained open, if not skeptical, to the possibility that such a reformation is possible and has, in fact, already begun. Today I learn that I am not alone.

Via McQ who has a discussion going over at Q and O, I learn that the Pope is equally skeptical. Had I not been on vacation, I probably would have caught Hugh Hewitt's full interview, the transcripts of which can be found at Radioblogger:

the holy father, in his beautiful calm but clear way, said, well, there's a fundamental problem with that because, he said, in the Islamic tradition, God has given His word to Mohammed, but it's an eternal word. It's not Mohammed's word. It's there for eternity the way it is. There's no possibility of adapting it or interpreting it, whereas in Christianity, and Judaism, the dynamism's completely different, that God has worked through his creatures . And so it is not just the word of God, it's the word of Isaiah, not just the word of God, but the word of Mark. He's used his human creatures, and inspired them to speak his word to the world, and therefore by establishing a church in which he gives authority to his followers to carry on the tradition and interpret it, there's an inner logic to the Christian Bible, which permits it and requires it to be adapted and applied to new situations.
On the pro-reform side is the argument that Judaism was able to rid itself of such barbaric practices as the death penalty for blasphemy, so why can't Islam? However, it took the destruction of two Hebrew nations (Judah/Israel), domination by at least three empires, the destruction of at least two temples, two diasporas, and hundreds of years as a minority to do it. Not a pleasent prospect.

McQ has more on why this understanding is important in dealing with Iran.

By Rusty Shackleford, Ph.D. at 11:03 AM | |