PS. Saya teringat istilah ini: "simatupang". --- In [email protected], "Jusfiq" <kesayangan.al...@...> wrote: > > > Benernya udah terlambat.. > > Udah ketahuan bahwa Islam itu cuman jelmaan salah satu sekte Nasrani, jadi ya > nggk bisa di reformasi. > > Bisanya cuman ditinggalin, kayak kapal Titanic yang sedangkaram. > > PS. > > Saya teringat istilah ini: > > "The so-called Islamic reformers remind me of the salon orchestra, which - > in a heroic display of giving the passengers the illusion of normalcy - > continued to play on the deck of the Titanic until it went down. Likewise, the > reformers are playing an alluring melody, but know full well that no one is > listening anyway." > > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/message/288058 > > -- > > > Pursuing an Islamic metamorphosis > > The Muslim world faces a decline similar to that of medieval Europe; a > potential rebirth requires a new consensus. > Mohamed El-Moctar El-Shinqiti Last Modified: 17 Oct 2010 14:11 GMT > > Reformists should focus on the rule of law, rather than the legal tradition > from which law is drawn [EPA] > > In his book, The Autumn of the Middle Ages, Dutch historian Johan Huizinga > describes the decline of the medieval world as a process of "dying and > rigidifying of a previously valid store of thought". > > The main thesis of Huizinga's book is that, by the fourteenth and fifteenth > centuries, the cultural forms and norms on which medieval Europe was based > became overused and exhausted. When any ideal becomes exhausted, it fails to > be a source of inspiration; rather it becomes an artificial burden. > > From Huizinga's perspective, the European world of the late middle ages was a > world of artificial vanity and self-deception, a ruin of a world that had > died a long time before. > > I think that the abstract aspect of Huizinga's thesis on cultural forms is > enlightening, and can be extended to explain transitional moments in other > cultures, including contemporary Islamic culture. The cultural legacy modern > Muslims inherited from their ancestors is exhausted, and - with lack of > self-criticism - much of this legacy is becoming a burden rather than a > source of inspiration. > > The Islamic world is going through a deep metamorphosis. The lessons of > history from the American and French revolutions show that these kinds of > transitive moments are sometimes bloody and painful. At this moment, Muslims > need new ideas and ideals that transcend their divisions and heel their > wounds. > > One of these deep wounds is the conflict between secularists and Islamists, > and that is what we will explore here. > > State and religion > > At the heart of the crisis of Muslim societies today is the lack of consensus > about the social contract on which society should be based, especially in > terms of an agreed understanding for the relation between religion and state. > > Secularism can be seen from an institutional, legal or ideological angle. In > the western experience, it is also important to distinguish between the > Anglo-Saxon 'soft' secularism which basically means positive neutrality of > the state towards religion, and the French 'hard' laïcité that goes beyond > neutrality to negative intervention against religion. > > Institutional separation between religious and political organisations is not > difficult to accept in the Islamic world. It is indeed in compatibility with > the Islamic historical experience, where religion was never institutionalised > as a political competitor with the state, the way it was in medieval > Christianity. > > But ideological secularism the French way, and legal secularism that excludes > Islam as a source of legislation, will never take root in Islamic culture. > > Historical potential > > Muslims cannot, however, continue ignoring new developments in the morality > of all humanity regarding the religion-state relations. First, the foundation > of the modern state is geographical, not faith-based. > > Second, the equality of all citizens in political rights is, theoretically at > least, unquestionable in any respected modern state. Third, every nation > needs to consider the laws and legislation of other nations. > > Fortunately for modern Muslims who are deeply rooted in their cultural > heritage, there are potentials in their inherited culture that might help. > First, Muslim societies have always been open to religious diversity. > > The unbroken existence of Christian minorities in the Middle East from the > birth of Islam until today is a good illustration of this potential. Second, > Islamic law is very flexible and open to perpetual interpretation and > adaptation, and it is easy to incorporate most modern laws within the Islamic > legal vision. > > Three players > > A closer look at the conflict over religion and state in the Islamic world > reveals the existence of three players who have a stake in the outcome of > this conflict. These players are the Muslim majorities, the non-Muslim > minorities, and the non-practising Muslims. Each one of these players has its > own set of concerns. > > The Muslim majorities see Islam as an essential part of inspiration in public > life, and they don't want their value system to be compromised. They are also > afraid of foreign manipulation of the minority's case. > > Some people among these majorities believe that the issue of secularism is > irrelevant. We have no church, they argue, and secularism, by definition, is > "the separation between the state and the church". > > Some would even go as far as saying that Islam is a secular religion, and we > are already secular, because we have no clergy who have a claim on being > God's legate on earth. > > The non-Muslim minorities don't want to be treated as second class citizens, > and they don't want their religious freedom restricted. They are not willing > to accept less than equal rights and responsibilities in their land of birth. > > As for non-practising Muslims, Islam is acceptable as an individualistic > observance, but not a social or political system. They believe the state > should avoid legislation of morality, especially religious morality. > > Towards a compromise > > The three players in this Islamic metamorphosis need to come to a historical > compromise that will save much time and energy, and help produce a swift > transition of the Muslim societies to democracy and modernity. > > Non-Muslim minorities and non-practising Muslims need to accept the fact that > Islamic law is too rich and too important to be discarded. The historical > analogy with Western experience is misleading, since there was never a > universally subscribed to "Christian law" that governed societies and states. > Unlike the Islamic law that has been the law of many Muslim states and > empires throughout the last 1400 years, the medieval Canon law was to govern > the Church, not the state or the society at large. > > Muslim majorities need to accept that faith is no longer the basis for a > social contract; geography is the new basis. > > They must also guarantee the political and legal equality of their non-Muslim > and non-religious citizens. Any legalisation of discrimination against > non-Muslim citizens in terms of constitutional and political rights is > absurd. Unfortunately that is what we still have today in many Arab > countriesincluding the very secular ones, where constitutions deprive > non-Muslim citizens from running in presidential elections (good for them > anyway, since the elections are never fair or transparent). > > Institutional secularism that prevents rulers from misusing religion, and > guarantees freedom of conscience for all, should be accepted by all. > Ideological secularism that chases religion away from public life should be > rejected by all, because it is pure coercion. > > Legal secularism that ignores the centrality of Islamic laws is meaningless. > However, a great reinterpretation and adaptation of Islamic laws is necessary > to help this compromise take place. These laws are flexible, and there has > never been a monopoly in interpreting them. > > Rule of law > > Those who complain about Islamic laws need to shift their discourse to a more > positive and practical formula: what should matter for them should be > equality before the law, more than the source of the law. > > As I told my friends at a Texas church a few years ago, I don't care if US > law is drawn from a biblical source or a Roman source; what I care about is > that the law does not discriminate against me as a Muslim. > > The three players in the debate over religion and politics in the Islamic > world need to be focusing on the rule of law instead of fighting over what > kind of law should rule. > > The Islamic world has suffered a lot from the lack of consensus on the social > contract within Muslim societies. > > It is time to explore new roads towards this necessary consensus. Both > Islamists and secularists share the responsibility to achieve common ground > through mutual respect and compromise. > > A creative synthesis that is seen by Islamists as 'Islamic', and by > secularists as 'secular', is very possible. After all Islam never accepted > splitting the human personality into spiritual and material parts, and the > Islamic ideal was never the self-absorbed asceticism, but the practical > ethicality. > > Mohamed El-Moctar El-Shinqiti is an author in political history and history > of religion. He is a research coordinator at the Qatar Foundation in Doha, > Qatar. > > The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not > necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy. > Source: > Al Jazeera > Email Article > Email Article > Print Article > Print Article > Share article > Share Article > Send Feedback > Send Feedback > Topics in this article > People > > * Johan Huizinga > * El-Moctar El-Shinqiti > > > Organisation > > * Qatar Foundation in Doha > * Environmental Protection Agency > > Featured on Al Jazeera > Taliban talks: folly or fortune? > Reconciliatory negotiations may be ongoing between the Afghan government, the > Taliban and, perhaps, the US. > Pursuing an Islamic metamorphosis > The Muslim world faces a decline similar to that of medieval Europe; a > potential rebirth requires a new consensus. > Solving Africa's hunger > For the first time, African farmers are being consulted to help solve one of > the continent's greatest concerns. > DR Congo: Africa's sleeping giant? > Al Jazeera investigates when the African country will wake up from its 'long > sleep'. >
------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
