Kamil Pasha

Turkey’s Department of Religious Affairs has commissioned a group of theologians at Ankara University School of Theology to reinterpret and modernize the 1400-year-old Hadith, a collection of sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad and the most important basis for Islamic law next to the Qur’an. Hadiths are used to interpret the meaning of the Qur’an with regard to everyday questions of law.

The argument made by Turkish theologians is that Islamic tradition has been hijacked by societies with conservative cultures that used the texts for social control, with some even embellishing the text out of political motives. How can you tell what has been genuinely spoken by the Prophet Muhammed and what has been altered and reinterpreted? The “Ankara School” of theologians apply scholarly research about the historical and social context of the original sayings in order to understand what the Prophet’s goal was. They are also applying Western critical techniques and philosophy.

“Turkey is doing nothing less than recreating Islam - changing it from a religion whose rules must be obeyed, to one designed to serve the needs of people in a modern secular democracy.” (for full BBC article, click here)

The modernization of Islam through critical reinterpretation of its central texts is not unique to Turkey. Over the years, scholars in a variety of Muslim countries have done this in different ways (including some women), but their efforts have not received much sustained attention. Instead they have attracted the anger of the Islamic establishment (whose authority, of course, this challenges). This anger has especially been directed toward women who have tried to read the Qur’an in a manner more supportive of women’s interests.

What is remarkable about the Turkish attempt is that it has been initiated by the majority Muslim establishment and, since it is not meant for non-Turkish Muslim consumption, thus has a chance of initiating effective change. It is doubtful whether Turkish reinterpretations would jump the border and move to Arab or Asian Muslim societies. The fact that Ankara theologians are using Western critical techniques on the sacred Hadiths is in itself a reason many might reject the results. Still, it is an experiment meant for Turkey and here it might have an important impact.

Tags: Religion, Women //