ISLAM NEEDS TO EVOLVE

The Miami Herald published a couple of reports this past Saturday September 23 that caught my eye. The first one is a (page 1A) piece by Alexandra Alter titled “For Ramadan, Young Muslims’ Devotion Has Higher Meaning.” It is about a group of students that meet every day at the Islamic Foundation of South Florida for the sole purpose of memorizing the Koran.

Those who can accomplish the arduous task earn the title of “hafiz.” Apparently, it is a great honor to do so. I disapprove of the practice. Yes, perhaps it helps people improve their capacity to memorize facts in other subjects, but it goes against the main intellectual function of the human brain, namely to use the power of reason to gain understanding.

Memorizing things by rote is unnecessary. We have books and computer files we can use as reference when the need arises. As long as we know how to read, there is no problem. Religion is too important an issue to accept the claims and doctrines of the holy books at face value. Instead, students should question and debate their veracity and worth. We are human beings. We are not parrots. Whether practiced by Christians to quote the gospels, or Jews to quote the Torah, or Muslims to quote the Koran, the memorization of verses is not conducive to our intellectual evolution.

The second report came from Mark Brunswick of the McClatchy News Service. It appears on page 23A with the heading, “Chaos imperils women, religious sects.” The article explains how dangerous things are in Iraq due to the increasing violence from various sources. Particularly vulnerable are religious minorities and women. The systematic persecution of the former is reducing their numbers considerably. Some wind up dead. Some leave the country.

As regards women, it appears many have died because of alleged “fire accidents.” Some women’s rights activists have complained to the U.N. stating he perpetrators burn those bodies to cover up the deliberate murder of these victims. Who are the perpetrators? What were their motives? Those questions come to mind.

It turns out the suspected killers are members of these women’s own families. The murders are punishment for "having sex outside marriage or leaving home without permission." In Islam, such conduct brings dishonor to the family. Okay, but are those good enough reasons to murder a human being? Definitely not, those are irrational decisions and criminal actions. The authorities should conduct investigations and bring the killers to trial. The judges and juries should agree on giving those found guilty the death sentence.

For these and many other reasons, Islam needs to evolve. No, Islam is not the only religion who could use the fruits of positive evolutionary forces, but it is the most conspicuous.

Recommended Reading: Ercian Testament – Part One, chapter 4 “Proligion.”