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Spencer (And Other Critics) Respond

November 1st, 2007
By JEB KOOGLER

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Robert Spencer, following the publication of my Brown Daily Herald article that criticized his comments during Islamofascism Week, has responded in a post over at his blog. Interestingly, a lot of the criticisms that I’ve gotten at Jihad Watch have to do with my alleged ‘misreading’ of the Quran. The Muslim holy book is much more violent than the Bible, many are suggesting, and therefore Islam is inherently based on violence and oppression.

The problem with this line of reasoning, however, is that it fails to take into account the evolution of Islamic thought over the past 1400 years. As’ad AbuKhalil, alluding to the broad swath of interpretation about correct Islamic practice, mentioned to me dryly in a recent phone interview that he’s “never been stoned, and no Muslim has ever taken revenge against me.” Indeed, as Ali Eteraz has so eloquently outlined, there is no singular interpretation of Islamic law and practice; instead, it continues to evolve to meet modern day circumstances.

American Law with respect to racism and gender underwent reformation. Islamic Law with respect to violence against non-Muslims has also modified to fit with the world in which it finds itself.

…Sheikh Ali Gomaa, the high Mufti of Egypt, whom Spencer in another post tries to paint as an extremist because Gomaa (like John Ashcroft) does not allow graven images in statues, recently allowed women to get hymen reconstruction surgery, as well as allowing women the right to political leadership. Other major jurists today have allowed women the right to lead prayer. Even al-Azhar University, by no means a bastion of reform, has taken a strong stance against Female Genital Mutilation which it once used to permit. Islamic Law changes. I hope that is obvious by now. The way islamic jurisprudence evolved to make rules limiting violence serves as a model of how islamic jurisprudence will evolve to give rights to women, minorities and non-Muslims.

Islamic law isn’t static. That’s the key point. The world has changed since Muhammad’s day, and so have Muslims’ views on what practices and beliefs are appropriate. Indeed, this evolution is not entirely different for Islam than it has been for Christianity. Jed Bartlett illustrates this point pretty well:



This entry was posted on Thursday, November 1st, 2007 at 1:36 pm and is filed under Islam. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

 
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