Abstract
Abstract The authors argue that there is an epistemological crisis of conservative Islamic scholarship and Muslim mind, rooted in the centuries-old confinement of a role for reason within strict limits, and in the disappearance of rationalistic discursive theology (kalam) as a dynamic science. Moreover, epistemological crisis is exemplified by seriously insufficient level of protection of human rights under Sharia when judged by contemporary principles of human rights. This crisis demands a necessity of undertaking epistemological reform, which denotes the incorporation of international standards of human rights and justice into the epistemology and methodology of producing Islamic norms (usul al-fiqh). It is argued that the key epistemological premises of rationalistic Islam, such as acceptance that human reason can find goodness and badness independently from revelation and non-acceptance of ethical voluntarism, may offer a good ground to make epistemological reform, which would induce the Muslims to critically approach and reinterpret the pre-modern religious interpretations and to construct an Islamic legal and ethical system that is appropriate for the context of the 21th century. In the end, reason, being the human capacity for shaping reality in a humane way, is indispensable to read religious sources from a historical-metaphorical point of view.
Highlights
Erosion of pluralism and the need for reformIslam is many things; just as there is no single Europe or West, there is no single place or uniform phenomenon called Islam.[1]
This crisis demands a necessity of undertaking epistemological reform, which denotes the incorporation of international standards of human rights and justice into the epistemology and methodology of producing Islamic norms
It is argued that the key epistemological premises of rationalistic Islam, such as acceptance that human reason can find goodness and badness independently from revelation and non-acceptance of ethical voluntarism, may offer a good ground to make epistemological reform, which would induce the Muslims to critically approach and reinterpret the pre-modern religious interpretations and to construct an Islamic legal and ethical system that is appropriate for the context of the 21th century
Summary
Islam is many things; just as there is no single Europe or West, there is no single place or uniform phenomenon called Islam.[1]. We argue that the Muslim communities around the world are crippled by a crisis of pluralism and the erosion of pluralist mind and culture They are enfeebled by an inability to produce the religious interpretations that would correspond with the contemporary standards of human rights and justice. Johnston depicts these rationalistic principles, needed to advance a purposive approach to Islamic law and develop human rights in Islamic context, as Mutazilite principles.[13] There is only little literature in English about the potential of Maturidism to develop human rights and reform the conservative Muslim mind produced by counter-radicalism organizations, such as the London-based Quilliam Foundation.[14]. The phenomenon of “ex-Muslims”, the increasing number of young Muslims who have decided to leave Islam because of their disenchantment with traditionalist conservative interpretations,[32] shows that Islam needs human rights ideology
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