The Planted Seeds Of Hypocrisy
Prominent Iraqi scholar Sayyid Ahmed al Qabbanji said, in a recent Ramadan lecture graced by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, that the taking on of a fundamentalist view of Islam can only produce ignorance, intolerance of others and ultimately, terrorism. This is because the fundamentalist view focuses on Islam as a religion, ritual and practice rather than Muslims as human beings. To this, he alluded that the interpretation of Islam from a fundamentalist viewpoint has turned many Muslims away from Islamic teachings in a quiet and subtle way. In Sayyid Ahmed al Qabbanji’s view, this quiet apostasy could be attributed to the countless “seeds of hypocrisy” planted by fundamentalists who had force religion and practices on Muslims – especially in their public lives.
The Cause Of Silent Apostasy
Sayyid Ahmed al Qabbanji said, “A large number of young people who live under the rule of fundamentalists have renounced their religion because fundamentalists forced religion on them. Faith thrives on freedom and freedom is the basis of ethics. When a religious adherent is forced to give charity, then this charity means nothing and has no actual value.” The scholar said that the fundamentalist interpretation of Islam will turn the religion into a set of rules, regulations and practices that are anachronistic in globalized modern-day societies.
The Incomplete Understanding
Sayyid Ahmed al Qabbanji emphasized that the basis of Islam is not the Quran and the Prophet’s traditions, as fundamentalists or the extremists think; rather it is the belief in God and the love of God’s creation. “Genuine Muslims use intellect to seek the truth, while fundamentalists use it to store rules. Extremists are dogmatic and they reject everything that contradicts the rules they stored in their brains,” he said. Sayyid Ahmed al Qabbanji concluded by saying, “Believing in God never changes; it could only decrease or increase. Our understanding of religion is never perfect, it changes and develops.”
Think About It
Sayyid Ahmed al Qabbanji said that, “Believing in God never changes; it could only decrease or increase. Our understanding of religion is never perfect, it changes and develops.” And so, can the understanding of Islam be perfect? Sayyid Ahmed al Qabbanji also said that “genuine Muslims use intellect to seek the truth.” Is he correct to say that “a large number of young people who live under the rule of fundamentalists have renounced their religion?” Why is this so? Is it caused by the “seeds of hypocrisy” planted by the fundamentalists? Or have these young people become “genuine Muslims who use intellect to seek the truth”?
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