Tolerance is key to plural co-existence

the Sinimari Church of Christ in Nigeria, killing six people and injuring 25. The Borno Police Commissioner, Muhammad Abubakr quickly condemned the attacks.Then, just last week, militants attacked a church in Alexandria, Egypt, leaving 21 people dead and 97 injured. A radical Muslim grouping claimed responsibility but President Hosni Mubarak promised on Egyptian television that extremists would not destabilise Egypt or divide Muslims and Christians, claiming the attack had carried evidence of the involvement of ‘foreign fingers’.Once again Muslims have become associated with extremism and violence, yet acts of wanton violence are contrary to the teachings of Islam. In Islamic ethics, the end does not justify the means. Prominent Muslim scholars around the world have reminded us that religious extremism has no virtue in Islam, and extremism has been unequivocally condemned by the Prophet of Islam. The Prophet is reported, in a tradition, to have declared thrice, “The extremists shall perish”. Already religious scholars here in South Africa and abroad have condemned the church attacks in Nigeria and Egypt. Perhaps one needs to also bear in mind here that the vast majority of Muslims are indeed peace loving and there are only pockets of extremists in different parts of the world - yet this minority has come to shape an understanding of all Muslims.All of this points us to the question of an understanding of Islam, perhaps a ‘progressive Islam’ where extremism has no place. No doubt this question is a thorny one. At a time when Muslims the world over feel that their future is under threat, and when conspiracy theories abound about attempts to undermine Muslims from within and without, any attempt to work towards a rethinking of some norms and praxis in conservative pockets of Muslims around the world is bound to solicit controversy and suspicion, if not outright resistance or even violent reaction –like we have seen recently with the assassination of Pakistani Governor, Salman Taseer, when he called for a repeal of Pakistan’s blasphemy law which came into sharp focus recently when a Pakistani Christian woman was accused of blasphemy.But some honest and objective questioning is long overdue. In many Muslim societies today, practices that have nothing to do with Islam, or which may even be contrary to the values of Islam, are being reproduced and re-enacted as if they were articles of faith. However, despite the demands for change and introspection, the progressive current seems weak. Why?The starting point is the simple fact that any "progressive" school of thought has to begin from premises that are recognisably Islamic. Here the vocabulary and grammar is of crucial importance: "progressive" has to be recognised as something that progresses naturally and easily from Islam itself, and not some genetically modified, user-friendly version that has all sorts of trendy and sexy concepts grafted on to it for reasons of political correctness. This ‘progressive’ mode would remain in line with the teachings of the Qur’an and the following of the Prophet (Peace be upon Him), recognising the progressive nature of these primary sources – unlike the frighteningly conservative interpretations that we have seen in some pockets in some parts of the world. Key to this understanding is the recognition that we live in a plural context and harmonious co-existence, despite the complex diversity of this world, is possible.The development of an organic progressive Islamic discourse is hardly going to be an easy task. For a start, the political realities of many Muslim countries -- where authoritarian regimes often work hand-in-glove with reactionary conservative religious forces to perpetuate the status quo -- make it extremely difficult for new progressive voices to be heard. The culture of hate speech, intimidation and slander has become so commonplace in the battle for ideas that they have become routine and regarded as the norm of public debate in many cases. Despite the brutality of the occupying forces in some countries, senseless killings and church attacks with horrific endings cannot go unchallenged. This brutality is often in violation of what Islam commands.A complicating factor in the search for a new discourse is the uneven power differentials between East and West -- and within many Muslim societies themselves -- which often leads emerging progressive voices to seek help and refuge in the arms of like-minded intellectuals, NGOs, donor agencies and/or governments abroad. The oppositional dialectics between the West and Islam have further entrenched the cultural, religious and ideological divide between the two sides, making dialogue itself a hazardous venture that few would attempt. Lost in the midst of this are the minorities within the Muslim world who are not trained as scholars of Islam, and are thus not "qualified" to speak on matters Islamic.The progressive current, if it is to emerge at all, will have to burst the banks of conservative dogma that have thus far been reinforced by both Muslim conservatives and authoritarian elites. The progressive current needs to show that extremism has no place in Islam and it is indeed the practice of a small, small minority. Progressive voices need to prevail when it comes to events like the attack on the churches in Egypt and Nigeria.

Imraan Buccus is Research Fellow in the School of Politics at UKZN and at DDP. He writes in his personal capacity.