Dear brother Rashid Shaz,

One cannot help but agree that we Muslim are today at a crossroads. One of the fundamental reasons for our ‘intellectual crisis’ as you rightly put it, is our common lack of self-reflection. Yet, there are voices of reason, understanding and reflection that can be heard above the din of confusion.

If I could humbly take you to the first crisis of Islamic history that you refer to, i.e. the murder of Othman. History is very clear that political authority in Islam, following the death of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was hijacked and abused by those from whom the Ummah expected noble actions and deeds, but who in actual fact acted contrary to the Holy Prophet’s wishes and acted in opportunistic fashion. Had the wishes of the Final Messenger of God, Muhammad (PBUH), been followed (and his every action was divinely decreed), then perhaps Muslims today would not be in such a crisis.

Indeed, the very crisis of Islam today has its roots in the denial of the original Islam. But perhaps we ought no to cry over spilt milk, as they say. You are very right in saying we ought to put our ‘own house in order, or so as to say, rediscover the divine light of revelation’. But may I humbly suggest that in doing so, we explore our own understanding of that divine light (noor).

On the question of the fiqhi mind that refer to, I believe that this depends upon the content in which the particular fiqhi chooses to or is forced to function. Let me explain. If the fiqhi mind is beholden to Puritanism and puritanical interpretation, then it follows that he will naturally close his mind towards development. However, if the fiqhi mind is mindful of the inherent dynamism of the world, respects the universality of the message of Islam and is fluid in both his appreciation and his explication of Islam, then it is a mind worth benefiting from.

So let first of all explore what we mean by the fiqhi mind.

From my point of view, your call is very important. Ijtihad is absolutely vital to our intellectual legitimacy and survival. We need to move away from puritanical tendencies and that means finding ways to combat the influence of puritanical forces. The hardcore extremists, who have hijacked Islam, need to be delegitimized. The hollowness of extremist, non-rational argument’s needs to be exposed and rejected. The beauty of true Islam as exemplified by the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his noble family, as well as his closest and most honored companions needs to be reasserted. This is where the quest for and acknowledgment of Islam’s past contribution to human civilization begins.

Sincerely,
Sayyed Nadeem Kazmi
Director, International Development
Al-Khoei Benevolent Foundation, London