RECENT calls for a reformation of Islam, akin to what happened with Christianity in 16th century Europe, are all very well. But the suggestion has a fundamental flaw which goes to the nature of the Koran.
When Tony Abbott calls for a religious revolution to confront the ‘‘problem within Islam’’, this implies that something may be rotten within the Koran itself. Such an ‘‘honest debate’’ would be fruitless because the sanctity of the verses are non-negotiable.
The Christian Gospels were written up to four decades after the crucifixion of Jesus by his eyewitness disciples, based on their repeated recollections of his words and deeds.
However, the Koran is believed to be the actual words of God as revealed and recited as verses through archangel Gabriel to his messenger Mohammad, in the Arabic language, without translation, without interpretation. Hence, there is no wriggle room to argue that “what God really meant was this”.
Unlike the Gospels which were enriched by parables about the New Testament of love and forgiveness, the Koran is a thorough prescription that governs virtually every aspect of life from birth to death. It leaves little room for modernisation and adaptation.
Some have even sought to expunge all the verses that promote violence and contradict the premise that Islam is a religion of peace.
Ironically, this is what ISIS purports to be offering — a revolution to the purist version with literalist interpretations.
