Islamic Reformation

Many people think that Islam needs a reformation. After all, they argue, it was the Protestant Reformation which removed centuries of Catholic tradition and returned to the New Testament teachings that has brought us peace and freedom of religion in the West. The Catholic Church gave up demanding military action to restore its hegemony but only after the 125 years long European Wars of Religion.

Fortunately there is no Muslim Pope so theoretically there is no need for Muslim Wars of Religion similar to the European Wars of Religion though this hasn't prevented many internal Islamic wars between Sunni and Shia in the past and presently ongoing. Apologists calling for Reformation of Islam don't understand that radical, fundamentalist Islam is the Islamic Reformation. A return to the Quran (Muhammad's "revelations"), the Sira (Muhammad’s actions), the Hadith (Muhammad's teachings) that ignores the centuries of accumulated scholarship and populist traditions is exactly what radical Islamists are demanding. There is no Muslim Pope for these reformers to fight against. The people they wish to fight are any disbelievers (Kafir) ie non-Muslims and hypocrites (Nifaq) ie Muslims who do not agree with the fundamentalist interpretation.

A return to the Imitation of Christ via the New Testament produces love and peace. A return to the life, "revelations" and teachings of Muhammad produces jihad.

Islam cannot be changed. The fixed, eternal, unchangeable doctrine is found in the Quran, Sira and Hadith. The words of the Quran are eternal, perfect and universal. Islamic moderation ignores the demands for violent jihad. A moderate has the same Allah and Mohammed that a jihadist has. Muslims can only choose not to practice the dark side of Islam, but they cannot change it or remove it. Attempting to "reform" Islam is exceedingly dangerous.