Real vs Bogus Islam: Redressing the Adulteration of Knowledge by Traditions and Politics

The Book of Allah prohibits wars of aggression. But hawkish rulers, in defiance of the teaching of revelation, wanted to enlarge the empire by waging wars of territorial enlargement. But they did not wish to be perceived as defying the Book of Allah. Accordingly, waging wars of aggression required by-passing the prohibition of wars of aggression. This required a reinterpretation of the religion of reconciliation as a religion of war. Thus, rulers engaged ulama to reinvent the religion of peace as a religion of war. Disregarding the teaching of revelation, militant ulama declared the propagation of Islam by the sword lawful and as a sixth pillar of Islam. Militant ulama transformed the religion of peace into a manifesto for war by asserting that all verses that teach reconciliation were "abrogated" by the verse of the sword. This enabled tampering with the teaching of revelation. The teaching of abrogation is problematic, as it defies verses which teach that we will never find a "change in the words of Allah," and that "nothing shall abrogate his words." The teaching of jihad al-talab treats participation in unlawful wars of aggression as a religious requirement. It turns the religion of peace into its exact reverse: a manifesto for war. Jihad al-talab requires the Umma to wage wars against non-Muslims on a yearly basis. Non-Muslim are to be fought even if they wish to remain at peace with non-Muslims. Recourse to abrogation, in defiance of the teaching of revelation, resulted in a corruption of knowledge. Recourse to the teaching of abrogation was assisted by the repression of reason. The reinterpretation of the religion of reconciliation as a religion of war was buttressed by recourse to bellicose traditions. Replacing rulings of the Book of Allah with rulings in traditions required bestowing on tradition the rank of "revelation." Regrettably, treating tradition as a "second revelation" was a relapse into shirk. Following militant traditions brought Muslims into wars with non-Muslims. These wars brought the umma to its knees. Renewal requires a return to the Book of Allah and the true tradition of the prophet, which was to adhere to the Book of Allah rather than books of traditions. Extremists are triggering tragedies that engulf the umma. In 1258, the Abbasids slaughtered traders from Mongolia in cold blood, stealing their property, also murdering three ambassadors dispatched by Genghis Khan to ask for justice. A million Muslims died in the reprisals by the Mongols. Islam of tradition differs from the Islam of revelation. The challenge confronting the umma is not between "more" or "less" Islam; the challenge is choosing between "real" and "bogus" Islam. Real Islam is explained in the Book of Allah; bogus Islam is the version shaped by politics. The bogus version lured the umma into the politics of aggression and "propagating" Islam by the sword. As a result, Muslims veered from the right path. The emergence of political Islam was accompanied by a gradual turning from the Book of Allah to the books of traditions. The "turning away" is the reverse of "salat," which signifies to "turn to," to "support," and to "reach out." Turning from the Book of Allah to the traditions also represented a turn from the tradition of the prophet. For he did not adhere to books of traditions. He adhered to the Book of Allah. The turn from revelation to tradition entailed the veneration of tradition in different ways. Tradition became sacred. Tradition became a "part of" religion. Tradition emerged as a "partner" and a "part of" revelation. The treatment of tradition as sacred reflected a corruption of knowledge by scriptural and juristic shirk. Replacing Islam with a different - bogus - version of the religion triggered the fall of the empire. The aggressive policies of a militarised umma were not sustainable. The emergence of bogus Islam was enabled by a set of aberrations.

Author: Leslie Terebessy

Publisher: Independently Published

Publication Date: Mar 23, 2024

Number of Pages: 82 pages

Binding: Paperback or Softback

ISBN-10: NA

ISBN-13: 9798320635798