By Supna Zaidi
By the end of 2008, Turkey is set to publish 6 volume updated Hadith collection in Turkish, Arabic, Russian and English. As most readers know, Muslims believe that the majority of their lifestyle, daily habits and worldview should be based on Islam. Specifically, through the verses of the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet called Hadith. One of the biggest frustrations, then, is the failure of Muslim society to not only remove false Hadith from the rest, but to also analyze the sayings so they are relevant in the 21st century. This failure has resulted in a variety of blatantly misogynistic, backwards and regressive interpretations of Islam to spread throughout the world since the end of World War II. Saudi, Iranian and Afghanistan under the Taliban are but three examples of this phenomenon.
9/11 opened the Western world's eyes to the economic and intellectual stagnation in the Muslim world. But more importantly, 9/11 and the ranting of Osama Bin Laden may finally be forcing the Muslim world to assess its situation beyond its filter of post-colonial victim hood that has grounded its worldview for over one hundred years now.
This has resulted in countries like Turkey, targeting how Muslims see Islam itself and their ability to be progressive and modern. With that in mind, Turkey initiated the Hadith Project about two years ago. The goal of the 84 Turkish Islamic scholars was to take the body of the Hadith and remove those sayings that could not be proven as the word of the Prophet. The scholars hope to remove the Hadith that are used to abuse women and foment jihad. Will this effort make a difference in the Muslim world?
Western media, from the BBC to newsblogs printed many articles early this year foolishly announcing an Islamic "reformation", or "revision", with Turkey's Hadith Project. I call the articles foolish because such a choice in words reveals a basic failure by the West in understanding that Muslims take the Quran literally as the word of God.
Realizing that such language would offend Muslims around the world, and reduce the chances of Muslims taking the project seriously, Mehmet Gormez, Deputy Director of Turkey's Religious Affairs Authority began a PR offensive, submitting to interviews in the Muslim world to clarify:
"Make no mistake, we are not after modifying or revising the Hadith," Mehmet Gormez, told IslamOnline.net in a phone interview. "What we are actually doing is re-classifying, re-categorizing the Hadith and translating it into Turkish, no more no less."
Ummahpulse.com, another Islamic site, has already dismissed the project as a Catholic plot to reduce or "dilute" Islam's role in the world. Other Muslim bloggers reduce Turkey's effort as an attempt to further Westernize so it can enter the EU. Which brings me to my pessimistic conclusion:
So, long as Muslims limit their understanding of themselves as solely foils to the West, change in any direction will be limited or impossible. The desire to return to a simpler past is romantic, but very dangerous. Besides the fact that a golden age never existed in Islam, unless one is looking at it strictly from a military/imperial perspective, it is not possible due to globalization. The West and the East are tied by technology, economy and therefore cross-culturally. It would be a detriment to both the East and West if one side decided to isolate itself from the other. Therefore, the Muslim East must pragmatically get past its sense of victim hood and move forward.
Turkey's effort at reviewing Hadith is just the first step. If successful, Islamic scholars must then reassess Shariah based on only qualified Hadith and remove un-Islamic Shariah from its books and legal systems. Only then can Muslims benefit on a societal and personal level. Such re-evaluation has nothing to do with the West and does not benefit the West. It only benefits Muslims, who will hopefully see that human rights, civic participation and secular education are a part of Islam and benefits themselves and their future generations. I fear that most of the Islamic world won't. At least not for a long time.
(Supna Zaidi is editor-in-chief of Muslim World Today and an attorney in New York. She can be reached at sapnaz@yahoo.com.)
