Doc wrote:Typhoon wrote:Muslim Scholars | Open Letter to Al-Baghdadi
Executive Summary:
1. It is forbidden in Islam to issue fatwas without all the necessary learning requirements. Even then fatwas must follow Islamic legal theory as defined in the Classical texts. It is also forbidden to cite a portion of a verse from the Qur’an—or part of a verse—to derive a ruling without looking at everything that the Qur’an and Hadith teach related to that matter. In other words, there are strict subjective and objective prerequisites for fatwas, and one cannot ‘cherry-pick’ Qur’anic verses for legal arguments without considering the entire Qur’an and Hadith.
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24. After the death of the Prophet, Islam does not require anyone to emigrate anywhere.
Yet Baghdadi has a Phd. in Islamic theology from the university of Baghdad, and leads a "caliphate" that is now in 11 countries.
This is because all Islamic theology tries to do the impossible: make human interpretation and tradition comply with an assumed divine revelation in a holy book that is hierarchic and authoritarian in nature.
If the Quranic texts were not too complicated and internally consistent it would not be such a big problem. For instance when all believers are told to walk in the streets always with their left hand in their pocket and not much else... not much fuel to disagree would be available. If however the messages become obscure or even worse contradictory.. that will always make sure holy texts create nothing but trouble, confusion, obscurantism. Different schools of theology pop up everywhere mush rooming all over the place with scholars who claim they concocted the latest, final or best interpretation and are in the know of what Allah wants from his believers, how to think about non-believers, when to use violence or not. (Meta-physicists in general of course never agree about anything much...what's new)
The Allah of the Quran, just like the God of the Old en New testament... is the arche-typical tribal patriarch who demands loyalty and worship, who needs sacrifices to stay happy and remain self-assured in his leadership role. He has good days where he is more relaxed and forgiving, becoming all poetic about love flowers happiness in his Family.. but on other days he is a paranoid prick dictator becoming extremely violent and foaming around the mouth about people who are not loyal, who serve other Gods, the worst are those who betray him: "who leave the faith" or challenge his authority.
Despite the wonderful declaration Typhoon quoted, it misses the point and problem of the toxic core in the Islamic faith and quranic texts; the multiple personality disorder and mood swings of their divine leader in heaven. Muhammad was a good replica of that though: he could speak mellow and sweat, reasonable even.. but when his leadership status was challenged internally or externally, he had no problem murder the males and enslave the females and children among his enemies.
To quote Kmich: "Nothing good will ever come out of this."