Just wanted to share a post from Agnostic Muslims & Friends - I hope you don't mind
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During my journey of loss of faith I asked myself these question:
1. Does Islam need to be reformed? Or is it that most Muslims just don't understand the "true" or "real" Islam.
2. Is there any point in attempting reform? Why not just walk away - forget Islam and just be… me!
3. Should I help those actively trying to rid the world of Islam - and all religious nonsense - so we humans can live free of such out-dated dogma, myths and fairy tale.
4. Can Islam be reformed? Or is it impossible?
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1. As for the first question, I came to the conclusion that thinking that only I and a select number of liberal and progressive Muslims really understood "true" and "real" Islam was delusional and just my way of dealing with the doubts & cognitive dissonance I felt. That God would have sent mankind a message that appears to mean one thing to the majority but actually meant something quite different, obscure and well hidden from most people apart from myself and other "superior" beings, was of course simply absurd on so many levels.
2. I decided in the end to take option two. Forget reform. Just walk away from Islam and just be me. Unfortunately that is easier said than done. Islam still played a large part in my life both in the real world amongst my family and loved ones - and in the virtual world where I couldn't stop debating and discussing Islam and raking over the embers of the past. I was also beset by a nihilistic vision of the world and became very depressed & suicidal.
3. I did consider this early on, but decided that for the vast majority of Muslims - and religious people in general - their faith poses no danger to anyone and brings them a great deal of comfort and joy. Of course I still expressed my views and made videos critiquing the Qur'an, but not because I wanted nor believed that this would "destroy" Islam but simply that part of what gives my life meaning is expressing my views and in the market place of ideas all voices should be heard. I was neither interested in either preserving Islam nor destroying it. What will be will be & things take a natural course.
4. This was a difficult question to answer. At first I thought no it can't be. Then later I came to the view that, actually it is being reformed as we speak - though most liberal and progressive groups have a really uphill struggle. But I applaud them and gave them my moral support. During this time I was also still struggling with questions of belief and meaning and nihilistic views. As I say after a period of deep depression I realised that I did have an inner belief in "something" - something I could not define. I have always deep down held a universalistic faith even at the height of my Islamic zeal as a young man. But I simply rationalised it in a way that made me able to deal with seemingly conflicting beliefs. I would tell myself that those things that seemed to contradict a universalistic view were because I as yet couldn't grasp the "proper" meaning of them. I knew now this was deluded but nevertheless I did have this universalistic belief that I had expressed through Islam - and I began to ask myself why can't I still do that - but just be more honest about Islam this time and open about the fact that the Qur'an is fallible. This is surely a no less difficult pill to swallow than the cognitive dissonance Muslims are increasingly having to deal with - plus it has the advantage of solving so many problems in a stroke.
So yes I do believe Islam can be reformed. But why bother?
Why bother? Only someone who does not care about the vast majority of decent, loving, kind, generous, honourable and wonderful human beings all over the world who identify as Muslims could say something like that imho. My family and loved ones are Muslim. My friends my community my extended family in Egypt, my son-in-laws family and so on… So many millions of Muslims all over the world. They won't be leaving Islam anytime soon I assure you. Nor their children or children's children. Can I as someone from this community just abandon them to the extremists. I know that's what the extremists want. But I refuse to let the extremists win. I will stay and do my best to offer a third option - that the Qur'an is fallible. It is not only a good idea - it is true. I think many Muslims know it but like the Emperor's New Clothe's they need someone to say it out loud.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/872095636170933/
Topic: To Reform or not to Reform?