Does Islam Need A Reformation (supossedly a debate but not really)

[Mudhammam]

Islam quite obviously needs something of a reformation. The question that needs to be asked, however, is a reformation to what? Anyone who reads the Qur'an or the biography of Muhammad can easily discover that Islam as preached by the Prophet in Mecca was much different than the Islam he practiced following the migration to Medina. The obvious problem in using language like "reformation" is that it calls to mind the Christian reformation and the return to first principles that for the West was crucial for the eventual re-emergence of secular values. I fear that such a reformation in Islam would not be a good thing, for the very reasons that ISIS and other like-minded groups are currently demonstrating. If we mean a reformation to the so-called Golden Age of Islam, then that would only leave us halfway to a proper Muslim Enlightenment, but... if history is any guide, the Qur'an doesn't make such a project very feasible, for all the same reasons that al-Ghazali's admixture of religious enthusiasm and cynicism triumphed over the moderation and skepticism of those like Ibn Sina and Ibn Rushd and led to the destruction of philosophy in the Arab world post-12th century.

[robvalue]

They need a new testamament: a "what God meant to say" version. Or else a long meeting with a permanent marker. At least for those who want Islam to be about peace and harmony with others.

From what I've learned so far, the Quran is set up for this to happen. It says in it that if later "words from God" contradict earlier ones, the later ones stand.

[Wyrd of Gawd]

If you want to reform Islam start a new cult and create a new doctrine. That's what other people have done.

[Pat Mustard]

I would argue the Islamic world needs is an Enlightenment not a Reformation. Because the Western world was as intolerant or even more so than the Islamic world is now before the Enlightenment.

You could make a strong argument for Persia being close to an Enlightenment of sorts in the 13th century, until the Mongols swung through. It's probably one of the great "what ifs" of history, if the Khwarizmi authorities hadn't gone off and murdered Chinngis' trade deputation en masse. His invasion probably would still have happened at some stage (he did believe it was his destiny to rule the world after all), but probably wouldn't have been so destructive of Persian culture and the Islamic scientific centres.