7 - The Meaning and Objectives of Progressive Islam

Summary

In the last three decades, frequent reference had been made to Islam in the plural. For example, some years ago a book appeared with the title Islams and Modernities by Aziz Al-Azmeh. Such usage confuses rather than clarifies matters. Many Muslims would be puzzled by what is meant by “Islams”. From a conceptual and empirical point of view, as well, it would be wrong to refer to Islam in the plural. Muslims understand from the Qur’an that there is only one din or religion of Islam. By this is meant that there are certain basic beliefs and practices common to all Muslims that neither change from space to space nor time to time. This is not an ideal but a reality.

What does change, however, are the material, cultural and ideological expressions of Muslims. For example, the cuisine of Muslims, their music and dance forms, their art and literature continuously develop in different directions. So do the ideologies; that is, the Muslims’ orientations to the political, economic and social worlds. The ideologies of Muslims do draw upon the sources of Islam, such as the Qur’an, the Sunnah or traditions of the Prophet Muhammad, as well as the intellectual heritage of the Muslims that developed from the early days of Islam. But they also incorporate interpretations and experiences that are space-time bound and, therefore, continuously change. We can, therefore, speak of multiplicity and plurality when we speak of Islam at these levels. The term din refers to Islam as revelation, while other terms such as sabil, shari‘a, tariqah and jama‘ah refer to Islam as interpretation and lived experience. At the level of din, Islam is unitary. The diversity appears at the levels of sabil, shari‘a, tariqah and jama‘ah. These are the historical and empirical levels at which the din is realized.

While there are no multiple Islams, there are a multitude of Muslim ideologies. They are often grouped under headings such as modernism, traditionalism, neo-modernism, fundamentalism and radicalism. Some Muslim ideologies are held to be in line with Islam as a religion, and some are not. Backward and extremist ideologies and orientations have always been held on to by a minority in Muslim societies. But that is enough to cause problems. As a result, the question as to what constitutes a progressive interpretation of Islam arises.