Skewed View of Islam

There seems to be a debate concerning what are the values and ideas that form the Koran (Qur’an). I have read an English translation of the work a number of years ago. I never had the opportunity to study under a teacher of the faith. Then again, shouldn’t a work stand on its own and be understood by those who search for its meaning? Like the bible, many search the passages but come away with various and sometimes opposite interpretations of what the text reveals. The same is done with the Koran.

I will not deal with the historical aspect of Islam. I will write briefly about the two major camps. I am not writing about Sunni or Shiite followers. I am writing about liberal and conservative followers.

The message of the Koran has been skewed over the last handful of decades. The basis for which one is followed is generally governed by the geo-politics of each region were Islam is practiced. In the west there was a liberalizing of the Islamic message. Here it is possible to begin seeing a message of love and personal inner struggle to reach perfection. In the east the message of the Koran is not love but submission and the struggle to bring the world into that submission. These are the two approaches.

If the message of the Koran was all there was to Islam perhaps some form of compromise could be struck between the two sides. The problem increases when you add to the Koran "the sayings". These are quotes attributed to Mohammed. Upon reading some of these sayings I found that the message of the Koran can be skewed yet again.

We who live in the west hear the message from the liberals among the Islamic fold. We are told that Islam is about love and personal inner struggle. We are told that radicals are high-jacking the Koran and perverting its true message. Yet from my reading of the Koran the liberals are in error as well, if not even greater error, than those radicals who look to submission and the violent means to bring the world into the faith.

Many decades ago the liberal view was growing in numbers. With the discovery of oil in the Arabs states the political dynamics changed. With the creation of Israel as a state and support of despots like the Shah of Iran a fundamentalist call to go back to its roots began to gain strength. There was a rise of religious schools in the middle-east. These schools began to move the populous back to conservatism. The conflicts of Russian and then the US, in Islamic nations, is fueling the call for the Jihad of the conservatives. In the west love is now being replaced by submission and personal inner struggle by outward struggle to capture nations.

With the fall of communism there was the hope that peace may finally begin to overtake the world. Sadly, this Islamic conservative call to go back to the roots of Islam (with today’s skewed understanding of it) is the new threat to global peace. It is potentially a far greater enemy than communism ever was. The number of dead, if this group is not dealt with judiciously, could exceed that of all previous struggles.

Lord, let your heavenly wisdom descend upon the leaders of the world and help guide them through the difficult times ahead. Let your Spirit move on the hearts and minds of those religious leaders who look to you for answers.