Eid Mubarak!

A few months ago, the Muslim world celebrated Eid ul-Fitr on one of several days (amid a fair amount of confusion internationally as to the precise day it was supposed to be), the Muslim Festival of fast-breaking signaling the end of the fasting month of Ramadhan (or Ramazan, in some parts of the world). It is a beautiful festival, with strangers exchanging Muslim-style, triple hugs in the street, and wonderful food. So often one is confronted with sensationalized web images of terrorists subscribing to Islamist ideology, but I thought you might want to see what a typical Muslim looks like; a father and son, on the morning of their most beloved festival, heading for prayers. Afterwards, they would doubtless head home to one of the great feasts of the year, with presents and new clothes for everyone in the family, especially the children. In many ways, it reminds one of Christmas celebrations among the more spiritually inclined in the West.There is another very interesting similarity between Eid ul-Fitr (and Ramadhan) and Christmas that are worth exploring at a deeper level, however. What are Ramadhan and Eid ul-Fitr supposed to be celebrating?

Sunni Muslims believe that the Qur'an is the uncreated Word of God, with no beginning and no end, not made, yet always in existence.

According to Abu Hanifah, the great Sunni Imam, the Qur'an is eternal, in its original essence. He says, "The Qur'an is the Word of God, and is His inspired Word and Revelation. It is a necessary attribute (sifah) of God. It is not God, but still it is inseparable from God. It is written in a volume, it is read in a language, it is remembered in the heart, and its letters and its vowel points, and its writing are all created, for these are the works of man, but God's word is uncreated (ghairu 'l-rnakhluq). Its words, its writing, its letters, and its verses, are for the necessities of man, for its meaning is arrived at by their use, but the Word of God is fixed in the essence (zat) of God, and he who says that the word of God is created is an infidel." (See Kitibu 'l- Wasiyah, p. 77.)(quoted in Thomas Patrick Hughes, Dictionary of Islam (London: W. H. Allen & Co., 1895), p. 484)

Ramadhan and Eid ul-Fitr are meant to be a celebration of the revelation of the Qur'an, of the coming of the very Word of God to humankind. This is also what Christmas, true Christmas, is meant to celebrate as well: The Coming of the very uncreated Word of God not merely to, but among humankind:

In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and he was God. He was in the beginning with God. He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn't make. Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone.

The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. God sent John the Baptist (that is, Yahya) to tell everyone about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was only a witness to the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was going to come into the world. But although the world was made through him, the world didn't recognize him when he came. Even in his own land and among his own people, he was not accepted. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan – this rebirth comes from God. So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.

John (Yahya) pointed him out to the people. He shouted to the crowds, "This is the one I was talking about when I said, 'Someone is coming who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before I did.'" We have all benefited from the rich blessings he brought to us – one gracious blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; God's unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. But his only Son, who is himself God, is near to the Father's heart; he has told us about him. (John 1:1-18, New Living Translation)

This passage describes what is what is at the heart of what Christmas celebrates. It is about the Incarnation of the Word of God. For the uninitiated, the term Son of God can sound terribly jarring, as though the living God, the creator of the Universe, took a consort and had physical children. This passage makes it clear that that is not, indeed could never be the case. When John, writing under the Holy Spirit's inspiration, refers to Jesus, Isa, as "Son of God" (e.g., in the final verse of this passage), he is using it in synonymously with Logos or eternal Word through whom God created the Universe, as a parallel of sorts with the first verse of this passage.

May our hearts be filled with gratitude as we celebrate this Christmas, this Eid to the living and eternal Word of God Who "became human and lived here on earth among us."

Is Islam Necessarily, Inherently Violent?

Especially since 9/11, there has been a lot of discussion regarding the very nature of Islam, particularly in relation to violence. Increasingly, there have been incidents of violent, mob reactions to perceived slurs or negative comments about Islam or especially Islam's founder, and correspondingly a response, particularly from the West, questioning if this does not illustrate the inherent intolerance and violence of Islam as a faith. Does not the Qur'an not say, in the often-quoted Sura 9:5 (Sura At-Tawba):

"But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent, and establish regular prayers and practise regular charity, then open the way for them: for God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful."

On the surface of it, it could seem that this would be an apologetic for forcible conversion, and in fact it has been used as justification for forcible conversion at times. The question, though, is whether this is how this verse is interpreted by scholars within the context of Islam. Are there voices within Islam itself which seem to disavow such violence? To be sure, one increasingly comes across writing in the Western press discussing how Muslims must be made "to embrace secular modernity". This seems reasonable on the surface, if one regards a modern or even postmodern worldview as that which will ultimately lead to world peace and harmony. To many Muslims, however, this would come as something of a call to apostasy, to an abandoning of what Muslims, at least, perceive as a revelation from Heaven. Thi was discussed in a recent article by Ted Olsen in which he noted that when Western writers say that Islam needs its own "Reformation" and a "Muslim Martin Luther" to lead it,

"Actually, the pundits' description of what this reformer would do suggest that they're more interested in a Muslim John Shelby Spong than a Luther: someone who would dismiss the Qur'an as unscientific silliness and bring Islam in line with Enlightenment values." (Ted Olsen, "Does Islam Need a Luther or a Pope?", Christianity Today, November 2006, , accessed 24 October 2006)

The question then, is whether there is would be considered an Islamically faithful counter to the Islamist interpretations of passages such as these.

On a recent visit to Southeast Asia, I happened to pick up a slim volume which is an example of what I have looked for in this. In searching for a link for it, I came to discover that it is online: Defending The Transgressed By Censuring The Reckless Against The Killing Of Civilians, by Oxford-based Malaysian Shaykh Muhammad Afifi al-Akiti is a fatwa, that is, a religious judgment or opinion which takes to task specifically Islamist interpretations of quranic passages such as this one, in what is meant to be a clear-headed critique of terrorism in general and suicide bombing in particular from an theological, Islamic perspective. This has been positively received by other Muslim writers such as Dr. Hisham al-Zoubeir and H.A. Hellyer, who take essentially the same position. It is especially interesting that while al-Akiti could not on any level pro-Israel (note his reference to the "disasters of 1948 and 1967), he nonetheless has the considerable courage to address the issue of suicide bombing anywhere, against anyone, including Israeli civilians.

While this doesn't remove the importance of arguments regarding, for example, treatment of non-Muslims in Muslim-ruled lands as dhimmis (please note that the preceding link is to a PDF document) as has been noted in the preceding article and other writings by, for example, Bat Ye'or, I believe approaches such as that being pioneered by Sheikh al-Akiti give hope that within the house of Islam itself, voices will begin to be heard calling for peace.