Erdogan and Surah 5:3

Submitted by David (Russia), Jul 31, 2017 at 19:02

The irony of quoting Islamists like Erdogan is not lost on people like Mr Goldberg.

By the way, it should be noted that Erdogan's comment on Moderate Islam is usually (deliberately) misinterpreted. When he said that there is no moderate or radical Islam, he was actually being apologetic and trying to imply that radical Islam is a myth, that "true Islam" is peaceful and that ISIS has "nothing to do with Islam". That's why he raged against Merkel when she used the terms Islamist terrorism. Now granted he himself is an Islamist and prefers conservative Islam, his comments should nevertheless be viewed in context.
https://www.thelocal.de/20170202/erdogan-tells-off-merkel-for-using-phrase-islamist-terrorism

As for the Surah 5:3, this verse in context, actually speaks of things that can and cannot be eaten by Muslims starting with "Prohibited to you are dead animals..." and ending with "whoever is forced by severe hunger with no inclination to sin.... ". It has nothing to do with the prohibition of reform or contextualization except perhaps for dietary habits.

Even if it did, by the time of Mohammad's death neither the Quran, nor any of the Hadith nor the Sira had been compiled and many of the things we associate with Islam today such as Islamic architecture, minarets, the Islamic calendar, prayer rugs, the Caliphate, the Madhabs and much more were actually introduced later, thus exposing the ludicrously of using this verse to render Islam static and unmoving. Islam has gone through a number of reformations (both good and bad) and will probably continue to do so in the future. While the West can't dictate it's path, it certainly can influence it in a manner that is best for global security.

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