by Abdullah Islambouli

The Middle East crisis stems from the fact that there is an intermingliong of the Koran and hadith (the sayings of Muhammad). The author, a young Syrian Muslim "neither Sunni nor Shiite," follows the Quaranism movement, rejecting the Hadith (the sayings of the Prophet), full of violence, and not closely related to the religious message of the Quaran. All Quaranists are exiles abroad because Sunni society considers them "unbelievers." A varied Islam open to ecumenism: There can be no compulsion in religion.

 

Berlin (AsiaNews) - The relationship between Islam and violence has long been a source of heated debate. In recent days, this issue came once again to the fore after the murder of Fr. Jacques Hamel near Rouen, in France, as well as other attacks claimed by ISIS (the Islamic state, IS). The debate seems to be polarized between two positions: one that we might call "feel-good", that there is no violence in Islam, and this is just the product of sick minds; one that claims all Islam is to be rejected because violent. The latter position seems to fuel the jihadists in their holy war against all odds.

Yet Islam is not as homogeneous as it may appear, nor is this violence justified as the jihadists and Western maximalists suppose. In these past few weeks AsiaNews has received various messages and reflections by Muslim personalities. Some we have already published. Today we present that of Islambouli Abdullah, a 27 year old Syrian refugee in Germany, who is studying linguistics. He belongs to a group that calls itself "Quranism" seeking a reform of Islam and a departure from the violence that for them is contained in the hadith of Muhammad. Most Quranists - whose real number is unknown - live abroad in exile, because they are considered "unbelievers" by the Sunni world. In this regard, the young Istanbouli calls himself "a Muslim, neither Sunni nor Shiite." Here is his reflection.

Our people are faced with a serious cultural crisis, especially in the Middle East. Our society suffers because of dictators, magicians and media workers. This society, that was once a master of culture, science and the cradle of civilization, has now reached its lowest point.

For my part I believe that there are not "religions", but a religion for all people and that there are many messages, and all have the same content, the base of which are the 10 commandments.

The problems of the Middle East are not from the Quran because the Quran has come to us as a mercy for the people and to deliver them from bondage. The problems come from the Hadith, the sayings [attributed to] Muhammad.

 

Some have made the Hadith a part of Islam, and this is the greatest cutural disaster: many people have lied about [what] Muhammad said and wrote speeches about things that Muhammad never said.

There is a verse in Quran says : Oh God my people abandoned the Quran.

God described the Quran as a messenger and message together.

Quran is a messenger that includes in his folds a message of mercy for all the people .

But the majority of people [Islamic] abandoned the Quran and followed the speeches. From this conversation emerged the Isis, al Qaeda, Al-Azhar in Egypt, the magicians in the Saudi kingdom.

Isis is not born from the Quran, but from the Hadith that, they say, were made by Muhammad. But this is not true because Muhammad was not against the Quran and Hadith there are many expressions of brutality and cruelty.

Sure, Muhammad gives many speeches (Hadith), but not against the Quran and if there is a Hadith against the Quran, we should throw it away.

For example, a Hadith says: Kill a man who abandons Islam or stoned to death a man or woman who has committed adultery; or amputate the hand of the thief, etc …

These judgments are against the Quran, because the book says:

1. There is no compulsion in religion;

2. The woman and the man guilty of adultery receive 100 lashes each;

3. The man or woman guilty of theft, will be rewarded with the cutting off of hands for their crimes.

Let me explain these verses.

The first says that there can be no compulsion in religion: it means that every man is free in what he believes and so has no right to kill because he or she have changed their thinking.

The second verse speaks of adultery. Adultery in the Quran is like prostitution, or pornography, it is not - as most people think - a matter of a sexual relationship between a man and a woman. The Quran refers to prostitution, the people who work in the streets for sex, to people who harm society.

The third verse covers the hand of the thief. In the Quran there are many symbols associated with this word ( "hand"). The word "hand" does not necessarily mean the organ of the human body; sometimes it means "power", as when we say: You are my right hand; It means you are my strength and my power. So when the Quran recommends to cut the hand, it means cut off the strength and power and not the physical organ of the thief.

The Quran has many symbols and we have to reflect, without following the majority only because the majority says so!

God saves the Quran from distortion, but does not save the Hadith. The Hadith are not as holy as the Quran. It is impressive: if you look in the Quran this word "most", we will be surprised to find it linked to two expressions:

"Most of them do not know"; "Most of them do not believe." Another verse from the Quran says: "Most of them follow nothing but fantasies [doubts, suspicions, illusions]".

Terrorism exists only in criminal culture. Religion that God sent was established in peace. A man who kills another man is as if he has killed all mankind. We may disagree on our thinking, and this is normal, but we should not fight against each other and force others to believe what we believe. The difference [multiplicity] is as beautiful as the flowers of a garden; we all understand each other under the umbrella of peace.

All the prophets are brothers and we are brothers and sisters. Unfortunately, many people have lied about the prophets …

I have many ideas that you would not believe and of course you have ideas which I will never believe, but we have to live in peace and respect each other and treat each other with compassion.

Love is not enough: I may not even love you, but I must be merciful with you.

• germany
• france
• islam
• middle
• east
• syria
• interpretation
• of
• the
• Koran
• was
• Islamic
• fundamentalism
• Wahhabism
• coranista
• jacques
• hamel