As Haditha go, have read the canon of Sunnism's Sahih Haditha and to
date, have read some of Al-Kafi, but not all of it.
Ama addressing two birds (Prof Harrow & Anunoby Ogugua) with this one
stone:
First of all the implications in Anunoby Ogugua's first three
paragraphs have to be addressed: to wit the suggestion that
Rasulullah, salallahu alaihi wa salaam "practised the customs,
traditions and values of his community" is somewhat misleading. To the
unwary and the unaware, it gives the impression that Rasulullah,
salallahu alaihi wa salaam, totally embraced those "customs,
traditions and values of his community" which were un-Islamic or anti-
Islamic. Nothing could be further away from the truth. He did not.
To begin with, some of his followers were persecuted to the extent
that they had to seek refuge/asylum with the Negus of Ethiopia who was
kind enough to accommodate them. For similar reasons the Prophet of
Islam himself – salallahu alaihi wa salaam had to flee Mecca because
his message was at variance with the prevalence of some of the
decadent customs, traditions and values of his community which the
message of the Qur'an and al-Islam aimed at reforming. One of the
first acts of cleansing was done by his young disciple Ali Ibn Talib
alaihi salaam – he who destroyed all the idols in the Kabba – and
there was also a call for citizens of the Hijaz to desist from burying
their daughters. Contrary to "the economic practices and interests"
of the capitalist class who embraced slaves as private property, the
message encouraged the setting free of slaves – and their conversion –
as free men, to al-Islam began to take place as in the case of Bilal…
Ogugua Anunoby in his second paragraph ascribes the human factor to -
from a truly Islamic point of view/ faith – the divinely guided
prophet – when he says, that "Mohammed like all great ancient teachers
knew not to needlessly challenge the established interests and place
of men in his community if he was going to be successful and have his
message endure."
The fact is that the message endures – has endured and not just due to
any human, strategic agency. The evidence is today's 1.5 billion
Muslim adherents, who may be said to be as plentiful as the stars in
the heavens.
The allegation of "the unequal treatment of women" I'll leave to a
separate discussion…..but not right now.
Turning to Professor Harrow, true, the tension between the earthy
temporality of the weak flesh and the rewards to be enjoyed in the
alluring Islamic or any other Heaven-like Hereafter (after corporeal
death) is always present. Whether we believe it or we are derisive
about it, we may either be presently surprised – if we do not believe,
or burn in Gehenna or Jahannam whether as kuffar, we believe it or we
believe it not.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_feminism
Patriarchal Muslims (but not only Muslims) will concur with James
Brown that "It's a man's world, but it would be nothing - nothing -
without a woman" and whether it's 4 Kislev 5771, or the 4 Dhu al-
Hijjah 1431 or it's merely Thursday, 11 November 2010, the examples of
the darlings of the libertine West, Shirin Ebadi or Fatima Mernissi,
the Hirsi Alis and the old sourpussies like Taslima Nasrin are very
presently imbued with impulses coming from Western feminism + the
Women's Rights & EQUAL Rights groups who even go as far as
advocating the Feminisation of the Genderless Almighty Who has
hitherto been recognised as " He" - " The Father" etc. in all kinds
of Patriarchies, even though perhaps less so in Islam through this oft
repeated Surah:
In so far as Nigeria is still a secular state and not an Iran-type
theocracy, we may regard Zamfara State which has adopted Sharia law,
as a pilot case. If it's successful in Zamfara, why should it not be
successful in other majority Muslim states in Nigeria? In my humble
opinion the crying need is to have trained Islamic jurists who are
fully capable of interpreting and applying the law to all believers
who profess submission to Sharia, who abide by its rulings and are
therefore willing to surrender their cases for Islamic adjudication
and submit to the Sharia Court's decisions, thereof.
Islamic Sharia is for the individual & the community – to maintain
Islamic morality: N.B. the importance of hijab, niqab and burqa is not
uniform, but varies from country to country.
Q: Is there anyone among us who does not believe that ZINA is a great
sin?
As far as modernisation is concerned, today, perhaps four (4)
witnesses are not needed when forensic tests can ascertain the guilt
of the rapist who left is fingerprints…
Something to be squeamish about: thievery and the chopping off of
hands (but where?), today regarded as not only severe dismemberment
but also barbaric, like casting the first stone….
http://www.drsoroush.com/English/Interviews/E-INT-20090500-SomeOfOurClerics.html
Conclusion: In a free, secular society it would be entirely up to the
Nigerian/ non- Nigerian citizens in Nigeria, to act within the legal
limits of the religious or secular law as the case may be, with
respect for the law. And there should/ ought not to be any conflict
between the two; although, for a Muslim the Sharia is the natural law
of choice, whereas for the Munafiqun the secular law is perhaps the
law of convenience.
Professor H.O says that there are more than five Schools of Islamic
Jurisprudence; be that as it may, we are to be sure that there are
certainly more than five schools of Customary Law, throughout the
Federation, and of course on top of all that, there is the Nigerian
Constitution…..
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
No comments:
Post a Comment