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Religion, Reason and Freedom
About the meaning of "liberal" in Liberal Islam

Islam | Islamic | muslim | Moslem

Date posted: 11/05/2003

Once again, Islam is not useful for people who have been denied the humanity itself. Because religion is not meant for donkeys.

By: Ulil Abshar-Abdalla

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There is a sense that is embedded in some people, the term "liberal" in liberal Islam to mean unlimited freedom, or even equated with permissiveness, ibahiyah; attitude tolerate any thing without knowing the exact boundaries. With such a perspective, liberal Islam is seen as a threat to the diversity that has been institutionalized.

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In Islam, the "limit" (hadd) between what is allowed (permissible) and that should not be (mahdzur), occupies a central position. Every Muslim is always concerned with what he was doing, whether it's allowed or not pebuatan. This then gives rise to a very rich field of study and leaving thousands of sophisticated literature, namely the field of jurisprudence. Any discussion about the law is always the reference is fiqh. Once prompted lively discussion about the application of Islamic law, the jurisprudence becomes the focus of attention, because in fiqh was formulated largely Islamic law.

In these discussions, it appears once the emphasis given to "duty", which is a Muslim duty to God, others, and himself. Obligations more prominent languages, shut the language of human rights and freedoms. Liberal Islam appeared in the spirit to balance the "balance" between the language of obligation and freedom / rights. For that, let us enter into a basic theme in the debate of classical Islamic thought: a matter of human action (af'alul 'ibad).



Autonomous or not?

Let us begin with a simple question: whether humans can, with reason, intuition, and nature, reaching a deep understanding of good and evil? Is to know these things, man should menungguh revelation of the "sky"? What good is religion, if after all humans are able to reach their own understanding of "good" and "evil"? Do humans are morally autonomous in knowing good and evil, or depending on entities beyond themselves?

In this issue, there are two answers are available in the vocabulary of classical Islamic thought. There is a dominant Sunnis, with the view point that good and evil must be defined by religion. Humans learned that this action evil or good after getting instruction from religion. The second category is the view that human Mu'tazilah by his wits alone can determine the boundaries of good and evil, the limits of decency. Of course, to say that human reason can determine these boundaries, does not mean that the entire boundary is already known by the mind from day one. Human mind evolved, evolved, and will be more mature.

I am more inclined to the view of the Mu'tazilites. However, hope was realized that by accepting the Mu'tazilites, that does not mean I am dismissing the role of revelation in enrich the human mind to understand the limits of it. Each revelation brings a certain knowledge about the "good" and "evil". Revelation can uplift the human mind to a higher level and quality in order to better understand the limits. However, the revelation could be degrading to human reason, when the revelation was experiencing "vulgarization", that revelation has been hijacked by the interests of worldly moment. In order for that revelation can recover and get inegritasnya again as a source of morality, it is necessary to sense the responsible and full of integrity. We all know that revelation is like the horizon or infinite horizon. It's almost impossible for the human mind is limited to reach the entire horizon of revelation. Since the revelation horizon stretching it, then anyone can say anything on behalf of the revelation. Guarantee that revelation can be understood by the human mind exactly is integrity itself.

One of the traditions of the Prophet said, "al itsmu Nafsika wa ma fi haka karihta an yath-thali'a 'alaihin unlucky". Sin is something that cause turbidity and chaos in your heart, and you do not like other people see you do it. This hadith is a firm pressure to the ability of human beings, based on intuition, to achieve a true understanding of sin. Why is that? It must be known, that religion is a matter of first minute awareness / self-consciousness; religion is not an objective rule that can not be pushed by force from the outside. That is why, a hadith says "innamal a'malu bin niyyaat" truth, whatever action is not going to be action "genuine" without intention and encouragement emotive truly responsible. In another hadith says, "Mu'min niyyatul Khairun min 'amalihi" emotive intent and encouragement that are subjectively more noble than action. Regional intentions in the area of ​​human subjectivity; region has the characteristics of freedom. Thus, the objective rules set by religion, it is not meaningful in terms of religion if it is released from the subjective human motives.

I do not see any one idea in Islam in which men are placed as a passive object of moral. Human mind is an active participant in interpreting the ideas contained in the divine revelation. I never imagined that the revelations in the view of Islam considers "human world" as a Hobbesian world, dirty, brutal, temporary, and cunning, and therefore Revelation as a "leviathan" ruthless. Islam puts people in a position of dignity, as a "caliphate" that meets the divine duty to improve life on Earth. Popular Islamic outlooks often describes revelation as a "leviathan" kind of thing. Humans, in view of such a popular, often placed as "goods" completely empty of an independent motive. This is the vulgarization of Islam as ever appointed by prof. Khaled Abou El Fadl.

In situations that are "vulgar" kind of thing, the first thing to be restored is the human dignity itself. If man as a free moral subjects no longer exist or denied, what use is a religion? Qur'an repeatedly insinuated Jews as "donkey carrying volumes of books", matsalulladzina hummilut Taurata kamatsalil khimari yahmilu asfaara. Donkey will never be able to get any benefit from the items he brought. Revelation will not be useful for a donkey. And it's no use preaching the depth and fullness of revelation kepad ass. If man has been cleared of the motif, and its autonomy as a moral subject has been denied, what's left of human kind than the "body" is passive. The Prophet never bersaba, "ad dinu huwal 'aql, dina liman la la' aqla lahu", is the common religion, no religion for those who do not have sense.

Therefore, man's freedom is a matter of principle that can not be negotiable. Many people think that such a cause of human freedom rebel against religion and revelation. No one thinks that by limiting freedoms, they have protected the revelation. This is clearly the wrong view. Because, as human freedom is restricted, then the deepest dimensions of subtle revelations disclosed by humans would be difficult. Therefore, to understand the complexity of revelation, it takes a mature human reason. A hadith Qudsi which is popular among Sufis declare, "I (God) is 'kanzun makhfiyy' hidden treasure. I want to know, so I created man." This hadith gives an important affirmation that man was created to "explore" the hidden dimensions of the revelation and truth of God. It can not be happening if not assume the existence of human beings as free and autonomous subject.

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People who say that giving freedom, you have menjerumuska humans to the brink of heresy, from the first minute they had been denying humanitarian values. Donkeys are always afraid of freedom, and are constantly looking for employers who can guide him. Indeed, Islam does not need people like that. The brilliance of Islam will only be possible because of the humans who think freely and then be able to reveal the deepest secrets of revelation.


Worship as the "I-Thou"

The ultimate goal of religion is to raise the dignity of humanity. Revelation is only a means toward it. The first focus in religion is man himself, not merely God. Is one of the popular conjecture that says that the main duty of man is "worship" God. This view comes from a misunderstanding on the verse "wa ma khalaqtul Jinna wal Insa liya'budun illa," and I did not

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create humans except to worship Me. This verse, if understood in terms of the likely popular anti-humanistic, it could mean that religion is no other than human subjugation. Humans as if the threat to God and should be subordinated to his will. No more dirty understanding of the nature of divinity except this understanding. This view of man as Prometheus who clashed with the Lord is present in the ancient Greek myth. I see a growing popular view among Muslims about the verse tends to an image of man as Prometheus. The difference, Prometheus Prometheus version of Islam was defeated by the will of God. This is obviously a human image that does not comply with the spirit of Islam. I disagree with the translation of the word "worship" as worship, or "worship" in English. Therefore, worship has a negative meaning in some way.

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Assume that the object of worship "worship" is an object that is "dead", in-reification, in-fixation. Worship is always a one-sided process, not a process dialogal who lived between subject and subject. If placed within the framework of the philosophy of Martin Buber about relationships between people, worship is a form of relationship between God and man in a relationship "I-it", "I-and-her". God, in the framework of such worship, has been "dibendakan". Allah is the God worshiped diberhalakan, which in-fixation in the picture remains as an "idol". It is my view that humans should relate to God is not that way. The exact relationship between man and God is a relationship in terms of "I-Thou" I-Thou. Religion based on the worship of the relationship in terms of "I-it" will only be degrading to human dignity, and God himself. The meaning of the verse is better understood as the God-man relationship in the model of "I-Thou", not worship, but dialogal creative process.

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Worship of God does not have any meaning if it is not placed within the framework of a free human being as a subject, with a mind that works freely. The Qur'an says, "qad tabayyanar rushdu minal ghayy", has clearly the path of good and apostasy. "Fa man sya'a yu'min fal fal yakfur sya'a wan man," if people want to, he must believe in the way it is, and if you like, he should not deny it. These facts are so clearly set out in the primary sources of Islam, the Qur'an and the Hadith. However, historical processes in the religion of Islam itself has transformed it into a religion of law which is based to the force, with more emphasis languages ​​obligations. Nothing is more dangerous to Islam than to try to change the character of the view that religion is the religion of nature, a religious laws enforced on coercion.

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The conclusion that I want to go from the reviews were a bit "complex" and length is that by putting the word "liberal" in Islam, I want to reiterate sesunggunya dimension of freedom in Islam which anchor is the "intent" or impulses in the human-subjective emotive itself. And should the word liberal in "liberal Islam" is understood in terms of this kind. The word "liberal" here has nothing to do with freedom without limits, with the permissive attitudes that counteract the tendency of "intrinsic" in the human mind itself. By re-emphasizing the human dimension of freedom, and put a man on the focus of religious appreciation, then we have to restore the integrity and the Islamic revelation itself.

Once again, Islam is not useful for people who have been denied the humanity itself. Because religion is not meant for donkeys.

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