Birt saw it coming

I found an interesting article written by Yahya Birt, where he speaks about how the Internet has changed the way Muslims access information and what he sees as the future for Islamic material online:

A study by Nature magazine surveyed forty two corresponding articles in both and found 162 factual errors in Wikipedia and 123 in Britannica, so the difference is less than we might think. Yet Wikipedia, with greater resources of peer review, has been shown to correct itself more quickly. And it is – unlike Britannica – making the inheritance of human learning available to the world for free.

So rather than Sheikh Google, Wiki-Islam provides a better possible future for Islam online, amenable to its unchurched nature. Creative collaboration between scholars, experts, intellectuals and Muslim publics would allow for the social and intellectual process of ijma and ijtihad to become dynamic, relevant and infinitely refinable. The internet is no panacea: real-world conditions of authoritarianism in the Muslim world, the war on terror and intellectual conservatism may stymie unlocking the true potential of Wiki-Islam. But a crucial first step nonetheless to unlocking that potential is to recognize the collaborative creativity the digital age offers to the Muslim.

Our very own Quranist Matrix is an attempt at doing exactly what Yahya Birt envisaged back in 2008

God Alone, Quran Alone or Quranist?

What’s the difference between the three terms? For Sunnis, they’d readily say ‘they all don’t follow hadith! which isn’t wrong but is an oversimplification. This question popped up in Free-Minds (the granddaddy of quranist forums).  For me, here are problems with the first two terms.

1. God Alone – sure we all WANT to be God alone but are we really? The only mentioned in the Quran to be of deeni khalis (pure monotheism) is ibrahim and he was imam of mankind (2/125). Are we leaders of mankind? FAR from it! Rather, God alone is our ASPIRATION. It is also the aspiration of Traditionalist Muslims and so lets not insinuate that they are polytheists (as some quranists call them).

2. Quran Alone – another big delusion. If you didn’t know Arabic, try opening a Quran. All you’ll see are scratchings on a page. If you DO know Arabic, try asking yourself, were you BORN knowing Arabic? Of course not, you were taught it by those who raised you. These very same people imparted the meanings of words as THEY understood it. It’s not necessarily the Quran speaking but maybe Arabs speaking for the Quran. So in reality, no one is Quran ALONE. We are pushing TOWARDS Quran Alone.

And that’s why I’m a Quranist. A Quranist recognises his limitation and his process. He is constantly walking towards the goal and does not consider himself to have attained the goal simply by dropping hadith.

“Quranist” not a replacement for “Muslim”

A popular criticism of the Quranist term in The Quranists Space

Question: “First of all I don’t understand why you guys named the group as Quranist. Allah never approved a Muslim by any other name other than as Muslim. Please explain?”

Answer (by Farouk A. Peru): ‘quranism’ denotes our method, our way of understanding HOW to be muslim. It is not a REPLACEMENT for the term ‘muslim’. A ‘muslim’ is an agent of wholeness and soundness. How do people do it? Many ways. Sunni Muslims follow Quran and Sunnah, Shia Muslims follow Quran and Ahl Al-Bayt and Quranist Muslims follow the Quran and try to interpret it in the best way possible. Hope that helps, sir

Please add your comments!

http://www.facebook.com/groups/quranistsspace/permalink/328841447206848/

Quranists Network Salat Discussion

The Quranists Network Salat Discussion took place on Saturday 4th Feb, and it was a pleasure to have the participants come together and share their study notes and views. I personally found it very beneficial, lively and encouraging, and I enjoyed the relaxed and welcoming environment, Alhamdulillah! A big thank you to all who attended and contributed, and also to the Muslim Institute for their hospitality. The playlist for the videos from the Salat Discussion are to be found here on Quranists Network TV Channel: Please watch, subscribe and share! http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9CBF73F09D04B0F1&feature=plcp

QRAC survey

QRAC survey

Peace centres

A discussion about Peace Centres – thread on QRAC

Are 19er submitters Quranists?

A discussion about the term Quranists and how the term is used – thread on QRAC