http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicShariaLaws_1.aspx?ArticleID=5714

http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicShariaLaws_1.aspx?ArticleID=5723

Conclusion. ..with an endless series of paradigm shifts in human civilization from the medieval era to this day, many of the Classical Islamic Law’s rulings stand in conflict with the modern secular values, creating a civilizational divide. Besides, its application by the Islamists and extremist Muslim outfits such as in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sudan is pushing those countries to anarchy and civil war. Most alarmingly, some of its preposterous rulings and notions that remain buried in its exhaustive discourses feed Islamophobia, Islamopathy, radicalization, Islamofacism, violent sectarianism and international terrorism, demonize Islam and its Prophet, and trivialize the entire global Muslim country in the eyes of the rest of the world. Thus, any perceptive mind would conclude that in the historical perspective, the domain of the Classical Islamic Law (Islamic Sharia Law) has run out its course. However, the Divine Sharia of Islam – the Qur’an is beyond history’s timeframe. Its compatibility with the Western secular values and pluralistic, humanistic, gender neutral, universal paradigms [1 above] crown it as the ideal alternative to the Classical Islamic Law. However, the Qur’an must be probed in a historic-critical, gender-neutral, intra-textual and universal manner while its best meaning must be sought (39:18, 39:55).  

4. Notions of male superiority, domination and beating of wife stand un-Islamic today

http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamWomenAndFeminism_1.aspx?ArticleID=5780

 Conclusion: In view of a quantum change in gender dynamics in the recent times, there is an overriding need to bring the translation / interpretation of the verses 4:34 and 2:229 in line with the universal message of the Qur’an as captured in the tabled fresh readings. If the Muslim Ulama fail to do this, and to apply the same principle to other gender related verses, what was beautiful in Islam until recent times – say a hundred years ago, will become ugly in the modern era and the Muslim women will be liable to suffer far greater hardships in conjugal life than their non-Muslim counterparts, and Islam will be condemned as a misogynist faith as being already labelled.

Conclusion: The relativism and porosity in the definition of ‘blasphemy’ at personal, communal, sectarian and international levels can open a floodgate of blasphemy charges against unsuspecting individuals, Muslim sects and Islam.critcal scholars and writers. Since the Qur’an, conceivably cognizant of these caveats, does not prescribe any punishment for blasphemy, the blasphemy law needs to be repealed.

6. Muslims have NO Qur’anic basis for Religious Supremacism  

http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamAndSpiritualism_1.aspx?ArticleID=5802

Conclusion: From the Qur’anic perspective all faith communities – Christians, Jews, and others – regardless of whether or not they are mentioned in the Qur’an (4:164, 40:78) - belong to the universal religion of Islam (Submission to God and doing of good deeds and exercising self-restraint - taqwa), and so do the followers of the Prophet – the Muslim community. Each member of the universal faith of Islam, whether he or she is a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew or has any other faith not explicitly mentioned in the Qur’an because of its historic context, will be judged solely on the basis of his/her deeds and none can claim any spiritual supremacy over the others.

7. Flogging of women for sex outside marriage stands brutal and Un-Islamic today.

http://newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamWomenAndFeminism_1.aspx?ArticleID=5921

Conclusion: In sum, the literalist application of a context specific emergency law (public flogging, mainly the women bearing its brunt) tailored to the pre-Islamic realities of seventh century Arabia for all time and all places transforms the specific into the generic, disregards the Qur’anic mandate on legislative dynamism, overshadows its spirit of mercy and compassion, dilutes its profound concern for women, drains Islam of its beauty and nobility and thus stands brutal and un-Islamic today.

8. The spiritual Genocide of a Godly people – the case of Ahmadis in Pakistan.

 http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamWarWithinIslam_1.aspx?ArticleID=5883

Conclusion: Nowhere does the Qur’an connect a singular interpretation of the term ‘khatama’ in a given verse (33:40), or, for that matter, any theological or doctrinal interpretation or orientation of a Muslim sect with the religiosity of its individual members. Thus, to enact a law that effectively condemns each and every Ahmadi as a non-Muslim because of theological, interpretational or doctrinal differences is no less than a grand mockery of constitutional process - a spiritual carnage that is ultra-vires of law.

9. Limiting maintenance of divorced women for the iddat period is brazenly un-Islamic.

Conclusion: The Classical Islamic Law to which the Indian Muslim Ulama are unflaggingly clinging only represents the opinions of the scholars of the medieval era that were inevitably informed by the historical realities of the times that saw, among other things, an undiluted form of patriarch verging on misogyny. No doubt, in that era, the deal offered to women by the Classical Islamic Law was far better than what their counter-parts got in the non-Muslim civilizations, and the Muslims can be rightly proud about it. However, with a major paradigm shift in gender dynamics in recent times, the ‘Islamic-Law’ package falls considerably short of what non-Muslim women get in their respective civilizations. Since the Qur’an stands on their (the women’s) side as the listed and other verses on women’s empowerment clearly demonstrate, the Muslim jurists must act without delay to revise their laws in line with the message of the Qur’an and not the opinions of its medieval interpreters, unless of course they want to protect and preserve their patriarchic interest and licenses and project themselves, in the eyes of the Western world, as the agents of the demon as some of their spokesmen are clamoring these days. 

10. The Zakat today grossly underplays the Qur’anic emphasis on zakah and wealth sharing

Conclusion: For all practical purposes, the institutional Zakat is nothing but a form of property tax that is collected from those who have some property and given to the poor regardless of religion, or put to community use. It does not subsume the Qur’anic repeated exhortations on sharing wealth with the community, which implies, at the least, making fair payment, allowances and compensations for goods and services (raw materials and domestic and industrial labor in today’s context). In many Muslim lands, the business community pays the bare minimum for goods and labor, often by forming a cartel, makes excessive profits, spends lavishly, converts the surplus into non-Zakat chargeable assets like land, vehicles, jewelry and then disburses the prescribed 2½% Zakat on cash in hand and gold. Likewise, domestic servants engaged in many Muslim households at very low wages are given in Zakat what they should have received as part of their wages. By any standard, these practices grossly underplay the Qur’anic emphasis on zakah and wealth sharing. As a result the rich get richer and the poor, poorer and the Muslim countries are pushed deeper and deeper into a morass of poverty, from which there seems to be no getting out.

 http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicShariaLaws_1.aspx?ArticleID=5998

Conclusion. In the past centuries, the world was divided on strictly religious lines and apostasy equated with treason in the political and military sense for which death sentence was normative for the era. With a major paradigm shift in civilization in terms of the relegation of religion to the personal domain, commercialization and secularization of the armed forces, and evolution of secular nations, the religion of a soldier does not define his national identity or loyalty and the change of religion does not conflate with political treason or sedition. Therefore, in light of the Qur’an’s recognition of the divinity of all religions (1 above), and its unqualified sanction of religious freedom, there can be no Qur’anic basis whatsoever for any punishment, let alone capital punishment, for changing religion or apostasy.    

12.  An Open Reminder to Ulama- Rejecting universal knowledge as un-Islamic is brazenly un-Islamic and kufr (denial of truth).  

http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicShariaLaws_1.aspx?ArticleID=5961

Conclusion: It is high time that the Muslim Ulama abolish any division of knowledge between Islamic and un-Islamic and incorporate the study of physical sciences and other universal faculties and professional disciplines in the curriculum of the madrassas. Obviously any major transformation in educational curriculum has to come in stages, but having lost almost five centuries, there is no more time to lose. Today, the participation of Muslims in academic and professional fields, cultural arenas, and prestigious and lawful avenues of livelihood in practically all Muslim minority countries is abysmally low as their educational, professional and cultural attainments are handicapped by their own or their parents’/ancestors’ madrassa based education. In historical perspective, if any single agency has to bear the blame for the introductory poetic outburst, it is probably the Ulama and the orthodox Islam - their throwback influence and reductive madrassa curriculum as this discourse amply demonstrates – however, bitter this may sound.

Conclusion: The Qur’an’s divergent insights into the creation/evolution of man, mixing the abstruse and the corporeal, the abstract and the scientific make it amply clear that it has not been the object of the Qur’an to unravel the mystery of man’s creation. Conceivably, the Qur’an’s chief concern has been to tell humans of their role and responsibilities on earth and their unique position in the creation, and to warn them of their innate infirmities and ultimate accountability to God. By any stretch of imagination, it is not a textbook on biology or any other branch of physical sciences or field of knowledge. Hence, the UK Muslim students’ boycotting of Biology class as it teaches Darwinism is doubly ironical. First they are dividing knowledge between Qur’an-compatible and Qur’an-incompatible – a division that was never applied in early Islam and is antithetic to Islamic message – as God alone is the fountainhead of all knowledge – a theme discussed in detail in a recent write up:

http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicShariaLaws_1.aspx?ArticleID=5961

Secondly, and more shamefully because they are being utterly ignorant of the broader dimensions of the Qur’anic message! It is hoped that sense will prevail upon them before the academic authorities are forced to take any disciplinary action as their boycotting of classes is unquestionably subversive of academic discipline, though a greater reckoning may await them in a higher plane for their utter ignorance of a book they hold divine and inviolable but unlawfully and childishly use as a pretext for causing confusion (fitnah).

14. The Noble Behavioral Paradigms of the Qur’an

Conclusion: It is therefore high time that the Muslim children are taught the behavioral paradigms of the Qur’an as part of their childhood grooming / madrassa education rather than its mere recitation without understanding a word as is traditionally the case.       

15. Any fatwa imposing full/face veil (burqa/niqab), headscarf on Muslim women as a religious requirement is anti-Qur’anic.

Conclusion: The Qur’an forbids men and women from casting amorous/lustful glances at the opposite sex. Women who can readily arouse male sexuality are asked to dress modestly, commensurate to the prevailing custom, and to bear themselves in non-provocative manner. Wearing of any external head to toe veil burqa, niqab, covering of head and gender-based segregation are not specified, though women may wear them depending upon the dressing norm of their place. 

16. The Opponents of the Right to Universal Education (RTE) to the Muslims are the enemies of Indian Muslims.    

Conclusion: Given the social, cultural and economic decline of Muslims in India that hardly needs any elaboration and the fragmentation, divergence and academic stagnancy of Islamic theologically oriented institutions including the madrassas and their self-imposed and ungodly restriction on the promotion of universal education, all these institutions must be brought under the ambit of RTI as far as school level curriculum is concerned. There can be one subject on religion focusing on the inter-faith and universal dimensions of Islamic message, given that each Muslim household teaches the basics of religion to its children.

17. The Qur’an prescribes Monogamy is the social norm for humanity.

Conclusion: Given the context specificity of the Qur’anic verse on polygamy (4:3), its restrictive clause and that of the verse 4:129, and other compelling Qur’anic illustrations in favor of monogamy as tabled above, the Qur’anic message can be interpreted to support monogamy as the social norm.  

http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicShariaLaws_1.aspx?ArticleID=6208

 Conclusion: The Qur’anic integrated package of ‘will’ (2:180-182) and inheritance division after the execution of the will (4:11/12) offers a flexibility in the division of inheritance that can enable a needy attached sister to get a higher share of inheritance than an unattached brother. Restricting the shares of the heir at the Qur’anic ratios disregarding the Qur’anic binding (haqqan) decree (kutiba) on will (2:180) or equalizing the shares of the siblings following the example of other communities can leave a great deal of inconsistency in the distribution of inheritance given the divergence in contribution, age, income levels and financial needs of the siblings.        

19. Intellectual ambivalence of educated Indian Muslims: the RTE versus the Ridiculous Fatwas.

Conclusion: If the educated Muslims remain a silent witness to the exclusion of RTE to the madrassas as per popular demand, they or their posterity will have to pay a very heavy price. The mainstream Hindu community in India is going through a series of major reforms – many in line with the Qur’anic message – notably eradication of caste system, women’s right to inheritance, a widow’s right to remarry and so on. The Indian Muslims on the other hand are opposing reforms – much in the way their ancestors did in British India that led to their self imposed exodus from India, created inter-faith hatred and the culture of riots. If the Muslims fail to keep pace with the progressive strides of the mainstream Hindu community, they will end up as the pariahs and the underdogs of Indian society and bear the wrath of those who want India to shine, and the educated Muslims will alone bear the responsibility for this self imposed doom. With this the writer requests the New Age Islam to mount a campaign to support RTE extension into madrassas. 

December 19, 2011

20. Newt Gingrish is not alone in castigating the Classical Islamic Law. 

Hence, as concluded in the referenced article that only few people might have read: “It is time that the Muslim elite and leadership put their act together to achieve a gigantic paradigm leap - from the Classical Sharia Law of Islam to a Modern Islamic Law (Sharia), accommodating Western secular values - within the broader framework of the Qur’an. Their complacence and inaction may lend strong credence to Khaled Abou El Fadl’s agonizing concern: "Is it possible that the day will come when ours will be designated a "vanished civilization." 

December 26, 2011

21. The Qur’an was never edited and any effort to edit the Qur’an will be self contradictory.

http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicShariaLaws_1.aspx?ArticleID=6316

Conclusion: As the foregoing tiers of arguments demonstrate, any editing of the Qur’an post the revelation would have inevitably:

i)                    Compromised the acclaimed infallibility of its text as a Divine Speech (1 above), and led to massive exit from the faith of Islam as Muhammad’s companions and the common Arabs with their mastery in Arabic language would have seen Muhammad as a mere imposter, a charlatan.

ii)                  Refuted its claim of textual integrity (2 above) with the same consequences as in i) above,

iii)                Created confusion among the huffaz (memorizers) and scribes who preserved the text in their breast and available writing materials (3 above) and created many versions of the Qur’an, and raised serious questions about its infallibility / divine character.

iv)                Terrified the whole Arab community and warned them of an imminent doom given the awe and dread the Qur’an inspired among them (4 above).

v)                  Projected Muhammad as an astute politician, a military genius, a chivalrous warrior, an invincible conqueror, a liquidator of the Jews and the pagans, a merciless avenger, an admirer of the opposite sex, a seeker of worldly treasures, pleasure, glory and fame to set an ominously promising precedence for later dynastic rulers (5.1).

vi)                Credited Muhammad for the greatest achievements of his mission or for being the greatest among the Prophets (5.2above),

vii)              Included the names of the Prophet’s close relatives and companions in the Qur’an(5.2 above)

viii)            Punctuated the Qur’an with and references to the traumatic and most melancholy moments of his mission. (5.3)

ix)                Removed the passages venerating of the Prophets Jesus and Virgin Mary.

It is simply impossible to explain why none of these listed alterations occurred – that any cursory reader of the Qur’an can readily verify. It was probably this complete absence of self falsification of the Qur’an that led such illustrious scholars as Geoffrey Parrinder and John Burton to make the following observations:

“Concepts of prophesy, inspiration and revelation must be re-examined in view of the undoubted revelation of God in Muhammad and the Qur’an.” [4]

“The text which has come down to us in the form in which it was organized and approved by the Prophet ….What we have today in our hands, is the mushaf (manuscript) of Muhammad.” [5].

For the seekers of truth, the debate should end here. The Qur’an as we have in our hands is the exact copy of the mashaf (manuscript) that the Prophet approved and that during its advent (610-632) was simply impossible to edit, and once Uthman’s authenticated version was issued some 20 years after the Prophet’s death, any scope for any alteration / editing was closed for ever. Any possibility of tampering during those 20 years was ruled out by the fact that as a lyrically harmonious litany that was recited every day as the most sacred reading, any attempt at tampering would have been immediately spotted and quashed. Only those half baked in the knowledge regarding its collection and preservation can suspect of it being edited in that transitional period or suggest to editing it. The truth is any attempt at editing will falsify the Qur’an and open a floodgate of editing options and create thousands if not hundreds of its version throwing Islam into a sacramental morass from which there will be no coming out and the Word of God will be gone with the wind – and that cannot happen – for indeed the Qur’an is a Word of God. As for those who the Qur’an confuses, they should probe the verses that are clear and unambiguous (3:7) approach it with a pure heart (56:79), probe into its verses (38:29, 47:24), and seek the best meaning in it (39:18, 39:55).