A middle community part two

In my previous post, I talked about the claim that verse 148 was a celebration of religious diversity. Now I want to move on to the main substance of Sardar's blog, which is the word middle. It appears here.

2:143. Thus We have appointed you a middle nation, that ye may be witnesses against mankind, and that the messenger may be a witness against you. And We appointed the qiblah which ye formerly observed only that We might know him who followeth the messenger, from him who turneth on his heels. In truth it was a hard (test) save for those whom Allah guided. But it was not Allah's purpose that your faith should be in vain, for Allah is Full of Pity, Merciful toward mankind.

Having told us over and over again that we shouldn't build dramatic conclusions on the basis of one verse, Sardar then does exactly that. The qibla (the direction of prayer), he says, isn't the essence of Islam. The real spirit of Islam lies elsewhere. It lies in the Qur'anic description of Muslims as "the middle community".

Based on what? Based, apparently, on the one reference in this verse, which is in itself ambiguous. He claims that there are other references in the Qur'an, but fails to cite them.

He also claims that this means a moderate approach to religion, but there is no evidence of moderation in the surrounding verses, which call other religions foolish, assert that the Qur'an is beyond doubt and praise the murder of polytheists. There are other, more popular Islamic interpretations of of the reference to the middle. It is interpreted either as referring to the central geographical position of the Islamic world, poised between Europe, Africa and Asia, or as a mark of superiority.

As usual, Sardar justifies his liberal, moderate interpretation on the basis of his own previous interpretation of other parts of the Qur'an in that way. It emerges from the Qur'an's frequent reminder to Muslims to be modest and moderate, he says. Say what?

And what a tower he builds on this single brick, on this one, highly contested and ambiguous verse. It suggests moderation in our approach to religion per se so it does not become the sole marker of our identity, a totalitarian obsession that undermines common human values, and eventually leads to self-destruction. It points towards a balanced approach to reason and revelation, science and values, ethics and morality. It argues for a more respectful and humble approach to nature, how we look after and preserve the environment for future generations. It demands fair play, equity and justice in our economic activity and moderation in our politics.

He has to say it suggests it, because it certainly doesn't come right out and say it. And when set in context it doesn't really suggest it either. The suggestion comes not from seventh century Arabia, but from Sardar's private life in the modern, secular world, where such sentiments are more generally admired.

But now we're back to the circular argument. All that we learnt about diversity and its continuity in the last blog is relevant and continues to apply to reading this passage. I understand that. In particular, I'm remembering that the judicial murder of calf worshippers, for no other crime than following their own religious choice, is an integral part of the Abrahamic faiths, and that the Qur'an, far from distancing itself from this bloody heritage, describes these atrocious acts as required for God to forgive the Jews.

Of course, our outrage is mitigated by the complete lack of any historical evidence that the Jewish flight from Egypt, the revelation at the burning bush, and therefore the judicial murder ever actually happened. Fortunately for the Jews of the time, Moses very probably never existed.

But the horror show lives on, thousands of years after it probably didn't happen, in the minds of those who celebrate it and the actions they base on it.

While we're here, have a look at this.

2:145. If thou after the knowledge hath reached thee, Wert to follow their (vain) desires,-then wert thou Indeed (clearly) in the wrong. In other words, once you're in the Muslim community it's a sin to leave it.

And this isn't leaving it to be a polytheist or atheist. This is leaving to become a Jew or (more likely) a Christian. And it's especially problematic when you consider what a low percentage of Muslims become Muslims as a result of adult decisions.

For when you're considering Islam, it's crucial to remember - you're mainly dealing with people who have been told what to think about metaphysics since they were five or six. Once they grow up, they do the same to their own children, in the belief that it's the correct thing to do. So it's not like membership of the Muslim community is something decided on after a mature, considered weighing of the facts.

And there are penalties in Islam for leaving the faith. Yes, I'm referring to the death penalty for apostasy. And yes, I know it's not as simple as that. For instance, there is no reference to it in the Qur'an - it's all in the hadeeth - and scholars disagree about whether women should be murdered or just locked up, and so on. A few even argue that there is no such proscription, although to the mainstream that's considered lunatic.

But the whole subject would never have arisen if the Qur'an wasn't so full of references to the wrong of Muslims changing their mind about their religion. And you will notice that this is not because it makes them less ethical, in the sense that they treat other people worse, but simply because they've changed their belief.

It's this idea, that to abandon your religious belief is inherently a sin (and the Qur'an is extremely vocal about the posthumous torments awaiting such sinners) which makes traditional monotheism such a problem in secular pluralist societies. There are two million Muslims in Britain, and given the massive turning away from religion in Britain as a whole it's very likely that many thousands of these would abandon it altogether if they felt themselves at liberty to do so. I certainly know from private conversations with official Muslims who don't believe in any of it that the threat of coercion is uppermost in their minds. Although not actively proposing acts of violence against such people, the Qur'an bears a heavy responsibility for creating the climate in which such violence takes place.