The issues affecting the Islamic religion and people in the Muslim community, was the topic of discussion at the recent public lecture by Professor Taj Hargey, who spoke about the “Future of Islam, Puritanical or Progressive? Intolerant or Inclusive?”
Professor Hargey is an Oxford based academic specialist on Islam and the Middle East. His scholarly expertise incorporates the study of African history, comparative religion, interfaith relations and a contemporary analysis of the Muslim diaspora in the West. He has a Doctoral degree from Cairo. He has held several academic appointments at tertiary institutions, including South Africa, Sudan, United Kingdom and United States, where he focused on the teaching and research of Islamic Studies and Middle East history.
The lecture was held at the Durban University of Technology’s Hotel School Conference Centre on Tuesday 3 June 2014. Introducing his topic to the audience, Prof Hargey said that Muslims needed to ask themselves whether they were being true to their faith or not?
“We need to ask ourselves how are we making our world a better one for us and for everyone, irrespective of their religion? They could be Muslim, they could be atheists, it really does not matter,” said Prof Hargey.
He also addressed some of the social issues affecting Islamic society, such as the brutal killing of Farzanah Parveen, two weeks ago. She was stoned to death outside the Lahore Court in Pakistan, after she went against her family’s wishes and married her Christian husband. Mariam Abrahim was sentenced to hang for apostasy, after marrying a Christian man. She recently gave birth in a shackled jail cell. Prof Hargey said he was raising all these issues in order to establish whether they (muslims in Lahore) were practicing Islam since the killing was done in the name of Islam.
“Faith has to be one rationality and reason, it cannot be just of ritualism and robotic affiliations, that is not my Islam,” he added.
After raising many other issues affecting Islam, Prof Hargey said there was a need for the revival of the religion of Islam.
“Why is it that interfaith marriages are only allowed for men and not for women, how is that Islam? We know women are banned from driving in Saudi Arabia, if you go to Saudi Arabia, as a single woman or alone, you cannot do that. Is that Islam?” asked Prof Hargey.
“Every negative phenomenon we see about Islam, about what Muslims do or don’t do can be traced back to the popular manifestation of Islam and none of them can be traced back to the Quran. We must remember not to confuse culture with creed. Islam has no culture, Muslims have culture. Islam is a religion it is not a culture,” he stated.
Prof Hargey concluded that Muslims needed to distinguish between culture and creed. He said that without theological reassessment, Muslims would forever remain consumers of knowledge instead of the creators of innovation.
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Professor Taj Hargey delivers his thought-provoking lecture on Islam’s future at DUT.
