17 July 2015

Ramadan offers chance to oppose extremism

.... In January, the Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi called for a revolution in Islam, saying that outdated interpretations had made the Muslim world a source of destruction.

However, others do not want a revolution within Islam but reinterpretations, or gentler reforms.

Speaking in Abu Dhabi, American scholar Sheikh Hamza Yusuf urged a return to the core tenet of mercy in Islam, describing the religion as a house that had been neglected and was in need of renovation.

"The water taps aren't working, the plumbing's not working. The house is in disarray," he told the Associated Press.

"You don't destroy it, you don't set it aside. You renovate it."

He said Muslims should not oppose even strong reforms, nor feel that everything needed to be changed.

"Because of the urgency of the situation, some people are waking up... and thinking we better do something," he said. [BBC] Read more