22 May 2017

World's largest Muslim youth organisation calls for re-examination of Islamic text

The world’s largest Muslim youth organisation Gerakan Pemuda Ansor (GP Ansor) - the youth wing of Indonesia’s largest Muslim organisation Nadlatul Ulama (NU) - on Monday (May 22) called for a re-examination of Islamic text to adapt it to modern civilisation.

.... “A wide discrepancy now exists between the structure of Islamic orthodoxy and the context of Muslims’ actual reality," said Luthfi Thomafi, a member of GP Ansor's board. "(This is) due to immense changes that have occurred since the teachings of orthodox Islam, which became largely ossified towards the end of the medieval era.”

“Civil discord, acts of terrorism, rebellion and outright warfare - all pursued in the name of Islam - will continue to plague Muslims and threaten humanity at large, until these issues are openly acknowledged and resolved,” Thomafi added.

Among the complex issues that lie at the heart of this discrepancy are practices governing relations between Muslims and non-Muslims, according to GP Ansor. These include the rights, responsibilities and role of non-Muslims who live in Muslim-majority societies and vice versa. [Channel NewsAsia] Read more