ISIS: Is Islam today undergoing a Reformation?

News reports of terrifying violence across the Arab and Muslim worlds, from Nigeria to Afghanistan, and by extremist Muslims, from Europe to Yemen, often leads the Westerners to ask the question: Is Islam in need of a Reformation? Can Islam, in other words, benefit from something similar to the European Reformation, which ultimately led to the Enlightenment and the Age of Reason, to which we are all heirs and beneficiaries? What this question often neglects is that the Reformation was a long and extremely violent period that led to the deaths of millions of Europeans, especially during the Thirty Years' War (1618-48). Wishing a Reformation for Muslims should therefore not be suggested lightly. But what if Islam today is in fact undergoing a Reformation and we are its witnesses.

Many of the same features that led to the Reformation in Europe are in evidence today in the Islamic world, especially among the majority Sunni sect, which represents around 85 per cent of all Muslims. As in Europe of the 16th century, the Muslim world has experienced a dramatic decline in the prestige of traditional religious authority because once venerable centers of learning and guidance, such as al-Azhar in Egypt, have been co-opted by state governments. They have become nothing more than mouthpieces that provide religious cover for whatever illegitimate or unpopular policy the political authority desires. Furthermore, the traditionally trained clergy has lost the social prestige and obedience it once enjoyed in the pre-modern period. And while this has occurred two other developments have taken place, again each quite similar to those in European history. The first is the spread of mass literacy so that many in the Arab world today are able to read and, more importantly, feel empowered as individuals to interpret religious scripture. The second development is the inexpensive dissemination of printed materials and information, made all the easier now in the age of the internet and social media. The cumulative effect of these changes has led to a fragmentation of authority and the rise of multiple and competing voices about what constitutes correct Islamic interpretation and practice.

The victors thus far in this competition have been the scriptural literalists, otherwise known as Salafis or Wahabis, who argue that a literal interpretation of the Quran and the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (hadith) is necessary because this constitutes the "original" teachings of Islam. The Salafis are reformists and their claim is ultimately about the desire for recovering authenticity; the Salafis present themselves as the "real" Muslims, different from other Muslims whose teachings have been corrupted over time by the adoption of non-Muslim influences. The Salafi view is, of course, a modern projection onto the past of an imagined "real Islam", and this depiction of Islam suits the contemporary social and political aims of the Salafis, not all of whom are violent or militant. Among their goals, however, is to discredit other interpretations of Islam, especially those held by Shia and Sufi Muslims. By way of a loose analogy, the Salafis can be thought of as latter-day Muslim Calvinists who seek to reform Islam by imposing an uncompromising and a historical version of the faith.

There are other Muslim reformists, of the kind that many in Europe would appreciate, because they call for a tolerant and democratic interpretation of Islam, but their voices are muted when compared to the Salafis. For one, these liberal Muslims are justifiably afraid of the violent Salafis who are pitiless with their opponents. Second, the liberal Muslims are often seen as protégés of governments, like the one in Egypt whose leader, President-General Abdul Fattah Sisi, has also made claims that Islam is in dire need of reform and novel interpretations that counter those of the Salafi-jihadis. In other words, the liberals find themselves compromised either because they are depicted as apologists for authoritarian regimes or more ominously as agents of the Western values and schemes. As such, their influence is limited, for now at least.

This Reformation within Islam would be of purely academic interest if it did not have a political and militant dimension that is now global in reach. What explains the political violence? An important parallel feature alongside today's Reformation is that many Muslims feel politically and militarily weak and humiliated, and some keenly desire to reverse the situation by regaining the glory and power Muslims enjoyed in the distant past. Granada and al-Andalus play an iconic role in this regard because they stand for the height of Muslim power. Salafi groups, such as al Qaeda and the Islamic State, have identified the sources of Muslim weakness as lying, on the one hand, in the abandonment of the "true" teachings of the faith, and, on the other hand, in the relentless attacks on Muslims by infidels. God has, after all, promised in the Quran that the true believers will be given power over the earth (chapter 24, verse 55), and as such the present order in which non-Muslims are not dominant is an aberration that must be corrected. To do this, Muslims must purify their faith and practice from reprehensible innovations, but they also must actively fight the unbelievers.

The infidel enemies for the Salafi jihadists are not just the countries and civilisation of the West but also the despotic "apostate" governments that rule over much of the Arab and Islamic worlds, regimes such those in Riyadh and Cairo and elsewhere. To reverse Muslim decline and regain power, the Salafi jihadists argue that Muslims must resort to armed struggle, or jihad, which is a religious duty that had been abandoned by Muslims and must now be revived. Jihad is the only way to regain power, and because the enemy is so overwhelmingly powerful, all methods of violent resistance and action are permitted. Indeed, Muslims are enjoined by the Salafis jihadists to engage in private acts of violence whenever the opportunity presents itself. Violence is the panacea and God will make victorious His believers, as He has promised in scripture.

The Islamic State represents the most extreme and violent interpretation of this literalist vision of Islam. It is focused on combating enemies, especially Shia Muslims because it sees them as heretics out do destroy the faith from within. But the Islamic State also welcomes a war with the West because it sees itself as playing a role in an apocalyptic struggle for the fate of the world and seeks the redemption and glory that God has promised to the believers. At the same time, however, the Islamic State has established an actual state, with ministries, courts and social services, all modelled on the early Islamic polity of the seventh and eighth centuries, with a caliph as the leader. This form of government is utopian and presents itself as a virtuous political order following God's law and guidance. The Islamic State has captured the imagination of a number of Muslims who have emigrated to its territory. What impels these emigrants is a desire to find an alternative to the political and social reality they find themselves in and which falls far short of the imagined and much sought after ideal. The Islamic State is the clearest manifestation of the Reformation that is taking place today, but its reality is brutal, as some emigrants have quickly realised, and its excessive violence is in the long run unsustainable because it renders life impossible. As such, the Islamic State is unlikely to last long, but the reason for its existence in the first place, namely the desire for Muslims to reform their religion, to gain power and to obtain their rightful place in the world will remain unfulfilled. For this issue to resolve itself the Reformation must run its course, just as it did in Europe.