A Post Script On Fundamentalist Islam

In a blog, preceding the last one, we discussed the problems we face with fundamental Islam.  Let me take a moment now to make mention of an effort that has been made to create a reform movement within Islam. It is named, The Muslim Reform Movement.  That such a movement has sprung up is a promising.  But, how meaningful is it?

Basic questions we must ask are as follows:

1. When was this movement started.  Answer: 2015.  That's just last year.  It's clearly an organization in its embryonic stage.

2. What are its chances of becoming a meaningful movement?  In my opinion, slim, but not impossible.  What might give hope to this embryonic movement are the following factors:

  a. Todays's world events make the need for such a movement greater than ever.  Muslims might be at a point where they can now begin to recognize this.

  b. This movement began in America and was joined in by a few Muslims from England and Europe. It is entirely logical that such a movement should come to flower in America.  It is here that Reform Judaism mushroomed.  It's roots, of course, extend to Europe.  Conservative Judaism, on the other hand, is an entirely American-made phenomenon.

  c. Can this movement reach out and attract Muslims who have, to some degree, become secular?

3. In challenging fundamentalist Islam in America, the nascent Muslim Reform Movement faces a huge hurdle in proving to politicians in Washington that this movement has legs, that it has prospects for growth.  The initial signs are not promising.  For major Islamic events, the Obama administration extends invitations to the likes of CAIR, who happen to be a bulkhead of fundamentalism in America, not to mention their shady connections to terrorism as noted by the FBI.

The obstacles the Muslim Reform Movement faces are enormous.  We can only hope and pray that they will become a force among American Muslims.