Islamic Reform

[posted by Callimachus]

Ali Eteraz has taken a berth on that strange cruise ship of the Blogic Ocean, Huffington Post. Well, that's one reason to read it. Ali's initial offering is, as is typical for him, full of careful observation.

My experience with the Pakistan Women's Protection Bill (a reform of the Islamic rape laws) has taught me that even a military dictator cannot advance a reform unless the average person is willing to embrace it. The catch usually is that the average person is not willing to do anything that a dictator orders, even a necessary reform. Thus the irony in the Amman Message is that in order to abolish the death penalty for apostasy, a reformist must consent to the legitimacy of Muslim oligarchies like Iran and dictatorships like Egypt and Pakistan.

You won't necessarily feel more hopeful about the future after reading it, but I am sure you will understand a good deal more than you did before.