WHAT BRITISH MUSLIMS REALLY THINK - RESPONDING TO THE CHALLENGE.

Might not be able to see the trees for the wood, but the prudent person should use their prudence and knowledge and experience to hypothesise what they are likely to find ahead.

In the two previous parts of this post, I have cited some of the major concerns arising from Channel 4's documentary - WBMRT, which include things like an greater tendency to sympathise with violence by extremist, more tolerance towards Sharia laws being practised in parts of Britain, the stoning of adulturers, and so on.
In this the final part of this post, I am putting forward my views of how I believe the British government, and people, including British Muslims, need to respond to the challenge which orthodox Islam, as opposed to a 'locally grown' reformed version, poses to the country's future stability and security.  

Essentially, I have argued that British Muslims and the Muslims living in the west need to devise their own, effectively, independent and reformed version of Islam, as the backward looking Islam of the East and the Middle East is not compatible with the future-focusing and humanistic worldview of the West.

So, what are some of the fundamental changes which need to be effected, in order to make all of Britain’s Muslims and their Islamic beliefs and values more compatible with being British Muslims and living in Britain?

Trevor Phillips has cited what her framed as a ‘policy of active integration’ as the way forward, placing the emphasis on the state making changed in education model which is use to educate pupils coming from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, and using social housing programmes to influence integration.

For me, I would argue that the British Government and British Muslims need to take the following major steps to avoid what could be inevitable ethnic and religious conflict in Britain, in a few decades, if not less.

British Muslims, in trying to remain Faithful to Orthodox Islam and become part of the Fabric of British Society, need to be exist in two parallel societies.

With Islam being more of a way of life than just a being a religion, it is open to being used by religious and political extremists to achieve their both political and religious objectives. Now, this might be fine in an Islamic country such as, eg, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, but it is not acceptable in a secular and historically Christian country like Britain.

As such, in its present form in Britain, it raises serious questions about its eligibility to attract ‘charitable status.’ In order to protect the British people, including British Muslims who want to continue to live in an open, liberal and secular Britain, and not one which is to be converted into an Islamic Britain, the Quranic and Islamic traditions which underpin the lives of British Muslims need to be revised and reformed, since they are destined to maintain and promote a way of life and world view which, in the long run, poses the risk of destroying British society as it is at present, and replacing it with something very backward looking and oppressive.

Making the Quran and Islam compatible with a Secular Society.

A British or European version of the Quran should be commissioned, let us say, to provide religious and Islamic guidance to the Muslims of the West. This revised Quran would not make references to terms such as ‘jihad’, ‘infidel’, ‘kafir’, and other such pejorative terminology in referring to non-Moslims, unless it has done so in describing historical and not current or future events.

The ‘Koran of the West’ would also have to ensure that its contents are within the remit of British law, in the case of Britain. As such, it should be required to ensure that it advocates equality for all, it not advocating the segregation of men and women, or Muslims and non-Muslims, that, in dealing with relations between men and women, if anything it exceeds and not fall below the threshold of British law, including things such as marriage and divorce, and the right of the individual to conduct his/her life, within the law, and free of undue duress from any religious organization or official.

British Muslims, in order to live peacefully and coexist in a multi-faith, and atheistic and secular society, needs to have a reformed and progressive version of Islam, which is compatible with British values of tolerance, irreverence, freedom of speech, and the primacy of the individual and their rights, over god, country, religion and the collective. As I have suggested above, a Western or reformed version of the Quran should reflect these principles and rights.

Empowering British Muslims to live in Mainstream Britain and not a parallel Islamic society.

If British Muslims are to become truly British, then this needs to be reflected in their adherence to what we can call the core values and beliefs of British society, such as treating everybody as equals and with fairness, the primacy of the law over all other faith practices, including Sharia, freedom of speech, etc. In this respect, the use of a progressive education system is probably the best way of helping to facilitate the assimilation of Muslims into mainstream British society. Here, the law can assist this process by requiring anybody who is running Islamic classes to give the pupils who are attending them the right to opt out, and also to ensure that what is being taught, is not in breach of the law and/or promotes the alienation of the pupils from, or rejection of mainstream British society. 

By having the backing of the law, young Muslims would have more of an input in whether they passively attend religious classes; which would put them on par with other young people in the wider society. Religious classes should be required to demonstrate that the teachers are encouraging the pupils to ask questions about and challenge what they are being taught, and not simply being encouraged to accept what they are being told unquestioningly.

Trevor Phillips argued his preference for the implementation of the ‘Comply or Explain’ approach towards ensuring that there is a proper mix of children from different religious backgrounds in state schools. This is somewhat reminiscent of the ‘school bussing ‘ programmes which occurred in the United States to ensure that schools end segregation. This approach might have some weaknesses, however, if we want to avoid the greater upheavals which could arise from continuing with a more laissez faire and ‘non-interventionist’ approach, it is difficult to see how this can be achieved without an appropriate measure of ‘social engineering.’

The Practising of 'Sharia law' Should be Made Illegal.

The practice of ‘Sharia law’ in Britain should be made illegal, and Muslims should be required to get married and divorced in a manner which is prescribed by British law. Sharia law is a clear example of Islam, as it has been practised in Islamic societies, being a way of life. For Britain or other non-Islamic countries to allow any form of Sharia law to be practised in their societies, would be to give tacit or other encouragement to allowing Muslims to create their own parallel societies in the country. It therefore makes sense to adopt an intolerant approach to calls for or the practise of any forms of ‘Sharia law’, as is being taken towards the practise of female genital torture, or FGM as some prefer to call it.

The Primacy of the Rights of the Individual over Religion and God. Of the Future over the Past.

In concluding, I do accept that it is natural that anybody who has been born into a particular religion, culture and language, will most probably want to remain loyal and/or faithful to those aspects of their being. It is, as they say, ‘only natural’ that they would want to do so. Similarly, when people have the opportunity to meet other people and experience other languages, cultures and religions, they are able to make comparisons and decide whether they should make changes in what they believe or do not believe. In the case of some religions and societies, people are discouraged from making any changes in what they believe or do not believe, because the religious beliefs have been made into the laws of the societies in which they live. 

In Britain and most or all western countries, the people have been freed from the joke of religion and religious laws, to the extent that they can choose whether or not they believe, and the can even curse the gods and the clergy, if they want to do so. These societies have become humane and are guide and controlled by the humane laws which have been made and influenced by the people; not by any unseen god or gods.

Islam, it would seem, is a very austere and oppressive religion and way of life, which wants to keep people in the dark and in the dark ages. As such, it would be foolhardy for the British people to allow it, in its historical form and as it is being practised in Islamic countries, to take root. It would not benefit the British, whether they are British Muslims or of other faiths or no faith.

The quest for a better future requires tough decisions to be made in a timely fashion, and not be delayed.