Fundamentalist Islam vs. Liberal Islam in Indian Context

By Grace Mubashir, New Age Islam 3 April 20242024 Muslims In India Are Tied To Nationalism And Ideas Like Democracy And Secularism By Liberal Interpretations Of Faith, Not Fundamental Interpretations. Main Points: 1. Liberals have done a lot to bring Islam up to date and soften its strict beliefs. 2. People who hold liberal views usually say that they are flexible and don't have any strict theoretical requirements. They also say that they value social life and how it works more than ideas. 3. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad read the Qur'an in a way that was different from the basic interpretations made by people like Maulana Maududi, who didn't believe in democracy or religious neutrality. ------- Literal Islam is not a brand-new word or idea. It has been there for hundreds of years. In fact, liberalism is the view and point of view that most Muslims have held throughout the history of Islam. In the name of Islam, there is a liberal interpretation stream. At the same time, social reformers come on the scene and try to bring even the most fundamental parts of the religion up to date through readings and by leading them forward in new social conditions. In some ways, it's a vague idea. This style of thought has moved forward on its own and is now part of the mainstream. This trend has led to the idea that the religion needs to be brought up to date. Different people may have different ideas about how to do this. It will change over time based on time, society, and faith beliefs. They have done a lot for both the Muslim group and the rest of the public. They have tried to integrate the Muslim community into society while also giving the Muslim community access to society's benefits and comforts. People who hold liberal views usually don't stick to any particular theories and put more weight on social life and how it works than ideas themselves. Liberals can be found in almost every religion in the world. The main ideas behind liberal thinking are modern ideals of life, progressivism, reason, and scientific awareness. It is because liberal ideas have been brought into religious organizations that the narrow interiors of religion are becoming more open to everyone and religious views are becoming less rigid and practical. When it comes to Islam, liberals have done a lot to make it more modern and less strict in its beliefs. Most of the writings that talk about religious doctrines and rules were made in a time when people were very aware of how society worked. These kinds of writings have a lot of power over Muslim religious life. By rejecting them, you can't bring modernity to Muslim culture or change the way they live together. All of the Muslim reformers and thinkers who have come out of the society have seen this as true. Liberal theorists in religion have always reinterpreted old ideas and doctrines in a way that makes sense in today's world and uses them to support modern values and ways of thought. Ideas like democracy and equality did not come about when Islam came into the world. These ideas are not exactly the same as the policies and beliefs that are made public by religion. Even now, these ideas don't get much attention from extremist religious groups. The main reason for this is that basic religious views still can't fully accept democracy and secularism. People who didn't believe in liberalism were sure that God had already made all the rules and laws that people needed to live and given them to them. They thought that following these rules was enough to live. These thinkers also used a literal reading of the Bible as proof. This view is at odds with the idea of democracy. In a democracy, faith, religion, and God don't matter. Even the most basic ideas of democracy say that rules, laws, and ways of doing things should be changed to fit the changing social awareness of people. It doesn't matter what God says or where people of faith stand on democracy. Today, even religious people are okay with democracies, where people get together and make the rules, ideas, and beliefs they want based on their social awareness. They say that they are Democrats. We look into how this was done. Being religious and against debt did not give them any theological problems because they were able to look at the issue from a liberal point of view. Most religions' core views, including Islam's, are at odds with nonreligious ideas. When people follow fundamentalist views, they think that their religion and beliefs are better than all others. This change can be seen in the way religious groups have become active in democratic societies. There are still religious groups living outside of it that don't accept the idea of democracy. For them, the way people join together to find the good and bad they want is an attack on religion. We can understand this difference if we ask a religious expert in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, or a similar place how religion fits in with the idea of democracy, where the people make their own laws and systems of government and only follow them. There is only one answer left, which is "heresy." If you ask the same question to a Muslim group or professor who works in a democracy, they will politely say that religion is the source of democracy and that you can be a democrat and a religious person at the same time. They can give two different answers on the same subject, even though they both come from the same religious background. This is because modernity has made religious people more open-minded. Some people say that secularism in the West and secularism in India are not the same thing, but their basic ideas and ideals are. Secularism is the idea that faith shouldn't play a big role in people's personal or public lives. Secularism is based on the idea that no faith or set of beliefs is better than any other. Because of this, neither the country nor the government should speak for anything. We believe and have this view. People who believe their faith is better and unique than all others cannot truly believe and follow this belief and doctrine, which supports the country's secular stance. Most religions' core views, including Islam's, are at odds with nonreligious ideas. When people follow fundamentalist views, they think that their religion and beliefs are better than all others. Most Muslims in India, on the other hand, are secularists but still believe in Islam. In light of modern times and circumstances, this change shows how well liberal ideas have worked at giving old and closed religion texts new meanings. These meanings might not make sense to Islamic fundamentalist groups that are not part of secular cultures. All of them look at different methods, like adding more evidence to religious ideas or being against religion. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was a strong supporter of democracy and freedom of religion. He took a liberal view of religion while staying in the Christian mainstream. When he read the Qur'an, he didn't agree with the basic readings that people like Maulana Maududi had made, which were against democracy and religious tolerance. Many examples can be found in India. Muslims in India are linked to nationalism, freedom, and secularism because they follow liberal religious views. And not by using strong opinions. At this point in time, most of these explanations don't make sense. People don't follow old religious teachings or readings of the scriptures. If anything, the religious currents are what is going on to go along with modern knowledge and awareness. All the new ideas that people have come up with are slowly being taken up by religious currents. Reforms in religion have always been built on liberal ideas that are in line with modern values, progressivism, reason, and scientific awareness. It will keep doing that. -------- A regular columnist for NewAgeIslam.com, Mubashir V.P is a PhD scholar in Islamic Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia and freelance journalist. URL: https://newageislam.com/debating-islam/fundamentalist-liberal-indian-context/d/132070 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism