Muhammad Shurur

The Islam we have today with its concept of what is necessarily fixed in religion and the concept of free-
will (qadariyya) and fatalism (jabariyya) and the definition of fate and divine decree and the foundations of
Islamic jurisprudence and the Sunna, this Islam drew up its general concepts in the Umayyad era and was
framed and written down and took its final form in the Abbasid era.
We need a cultural reformation from within. We have to reconsider the concept of sunna and the concept of
consensus and the concept of analogy and abrogation (nasikh and mansukh) and liberty and authority and
the people who bind and loose and other concepts of a human stamp. There is no other solution. Islamic
culture is in crisis; it is in peril.
Can I understand from your words that Ben Laden is more consistent with himself, more representative and
sincere concerning Q: these principles of jurisprudence (fiqh) than the representatives of official Islam?
Certainly. As an example let's take the principle of abrogation. Well, [look at] all the verses from the Book
of God which A: speak of wisdom and exhortation to good like:
Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from error. (2.256)
And say: The truth is from your Lord. Let him who will believe, and let him who will reject it. (18.29)
All these verses are abrogated (mansukh). They are read only and not observed. The abrogation of these
verses did not come from Ben Laden or from the Organization of al-Qaida, or from the Muslim Brothers.
The abrogation is prior to them. These verses were abrogated by a verse called the verse of the Sword from
the Surat al-Tawba
Then when the Sacred Months have passed, then kill the Mushrikn wherever you find them, and capture
them and besiege them, and prepare for them each and every ambush. But if they repent and perform
Prayer and pay Zakt, then leave their way free. Verily, God is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (9.5)
he Muslim ulama in the official religious institution have never exposed to criticism or rebuttal the
theoretical impulses and the cognitive structure of the Islamic jihadi movements. Indeed this official
Islamic institution is incapable of entering into ideological confrontation with the theorists of the Qaida
organization because the latter would defeat them since they both come out of the same ideological school.
He who exercises violence and he who does not both come out of the same principles and impulses
(muntalaqat) which comprise the principle of abrogation (nasikh and mansukh) and the reasons for
revelation (asbab al-nuzul) and the principle of analogy (mabdaa al-qiyas). The present Arab intellect is
an analogical intellect and an analogical intellect does not create or produce any knowledge. It is based on
the authentic model of the seventh century. This model is treated analogically in a repetitious fashion. Arab
thought is repetitious; it repeats itself through analogy which is the only domain for exercising the intellect.