Reimagining the role of Islam for the future

1. The public talk on Reimagining the role of Islam for the future was held on 16 March 2017. It was attended by 400 participants including Muslim and interfaith leaders, community and student leaders, academics, senior public officers and members of the public.

2. The talk explored the following questions – What does it take for Muslim scholars, intellectuals and activists to imagine and reimagine ways of being Muslim in today’s world and looking ahead, for the future? How does language, beauty and wisdom enhance our individual and collective experience today? Why is cultivating creativity and talent crucial to our survival as a species?

3. Ways of being Muslim: Shaykh Hamza stressed that there is a plethora of ways to being Muslim, based on the myriad of cultural expressions, social organisations, community consciousness and histories, level of advancement, moral orientations and depth of relationship with others. These are dynamic ways of being that are in constant evolution and which accommodate the rich possibilities of being human.

4. He addressed the Singapore Muslim community saying “Hold on to your culture. Do not re-create yourself in someone’s image. Singaporean Muslims should not become Arabs,” reminding the audience that cultures are made distinct and unique and that even the Prophet honoured cultures and spoke to people in their own dialects. Thus, he urged Singaporeans to “honour your culture and your people. Don’t lose sight of the distinctive qualities that make you who you are.”

5. Self-expression and understanding others: One of the fundamental ways to be truly who one is, is to master a clear understanding of one self. Then, to establish healthy relationships with others, there is a need to express oneself to others and to listen lucidly to how others express themselves. The more transparent and crisp the communication is, the better thoughts, feelings, ideas and concepts are exchanged, the better understanding that would potentially develop among people, thus leading to more harmonious, mutually beneficial relations.

6. Shaykh Hamza stated that this is the miracle of language, a tool for expressing meanings, symbols and relations. Poetry, the closest there is to divine inspiration, is the beautiful pinnacle of languages and the foundation of civilisation as it infuses meanings and inspires mediation on nuance and distinctions. It is acquired through a rigorous and disciplined application of the intellect, and honouring it, cultivates wisdom and creativity.

7. Globalisation vs homogenisation & identity politics: Shaykh Hamza emphasised repeatedly that the global order with its distinctive socio-political setup of the nation-state and the international treaties which characterise the current age offers unique opportunities for a peaceful and cohesive co-existence. However, he does warn against homogenising forces which attempt to reimagine the world in its own image – he optimistically states that this attempt is not a forgone conclusion. In fact, the rise of identity politics and assertion is a direct resistance to its influence.

8. Fortunately, as the world we live in adapts to positive universal values such as compassion manifested in gender and class equality and personal freedoms etc., faith is gradually regaining an honoured place in society, particularly in countries such as Singapore. Singapore is in a good position to share with the world their model of (1) navigating an open borderless world nimbly while retaining its own distinctive principles and values; (2) racial and religious harmony; and (3) future and scenario-planning.

9. Muslims’ role today: In connecting the dots, Shaykh Hamza reminded the participants of some crucial points: The Qur’an was revealed in an exalted language with poetic sophistication to set, with clarity, universal guiding principles for establishing harmonious relations with the self, others and the divine. Therefore, Muslims ought to (1) read history critically and learn from it, but refrain from being nostalgic of an ‘imagined’ past (2) focus on the present, be cognisant of how the world today is vastly different from pre-modern times or even the colonial period; (3) realistically assess the positive and the negative aspects of the global world order – promote the former and minimise the latter; (4) rigorously internalise and embody the universal aspects of the Islamic traditions and allow them to enhance man’s earthly experiences, keeping in mind that the particular application of the divine guidelines are not set in stone; (5) stay future-oriented and imagine a world, not in Islam’s image and not one that serves Islam, but in the images of endless human possibilities that faith traditions, including Islam, were sent to beautify and serve; (6) honour all people, promote multiculturalism, multi-religiosity, remain true to one’s sense of being and identity, and nourish talents and allow goodness to flourish.

10. There are two pressing challenges within and without Islam today: (1) The negative public framing of Islam as a religion of terror; (2) The lack of robust and effective critiques that aim to reform Muslim societies from within. On both accounts, Shaykh Hamza said that Muslims ought to ensure taking critical ownership of the scholarship and the defining narratives of Islam, thus challenging perceptions, credibly, not apologetically.

11. Conclusion: The future of Islam and its role will depend on the creativity, aspiration and talent of Muslims who, above all else, envision the world in all its diverse, beautiful human possibilities, rather than attempt to reimagine the world in their own myopic understanding of what God ‘wants’ – that would be offensive, even to God, whom they claim to love and serve.

Reimagining the role of Islam for the future [PDF, 289 KB]