[Rictor]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7264903.stm

urkey is preparing to publish a document that represents a revolutionary reinterpretation of Islam - and a controversial and radical modernisation of the religion.

The country's powerful Department of Religious Affairs has commissioned a team of theologians at Ankara University to carry out a fundamental revision of the Hadith, the second most sacred text in Islam after the Koran.

I can't see this being accepted by anyone but a small minority within Turkey itself. I'm sure secularists within the Muslim world and well-wisher abroad will be ecstatic, but it somehow smacks of intellectual dishonesty to me. If they want to rid themselves of Islam, fine, say that. Don't try to be sneaky about it and legitimize modern human rights with a 1400 year-old religious document.

[Herra Tohtori]

Well, it would be about time they had a proper reformation... almost on schedule, too, when you compare the protestant reformation starting about 1500 years after the origins of christianity, to this proposed reformation which in turn takes place about 1400 years after the origins of Islam.

They've had divisions to different sects before, mainly Shi'a and Sunni, (kinda like the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christianity) but not an actual reformation where they adjust theire viewpoint and interpretations of their scriptures to the surrounding world rather than make the surrounding world match the scriptures and viewpoints.

Whether or not it's widely accepted will remain to be seen, but obviously the Roman Catholic church is still the biggest single branch of cristian sects - protestant sects are still a global minority. Probably something similar might happen in Islamic world... most likely the more advanced and educated countries will assimilate the new stuff, while the poor buggers and oldskool islamic countries will undoubtedly stay on the shia/sunni versions of Islam.

[Nuclear1]

What this is the Turkish government picking and choosing which parts of Islam it wants its people to believe. Some parts of Islam are detrimental to modernization, and Turkey no-likey.

[Sarafan]

At least they are doing something to adapt it to modern times and that is a great thing. Of course, that may lead to some sects doing the same in protest and making versions of Islam that contain far more ridiculous laws.

[IceFire]

Kudos to them.  Times change and cultures and religions adapt...nothing stays the same and nothing has stayed the same but sometimes people cling to the notion that they do.  I hope they find something that works for them and if others choose to go along with it too thats fine.  I guess the concern is always that it will spark more violence like it did in Christianity but who knows.

[Rictor]

What this is the Turkish government picking and choosing which parts of Islam it wants its people to believe. Some parts of Islam are detrimental to modernization, and Turkey no-likey.

Exactly. Which is odd, considering that I keep hearing how current Turkish government is apparently a hotbed of Islamists, unlike the wonderfully secular military. The chances of these reforms being accepted in the wider Muslim world are pretty lousy.

I don't think this is very much like the Reformation at all. After all, Martin Luther was just as much a devout, religious Christian as anyone in the Catholic Church, he just wanted less centralized power. This, however, seems to be about the Turkish government wanting less Islam, but they couldn't get away with saying that, so they say they want "different" Islam.

The best analogy I can think of is how the Chinese government persists in calling itself Communist, even though they're now one of the most fundamentally capitalistic countries on Earth.

[Kosh]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7264903.stm

urkey is preparing to publish a document that represents a revolutionary reinterpretation of Islam - and a controversial and radical modernisation of the religion.

The country's powerful Department of Religious Affairs has commissioned a team of theologians at Ankara University to carry out a fundamental revision of the Hadith, the second most sacred text in Islam after the Koran.

I can't see this being accepted by anyone but a small minority within Turkey itself. I'm sure secularists within the Muslim world and well-wisher abroad will be ecstatic, but it somehow smacks of intellectual dishonesty to me. If they want to rid themselves of Islam, fine, say that. Don't try to be sneaky about it and legitimize modern human rights with a 1400 year-old religious document.

Although it is a good start, I don't see this gaining much traction considering how much time and resources Saudia Arabia has put into spreading fundamentalist Islam......

[Nuclear1]

Oh the Wahhabis and the other Saudi conservatives are going to hate this, with them being seen essentially as the custodians of Islam.

I don't really know whether to congratulate Turkey or facepalm. This is bound to upset its Arab neighbors, but it is a step towards becoming more European and ditching the problematic MidEast.