MEMORANDUM DATE: TO: FROM: CC: April 26, 2021 Ben Crane Michael Drogosz RE: Changes addressed since Checkpoint 6 This memo serves to give insight into the changes I have made to my paper from your checkpoint 6 feedback and the office hours. The first major change I made to my initial draft was rephrasing my thesis statement to more accurately introduce the argument I was making throughout my paper. Not only was the wording of my thesis vague and undefined, but this led to my argument throughout the paper appearing very subjective rather than objective. Redefining and changing terms, and more specifically wording my thesis accordingly was the first step I took to creating consistency among my paper. This included omissions of words with contested or undefined meanings and replacing them with words that better define my wholistic argument. The second large concern of my paper was my lack of a work cited page and in text citations. Before, I had many statements and sentences throughout my body paragraphs that were in need of supporting sources and citations. As such, going through my paper and seeing where I did not include citations, or even included improper citations was the next big change I made from my initial draft. Lastly, after conducting the changes above, I had gone through my paper and fixed the flow of sentences and ideas, as the changes above altered the flow and structure of my paper in many ways, albeit, small ways at that. This included things like re-wording sentences, re-arranging the order of ideas, and keeping consistency among ideas to ensure the flow of the paper remained as expected. As of now, I am confident that after initial feedback and office hours, I was able to adequately incorporate the necessary changes to greatly improve the quality and effectiveness of my paper. For any questions regarding the memo above or my final draft, please feel free to reach me via email at mdrogo2@illinois.edu. *Essay Below Michael Drogosz TA: David Group: Religion & Philosophy REL 110 April 26, 2021 Major Reformative Movements in Islam Since the 19th Century Religion is often described as “a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden – beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them” (Durkheim, 47). Throughout religious history, this definition has continuously defined the actions of its followers in a major way. These actions, methods of thinking, and religious practices they have created continue to shift as a result of the reformative movements and standards that the followers of certain religions adopt. Islam has been one of the religions of late that has been under the most scrutiny to adapt and evolve, and this has led to many reform movements by members of the community. These reform movements were started in hopes of inciting real change that paints Islam as a more fair, equitable and progressive religion in line with the evolution of traditional western ideas like civil rights, equality, democracy, and many others (Bousmaha, 59). As such, the practices of Islam today differ from those of the past, and are continuing to change right before our eyes. These changing practices and views of Islam are a direct result of the many reformative movements that have shaped its practices and understanding since the 19th Century. The unfortunate truth of today’s view on Islam is that of extreme values and beliefs, and of course, violence, which is a view that is at the least subconsciously held as we continuously hear only about the horrors and heinous acts committed in the name of Islam (Cordesman). Often times, these acts are the only times people in non-Muslim majority countries are exposed to the Islamic religion, and this has led to an assault on Islamic values, beliefs, and practices in. This selective exposure to primarily negative stories pertaining to Islam has in many ways influenced the view that people from the United States have towards Muslims and Islam (Bleich, 23). While this may also expose the unethical practices and beliefs in Islam most definitely, it has arguably more seriously tainted the view of traditional widely held Islamic beliefs that reformists are working hard to adapt to more progressive modern beliefs (Bousmaha, 25). Many of these reformations are the logical next step in terms of crafting a more progressive Islamic religion that can empower and bring people together. For almost all of Islamic history, women’s rights have been a polarizing topic among conservative Muslims that have continuously justified a limited role in public and personal life for women via methods such as segregation and harsher punishments for women. Empowerment of women has been something outsiders have tried to influence for many years, but it is clear that the tightly held beliefs of conservative Muslims has prevented this progress (Bishin, 501). This situation has given way to a movement of Islamic feminism, which its followers argue that, “at its core, [Islam] is progressive for women and supports equal opportunities for men and women alike” (Coleman). By using the Islamic scripture and disclosures, proclaimed Islamic feminists are able to offer cultural changes to expand opportunities and better the treatment of women in Islamic nations. This movement has come on the back of a progressivism that has grown within Muslim communities, in which Islam has started to adopt more western ideas, of which feminism and women’s rights has been brought to the forefront (Coleman). While it has been an uphill process for Islamic feminists in recent times due to the progressive ideas they tout in comparison to the norm, the long-term prospects for Muslim women have never looked better. While some countries may see slower progress than others, the modern feminism Islamic movement has taken hold of a deeply held oppressive belief and has made tremendous strides thus far. One of the more divided and ambiguous beliefs that has been at the forefront of reform in recent years has been LGBTQ rights, and more specifically, homosexuality within Islam. In fact, under most Islamic countries, engaging in homosexual acts is punishable by death or isolation, but it is important that a greater distinction be made (Ahmadi, 537). This is because of the various interpretations of Islamic law which conclude, “being a homosexual person and not publicly acting on homosexual feelings, however, is within the bounds of the law in many Muslim countries” (Ahmadi, 551). This creates an ambiguous standard that is not easily understood by both progressive and traditional Muslims. This has created an opportunity for major reform and progress within the Muslim community, as homosexuality and the punishments associated with it are by and large regarded as horrible and inhumane punishments, except by the extreme traditional sects of Muslims who still believe these punishments to be ideal for this behavior. With the growing community of LGBTQ throughout the world, and even within some Muslim communities, this has led to a culture in many Muslim countries, and even some traditionally conservative ones like Saudi Arabia, to begin adopting a more accepting LGBTQ culture (Ahmadi, 550) This is a stark contrast to just a few decades ago where these ideas were not only still widely rejected in the Muslim community, but also most western societies. This is particularly important to the overall understanding of Islam as at its core, it is a religion of peace and acceptance. This movement within Muslim communities and the similarities it has to the timing of LGBTQ movements in what popular opinion would describe as more inclusive religions shows that Islam is a religion that can adapt to the modern ideas of progressivism, hence why the negative light cast on Islam and not other religions may be misplaced. Arguably the most apparent and talked about issues surrounding the Islamic religion is the acts of evil and terror that are conducted in its name as of recent (Cordesman). While not only attributed to Islam, terror attacks have been an ever-growing concern not only among outsiders, but the majority of Muslims as well as this link between Islam terror and the teachings of Islam is one that has been brough to light and continuously dissected in attempts to limit the extremism of a small group of Muslims (Bar). While some have argued that economic and political factors are the sole cause of this terror, it would be disingenuous to not look into religious factors that drive Islamic ideology and influence these acts. For the radical Islamists, their underlying worldview is “historic and dichotomist… [and] In such a worldview, there can exist only two camps — Dar al-Islam (“The House of Islam” — i.e., the Muslim countries) and Dar al-Harb (“The House of War” — i.e., countries ruled by any regime but Islam) — which are pitted against each other until the final victory of Islam” (Bar). This is a fundamentally problematic interpretation of the teachings of Islam, as it often encourages extreme followers to often use religion as a means to gain power and rid the world of all teachings not attributed to Islam, as they believe Islam is the only true answer to their world-view. This extremism can be traced all the way back to the 7th century, and more recently has been brought to the attention of western societies by means of terror attacks, and even more disturbing, the legality of Jihadist behavior on this scale is often attributed to orthodox Islam, which poses a bigger problem to curbing this terror (Bar). As such, the war on terror has been ineffective because although these acts have been met with strong counters, the underlying religious force that guides these acts remain in tact and are deeply embedded withing orthodox religious teachings. This opens an opportunity for peacefully practicing Muslims to engage in actions to reform these teachings that lead to extremist behavior, of which strides are currently being made through various peace treaties and reformations. However, they are also hindered by the conflict that has only of recent started to de-escalate with no conclusive end in sight. Political extremism in Islam looks to be one of the harder issues to curb, but as Islam and its reformers make tremendous strides in many other areas of Islam, it is thought that through strategic reformation, this is an issue that can be resolved in hopes of reverting back to original ideals of peaceful practices within the Islamic community. While questionable practices and beliefs have been a staple of Islam for centuries, like all other major religions, meaningful reform to adapt to ever-changing views on progressivism is crucial to the survival of a religion that is so prevalent and influential on a world scale. In attempts to be an ally in this necessary reform, it is the impervious that those who are not knowledgeable on Islamic practices be allies in their attempts to adapt, rather than portray their religion as extreme in regards to the actions of the minority of Muslims. As of recent, there have been meaningful strides to be a more inclusive and ethical religion for the millions all across the world who are proclaimed Muslims, a majority of which are working to see their religion cast in a better light and lend itself to being more inclusive, equal, and peaceful. Work Cited Ahmadi, Shafiqa. “Islam and Homosexuality: Religious Dogma, Colonial Rule, and Islam and Homosexuality: Religious Dogma, Colonial Rule, and the Quest for Belonging the Quest for Belonging.” Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development, vol. 26, no. 3, 2012, pp. 537– 63, scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1709&context=jcred. Bar, Shmuel. “The Religious Sources of Islamic Terrorism.” Hoover Institution, 1 June 2004, www.hoover.org/research/religious-sources-islamic-terrorism. Bishin, Benjamin G., and Feryal M. Cherif. “Women, Property Rights, and Islam.” Comparative Politics, vol. 49, no. 4, 2017, pp. 501–519. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26330985. Accessed 1 May 2021. Bleich, Erik. “Report on Media Portrayals.” Media Portrayals of Minorities Project, 2018, pp. 1–26, www.mediaandminorities.org/assets/media-contributions/AnnualReport2018.pdf. Bousmaha, Farah. “THE IMPACT OF THE NEGATIVE PERCEPTION OF ISLAM IN THE WESTERN MEDIA AND CULTURE FROM 9/11 TO THE ARAB SPRING.” ScholarWorks, 2014, pp. 1–68. IUPUI, scholarworks.iupui.edu/handle/1805/5677. Coleman, Isobel. “Women, Islam, and the Push for Reform in the Muslim World.” The Solutions Journal, 8 July 2020, thesolutionsjournal.com/2016/02/22/women-islam-and-the-push-for-reform-in-themuslim-world. Cordesman, Anthony. “Islam and the Patterns in Terrorism and Violent Extremism.” Center for Strategic and International Studies, CSIS, 17 Oct. 2017, www.csis.org/analysis/islam-and-patternsterrorism-and-violent-extremism. Durkheim, Emile, et al. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. Abridged, Oxford University Press, 2008.
