Turkey in radical revision of Islamic texts

ANKARA: Turkey is preparing to publish a document that represents a revolutionary reinterpretation of Islam — and a controversial modernisation of the religion, BBC.com reported. Turkey’s department of religious affairs has commissioned a team of theologians at Ankara University for a revision of the Hadith, the second most sacred text in Islam after the Koran.

Turkey has given training to 450 women, and appointed them as imams called “vaizes”. They have been given the task of explaining the original spirit of Islam to communities.

Turkey has come to see the Hadith as having an often negative influence on a society it is in a hurry to modernise, and believes it responsible for obscuring the values of Islam. It says a number of the sayings were never uttered by Muhammad, and even some that were need now to be reinterpreted.

 Experts say the very theology of Islam is being reinterpreted to effect a radical renewal of the religion. Says Fadi Hakura: This is akin to the Christian Reformation,” he says. “It’s changing the theological foundations of the religion. Until now Turkey has been intent on creating a new politics for Islam. Now, they are trying to fashion a new Islam.”