Insider/Outsider Problem Of Religion Interpretation - Essay Example

INSIDER/OUTSIDER PROBLEM OF RELIGION INTERPRETATION The dilemma of who has the right and power to interpret religion has been long known as a problem of insider and outsider. For instance, McCutcheon (1999) thoroughly examines all the 'insides' and 'outsides' of religion, broadly covering the aspects of autonomy of religious experience and contrasting them to naturalistic analysis and scientific approach to understanding and explanation. 1 It reveals the magnitude of the insider/outsider problem in understanding, interpreting and studying the religions. From the critical perspective, being a practitioner of a religious belief or an insider can be considered as an obstacle to critical reception and analysis of religion, because it adds subjectivity and effectively eliminates objectivity and reasoning from the analysis. Among many religions, Islam can be characterized as the most controversial religion from the insider/outsider perspective. The Arabic term, Islam, which means "submission (to the will of God)", and the term, Muslim, which means "he who has surrendered (to the will of God)," emphasize a shared belief in one Supreme Being2. Among all Muslims, this is known as tawhid (oneness). This concept is stated in the shahadah, or the testimony of faith: the saying, in Arabic, that "there is no other god but God and Muhammad is His Prophet." The shahadah is repeated from every mosque five times a day to notify the Islamic community when it is time to pray, and it reinforces the most important belief in Islamic dogma, tawhid. Further, perceptions and interpretations of the Prophet Muhammad's revelations (the Qur'an), customs (the Sunna), his written and uttered traditions (hadith), and his family and companions form the basis for Shar'iah, which can be described as a universalistic system to guide Muslims through rules on law, ethics, and etiquette at home and in the marketplace3. Shar'iah does not guide all aspects of life for Muslims, however, it does give the Islamic community a basis for universal solidarity and religious orthopraxy, even if there are many cultural, political, economic, and ethnic differences among Muslims over time and space. This universal solidarity and orthopraxy has been achieved primarily through patriarchal interpretation of Qur'an conducted exclusively by the insiders. As a result of this interpretation, many problematic aspects of Islam have emerged. For instance, when thinking about the term, Jihad, the first association received is a negative one, because inaccurate insiders' perceptions and interpretations have popularised the inaccurate notion that Jihad is a reference merely to war, fighting, suicide bombings, and terrorism. Jihad is a struggle, and something that every Muslim has to deal with when facing difficult situations. In the context of the exegesis and hermeneutics, it can present multiple struggles. The outsider approach interpreting Islam allows scholars and scientists to understand the context of Islamic sacred documents, and the fact that the text was revealed in a seventh century Arab tribal patriarchy.4 Even though many of the verses are directed towards men, oftentimes, it is implied to mean both men and women. This follows patriarchal custom of the time to address the (male) head of the household, but the message is intended for everyone. Islam did not conceive patriarchy as it was already present and it was used as a launching point for discussion. Then, and now, Judeo-Christian traditions have peppered Islamic beliefs as the religions have colored each other in many aspects, particularly on women's rights. Based on "Mesopotamian, Greek, Iranian, and Byzantine spheres of influence that Muslims encountered during the first century of Islam... the key discourses generated in the classical period of Islamic civilization... took place within a patriarchal frame of reference... [And] the legislation derived from the Qur 'an and other sources was consistent with the contemporary Jewish and Christian legal praxis"5. Instead of asserting their own ideas based on the newly revealed text, Muslims began to hybridise ideas with the other major religions. Early Muslims were caught in the social and political paradigms of other cultures and ideas and this undoubtedly affected their own beliefs. Unfortunately, there is a gap between reading and implementation. What has seriously stunted the implementation of these ideas is ignoring key concepts of the teachings. This is something that Muslims did from the beginning, from the time of Revelation, until present day. The original and contemporary readers come with their own expectations. Outsiders' expectations as modern readers are different and color our perception of the text. Outsiders have been trained to read things in a particular way, which affects the meaning they derive. For instance, a patriarchal reading about a woman's role will change the message of the text. In examining patriarchal readings, outsiders learn about what men have thought women should be instead of learning what women have felt and experienced. In the analysis of Christianity from insider/outsider problem perspective, Welch suggested that Christian religion is a narrative of oppression and liberation told by the oppressed. It is a form of discourse suggested in recognition that argumentation presupposes a level of education less common among the oppressed than among the privileged. Welch's standpoint epistemology recognizes the important contribution to the viewpoints of the oppressed to moral critique. Difference is highly valued. A critical history of Western society written by the oppressed is suggested. Solidarity among outsiders and insiders in Welch prepares the way for the possibility of consensus and of mutual transformation. "When mutual transformation occurs, there is the power of empathy and compassion, of delight in otherness, and strength in the solidarity of listening to others, bearing together stories of pain and resistance"6. Welch gives a stronger place to the participation of outsiders in her thought than is evidenced in Christian theological teaching. While this outsiders' approach is evidently valuable, it does not mean that an outsider reading should outweigh an insider one. As a righteous religious text, the Qur'an should not be biased or unjust. Rereading the text from the perspective of an outsider does not mean that this is the "correct" way of reading the text. The text is a simulacrum of the message of God, Muslims believe the true Qur 'an to be in heaven. There is a gap between human knowledge and the supernatural and there is no final way of reading the text. The Qur'an might be ultimately untranslatable, but it has ultimately never been delivered in any human language/or time and place (the notion of the Qur'an in heaven), so, the differences among translations is a matter both of fidelity and ethics. As responsible readers, outsiders cannot blame it for their own shortcomings in comprehension because some things are beyond human understanding. Regardless of the approach scholars and believers employ, they must remember to look at the text holistically. An outsider reading is just one of several ways that help the reader find meaning and facilitate understanding in the text. Indeed, both insider and outsider interpretations of any religion should work in a complementary way to create higher meaning - to create balance and unity in the text for all readers. In order to bring about change, new readings must be presented so people can be informed and change their behaviour accordingly. Thus, for this purpose, an outsider approach is not only helpful, but something that is mandated for those who believe in the message of religions of equity and justice for all. Objectively, this particular interpretation must be used in a reconciliatory way and not as a way to supersede other readings. REFERENCES Barlas, Asma. 2002. "Believing Women " in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an. Austin: Texas UP. Held, Colbert. 2006. Middle East Patterns. United States: Westview Press Hodgson, Marshall. 1974. The Venture of Islam. Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press. Kassam, Zayn. 2004. Encyclopedia of Islam and Muslim World. Ed. Richard C. Martin. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Reference USA. 265-272. Print. McCutcheon Russell. (ed.). 1999. The Insider/ Outsider Problem in the Study of Religion: A Reader, Oxford University Press, Princeton Welch, Sharon. 1990. A Feminist Ethic of Risk, Minneapolis: Fortress. Read More