Innovation in religion from a poet’s viewpoint

Published: Sunday, 6 April, 2008, 01:30 AM Doha Time

By Sarmad Qazi
IF a religion cannot offer human beings free thinking and freedom, there is no benefit in continuing to be part of it, Syrian poet Adonis said yesterday.
Born Ali Ahmed Said, Adonis, who is considered to be one of the Arab world’s greatest living poets, made the points while delivering the keynote address at the ‘Innovation in Islam’ conference.
“What can emanate from a faith where people are made to believe that everything has been said and no more inquisitiveness or reasoning is required. A society that ceases to think freely is an antipode to existence,” he said.
“Islam today is nothing but similar to Christian theology except with a turban. Muslims can either continue the concept of one Umma (Nation) – which has been failing – or they can join the concept of humanism, that liberates them from the rules of fiqh and allows total equality for all citizens,” remarked Adonis.
“Innovations cannot be made in a religion. Only human intellect makes it possible,” he said, and “that can only come when Muslims start to question and reason again. The religion and politics must be separated.”
Earlier, Adonis set up the premises with a brief history of Islamic practices, where according to him, religion became a political tool, allowing people behind to get rid of the opponents.
“Look at the Arab history, intellectual dealing, religious text, upheavals and all the events until the end of the first half of the Hijri century, during which four Rightly-Guided Caliphs were murdered – one supposedly poisoned. Then Baghdad declines and falls in 1228, gets taken over by Ottomans, followed by another takeover by Western civilisation that continues to be the case until today,” he said.
“During this time, while we should have learned from the age of Renaissance – allowing for more vision and adaptations – we went back to traditions and the result is a current Islamic fundamentalism, that people say lays a siege on human culture. Its like allowing the people to ‘look’ but not ‘join’,” he said.
Adonis, also drew great parallels between religious text and poetry, calling the former “a text that was said once and forever”, while the latter “an innovative process, allowing the poet to present new words and relations between man and the universe”.

“Essence of innovation in poetic terms means to reject the preconceived notions, while essence of innovation in religious terms means not to reject the sacred text. The text can be explained and interpreted but not questioned,” he said.

“The truth in poetry is relative and innovation in it changes with time, whereas religion never changes. That makes religion an answer, while poetry a question – thus the incompatibility. One requires submission, dictation and faith, the other requires reasoning and exploring. Two completely different ways of looking at the world,” he added.

 

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