Rational approach to Islam suggested

Abu Dhabi: A scholar sees potential for a new rational school of Islamic thought which borrows from scientific advances from Western societies and incorporates rational ideas.

Dr Ahmad Bin Mohammad Ahmad Al Eisa, President of Al Yamamah University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, says this new rational school is not a compromising approach between fundamental and secular movements in the Arab world.

His Highness Shaikh Saud Bin Rashid Al Mualla, Member of Supreme Council and Ruler of Umm Al Quwain, and General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, were in attendance during the lecture held at Shaikh Mohammad's Ramadan majlis.

"New Islamic rationalism should have an independent philosophy and not just a compromising approach between fundamental religious movements on the one hand and secular movements on the other," Dr Al Eisa told the majlis.

"While it should be based on the fundamental values of Islam and ideas of Muslim intellectuals and scientists, a new rational school of Islamic thought can borrow and integrate with scientific advances of Western societies and eventually contribute to the making of the future."

But he believes that a rational Islamic school must do away with other early Muslim theology such as the Mu'tazilite rationalism, which came to prominence in the Abbasid period.

The rise of kalam (the science of debate) was associated with the Mu'tazilite (literally, foresakers), a rationalist Islamic school, emerged early seventh century AD, and was prominent for few decades.

The failure of the Mu'tazilite to follow up their initial intellectual and political ascendancy by imposing their views as official state doctrine seriously discredited rationalism, leading to a resurgence of conservatism and later to the emergence of the Ash'ariyya school, which gained acceptability within mainstream Islam.

The Saudi scholar argues Islam does not require nor ask Muslims to believe in it out of blind faith or social imitation.

Rather, Islam challenges the human intellect to engage with the reality we find ourselves in, and come to conclusions about our existence, purpose and the very origin of all things in order to centre ourselves around it.