Following the Evidence
If you’re a Muslim living in Malaysia, you might have heard of Dr. Mohd Asri bin Zainul Abidin. As one who is not shy to put forth views that differ from those of the establishment, he gets quoted a lot by the newspapers. Furthermore he is a prolific writer and maintains his own website so that the public has unfettered access to his thoughts on current issues.
His central theme: follow the evidence.
The reason this type of thinking can be controversial is twofold. First, Islamic affairs are regulated by state authorities, who, of course, are not infallible. Being criticized by ordinary members of the public they can handle. But they are not used to being presented with evidence (from the authentic sayings of the Prophet) which says that some of their actions are not quite correct.
Second, when accepted practice goes against the evidence, people get emotional, as illustrated by the following imaginary dialogue:
| X: | I know of no authentic saying of the Prophet that this is a part of the Religion. | |
| Y: | But everybody’s doing it. This is how it has always been done. Anyway, I don’t see anything wrong with it. | |
| X: | Surely if it were part of the Religion, the Prophet would have taught it to us. | |
| Y: | Look, I don’t see how this isn’t a good thing. | |
| X: | So we know better than the Prophet? | |
| Y: | Okay. What am I supposed to do. Tell everyone that what they’re doing is wrong? |
Following the evidence is common sense; telling people to change their ways takes courage and inner strength.
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