Click here for digital edition

Jasser Speaks of Reform in Muslim Faith

Dr. Jasser, a former Naval officer, believes misinterpretations of the Koran, the Arabic scripture, have led to misperceptions among the Muslim community with modern and traditional Muslims and radicals he calls "political Islamists." Islamic terrorists interpret Muslim teachings differently than most practicing Muslims, and tensions in the Middle East may be exacerbated because religion there is more closely tied to government than in the United States, Zuhdi Jasser told a small group of Island residents and visitors Friday, August 29.

Dr. Jasser, a practicing Muslim and founding member and president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, was invited to speak about the Quran and Islamic terrorism by Mackinac's Jewish congregation, Kehilat Hatzav Hagadol, at the Trinity Church rectory.

Dr. Jasser believes that leaders of Muslim societies have kept a stranglehold on their governments and traditional Muslims by basing their political states on their interpretation of the Quran.

"What the theocrats, the Islamists, don't like about western society is the ideology of being an American," more specifically, "its liberty, where everybody has access to government and you have free open markets and practice your faith in the comfort of your home, your synagogue, and church," said Dr. Jasser. "These kinds of things are threats to Islamist power systems."

Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, a Muslim American physician from Phoenix, Arizona, spoke to a small crowd at Mackinac Island's Trinity Church Friday, August 29. The discussion included topics such as terrorism from Islamic radicals, the Koran, and how the Muslim community functions in the modern world. At left is Dr. Robert Spitzer, head of the Kehillat Hatzav Hagodol, the Jewish community of Mackinac Island, who invited Dr. Jasser to the Island to speak. Because the prophet Muhammad was a leader of both religion and state, there is a feeling within the Muslim faith to never separate religion and state, said Dr. Jasser.

He believes Muslims should consider the teachings of the Quran in their historical context, and separate the morality of the message from historical customs.

"One thing I hope you walk away from this is, as we look at anything, it is important to look at principal and morality," said Dr. Jasser, "but separate that from history, because history is important in establishing examples of morality, but those stories have to be put in history, and when they were."

For example, statements in the Quran such as "kill the infidels," widely repeated by Muslim radicals as a rally call, have been purposely misinterpreted by Muslim radical leaders, said Dr. Jasser. The phrase from Muhammad, he said, was referring to a specific war against a pagan tribe and should not be taken literally in today's Muslim religion.

"That was said toward a specific war against a pagan tribe in 600 A.D.," said Dr. Jasser. "Where it says no Muslim can befriend a Jew or Christian, it simply means no one other than a Muslim can be a legal sponsor for a Muslim, for being a witness at a wedding, for example."

Misinterpretation of the Quran, he said, is significant in today's debates about Muslim radicalism.

Since there are only 10 to 12 English translations of the Quran in the world today, several people in Dr. Jasser's audience questioned how the Quran is to be understood by non- Muslims, if interpretations are not accurate.

"The Arabic scripture cannot be altered and you cannot extract certain parts of it, or it will unravel the entire meaning," he answered. It also cannot be applied literally to Muslims' way of living in today's modern society.

"The biggest problem in Islamic faith and the Muslim community is the absence of reformation and the absence of critical thinking," said Dr. Jasser, which he attributes to Muslim radical influence thwarting any kind of democratic change in religion and government.

"The question we like to ask is not what did Muhammad do in 630 A.D., but what he would do today if he were alive," he said later in his lecture. "I think every faith, if it can get to a point where it can look at how it can exist in a nation like America, that is not based on one single faith, but based on a pluralism where all faiths can coexist equally, and no single faith has a monopoly on God, and no single faith has the right path to God, that is the primary aspect of reformation that needs to happen in Islamic faith."

The Islamic interpretation of the Quran needs to be fixed, he said, and he believes it cannot be done by a non-Muslim, that it has to be done by people within the Muslim community, like himself.

Resident Jack Landres said that hearing Dr. Jasser speak made him realize that, just as people have different interpretations of the Christian Bible, so, too, are there many interpretations of the Quran.

"I thought it was great and we need more people like him to come to the Island," he said.

Little Stone Church Pastor Vince Carroll said he thought the lecture was informative and well balanced and would encourage others to hear Dr. Jasser speak.

Dr. Jasser is a physician in Phoenix, Arizona, educated at the Medical College of Wisconsin on a U.S. Navy scholarship, and has a record of service with the Navy, including serving as chief resident at Bethesda Naval Hospital and staff internist for the Office of the Attending Physician to Congress in Washington. He is also a member of the Committee on the Present Danger, a nonpartisan group whose mission is to strengthen American resolve to fight terrorism and its ideologies.

He grew up in Wisconsin after his family had to flee Syria in fear for their lives. His grandfather was a newspaper reporter in Syria and was targeted for writing about the Syrian government. Dr. Jasser has participated in many academic panels and lectures on Islam, Islamism, and democracy throughout the U.S.

Impressed with what they heard during a lecture Dr. Jasser conducted at the Holocaust Museum in West Bloomfield, Woodbluff residents Robert Spitzer and Ann Silverman invited Dr. Jasser to speak on the Island, and entertained him and his family at their home here.

"The way to fix the misinterpretations of the Quran, and why I support what Dr. Jasser is trying to do, is because the answer to solving terrorism is going to come from guys like him," he said.Dr. Spitzer said he wanted Island residents to hear from a Muslim who seeks to bring both the modern Muslims and traditional Muslims together to fight terrorism and to discuss interpretations of the Quran, which is viewed by Muslims as the literal word of God.

"I brought him here because I thought it is important in trying to get his word out because it is of timely importance," said Dr. Spitzer. "A lot of what's going on in the world is about Islamism, and we're not recognizing this as a world problem."

He said he and his wife, Dr. Silverman, spent hours with Dr. Jasser at their home while he was on the Island, discussing the Quran and how Islamic politicians have skewed interpretations of the text for political gain.