Laure Daussy · Posted on January 4, 2023 · Published in the 1589 edition of January 4 Among Muslim believers, some want to reform their religion from within, proposing to abandon elements of the Qur'an or several hadiths, or simply to put everything in its historical context. Among this liberal Islam are the mutazilites, or neomutazilites, who are characterized by a desire to link rationality and faith. They are an ultra-minority, but we managed to meet with some of them. Can they really change their religion?
They have in common, with Charlie Hebdo, that they are threatened by Islamists. It is impossible to give the name of the collective we meet or the place where they meet. "We are really in danger," insists one of the participants. Some have already received death threats. It is a think tank around mutazilism, a current of Islam from the eighth century.
They met in a small empty room, loaned ... by Christians. That's pretty much the only support they get. Everyone keeps their coat, because it is freezing cold in this place open for the occasion. The curtain is drawn on the front, an additional protective measure. There are a dozen people, of all ages. A round table: some are there out of curiosity, others because of a deeper adherence to this current of thought. They are Muslims of origin, converts, and even non-Muslims. Very eclectic. There is a young man barely 18 years old, who presents himself as coming from a rather "traditional" family, but curious about this more open Islam
. An older man, later spoken to from Tunisia and from a liberal family, became interested in mutazilism after the 2015 attacks – it came as a shock to him. Most are men. They all listen to a young woman, who will be called Tarah, co-facilitator of the group, who gives a forty-five minute talk on a contemporary thinker of neomutazilism, Soroush. Originally from Iran, he initially supported the 1979 revolution in his country, before changing his tune, to denounce the mullahs and emigrate to the United States. A sign that this current is poorly developed, his books have never been translated into French. "And there aren't even any at the BNF in English, I checked," adds my table neighbor. For this thinker, everything is interpretation, including on the part of Muhammad himself, when he "gathers" the word of God. Resolutely revolutionary, indeed, compared to the so sacred readings of the Koran that have the wind in their sails today. After the presentation, a discussion around the table ensues, and it is understood that those who have come here have a high level of scholarship.
Mutaz means "to abstain, to withdraw, to step aside". The mutazilites claim to be in a philosophical approach, suspension of judgment and exercise of doubt. It's about linking reason to faith, Tarah explains. The Qur'an is put into context, perceived as a text that was addressed above all to the people of its time. "We have been crossing Islam in an ahistorical way for centuries," she said. She also criticizes the hadiths, the collection considered by believers to be the words, deeds and deeds of Muhammad. "They are not untouchable, they are of totally human manufacture." Some believers consider them as sacred, authenticated words. In terms of authentication, it is just word-of-mouth, a chain of transmission, so-and-so told so-and-so..., over a period of two centuries. "Very few Muslims know that. Some should be disqualified, such as the one who warns women not to shake hands," Tarah explains. It also amounts to reviewing Muhammad's status: "He is a human being, who is not infallible, who may also have made mistakes in his life," Tarah continues.
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Mutazilism is based on a current that developed in the eighth century. Then he quickly disappeared. Jacqueline Chabbi, historian, great specialist of the Muslim world, explains that the mutazilites represent first of all only a minority of intellectuals in a society still very little converted. They are influenced by Greek philosophy, which has just been translated into Arabic. In parallel, at this time the mythologized representation of the Prophet and his companions (who died a century earlier) was established. The Mutazilites oppose this mythologized past and call for an analysis of the Qur'an with reason. In particular, they challenge the doctrine of the "uncreated Koran", which considers that it is the very essence of the word of God, that it is absolute in nature, timeless. But the Mutazilites are trying to impose their doctrine of the "Koran created" by force and especially on those who are beginning to follow the jurist and ideologue Ibn Hanbal, to whom today's Salafists still refer. And if the Mutazilites had won, would the face of Islam have been changed? Jacqueline Chabbi does not think so: "It could have given an equally dogmatic ideology." Tarah confirms: "From the moment religion wants to do politics, it can't go well."
However, the researcher is skeptical of mutazilism today. "Is there really a need to put oneself under a medieval banner? What is important for Muslims today is to make history, to recognize what has been mythologized, to remember for example that Muhammad, before being considered a prophet, is above all a tribal man, who could only carry out actions within the framework of the rules of his time. This is not denied by Tarah, who ensures that the mutazilites today want to detach themselves from this medieval heritage to reinvent themselves.
In Paris, only the Fatima mosque, created in 2019, is partly affiliated with this current. At its head, imams Faker Korchane, mutazilite, and Kahina Bahloul, of Sufi tradition. In this mosque, women and men are not separated, and the veil is not compulsory. The fact that one woman is an imam is in itself revolutionary, there are only three in France. The mosque gathers only about twenty people. One of the members of the think tank does not even set foot there! "Friday prayer is not my thing; My greatest prayer is to love my neighbor, it is more important than rituals. » What are their positions on social issues? "We are clearly on the left, but we do not say what to think, we consider that it is up to individuals to take responsibility," says Faker Korchane. When you talk to people around the table, the positions are liberal. One participant tells us, for example, that he is not opposed to marriage equality. On the veil, they refer in particular to an article recently published by Kahina Bahloul in Le Monde, in which she writes: "We must stop making the veil a symbol of Islam."
However, mutazilism remains totally absent from the public debate, unknown to most Muslims. "There is a huge counter-narrative work to be done, the Salafists have taken a huge step ahead of TikTok, aimed at young people," Tarah acknowledges. The problem is the lack of resources, she believes. Their current has no support, except for the donations of the few faithful. There seems to be an urgent need to propose a liberal reform of Islam that is more widely understood. But Faker Korchane, for his part, believes that it is difficult to reform Islam in the current context of racism against Muslims. "We are like in a fortress under siege and we are told: we should do some work. Is this really the time? He goes so far as to support the Collective against Islamophobia in France (CCIF), which is considered not very progressive, and dissolved in 2021 by the state.
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By the way, what about the mutazilites and the representation of Muhammad? A question Charlie can't help but ask. Tarah points out that the banner of the collective, unfurled during the meeting, displayed precisely... a representation of the Prophet! Representation, yes, but caricature? It's less obvious. Tarah replies, quoting the Qur'an: "When you hear that God's verses are mocked, do not sit with them until they start another conversation." She explains: "So there is no notion of separating from non-Muslims, no particular reaction is required." Faker Korchane, for his part, replies: "We can find vulgar caricatures, in bad taste, but bad taste is not reprehensible." He believes that we should not "hurt people to hurt people, when Muslims feel concerned". He added: "The Prophet, in any case, is above all this and God even more."
Is mutazilism a hope among those who have been threatened by Islamism? When we talk about it with Nadia El Fani, a director and activist atheist from Tunisia, threatened after several of her films, she replies: "I have not yet seen any reform movement that has an impact on Muslims. What I see is that the texts remain as sacred as ever. The only thing that can help us is a civil power that is not religious, that is, secularism. •