After almost 20 years as a Muslim, I have arrived at some conclusions that put me at odds with the community.
1. I do not believe the hijab is necessary. It is a cultural affection of the Arabs that evolved into a political statement. It is not mentioned in the Qur’an. And the same with the niqab.
2. I think halal certification is either a scam or an unfortunate cost. Unless there are obvious reasons to suspect otherwise, everything is automatically halal.
3. I do not believe damnation permanent. Neither do I believe Salvation is exclusive to Muslims. That limits God’s Mercy.
4. I think many “authentic” narrations, even in Swahih al-Bukhari, are fabricated. We should exercise more skepticism of problematic ahadits.
5. I do not believe dog saliva is najis al-mughalazhah, or any restrictions on dogs as pets. That contradicts the Qur’an.
6. I do not believe that non-Muslims are restricted from inheriting from Muslims. There is no such stipulation in the ayat. There were historical reasons for the hadits.
7. I do not believe all forms of interest is necessarily usury, riba’. That is a fundamental ignorance of economics.
8. I certainly do not believe in gender segregation in public places. Strict gender segregation is unnatural.
9. The concept of an Islamic state is an oxymoron.
10. Drawings and artistic representations of the Prophet (s.a.w.) are not automatically blasphemous.
11. Stoning is not a valid means of capital punishment.
12. Most hudud punishments are outdated, and specific to certain conditions that do not exist for most of us.
I admit I never cared what Muslims think of me, orthodoxy or otherwise. I did not come to Islam to follow ingrained cultural practices and social beliefs masquerading as religion.
Source: Terence Helikaon Nunis
