Absolving The Past - Part 1
Religion is in a special bind. It must represent the eternal.
But how does a world religion grapple with the fact that, throughout its history, important beliefs or practices have become obsolete?
In this two-part series, Imam for the Islamic Centre at New York University Khalid Latif, addresses religion as a difficult learning process with believers and leading theological thinkers. Using historic and contemporary examples, the Imam examines how religions revise, update or even apologise.
In part one Khalid examines Islam, comparing its early history with its place in the modern world, while considering the tension between fundamentalists and reformists.
(BBC)