Salman Rushdie should be careful what he wishes for in his call for an Islamic reformation [op-ed, Aug. 7]. If we understand that the Protestant Reformation represented a loss of the church's monopoly over religious authority in favor of the untrained laity, then Mr. Rushdie's proposal already has proved to be a horrendous idea. Look no further than Osama bin Laden to understand what can happen when a vacuum of religious authority, created by a circumvention of Islam's scholarly class, is filled by those unqualified to speak on behalf of the religion.
Instead of seeking to dismantle the admittedly atrophied traditional Islamic authorities, Mr. Rushdie should appeal for the restoration of the vibrant scholarly debate that characterized the religion since its inception and before it was trampled by the puritanical and oil-funded Wahhabi movement. Only an indigenous treatment can expunge the wave of fanaticism plaguing Islam. Application of alien solutions such as a "reformation" could have calamitous consequences.
IRFAN MURTUZA
Silver Spring
