Western Islam?

[Romeo]

Would it be possible, in Islamic terms, to have a form of Islam that dispenses with the Arabic and eastern cultural trappings? A specifically English form of Islam, that has mosques that look like churches, with the Koran purely in English, with western dress for both sexes, prayers entirely in English, etc?

I am not planning to convert to Islam but, whereas I could in theory become a Muslim, I could never be an Arab. It's just something I wonder about, the Islamic insistence on a cultural as well as religious identity.

[jenstar]

A bit like the wishy-washy English form of Christianity? Yes - they could call it the Mosque of England.

[jackthehat]

Frank Dobbs (MP) {the one who looks like father Christmas} has a son who follows Western Islam. They do not have beards but take those passages to mean they must maintain high standards of personal cleanliness, etc.

I remember reading an article in the newspaper about it.

Don't know if this is any use but you may find a link or two........

[jno]

you'd have to learn Arabic to read the Koran, I expect. I think that's a requirement, and, given the centuries of debate over different translations of the Bible, this isn't a totally unreasonable proposition. But aside from that, yes, why not? Chinese mosques don't look like Indian ones, which don't look like Moroccan ones. But the English (I use that word very loosely) do tend to be half-hearted about their religion, as jenstar suggests, just using the church for the occasional wedding - it's no wonder Muslims think of them as unbelievers. I expect they wouldn't be any more devout as Muslims.

[hundreddolla]

You don't have to learn Arabic to read the Koran. There are versions of the Koran translated into English.