Seminal questions for ulema

An interesting article in throwing some insight on how Islam is changing with the internet. It emphasises the problem of a jurisprudential religion where the externalities can become all important and rules become masters rather than servants, though you will also find evidence of some scholars trying to keep rules in their place, yet others are seemingly interested in control.

The current fashion for online fatwas has created an amazingly legalistic approach to Islam as scholars - some of whom have only a tenuous grip on reality - seek to regulate all aspects of life according to their own interpretation of the scriptures. It is much harder to find any discussion on Muslim websites of matters that some would say form the basic substance of religion, such as the nature of love and spiritual experiences.

But then, some Christianity can be like that, can it not?
Guardian Unlimited | World dispatch | Seminal questions:
Filed in: religion, Islam, fatwa, sex, web, legalism