Liberal movements within Islam
Encyclopedia
Progressive
Muslims have produced a considerable body of liberal thought
within Islam
or "progressive Islam" ; but some consider progressive Islam and liberal Islam as two distinct movements). The methodology of reform can be classified into two groups, one depending on re-interpreting the traditional texts which constitutes Islamic law (ijtihad
); this varies widely from little deviation from the traditional interpretation, to the more liberal which considers only the meaning of Qur'an as a divine inspiration, while the wording is believed to be from the prophet Muhammad intended by him to suit his time and situation, therefore interpreting the problematic verses in modern times allegorically or even not considering them. The second is questioning the authentic status applied to texts by the Traditional Islamic Scholars, resulting in the most liberal case as of the Qur'an Alone
Muslims in rejecting the Islamic narratives of the sayings and practises of Prophet Muhammad, namely the Hadith
completely.
The most liberal Muslim intellectuals who focused on religious reform include Sayyid al-Qimni, Nasr Abu Zayd
, Abdolkarim Soroush
, Mohammed Arkoun
, Mohammed Shahrour, Ahmed Subhy Mansour
, Edip Yuksel
, Gamal al-Banna
, Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im
, Ahmed Al-Gubbanchi
, Mahmoud Mohammed Taha, and Faraj Foda, the last two were killed after apostasy claims
which most of them have been accused of by traditional Islamic scholars.
Some liberal Muslims claim that they are returning to the principles of the early Ummah
and to the ethical and pluralistic intent of their scripture, the Qur'an
. They distance themselves from some traditional and less liberal interpretations of Islamic law, as they consider these to be culturally based and without universal applicability. The reform movement uses monotheism
(tawhid) "as an organizing principle for human society and the basis of religious knowledge, history, metaphysics, aesthetics, and ethics, as well as social, economic and world order."
. They consider their views to be fully compatible with the teachings of Islam. Their main differences with more conservative Islamic opinion are two, the first is, in differences of interpretation of how to apply the core Islamic values to modern life, the second includes a more reactionary dialectic which criticizes traditional narratives or even rejects them, hence, denying any obligation to follow them while also allowing greater freedoms in interpreting Qur'an regardless of the hadith
.
Muslim liberals focus on individual autonomy in the interpretation of the Qur'an and ethics rather than focusing on the literal interpretation of the Qur'an. This thinking may have a precedent in the traditions of Sufi and Islamic mysticism although different in many ways, including the purpose of interpretation.
Such people may describe themselves variously as liberal, progressive, or reformist (in application but not in the tenets of the faith); but rather than implying a specific agenda, these terms tend to incorporate a broad spectrum of views which contest conservative, traditional interpretations of Islam in many different ways. Although there is no full consensus amongst liberal Muslims on their views, they tend to agree on some or all of the following beliefs:
which they find too culturally conservative and relative, preferring instead readings which are more adaptable to modern society (see ijtihad
). Most liberal Muslims reject derivation of Islamic laws from literal readings of single Qur'anic verses. They generally claim that a holistic view which takes into account the 7th century Arabian cultural context allows deeper insight into the manner in which the commands of God (Allah) are carried out.
Most liberal Muslims believe that Islam promotes the notion of absolute equality of all humanity, and that it is one of its central concepts. Therefore, a breach of human rights
has become a source of great concern to most liberal Muslims. Though Human Rights
is perceived to be of the utmost concern of all devoted adherents to the Islamic faith, liberal Muslims differ with their culturally conservative counterparts in that they believe that all humanity is represented under the umbrella of Human Rights
. Many Muslim majority countries have signed international human rights treaties, but the impact of these largely remains to be seen in local legal systems.
Muslim liberals often reject traditional interpretations of Islamic law, which allows Ma malakat aymanukum
and Slavery
. They see that Slavery
opposed Islamic principles which they believe to be based on justice and equality and verses relating to slavery or "Ma malakat aymanukum" now can not be applied due to the fact that the world has changed.
Within the framework of justice and equality for all, Muslim liberals include gay rights as a human right.
The place of women in Islam
, traditional gender roles in Islam
and Islamic feminism
are likewise major issues. For this reason, liberal Muslims are often critical of traditional Islamic law interpretations which allow polygyny
for men but not polyandry
for women, as well as the traditional Islamic law
of inheritance
under which daughters receive less than sons. Traditional Muslims believe this is balanced by the right of a wife to her husband's money, whereas the husband does not have a right to his wife's money.
It is also accepted by most liberal Muslims that a woman may lead the state, and that women should not be segregated from men in society or in masjids. Some traditional Muslims also accept a woman as a leader of state so long as it does not conflict with her obligation to family. A small minority of liberal Muslims accept that a woman may lead a mixed group in prayers, despite the established custom for women to pray behind or in a separate space. However, this issue remains controversial; see women as imams
. Some Muslim feminists
are also opposed to the traditional dress requirements for women (commonly called hijab
), claiming that any modest clothing is sufficiently Islamic for both men and women.
Other Muslim feminists embrace hijab, pointing out its tendency to de-sexualize women and therefore assist them in being treated less as an object and more as a person. Furthermore, some Muslim feminists prefer to wear the hijab as an obvious sign that they are indeed Muslim, while also feminists. Most -but not all- schools of Islamic law require women to cover all but the hands and the face, while men are only required to cover from the navel to the knee. Traditional reports of the prophet, called hadith, are used to support the idea of covering everything on a woman except her face and hands. The reported story is told that the prophet saw Asma clothed in a thin garment, at which he proclaimed: "when a woman reaches the age of menstruation, she should cover everything but"- and he then pointed to his face and hands. The Qur'an itself requires men and women to dress modestly (see: Qur'an 24:30-31). The words "bosom/chest" and "modest" are found in 24:31, however the word "hair" is absent. In the same verse woman are advised to not "strike their feet" as to draw attention to their hidden adornment. This leaves "adornment" (sometimes translated as beauty) open to interpretation, as to whether it includes the hair.
democracy with separation of church and state
, and thus oppose Islam as a political movement.
The existence or applicability of Islamic law
is questioned by many liberals. Their argument often involves variants of the Mu'tazili
theory that the Qur'an was created by God for the particular circumstances of the early Muslim community, and reason must be used to apply it to new contexts.
is another key tenet of Liberal Muslims, who are generally open to interfaith dialogue and conflict resolution with such communities as Jews, Christians, Hindus, and the numerous factions within Islam.
Liberal Muslims are more likely to reflect the idea of jihad
in terms of the widely accepted "internal spiritual struggle" rather than an "armed struggle." The ideals of non-violence are prevalent in Liberal Muslim ideology and backed by Qu'ranic text; "permission to fight is given only to those who have been oppressed... who have been driven from their homes for saying, 'God is our Lord'" (22:39)
(including Islamic economics
, Islamic science
, Islamic history and Islamic philosophy
) as separate from mainstream fields of inquiry. This is usually due to the often secular outlook of Muslim liberals, which makes them more disposed to trust mainstream secular scholarship. They may also regard the propagation of these fields as merely a propaganda move by Muslim conservatives.
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
Muslims have produced a considerable body of liberal thought
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
within Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
or "progressive Islam" ; but some consider progressive Islam and liberal Islam as two distinct movements). The methodology of reform can be classified into two groups, one depending on re-interpreting the traditional texts which constitutes Islamic law (ijtihad
Ijtihad
Ijtihad is the making of a decision in Islamic law by personal effort , independently of any school of jurisprudence . as opposed to taqlid, copying or obeying without question....
); this varies widely from little deviation from the traditional interpretation, to the more liberal which considers only the meaning of Qur'an as a divine inspiration, while the wording is believed to be from the prophet Muhammad intended by him to suit his time and situation, therefore interpreting the problematic verses in modern times allegorically or even not considering them. The second is questioning the authentic status applied to texts by the Traditional Islamic Scholars, resulting in the most liberal case as of the Qur'an Alone
Qur'an alone
Quranism is an Islamic denomination that holds the Qur'an to be the only canonical text in Islam. Quranists reject the religious authority of Hadith and often Sunnah, libraries compiled by later scholars who catalogued narratives of what the Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said and done,...
Muslims in rejecting the Islamic narratives of the sayings and practises of Prophet Muhammad, namely the Hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
completely.
The most liberal Muslim intellectuals who focused on religious reform include Sayyid al-Qimni, Nasr Abu Zayd
Nasr Abu Zayd
Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd was an Egyptian Qur'anic thinker and one of the leading liberal theologians in Islam. He is famous for his project of a humanistic Qur'anic hermeneutics.- Biography :...
, Abdolkarim Soroush
Abdolkarim Soroush
Abdolkarim Soroush , born Hosein Haj Faraj Dabbagh , is an Iranian thinker, reformer, Rumi scholar and a former professor at the University of Tehran. He is arguably the most influential figure in religious intellectual movement in Iran. Professor Soroush is currently a visiting scholar at the...
, Mohammed Arkoun
Mohammed Arkoun
Professor Mohammed Arkoun was considered at the time of his death to have been one of the most influential scholars in Islamic studies contributing to contemporary islamic reform...
, Mohammed Shahrour, Ahmed Subhy Mansour
Ahmed Subhy Mansour
Sheikh Dr. Ahmed Subhy Mansour , born March 1, 1949, in Abu Harair, Kafr Saqr, Sharqia, Egypt is an Egyptian-born noted Islamic scholar and cleric, with expertise in Islamic history, culture, theology, and politics...
, Edip Yuksel
Edip Yuksel
Edip Yuksel is an American intellectual considered one of the prime figures in the modern Islamic reform and Qur'an alone movements...
, Gamal al-Banna
Gamal al-Banna
Gamal al-Banna is an Egyptian Islamic scholar, author, and trade unionist. He is the youngest brother of Hassan al-Banna , the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood...
, Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im
Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im
Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im is the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law. His specialties include human rights in Islam and cross-cultural issues in human rights, and he is the director of the Religion and Human Rights Program at Emory. He is also a senior fellow of...
, Ahmed Al-Gubbanchi
Ahmed Al-Gubbanchi
Ahmed Hasan Ali Al-Gubbanchi is an Iraqi liberal Muslim intellectual, born in Najaf in 1958, who focuses on developing a "Civil Islam" which is consistent with human rights, justice and modern circumstances, addressing the problems of traditional islamic thought as he thinks that the literal...
, Mahmoud Mohammed Taha, and Faraj Foda, the last two were killed after apostasy claims
Apostasy in Islam
Apostasy in Islam is commonly defined in Islam as the rejection in word or deed of one's former religion by a person who was previously a follower of Islam...
which most of them have been accused of by traditional Islamic scholars.
Some liberal Muslims claim that they are returning to the principles of the early Ummah
Ummah
Ummah is an Arabic word meaning "community" or "nation." It is commonly used to mean either the collective nation of states, or the whole Arab world...
and to the ethical and pluralistic intent of their scripture, the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
. They distance themselves from some traditional and less liberal interpretations of Islamic law, as they consider these to be culturally based and without universal applicability. The reform movement uses monotheism
Monotheism
Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
(tawhid) "as an organizing principle for human society and the basis of religious knowledge, history, metaphysics, aesthetics, and ethics, as well as social, economic and world order."
Reform
These are movements within Islam, rather than an attempt at schism. As such, they believe in the basic tenets of Islam, such as the Six Elements of Belief and the Five Pillars of IslamFive Pillars of Islam
The Pillars of Islam are basic concepts and duties for accepting the religion for the Muslims.The Shi'i and Sunni both agree on the essential details for the performance of these acts, but the Shi'a do not refer to them by the same name .-Pillars of Shia:According to Shia Islam, the...
. They consider their views to be fully compatible with the teachings of Islam. Their main differences with more conservative Islamic opinion are two, the first is, in differences of interpretation of how to apply the core Islamic values to modern life, the second includes a more reactionary dialectic which criticizes traditional narratives or even rejects them, hence, denying any obligation to follow them while also allowing greater freedoms in interpreting Qur'an regardless of the hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
.
Muslim liberals focus on individual autonomy in the interpretation of the Qur'an and ethics rather than focusing on the literal interpretation of the Qur'an. This thinking may have a precedent in the traditions of Sufi and Islamic mysticism although different in many ways, including the purpose of interpretation.
Central tenets
Several generally accepted tenets have emerged:- The autonomy of the individual in interpreting the Qur'anQur'anThe Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
and HadithHadithThe term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
. More liberal trends include rejecting HadithHadithThe term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
s completely (like Qur'an AloneQur'an aloneQuranism is an Islamic denomination that holds the Qur'an to be the only canonical text in Islam. Quranists reject the religious authority of Hadith and often Sunnah, libraries compiled by later scholars who catalogued narratives of what the Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said and done,...
Muslims) or partially (including hadiths considered authentic (Sahih) by traditionalists) like Gamal Al-BannaGamal al-BannaGamal al-Banna is an Egyptian Islamic scholar, author, and trade unionist. He is the youngest brother of Hassan al-Banna , the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood...
. - A more critical and diverse examination of religious texts, as well as traditional Islamic precedents.
- Complete gender equality in all aspects, including ritual prayer and observance.
- A more open view on modern culture in relation to customs, dress, and common practices. Certain rules on modesty amongst men and women are still self-enforced in response to the Qur'an's injunction against immodest dress.
- The individual use of ijtihadIjtihadIjtihad is the making of a decision in Islamic law by personal effort , independently of any school of jurisprudence . as opposed to taqlid, copying or obeying without question....
(interpretation) and fitrah (natural sense of right and wrong) is advocated.
Contemporary and controversial issues
Over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, in accordance with their increasingly modern societies and outlooks, liberal Muslims have tended to reinterpret many aspects of the application of their religion in their life in an attempt to reconnect with the original message, untouched by harmful cultural influences. This is particularly true of Muslims who now find themselves living in non-Muslim countries.Such people may describe themselves variously as liberal, progressive, or reformist (in application but not in the tenets of the faith); but rather than implying a specific agenda, these terms tend to incorporate a broad spectrum of views which contest conservative, traditional interpretations of Islam in many different ways. Although there is no full consensus amongst liberal Muslims on their views, they tend to agree on some or all of the following beliefs:
Ijtihad
This means that liberal Muslims often drop traditional interpretations of the Qur'anQur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
which they find too culturally conservative and relative, preferring instead readings which are more adaptable to modern society (see ijtihad
Ijtihad
Ijtihad is the making of a decision in Islamic law by personal effort , independently of any school of jurisprudence . as opposed to taqlid, copying or obeying without question....
). Most liberal Muslims reject derivation of Islamic laws from literal readings of single Qur'anic verses. They generally claim that a holistic view which takes into account the 7th century Arabian cultural context allows deeper insight into the manner in which the commands of God (Allah) are carried out.
Human rights
Moderate Islamic political thought contends that the nurturing of the Muslim identity and the propagation of values such as democracy and Human rights are not mutually exclusive, but rather should be promoted together.Most liberal Muslims believe that Islam promotes the notion of absolute equality of all humanity, and that it is one of its central concepts. Therefore, a breach of human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
has become a source of great concern to most liberal Muslims. Though Human Rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
is perceived to be of the utmost concern of all devoted adherents to the Islamic faith, liberal Muslims differ with their culturally conservative counterparts in that they believe that all humanity is represented under the umbrella of Human Rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
. Many Muslim majority countries have signed international human rights treaties, but the impact of these largely remains to be seen in local legal systems.
Muslim liberals often reject traditional interpretations of Islamic law, which allows Ma malakat aymanukum
Ma malakat aymanukum
Ma malakat aymanukum is a reference in the Qur'an to slaves.-Overview:The term itself is normally considered to refer to prisoners of war, or more broadly to slaves in general, according to the classic tafsirs...
and Slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. They see that Slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
opposed Islamic principles which they believe to be based on justice and equality and verses relating to slavery or "Ma malakat aymanukum" now can not be applied due to the fact that the world has changed.
Within the framework of justice and equality for all, Muslim liberals include gay rights as a human right.
Feminism
Women in Islam
The study of women in Islam investigates the role of women within the religion of Islam. The complex relationship between women and Islam is defined by Islamic texts, the history and culture of the Muslim world...
, traditional gender roles in Islam
Gender roles in Islam
In Islam, the sexes are considered equal before God in the complementarian sense. Allah says in verse 13 of chapter 49 in the Holy Qu'ran: "O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable of...
and Islamic feminism
Islamic feminism
Islamic feminism is a form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam. It aims for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate women's rights, gender equality, and social justice grounded in an Islamic framework...
are likewise major issues. For this reason, liberal Muslims are often critical of traditional Islamic law interpretations which allow polygyny
Polygyny
Polygyny is a form of marriage in which a man has two or more wives at the same time. In countries where the practice is illegal, the man is referred to as a bigamist or a polygamist...
for men but not polyandry
Polyandry
Polyandry refers to a form of marriage in which a woman has two or more husbands at the same time. The form of polyandry in which a woman is married to two or more brothers is known as "fraternal polyandry", and it is believed by many anthropologists to be the most frequently encountered...
for women, as well as the traditional Islamic law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
of inheritance
Inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
under which daughters receive less than sons. Traditional Muslims believe this is balanced by the right of a wife to her husband's money, whereas the husband does not have a right to his wife's money.
It is also accepted by most liberal Muslims that a woman may lead the state, and that women should not be segregated from men in society or in masjids. Some traditional Muslims also accept a woman as a leader of state so long as it does not conflict with her obligation to family. A small minority of liberal Muslims accept that a woman may lead a mixed group in prayers, despite the established custom for women to pray behind or in a separate space. However, this issue remains controversial; see women as imams
Women as imams
There is a current controversy among Muslims regarding the circumstances in which women may act as imams—that is, lead a congregation in salah...
. Some Muslim feminists
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
are also opposed to the traditional dress requirements for women (commonly called hijab
Hijab
The word "hijab" or "'" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general....
), claiming that any modest clothing is sufficiently Islamic for both men and women.
Other Muslim feminists embrace hijab, pointing out its tendency to de-sexualize women and therefore assist them in being treated less as an object and more as a person. Furthermore, some Muslim feminists prefer to wear the hijab as an obvious sign that they are indeed Muslim, while also feminists. Most -but not all- schools of Islamic law require women to cover all but the hands and the face, while men are only required to cover from the navel to the knee. Traditional reports of the prophet, called hadith, are used to support the idea of covering everything on a woman except her face and hands. The reported story is told that the prophet saw Asma clothed in a thin garment, at which he proclaimed: "when a woman reaches the age of menstruation, she should cover everything but"- and he then pointed to his face and hands. The Qur'an itself requires men and women to dress modestly (see: Qur'an 24:30-31). The words "bosom/chest" and "modest" are found in 24:31, however the word "hair" is absent. In the same verse woman are advised to not "strike their feet" as to draw attention to their hidden adornment. This leaves "adornment" (sometimes translated as beauty) open to interpretation, as to whether it includes the hair.
Secularism
Some liberal Muslims favor the idea of modern secularSecularism
Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
democracy with separation of church and state
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
, and thus oppose Islam as a political movement.
The existence or applicability of Islamic law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
is questioned by many liberals. Their argument often involves variants of the Mu'tazili
Mu'tazili
' is an Islamic school of speculative theology that flourished in the cities of Basra and Baghdad, both in present-day Iraq, during the 8th–10th centuries. The adherents of the Mu'tazili school are best known for their having asserted that, because of the perfect unity and eternal nature of God,...
theory that the Qur'an was created by God for the particular circumstances of the early Muslim community, and reason must be used to apply it to new contexts.
Tolerance and non-violence
ToleranceToleration
Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
is another key tenet of Liberal Muslims, who are generally open to interfaith dialogue and conflict resolution with such communities as Jews, Christians, Hindus, and the numerous factions within Islam.
Liberal Muslims are more likely to reflect the idea of jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
in terms of the widely accepted "internal spiritual struggle" rather than an "armed struggle." The ideals of non-violence are prevalent in Liberal Muslim ideology and backed by Qu'ranic text; "permission to fight is given only to those who have been oppressed... who have been driven from their homes for saying, 'God is our Lord'" (22:39)
Reliance on secular scholarship
Liberal Muslims tend to be skeptical about the validity of Islamization of knowledgeIslamization of knowledge
Islamization of knowledge is a term which describes a variety of attempts and approaches to synthesize the ethics of Islam with various fields of modern thought. Its end product would be a new ijma among Muslims on an appropriate fiqh and a scientific method that did not violate Islamic ethical...
(including Islamic economics
Islamic economics
Islamic economics refers to the body of Islamic studies literature that "identifies and promotes an economic order that conforms to Islamic scripture and traditions," and in the economic world an interest-free Islamic banking system, grounded in Sharia's condemnation of interest...
, Islamic science
Islamic science
Science in the medieval Islamic world, also known as Islamic science or Arabic science, is the science developed and practised in the Islamic world during the Islamic Golden Age . During this time, Indian, Iranian and especially Greek knowledge was translated into Arabic...
, Islamic history and Islamic philosophy
Islamic philosophy
Islamic philosophy is a branch of Islamic studies. It is the continuous search for Hekma in the light of Islamic view of life, universe, ethics, society, and so on...
) as separate from mainstream fields of inquiry. This is usually due to the often secular outlook of Muslim liberals, which makes them more disposed to trust mainstream secular scholarship. They may also regard the propagation of these fields as merely a propaganda move by Muslim conservatives.
North America
See also
- Divisions of IslamDivisions of IslamMuslims are basically divided in two major factions, Sunnis and Shias, that are further divided into various Schools of Jurisprudence and orders of Imamate. All other movements within such as Salafi, Modernists, the Mystical Sufi Orders, Deobandi and Barelvi are either Sunni or Shia or both...
- European IslamEuropean IslamEuropean Islam or Euro-Islam is a hypothesized new branch of Islam, which some believe is or should be emerging in Europe...
- Islamic feminismIslamic feminismIslamic feminism is a form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam. It aims for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate women's rights, gender equality, and social justice grounded in an Islamic framework...
- Islam HadhariIslam HadhariIslam Hadhari or "Civilizational Islam" is a theory of government based on the principles of Islam as derived from the Qur'an...
- Criticism of IslamCriticism of IslamCriticism of Islam has existed since Islam's formative stages. Early written criticism came from Christians, prior to the ninth century, many of whom viewed Islam as a radical Christian heresy...
- Reform JudaismReform JudaismReform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
- Reconstructionist JudaismReconstructionist JudaismReconstructionist Judaism is a modern American-based Jewish movement based on the ideas of Mordecai Kaplan . The movement views Judaism as a progressively evolving civilization. It originated as a branch of Conservative Judaism, before it splintered...
- Liberal ChristianityLiberal ChristianityLiberal Christianity, sometimes called liberal theology, is an umbrella term covering diverse, philosophically and biblically informed religious movements and ideas within Christianity from the late 18th century and onward...
- Al-MawridAl-MawridAl-Mawrid is an Islamic research institute in Lahore, Pakistan founded in 1983 and then re-established in 1991.-Introduction:The institute was established by Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, a well-known Pakistani Islamic scholar, who has been inspired by Amin Ahsan Islahi and Hamiduddin Farahi...
- List of Muslim reformers
Thinkers and activists
- Rashad KhalifaRashad KhalifaRashad Khalifa was an Egyptian-American biochemist, closely associated with the United Submitters International. He was assassinated in 1990.-Life:Khalifa was born in Egypt on November 19, 1935...
- Jamal KhwajaJamal KhwajaThe philosophical work of Jamal Khwaja The philosophical work of Jamal Khwaja The philosophical work of Jamal Khwaja (or, Ahmad Jamal Yusuf Khwaja, Indian philosopher, born August 12, 1926/1928 Jamal Khwaja was born in August 1926. However most official documents show his date of birth as 1928...
- Tarek HeggyTarek HeggyTarek Heggy is a liberal Egyptian author, political thinker and international petroleum strategist. His extensive writings advocate the values of modernity, democracy, tolerance, and women's rights in the Middle East – advancing them as universal values essential to the region's progress...
- Fethullah GülenFethullah GülenMuhammed Fethullah Gülen is a Turkish preacher, author, educator, and Sufi Muslim scholar living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania . He is the founder and leader of the Gülen movement...
- Mohammad KhatamiMohammad KhatamiSayyid Mohammad Khātamī is an Iranian scholar, philosopher, Shiite theologian and Reformist politician. He served as the fifth President of Iran from August 2, 1997 to August 3, 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture in both the 1980s and 1990s...
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- Yousef Saanei
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- Javed Ahmad Ghamidi
- Morad El Hattab (France)
- Pervez HoodbhoyPervez HoodbhoyDr. Prof. Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy , is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, essayist and political-defence analyst. He is the professor of nuclear and high-energy physics, and the head of the Physics Department at the Quaid-e-Azam University . He graduated and also received PhD from MIT and continues to...
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- Mahmoud TaleghaniMahmoud TaleghaniAyatollah Mahmoud Taleghani was an Iranian theologian, humanist, Muslim reformer, democracy advocate and a senior Shi'a cleric of Iran. Taleghani was a contemporary of the Iranian Revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and a leader in his own right of Iran's Shi'a resistance movement...
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- Ani Zonneveld
Ideologies and institutions
- Modern Islamic philosophyModern Islamic philosophyAziz Abbassi’s English translation found in the following pages wasmade from the French Introduction à la critique de la raison Arabe,translated from Arabic to French by Ahmed Mahfoud and Marc Geoffroy,...
- Islam and modernityIslam and modernityIslam and modernity is a topic of discussion in contemporary sociology of religion. Neither Islam nor modernity are simple or unified entities. They are abstract quantities which could not be reduced into simple categories. The history of Islam, like that of other religions, is a history of...
- Woman imam
- Al-Fatiha FoundationAl-Fatiha FoundationThe Al-Fatiha Foundation is an organization which advances the cause of gay, lesbian, and transgender Muslims. It was founded in 1997 by Faisal Alam, a Pakistani American, and is registered as a nonprofit organization in the United States...
- 99 Precepts
- Qur'an-Alone IslamQur'an aloneQuranism is an Islamic denomination that holds the Qur'an to be the only canonical text in Islam. Quranists reject the religious authority of Hadith and often Sunnah, libraries compiled by later scholars who catalogued narratives of what the Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said and done,...
- Committee for the Defense of Legitimate RightsCommittee for the Defense of Legitimate RightsThe Committee for the Defense of Legitimate Rights was a Saudi dissident group created in 1993 which opposed the Saudi government as un-Islamic.-History:...
- Progressive British MuslimsProgressive British MuslimsProgressive British Muslims is a group of Liberal British Muslims that formed following the London terrorist attacks of July 7, 2005.The organisation was founded and is chaired by Farmida Bi, an expert in Islamic Finance to provide a voice for progressive Muslims who she felt were unrepresented by...
- Jaringan Islam LiberalJaringan Islam LiberalJaringan Islam Liberal ' or the Liberal Islam Network is a loose forum for discussing and disseminating the concept of Islamic liberalism in Indonesia. One reason for its establishment is to counter the growing influence and activism of militant and radical Islam in Indonesia...
- Tolu-e-IslamTolu-e-IslamTolu-e-Islam , also known as Bazm-e-Tolu-e-Islam, is a group of Muslims that interpret Qur'an as the main source of guidance and deny the authority of the hadiths....
- LGBT topics and Islam
- American Islamic Forum for DemocracyAmerican Islamic Forum for DemocracyAmerican Islamic Forum for Democracy is a Muslim American think tank formed in March 2003 by a small group of Muslim professionals in the Phoenix Valley of Arizona. The group's founder is M. Zuhdi Jasser, M.D...
Further reading
- Qur'an and Woman by Amina WadudAmina WadudAmina Wadud is an American scholar of Islam with a progressive focus on Qur'an exegesis . As an Islamic feminist, she has addressed mixed-sex congregations, giving a sermon in South Africa in 1994, and leading Friday prayers in the United States in 2005...
. - American Muslims: Bridging Faith and Freedom by M. A. Muqtedar KhanM. A. Muqtedar KhanDr. M. A. Muqtedar Khan [محمد عبد المقتدر خان] is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science, a Sufi and International Relations at the University of Delaware. He is also the founding Director of the Islamic Studies Program at the University of Delaware...
. - Liberal Islam: A Sourcebook Edited by Charles KurzmanCharles KurzmanCharles Kurzman is a Professor of Sociology at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who specializes in Middle East and Islamic studies. Among his publications are:* * * * * -External links:*...
. - Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism edited by Omid SafiOmid SafiOmid Safi is Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill where he specializes on Islamic mysticism , contemporary Islamic thought and medieval Islamic history. He has served on the board of the Pluralism project at Harvard University.- Progressive Islam :Professor...
. - "Debating Moderate Islam" edited by M. A. Muqtedar KhanM. A. Muqtedar KhanDr. M. A. Muqtedar Khan [محمد عبد المقتدر خان] is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science, a Sufi and International Relations at the University of Delaware. He is also the founding Director of the Islamic Studies Program at the University of Delaware...
. - Qur'an, Liberation and Pluralism by Farid EsackFarid EsackFarid Esack is a South African Muslim scholar, writer, and political activist known for his opposition to apartheid, his appointment by Nelson Mandela as a gender equity commissioner, and his work for inter-religious dialogue.-Early life:...
. - Revival and Reform in Islam by Fazlur Rahman Malik.
- The Unthought in Contemporary Islamic Thought, by Mohammed ArkounMohammed ArkounProfessor Mohammed Arkoun was considered at the time of his death to have been one of the most influential scholars in Islamic studies contributing to contemporary islamic reform...
. - Unveiling Traditions: Postcolonial Islam in a Polycentric World by Anouar Majid.
- Islam and Science: Religious Orthodoxy and the Battle for Rationality by Pervez HoodbhoyPervez HoodbhoyDr. Prof. Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy , is a Pakistani nuclear physicist, essayist and political-defence analyst. He is the professor of nuclear and high-energy physics, and the head of the Physics Department at the Quaid-e-Azam University . He graduated and also received PhD from MIT and continues to...
- The Viability of Islamic Science by S. Irfan Habib, Economic and Political Weekly, June 5, 2004.
- The Reformist Islamic Thinker Muhammad Shahrur:In the Footsteps of Averroes
- A Liberal Muslim Blog
External links
- Charles Kurzman's Liberal Islam links compiled by the author of Liberal Islam: A Sourcebook (published 1998 by Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 0-19-511622-4).
- "Can Islam change?", Ziauddin Sardar, New StatesmanNew StatesmanNew Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
, 13 September 2004 - http://www.interrel.de/m_sing.htm#engl, on the Lebanese thinker Abdallah al-Alayili (1914–1996).
- In the Footsteps of Averroes - The Reformist Islamic Thinker Muhammad Shahrur by Loay Mudhoon - Qantara
- Martha NussbaumMartha NussbaumMartha Nussbaum , is an American philosopher with a particular interest in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy, political philosophy and ethics....
on Islamic liberalism under fire in India, published in the Boston ReviewBoston ReviewBoston Review is a bimonthly American political and literary magazine. The magazine covers, specifically, political debates, literature, and poetry...