Not being a Muslim, I have zero say in what counts as “true Islam.” Here, I’d just like to alert Daily Kos readers to some of the Muslim thinkers who advance liberal, modernist, or progressive ideals. I can’t report on how the debates and discussions around these thinkers are proceeding within the Islamic world. But any argument against a “Clash of Civilizations” approach to our current global situation will be grossly hampered by ignorance of these voices.
This is simply to introduce some of the players and invite readers to investigate further on their own time. I have read their work; none of it is fresh in my memory. I may follow up with deeper analyses some day.
Most pertinent for readers of this site, of course, is Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota. A snippet from his bio:
Rep. Ellison’s guiding philosophy is based on “generosity and inclusion” and his priorities in Congress are building prosperity for working families, promoting peace, pursuing environmental sustainability, and advancing civil and human rights.
Rep. Ellison’s commitment to consumer justice led him to write legislation that was included in the Credit Cardholder’s Bill of Rights of 2009. This law prevents an unfair practice called “universal default,” which allowed lenders to increase their customers’ interest rates if they had late payments with another lender.
You can read about his conversion to Islam in this Ebony maganzine interview. An important quote from the interview:
I believe that scriptures give us insight. You approach faith with humility. You can have some idea but it boils down to: Do you see religion as a club or do you see religion as a path? Do you see it as a wall that separates you or do you see it as a bridge that connects you to God and other people? When you see it as a bridge, you aren’t so worried about bringing others over to your side.
You can follow Keith Ellison on Twitter: @keithellison
The picture above is of Amina Wadud, a fierce voice for women’s equality in Islam. Wadud’s activism includes being the first woman to lead a mixed-gender Muslim prayer service.
Wadud went through a period where she asked herself if Islam taught the equality of women and men. She set out to answer the question: if she could not find women’s equality in Islam, she was determined to leave. Her studies led to the book, Qur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective. She has also analyzed the on-the-ground state of affairs in Inside the Gender Jihad: Women's Reform in Islam.
You can follow Amina Wadud on Twitter: @aminawadud.
One of the most vibrant and energetic voices in contemporary Islam is Mona Eltahawy, advocate for a sexual revolution in the Middle East. SHe makes her case in her book Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution.
Melissa Harris-Perry featured a discussion between Eltahawy and Leila Ahmed, another prominent Muslim feminist.
You can follow Mona Eltahawy on Twitter: @monaeltahawy
Your best one-stop source for progressive Muslim thought is Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism, edited by Omid Safi. You can read his columns at On Being.
Here, Safi discusses the legacy of Martin Luther King in a TED talk (not my favorite genre, but so it goes):
You can follow Omid Safi on Twitter: @ostadjaan
Finally, I’d like to highlight Khaled Abou el-Fadl. His book The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists details how many strands of contemporary Islam are a betrayal of the flexibility found in classical Islamic jurisprudence. With a firm command not simply of the Qur’an, but also of the entire Islamic legal corpus, el-Fadl demolishes the arguments of Wahhabi-derived Islamic traditions and the basis for Islamic arguments for terrorism.
You can hear an excellent Fresh Air interview with him. Well worth your time.
You can follow Khaled About el-Fadl on Twitter: @Kh_fadl
