Exposing the Call for Islamic Reformation
Exposing the Call for Islamic Reformation

Author: Adnan Khan

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2015-10-06

Total Pages: 100

ISBN-13: 9781539995074

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The first attempts at reforming Islam resulted in the abolition of the Khilafah and the end of nearly fourteen centuries of Islamic rule. However with less then a century passing from this historical event Muslims have returned to Islam and every day edge closer to the re-establishment of the Khilafah. It is for this reason that the West has once again initiated plans to change Islam, since any revival of Islam will naturally end in the establishment of the Khilafah which represents an alternative system of governance that would then challenge the dominance of capitalism in the world.The battle for hearts and minds is now fully underway. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair outlined this after the 7/7 attacks in July 2005: "It is not a clash of civilisations - all civilized people, Muslim or other, feel revulsion at it. But it is a global struggle. It is a battle of ideas and hearts and minds, both within Islam and outside."4This battle is taking varying shapes and forms. A spectrum of various shades of modernist thought ranging from the extreme such as that of Irshad Manji to the more subtle such as Sheikh Ali Gomaa form part of this battle for hearts and minds. Amongst this spectrum are people from various backgrounds including academics, activists and traditional Ulema. All are in some shape or form, knowingly or unknowingly, propagating the reform of Islam in order to change Islam to fit with contemporary realities instead of working to change the reality in order to fit with Islam.It is for this very reason this book has been written. To outline very clearly the attempts being undertaken to reform Islam and highlight the key styles and means being used. It outlines the specific arguments being used by the West and those smitten by the West. It looks at the events that have already occurred to reform Islam outlining the common approach taken by the West. It also outlines the correct method in defending Islam ensuring the responses do not inadvertently aid the agenda to reform Islam. It also outlines the method to go on the offensive rather than become defensive and accept the propaganda being levelled against Islam.

Radical Reform
Radical Reform

Author: Tariq Ramadan

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2009-02-05

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 0195331710

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In this new book, Tariq Ramadan argues that it is crucial to find theoretical and practical solutions that will enable Western Muslims to remain faithful to Islamic ethics while fully living within their societies and their time. He notes that Muslim scholars often refer to the notion of ijtihad (critical and renewed reading of the foundational texts) as the only way for Muslims to take up these modern challenges. But, Ramadan argues, in practice such readings have effectively reached the limits of their ability to serve the faithful in the West as well as the East. In this book he sets forward a radical new concept of ijtihad, which puts context -- including the knowledge derived from the hard and human sciences, cultures and their geographic and historical contingencies -- on an equal footing with the scriptures as a source of Islamic law.

Heretic
Heretic

Author: Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2015-03-24

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 006233395X

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Continuing her journey from a deeply religious Islamic upbringing to a post at Harvard, the brilliant, charismatic and controversial New York Times and Globe and Mail #1 bestselling author of Infidel and Nomad makes a powerful plea for a Muslim Reformation as the only way to end the horrors of terrorism, sectarian warfare and the repression of women and minorities. Today, she argues, the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims can be divided into a minority of extremists, a majority of observant but peaceable Muslims and a few dissidents who risk their lives by questioning their own religion. But there is only one Islam and, as Hirsi Ali shows, there is no denying that some of its key teachings—not least the duty to wage holy war—are incompatible with the values of a free society. For centuries it has seemed as if Islam is immune to change. But Hirsi Ali has come to believe that a Muslim Reformation—a revision of Islamic doctrine aimed at reconciling the religion with modernity—is now at hand, and may even have begun. The Arab Spring may now seem like a political failure. But its challenge to traditional authority revealed a new readiness—not least by Muslim women—to think freely and to speak out. Courageously challenging the jihadists, she identifies five key amendments to Islamic doctrine that Muslims have to make to bring their religion out of the seventh century and into the twenty-first. And she calls on the Western world to end its appeasement of the Islamists. “Islam is not a religion of peace,” she writes. It is the Muslim reformers who need our backing, not the opponents of free speech. Interweaving her own experiences, historical analogies and powerful examples from contemporary Muslim societies and cultures, Heretic is not a call to arms, but a passionate plea for peaceful change and a new era of global toleration. In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo murders, with jihadists killing thousands from Nigeria to Syria to Pakistan, this book offers an answer to what is fast becoming the world’s number one problem.

Essays on Ijtihad in the 21st Century
Essays on Ijtihad in the 21st Century

Author: Abu Ismael Al Beirawi

Publisher: www.MaktabaIslamia.com

Published: 2016-08-13

Total Pages: 183

ISBN-13:

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Due to the intellectual decline that has affected the Muslims throughout the last few centuries the subject of Ijtihad has become vague in the minds of many, unfortunately, including some thinkers as well as Ulema. Different extremes exist, some believe the doors of Ijtihad are closed whereas others have broken the doors of Ijtihad altogether. The following are some of the key misconceptions that have crept into the minds: a) The doors of Ijtihad are closed i.e. it is impossible and not permitted to undertake Ijtihad today. b) The scope of Ijtihad includes most things including definitive matters such as the prohibition of Riba (usury) and the prohibition of having nation states with a multiplicity of rulers in the Muslim world. It allows Islam to be reformed in order to apply to the modern age. c) Ijtihad is only personal reasoning and not the hukm of Allah i.e. it is the reasoning of an individual and therefore cannot be a shariah rule. d) Ijtihad is an individual obligation (Fard Ayn) and therefore Taqleed (following an opinion of a Mujtahid) is prohibited (haram). This book “Essays on Ijtihad in the 21st Century” is a compilation of independent articles written over a period of time, put together in a logical sequence. Written in a lucid language this book is a suitable read for all those who want to understand the practical reality of Ijithad and how it can be applied to the current reality. This key Islamic concept needs to be understood even more so in this era where the enemies of Islam attempt to defame it and portray it as a backward religion unable to deal with modernity and the challenges of the technologically advanced world. The doors of Ijtihad are not only open, rather it is a great Islamic duty, a fard kifaya (obligation of sufficiency) and the revealed method by which we are able to extract the rulings of Islam for all problems we face until the day of judgement. Besides the confusion over Ijtihad, there is ambiguity over the definition and conditions of a Mujtahid. This book explains the types of Mujtahid namely the Mujtahid Mazhab, Mujtahid Masála and Mujtahid Mutlaq. Chapters of the book include: - Ijtihad and Applying it in the 21st Century – This chapter explains in detail what Ijtihad is, its scope and how it is indispensable for the Muslims to practice it. - Evidences for Ijtihad – This chapter clarifies that Ijtihad is not something new, rather it is something which is the part of Islam since the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). - The Mujtahid – This chapter is about the conditions for Ijtihad and the types Mujtahid. - Exposing the Call for Reformation – This chapter elaborates how the word Ijithad is misused today by those who attempt to reform Islam and make it compatible with the secular liberal values. - Understanding Dar al-Kufr (land of disbelief) and Dar al-Islam (land of Islam). - Between Sufism and Salafism. - Moon sighting – Distinguishing between nationalism, political allegiance & fiqh (jurisprudence). - Understanding Illah (legal reason) and Qiyas (analogy).

Civil Democratic Islam
Civil Democratic Islam

Author: Cheryl Benard

Publisher: Rand Corporation

Published: 2004-03-25

Total Pages: 89

ISBN-13: 0833036203

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In the face of Islam's own internal struggles, it is not easy to see who we should support and how. This report provides detailed descriptions of subgroups, their stands on various issues, and what those stands may mean for the West. Since the outcomes can matter greatly to international community, that community might wish to influence them by providing support to appropriate actors. The author recommends a mixed approach of providing specific types of support to those who can influence the outcomes in desirable ways.

The Trouble with Islam
The Trouble with Islam

Author: Irshad Manji

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Published: 2004-01-16

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 9780312326999

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"I have to be honest with you. Islam is on very thin ice with me....Through our screaming self-pity and our conspicuous silences, we Muslims are conspiring against ourselves. We're in crisis and we're dragging the rest of the world with us. If ever there was a moment for an Islamic reformation, it's now. For the love of God, what are we doing about it?" In blunt, provocative, and deeply personal terms, Irshad Manji unearths the troubling cornerstones of mainstream Islam today: tribal insularity, deep-seated anti-Semitism, and an uncritical acceptance of the Koran as the final, and therefore superior, manifesto of God. In this open letter to Muslims and non-Muslims alike, Manji asks arresting questions. "Who is the real colonizer of Muslims - America or Arabia? Why are we all being held hostage by what's happening between the Palestinians and the Israelis? Why are we squandering the talents of women, fully half of God's creation? What's our excuse for reading the Koran literally when it's so contradictory and ambiguous? Is that a heart attack you're having? Make it fast. Because if more of us don't speak out against the imperialists within Islam, these guys will walk away with the show." Manji offers a practical vision of how the United States and its allies can help Muslims undertake a reformation that empowers women, promotes respect for religious minorities, and fosters a competition of ideas. Her vision revives Islam's lost tradition of independent thinking. This book will inspire struggling Muslims worldwide to revisit the foundations of their faith. It will also compel non-Muslims to start posing the important questions without fear of being deemed "racists." In more ways than one, The Trouble with Islam is a clarion call for a fatwa-free future.

The Atheist Muslim
The Atheist Muslim

Author: Ali A. Rizvi

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2016-11-22

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1250094445

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In much of the Muslim world, religion is the central foundation upon which family, community, morality, and identity are built. The inextricable embedment of religion in Muslim culture has forced a new generation of non-believing Muslims to face the heavy costs of abandoning their parents’ religion: disowned by their families, marginalized from their communities, imprisoned, or even sentenced to death by their governments. Struggling to reconcile the Muslim society he was living in as a scientist and physician and the religion he was being raised in, Ali A. Rizvi eventually loses his faith. Discovering that he is not alone, he moves to North America and promises to use his new freedom of speech to represent the voices that are usually quashed before reaching the mainstream media—the Atheist Muslim. In The Atheist Muslim, we follow Rizvi as he finds himself caught between two narrative voices he cannot relate to: extreme Islam and anti-Muslim bigotry in a post-9/11 world. The Atheist Muslim recounts the journey that allows Rizvi to criticize Islam—as one should be able to criticize any set of ideas—without demonizing his entire people. Emotionally and intellectually compelling, his personal story outlines the challenges of modern Islam and the factors that could help lead it toward a substantive, progressive reformation.

Exposing the Call for Islamic Reformation
Exposing the Call for Islamic Reformation

Author: Adnan Khan

Publisher: Maktaba Islamia

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 102

ISBN-13: 9788193351475

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The first attempts at reforming Islam resulted in the abolition of the Khilafah and the end of nearly fourteen centuries of Islamic rule. However with less then a century passing from this historical event Muslims have returned to Islam and every day edge closer to the re-establishment of the Khilafah. It is for this reason that the West has once again initiated plans to change Islam, since any revival of Islam will naturally end in the establishment of the Khilafah which represents an alternative system of governance that would then challenge the dominance of capitalism in the world. The battle for hearts and minds is now fully underway. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair outlined this after the 7/7 attacks in July 2005: "It is not a clash of civilisations - all civilized people, Muslim or other, feel revulsion at it. But it is a global struggle. It is a battle of ideas and hearts and minds, both within Islam and outside."4 This battle is taking varying shapes and forms. A spectrum of various shades of modernist thought ranging from the extreme such as that of Irshad Manji to the more subtle such as Sheikh Ali Gomaa form part of this battle for hearts and minds. Amongst this spectrum are people from various backgrounds including academics, activists and traditional Ulema. All are in some shape or form, knowingly or unknowingly, propagating the reform of Islam in order to change Islam to fit with contemporary realities instead of working to change the reality in order to fit with Islam. It is for this very reason this book has been written. To outline very clearly the attempts being undertaken to reform Islam and highlight the key styles and means being used. It outlines the specific arguments being used by the West and those smitten by the West. It looks at the events that have already occurred to reform Islam outlining the common approach taken by the West. It also outlines the correct method in defending Islam ensuring the responses do not inadvertently aid the agenda to reform Islam. It also outlines the method to go on the offensive rather than become defensive and accept the propaganda being levelled against Islam.

Revealing Reveiling
Revealing Reveiling

Author: Sherifa Zuhur

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 1992-07-01

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 1438424892

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In modern Egypt, the pace of Islamic resurgence has increased as in other Muslim societies. Throughout the twentieth century, Egyptian women have fought fiercely for political participation and for legal and educational reform to improve their status. To many of them, the adoption of a new form of the veil seemed retrogressive and ominous. This book explores the history of Muslim women and the debates over gender, which have developed since the golden age of Islam. It considers the opinions, goals, and ideals of fifty Egyptian women, veiled and unveiled, and compares their views to the gender ideology of the contemporary Islamists. Women's social backgrounds are examined in the context of the Egyptian state and its social policies.

Religious Secularity
Religious Secularity

Author: Naser Ghobadzadeh

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017-02-09

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 0190664894

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Using Iran as a case study, Ghobadzadeh investigates the paradoxes of the Islamic state ideal. He develops the seemingly oxymoronic term "religious secularity" and uses it to describe the Islamic quest for a democratic secular state.