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Muslim Reform Movement
We reject interpretations of Islam that call for any violence, social injustice and politicized Islam. We invite our fellow Muslims and neighbors to join us.
We reject bigotry, oppression and violence against all people based on any prejudice, including ethnicity, gender, language, belief, religion, sexual orientation and gender expression.
We are for secular governance, democracy and liberty.
Every individual has the right to publicly express criticism of Islam. Ideas do not have rights. Human beings have rights.
We stand for peace, human rights and secular governance. Please stand with us!
We are Muslims who live in the 21st century. We stand for a respectful, merciful and inclusive interpretation of Islam. We are in a battle for the soul of Islam, and an Islamic renewal must defeat the ideology of Islamism, or politicized Islam, which seeks to create Islamic states, as well as an Islamic caliphate. We seek to reclaim the progressive spirit with which Islam was born in the 7th century to fast forward it into the 21st century. We support the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by United Nations member states in 1948.
We reject interpretations of Islam that call for any violence, social injustice and politicized Islam. Facing the threat of terrorism, intolerance, and social injustice in the name of Islam, we have reflected on how we can transform our communities based on three principles: peace, human rights and secular governance. We are announcing today the formation of an international initiative: the Muslim Reform Movement.
Founding Signatories
Tahir Gora,
Author, Journalist, Activist, Toronto, Canada
Tawfik Hamid
Islamic Thinker and Reformer, Oakton, VA, USA
Usama Hasan
Imam, Quilliam Foundation, London, UK
Arif Humayun
Senior Fellow, American Islamic Forum for Democracy, Portland, OR, USA
Farahnaz Ispahani
Author, Former Member of Parliament, Pakistan, Washington, D.C., USA
M. Zuhdi Jasser, M.D.
President, American Islamic Forum for Democracy, Phoenix, AZ USA
Mohamad Jebara
Imam, Cordova Center, Ottawa, Canada
Naser Khader
Member, Danish Parliament, Muslim democracy activist
Copenhagen, Denmark
Courtney Lonergan
Community Outreach Director, American Islamic Forum for Democracy, Professional facilitator
Hasan Mahmud
Resident expert in sharia, Muslims Facing Tomorrow, Toronto, Canada
Asra Nomani
Journalist, Author, Morgantown, WV, USA
Raheel Raza
Founder, Muslims Facing Tomorrow, Toronto, Canada
Sohail Raza
Vice President, Coalition of Progressive Canadian Muslim Organizations
Salma Siddiqui
President, Coalition of Progressive Canadian Muslim Organizations, Toronto, Canada
originally posted by: boncho
Muslim Reform Movement
Source
We reject interpretations of Islam that call for any violence, social injustice and politicized Islam. We invite our fellow Muslims and neighbors to join us.
We reject bigotry, oppression and violence against all people based on any prejudice, including ethnicity, gender, language, belief, religion, sexual orientation and gender expression.
We are for secular governance, democracy and liberty.
Every individual has the right to publicly express criticism of Islam. Ideas do not have rights. Human beings have rights.
We stand for peace, human rights and secular governance. Please stand with us!
A decent sized group of influential Muslim personalities have taken their cause public, to encourage other Muslims to support them in fighting for equality, human rights, and a modern Islam that can integrate with today and future society.
You can scroll to the bottom to find a list of signatories.
They include people from the US, Canada and the UK.
Often people are asking, 'where are the Muslims?' who are outraged at radicalized jihadists, well, here are a few and they are making an effort to shape the future of Islam. This is an important step, and I think Ive seen more of this in the last couple months than possibly the last few years.
Islam does not have a healthy image right now. But, because of this prejudice, Im seeing videos of racists straight up acting like degenerate KKK members or members of 1950s segregated thinking, accusing common, everyday Muslims who are no different than you or I, accusing them, berating them, treating them like criminals. This happens and when it does, it only fuels other radical jihadis, or it fuels disgruntled/misguided youth, to take up a cause they aren't even quite sure of.
Dont support Hate. Find others who are willing to take Islam and move it into the next century, and help them if you can. Muslims need it just as much as everyone else does. They are the front lines of suffering when radicals win and gain control and influence in their societies. They are the first affected by backwards religious laws and discriminatory practices by religious zealots. Think of Christianity a few hundred years ago, or any other religion for that matter, or culture, as every creed, race, religion and culture has a bloody, bloody history.
If one of them is slightly behind, its not going to change without acceptance from outside.
We are Muslims who live in the 21st century. We stand for a respectful, merciful and inclusive interpretation of Islam. We are in a battle for the soul of Islam, and an Islamic renewal must defeat the ideology of Islamism, or politicized Islam, which seeks to create Islamic states, as well as an Islamic caliphate. We seek to reclaim the progressive spirit with which Islam was born in the 7th century to fast forward it into the 21st century. We support the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by United Nations member states in 1948.
We reject interpretations of Islam that call for any violence, social injustice and politicized Islam. Facing the threat of terrorism, intolerance, and social injustice in the name of Islam, we have reflected on how we can transform our communities based on three principles: peace, human rights and secular governance. We are announcing today the formation of an international initiative: the Muslim Reform Movement.
List of Signatories:
Founding Signatories
Tahir Gora,
Author, Journalist, Activist, Toronto, Canada
Tawfik Hamid
Islamic Thinker and Reformer, Oakton, VA, USA
Usama Hasan
Imam, Quilliam Foundation, London, UK
Arif Humayun
Senior Fellow, American Islamic Forum for Democracy, Portland, OR, USA
Farahnaz Ispahani
Author, Former Member of Parliament, Pakistan, Washington, D.C., USA
M. Zuhdi Jasser, M.D.
President, American Islamic Forum for Democracy, Phoenix, AZ USA
Mohamad Jebara
Imam, Cordova Center, Ottawa, Canada
Naser Khader
Member, Danish Parliament, Muslim democracy activist
Copenhagen, Denmark
Courtney Lonergan
Community Outreach Director, American Islamic Forum for Democracy, Professional facilitator
Hasan Mahmud
Resident expert in sharia, Muslims Facing Tomorrow, Toronto, Canada
Asra Nomani
Journalist, Author, Morgantown, WV, USA
Raheel Raza
Founder, Muslims Facing Tomorrow, Toronto, Canada
Sohail Raza
Vice President, Coalition of Progressive Canadian Muslim Organizations
Salma Siddiqui
President, Coalition of Progressive Canadian Muslim Organizations, Toronto, Canada
originally posted by: Deny Arrogance
Why would the perfect, infallible, direct words of a god need reinterpretation or reform?