Muslim Reform Movement
Well, Troy, in a comment to the “I Stand With Joe” post yesterday, you said:
Show me a large number of Muslims openly and loudly demanding an Islamic reformation, and I might be willing to listen. Until then, no way.
Fair enough, look what I just stumbled across… How’s this for a Muslim Reform Movement? Is the National Press Club open and loud enough for you? Start with their picture. No hijabs and only one suspicious beard. 🙂
Preamble
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.
We have courageous reformers from around the world who will outline our Declaration for Muslim Reform, a living document that we will continue to enhance as our journey continues. We invite our fellow Muslims and neighbors to join us.
DECLARATION
A. Peace: National Security, Counterterrorism and Foreign Policy
- We stand for universal peace, love and compassion. We reject violent jihad. We believe we must target the ideology of violent Islamist extremism in order to liberate individuals from the scourge of oppression and terrorism both in Muslim-majority societies and the West.
- We stand for the protection of all people of all faiths and non-faith who seek freedom from dictatorships, theocracies and Islamist extremists.
- We reject bigotry, oppression and violence against all people based on any prejudice, including ethnicity, gender, language, belief, religion, sexual orientation and gender expression.
B. Human Rights: Women’s Rights and Minority Rights
- We stand for human rights and justice. We support equal rights and dignity for all people, including minorities. We support the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.
- We reject tribalism, castes, monarchies and patriarchies and consider all people equal with no birth rights other than human rights. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Muslims don’t have an exclusive right to “heaven.”
- We support equal rights for women, including equal rights to inheritance, witness, work, mobility, personal law, education, and employment. Men and women have equal rights in mosques, boards, leadership and all spheres of society. We reject sexism and misogyny.
C. Secular Governance: Freedom of Speech and Religion
- We are for secular governance, democracy and liberty. We are against political movements in the name of religion. We separate mosque and state. We are loyal to the nations in which we live. We reject the idea of the Islamic state. There is no need for an Islamic caliphate. We oppose institutionalized sharia. Sharia is manmade.
- We believe in life, joy, free speech and the beauty all around us. Every individual has the right to publicly express criticism of Islam. Ideas do not have rights. Human beings have rights. We reject blasphemy laws. They are a cover for the restriction of freedom of speech and religion. We affirm every individual’s right to participate equally in ijtihad, or critical thinking, and we seek a revival of ijtihad.
- We believe in freedom of religion and the right of all people to express and practice their faith, or non-faith, without threat of intimidation, persecution, discrimination or violence. Apostasy is not a crime. Our ummah–our community–is not just Muslims, but all of humanity.
We stand for peace, human rights and secular governance. Please stand with us!
Affirmed this Fourth Day of December, Two-Thousand and Fifteen By the founding authors who are signatories below
OK, I am impressed. I have seen Zuhdi Jasser (second from right in picture above) often over the years on Fox News, as a courageous outspoken voice of moderation, and believe him to be sincere in his desire to reform Islam. I certainly wish them well, and will be following their progress in a rather daunting quest. â—„Daveâ–º
A breath of fresh air! Here’s a 51-minute affirmation of their declaration. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlAnr8bIIr8
Now, where is the press on this? Granted, they announced their declaration on Friday, so let’s see how long it will take to get their word out.
Thanks for the video link, J9. You are right – where is the press? I rarely even turn on my TV anymore, but I have still seen nothing on any of the several news aggregation sites (like Drudge) that I monitor. I also noticed that the press conference room was nearly empty of reporters. One would have thought, given all the other news about Islam of late, that such a subject would have been very intriguing, and worthy of at least sending a reporter to check it out. Has Fox news mentioned it yet?
While all I had was the group photo before, in the video I could see that the one full beard I mentioned was not trimmed around the mouth and thus not Jihadi style. On the other hand, two of the women, while not wearing a hijab, had a scarf around the neck ready to deploy if needed.
I suppose this makes sense, depending on what their day job might be. I have a good friend who is a Montessori teacher at an Islamic cultural center. While nominally a Muslim by birth from Sri Lanka, she is very Westernized, dresses like an American, and will even enjoy a glass of wine or two at a party. She is, of course, required to wear her scarf on her head while on the premises at work; but immediately takes it off as soon as she leaves. Don’t I recall going to a wedding or funeral in some Christian church where the women were required to have at least a doily-like thing pinned on their head while in the sanctuary? â—„Daveâ–º
A past practice in the Catholic church Dave. When I was a kid Women had to have their heads covered in church but even if pressed I couldn’t tell you when that changed exactly. It was such a non issue. To be honest I can’t even tell you why it was a practice except possibly a throw back to Mary being veiled as was the female custom of the time. Hmmmmm Same reason Muslim women keep their heads covered. They did it in Mohamed’s time. See how advanced the Catholic church is? 😉
Ah… I thought so. I was actually myself married in a Catholic church once. 🙂 â—„Daveâ–º
Wow, it just occurred to me that the anniversary of that once momentous occasion was just a few days, and 48 years, ago in the Seychelles Islands. I haven’t seen her in about 38 years now. I wonder if she is still alive… It would probably be interesting to visit with her. 🙂 â—„Daveâ–º
Well if it’s anything like when I run into my ex interesting wouldn’t quite describe it. 🙂
LOL 🙂 â—„Daveâ–º
Well, I did say a “large number” but 12 is a start. We can always hope for the best but, by any reckoning, it will be a long struggle. I wish them well.
Troy
Nice follow up to I’m with Joe. Brave folks. I hope it spreads like wild fire. How well their group is received and how popular it becomes will be very telling. I wish them safety and success.