Dr Hassan al-Turabi from Sudan is one of the world’s leading living scholars of Islam. In addition to a traditional Islamic education, he holds a Bachelors degree in Law from the University of Khartoum, a Masters from the University of London and a PhD from the Sorbonne, Paris.  He has served Sudan as Speaker of parliament, Attorney General, Minister of Justice, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister and is currently the opposition leader.

“Muslims who advance conservative views on female affairs…are normally very literal in their understanding of texts; but they tendentiously opt for an understanding that suits their prejudice.” - Dr. Hassan Al-Turabi

CHAPTER I: THE VERDICT OF FAITH

In the religion of Islam, a woman is an independent entity, and thus a fully responsible human being. Islam addresses her directly and does not approach her through the agency of Muslim males. A woman would assume full capacity and liability once she has attained maturity and has received the message of Islam.

by Riffat Hissan

To be a Muslim today–or any day–is to live in accordance with the will and pleasure of Allah. Muslims often say, with joy and pride, that it is easy to be a Muslim since Islam is “the straight path” leading to paradise. What this means, in other words, is that the principles of Islam are simple and straightforward, free of ambiguities, confusions, inconsistencies or mysteries, and that comprehending them or living in accordance with them is not difficult.

by Farid Esack

The truth is that there is no stable self nor a stable other.

FARID ESACK is the author of Qur’an, Liberation and Pluralism (1996), On Being a Muslim: Finding a Religious Path in the World Today (1999) and An Introduction to the Qur’an (forthcoming), all by Oxford: Oneworld. Delivered as the Jack and Lewis Rudin Lecture at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City, October 10, 2001.

In the Name of Allah, The Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace

– In the Wake of September 11th

O who have attained unto faith! Be ever steadfast in upholding equity, bearing witness to the truth for the sake of God, even though it be against your own selves or your parents and kinsfolk, whether the person concerned be rich or poor, God’s claims takes precedence over the claims of either of them. Do not then follow your own desires lest you swerve from justice; for if distort the truth, God is indeed aware of all that you do. (Qur’an 4.135)

Oleh Sukidi Mulyadi

ISLAM memang butuh Luther untuk kemajuan dan pencerahan. Reformasi Protestan abad XVI, yang mengantarkan Eropa menjadi peradaban besar, diam-diam dikagumi dan ditangkap sejumlah pemikir sebagai satu pola/model reformasi dan pencerahan dalam Islam.

Oleh Ulil Abshar-Abdalla

Agama adalah suatu kebaikan buat umat manusia; dan karena manusia adalah organisme yang terus berkembang, baik secara kuantitatif dan kualitatif, maka agama juga harus bisa mengembangkan diri sesuai kebutuhan manusia itu sendiri. Yang ada adalah hukum manusia, bukan hukum Tuhan, karena manusialah stake holder yang berkepentingan dalam semua perbincangan soal agama ini.

By Omid Safi

A major public conversation among American Muslims has emerged since September 11: Is there room for progressive Islam?

Progressive Islam has emerged since September 11 as a major public conversation about the faith of nearly a billion people worldwide, and Muslims in the United States especially. The conversation is a result of what some American Muslims see as the urgent need to raise the level of conversation, and to get away from the standard apologetic presentations of Islam. Progressive Muslims represent intellectuals and activists who want a just and pluralist society, and whose understanding of Islam has been shaped by the study of Islam in the West.