The conference will be held at Oxford University in June 11-13. The
participants are individuals who agree on the imperative of a drastic
reformation in the Muslim world. Though each of us are independent
thinkers, we are all in agreement regarding the urgency of reforming
our theology, attitude, action and our organizational strategies to
further align ourselves to the Quran interpreted in light of reason.
For participation, questions or presence, contact us at:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
For registration, please click here:
Dear brothers and sisters:
Please read this invitation and answer the questions regarding your
participation and the topics you are interested in as a panelist. We
would like to receive your answers to the questions ASAP.
Send these to
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This year the conference of Critical Thinkers for
Islamic Reform – The Way Forward will be held at Oxford University in June 11-13, God willing. The participants are
individuals who agree on the imperative of a drastic reformation in the
Muslim world. Though each of us are independent thinkers, we are all in
agreement regarding the urgency of reforming our theology, attitude,
action and our organizational strategies to further align ourselves to
the Quran interpreted in light of reason.
We have successfully organized a conference in
Atlanta, USA in 2008 where thinkers and scholars from both the East and
West came together in an effort towards instigating a reform to promote
monotheism, peace, justice, progress, critical thinking, and freedom in
the Muslim world.
OBJECTIVES: The conferences have multiple
objectives. Among these are:
- Facilitate opportunity for reformist Muslim leaders to meet each
other personally and exchange ideas.
- Diagnose the theological, cultural and political problems
leading the degeneration and decline of Muslim civilization.
- Critically analyze political, cultural, economic, psychological
conditions of Muslim individuals and societies and their interaction
with other groups.
- Discuss the geopolitical strategies implemented by the World's
leading powers and their overt and covert operations in the so-called
Muslim lands.
- Suggest solutions and develop short and long term projects to
bring about a progressive reform in both personal and social realm.
- Pick a country or two for implementation of specific projects to
address the issues.
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INFORMATION ABOUT OUR PAST CONFERENCE
You may read about the conference here:
You may find the short bios of the participants at:
An edited volume was published from the compilation of
essays from that conference. You may order that volume from here:
THIS YEAR'S PARTICIPANTS
The following is the list of potential participants.
Abdur Rab (PhD. Author, Economist, USA) Depends
Adis Duderija (Phd. Islamic Hermeneutics, Bosnia)
Aisha Musa (Prof of Islamic Studies, Florida
International University) Confirmed
Akbar Ahmed (Prof American University, DC, USA)
Ali Behzadnia (M.D. Former member of first cabinet of
Islamic Republic of Iran, USA)
Amina Wadud, (Prof. Gender Studies, University
Melbourne, Australia)
Andreas Christmann (Prof. Middle Eastern Studies,
University of Manchester, UK)
Arnold Yasin Mol (Author, Theologian, and member of
NMP, Netherlands) Confirmed
Aslbek Mussin (Almaty, Kazakhstan)
Asma Ishak (J.D., Toronto Law School)
Baroness Warsi (Politician, UK)
Caner Taslaman (Prof. of Philosophy at Yildiz
Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey) Confirmed
Chris and Linda Moore (UK) Confirmed
Daniel Martin Varisco (Prof. of Anthropology at
Hofstra University)
El-Mehdi Haddou (Vetenerian, Canada)
Fatima Marnissi (Prof. Tunusia)
Farouk A. Peru (PhD candidate, activist, UK)
Fereydoun Taslimi (Businessman, USA) Confirmed
Gershom Kibrisli (Karamite leader, Israel,
Netherlands)
Ghayasuddin Siddiqui (PhD, Muslim Congress, UK)
Confirmed
Hasan Mahmoud (Author, Canada) Confirmed
Jeffrey Lang (PhD., Mathematician/Author, University
of Kansas, USA)
Kassim Ahmad (Author, Political leader, Malaysia)
Khaled Abou El-Fadl (Pof. Of Law, UCLA, USA)
Layth Saleh al-Shaiban (Author, Activist, Saudi
Arabia) Confirmed
Mahyad Tousi (CEO BoomGen Studios, California)
Martha Schulte (Prof. Arabic University of Texas, USA)
Matthew Capiello (PR MPJP, USA) Confirmed
Melody Moezzi (Author, Lawyer, USA) Confirmed
Mike Ghouse (Activist, World Muslim Congress)
Mohamed Hedjaj (PhD. Engineer)
Mohammad Mova Al Afghani (Founder and Lawyer at Center
for Law Information, Pakistan)
Muhammad Shahrur (Prof, Syria) Confirmed
Mustafa Akyol (Author, Turkey) Confirmed
Nader Hashemi (PhD, Denver University)
Nafeez Mossadeq Ahmed (Prof. Sussex University)
Raymond and Sophia Catton (Witnesses, Canada)
Confirmed
Reza Aslan (PhD, Media consultant, USA)
Richard Voss (Prof. Business Management at Troy
University, USA)
Ruby Amatulla (President MPJP, Author, USA) Confirmed
T.O. Shanvas (M.D., USA) Confirmed
Taj Hargey (Prof, Oxford, UK) Confirmed
Tariq Ramadan (Prof. Oxford, UK)
Yusuf Desai (Forward Thinking, London)
Ziyauddin Sardar (PhD, Author, UK)
A member of European Foundation for Democracy
A member of Netherlands's Muslim Party
Critical Thinkers for Islamic Reform – The Way
Forward
Provisional Conference Schedule
FRIDAY, 11 June 2010
Friday Congregational Prayer followed by light
lunch
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Panel 1: The Paradigm of Islamic Reform – History
and Heritage
3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Refreshment Break
Panel 2: Theological and Philosophical Imperatives
for Islamic Reform
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Dinner: First Keynote Speaker (During Dinner to be
Followed by Muslim Musicians)
8:00 pm
SATURDAY, 12 June 2010
Panel 3: New Quranic Hermeneutics, Muslim Law and
Islamic Reformation
9:30 am - 11:00 pm
Refreshment Break
Panel 4: Islam, Science, Culture and Freedom –
Towards a Muslim Renaissance
11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Lunch: Second Keynote Speaker (During Lunch or Over
Dessert)
1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Panel 5: Gender, Sexuality & Human Rights in
Islamic Discourse
2:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Refreshment Break
Panel 6: Media, War on Terror And Western Foreign
Policy
4:30 pm - 6 pm
Dinner: Third Keynote Speaker (During Dinner
Followed by Muslim Comedian)
7 pm
SUNDAY, 13 June 2010
Panel 7: Democracy, Justice, Tolerance and Reason –
Prerequisites for Reform
10 am - 11:30 pm
Refreshment Break
Panel 8: Workshop / Round Table Pragmatic Steps
Towards Islamic Reform
12 pm - 2:00 pm
FUNDING
We expect every participant pay for their own
expenses. In fact, we are glad that we are not supported by any
government or king, by any religious organization or cult. We are
independent activists with sense of duty who are rising to the occasion
of our own volition.
Though our brothers and sisters at Oxford will try
their best to open their homes to provide boarding for some guests; we
will inshallah strike a deal with a hotel nearby conference site to get
discount for the participants. To cover the direct conference costs
(hiring of facilities, all meals and refreshments, publicity and
incidentals), we believe that £50 GBP per person is a fair and realistic
price for this important three-day conference. A few brothers and
sisters already promised contribution to subsidize the conference. If
sufficient funds are raised then a fee for registration may not be
charged at all.
Since we would like to keep everything transparent, we
will not accept any contribution that is not announced publicly. The
registration site will have a section for contribution. Below is the
first contributor for the conference:
BrainbowPress: $500.00
REGISTRATION TO THE CONFERENCE:
After receiving your answers for the following
questions, we will announce the link of the webpage for registration and
the website containing detailed information about the conference,
titles of panels, panelists, and events.
QUESTIONS
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Would you like to join us for the Critical Thinkers for
Islamic Reform Conference at Oxford University in June 11-13?
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In case you will make it to the conference personally,
would you like to submit a paper for the next issue of Critical Thinkers
for Islamic Reform – Oxford 2010 (Preferably between 3000 – 5000 words)
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Can you afford the cost of travel?
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Would you prefer staying at a hotel, or be hosted by a
family at Oxford?
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Would you need the registration cost for the conference
be forfeited?
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There will be 7 panels and 2 workshops. The titles of
the panels mentioned above are not final, but used to get an idea about
the interest of participants. Please put the number of the above-listed
panels in order your preference, such as, 3175624 or 6127543 etc:
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Dou you have a suggestion for another panel topic?
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Would you like to give a brief report about your
country?
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Would you like to help raising funds for the
conference?
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Would you recommend including a debate with the
scholars of Sunni and Shiite sects?
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Would you recommend to include a debate with a leader
of anti-Muslim group?
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Dou you recommend a panelist who is not listed here? If
yes, please type his name and contact address.
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Your phone numbers:
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Further comments and questions:
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A SAMPLE LIST OF WEBSITES PROMOTING ISLAMIC REFORM
AN INCOMPLETE LIST OF ISLAMIC REFORMERS WHO ARE
AFFILIATED WITH US
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
Abdullahi an-Na'im, PhD. is the Charles Howard
Candler Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law. He
specializes in, among other things,human rights in Islam and
cross-cultural issues in human rights, and he is the director of the
Religion and Human Rights Program at Emory. He also participates in
Emory's Center for the Study of Law and Religion. An-Naim was formerly
the Executive Director of the African bureau of Human Rights Watch. He
argues for a synergy and interdependence between human rights, religion
and secularism instead of a dichotomy and incompatibility between them.
An-Naim is originally from Sudan, where he was greatly influenced by the
Islamic reform movement of Mahmoud Mohamed Taha. He is the author of
numerous journal articles and books on human rights, international law,
democracy, and Islamic reform. His most recent book is Islam and the
Secular State: Negotiating the Future of Shari'a Cambridge, MA and
London, England: Harvard University Press (2008). His personal website:
http://people.law.emory.edu/~aannaim/
Abdur Rab, PhD. graduated with Honors and
received a Master's degree from Dhaka University and a PH.D. from
Harvard. He has had a long career in economic research and
consultation, analyzing various public policy issues ranging from public
resource mobilization to industrial development and trade policy
reform, while serving the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics,
the Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan and the Bangladesh and
former undivided Pakistan governments, and various international
organizations. He served the Pakistan Tariff Commission as a Member, and
the Bangladesh Planning Commission as a Section Chief and a senior
Consultant. He worked as an Industrial Development Officer with the
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Vienna. He
worked as a financial adviser for the government of Uganda under a World
Bank assignment, and as a senior industrial economist for the Qatar
government under a UNIDO assignment. Under a UNDP assignment, he
contributed to part of a business plan for an industrial development
bank of the Economic Co-operation Organization (whose founding members
are Iran, Turkey and Pakistan). He also worked on various development
projects of Bangladesh supported by donor agencies such as the World
Bank, USAID and the Asian Development Bank. He also consulted as an
agricultural trade specialist for the US-based International Fertilizer
Development Center (IFDC). Abdur Rab grew up in a traditional Bengali
Muslim family. Since his school days he has been very devoted to
religion. A turning point in his religious approach came when he came in
contact with a virtually unknown but versatile Bengali spiritual guide
Shah Aksaruddin Ahmad who possessed deep Quranic and spiritual
knowledge. Under his guidance, Abdur received some preliminary lessons
in spiritual exercises. Inspired by him, Abdur closely studied the Quran
and the Hadith and relevant Islamic literature of modern scholars. His
website is: http://www.exploreQuran.org
Adam Sigmund of South Jersey was born in
1980 and raised Roman Catholic. In April of '08 he became a rational
monotheist after learning of God's words in the Quran and the miracle of
how these divine words validate themselves. Currently, he is employed
as landscaper and attending school to be a medical assistant.
Ahmed Subhy Mansour, PhD. is Former Assistant
Professor at Al Azhar University, Egypt. He is currenly in the US
seeking political asylum as well as serving as visiting Fellow at he
Human Rights Program, Harvard Law School. Originally an Egyptian
national, Dr. Mansour is a distinguished scholar of Islam with expertise
in history, culture, theology and politics. He was an advocate for
democracy and human rights in Egypt for many years, during which time he
was isolated and persecuted by religious extremists and by the regime
and also served time in prison for his liberal political, religious and
social views. Having graduated with honors from Al Azhar University of
Cairo, one of the oldest and most well respected centers of Islamic
thought in the world, he later received his PhD with highest honors from
Al Azhar as well. In May 1985, Dr. Mansour was discharged from his
teaching and research position there due to his liberal views that were
not acceptable to the ultra-conservative religious authorities who
controlled much of university policies and programs. In 1987 and 1988 he
was imprisoned by the Egyptian government for his "progressive" views,
including the advocacy of religious harmony and tolerance between
Egyptian Muslims, Christian Copts, and Jews. Dr. Mansour has authored 24
books and some 500 articles in Arabic, dealing with many aspects of
Islamic history, culture, and religion. His organization website is:
http://www.ahl-alQuran.com
Aisha Jumaan, PhD, MPH is the President of the
Islamic Society of Atlanta.
Aisha Y. Musa, PhD, is the author of "Hadith as
Scripture: Discussions on the Authority of Prophetic Traditions in
Islam". Her training at Harvard was focused on early Islamic scriptural
history, specifically the relative authority of the Quran and Prophetic
Traditions (Hadith). Her book, Hadith as Scripture: Discussions on
the Authority of Prophetic Traditions in Islam (Palgrave, 2008)-explores
the development of the doctrine of duality of revelation and issues
surrounding the relative authority of the Quran and the Prophetic
Traditions (Hadith) through an examination of early Islamic texts from a
variety of genres from the 8th and 14th centuries CE and compares the
early controversies to their current counterparts. The question of the
relative authority of the Quran and the Prophetic Traditions is part of
usul al-fiqh (roots of jurisprudential methodology). How early Muslims
answered that question has helped to shape Islamic theology and
jurisprudence throughout the Muslim world for the past 1200 years. As
part of the work, she produced the first English translation of
al-Shafi'i's Kitab Jim?' al 'ilm, one of the most important early texts
dealing with the authority of Prophetic Traditions.. The current
resurgence of debates over the authority of Prophetic Traditions
relative to the Quran, make it a contemporary question of both academic
interest and personal importance to Muslims. Her research and teaching
interests extend from the early classical period to the present and
include translation of classical Arabic texts, Quranic interpretation,
women's issues, and modern day reformist and neo-traditionalist
movements. Aisha Musa is an Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies in
the Department of Religious Studies at Florida International University
Ali Behzadnia, M.D. is a Medical Doctor who
came to the United Stated near forty years ago. He is a life time
student of Islam and is interested in Quranic research and Interfaith
Dialogue. He is socio-politically active and was a member in the first
cabinet after the revolution in Iran, as Deputy Minister of Health and
welfare, acting Minister of Education and associate professor in
Medicine at Teheran University. He opposed the non-democratic religious
regime of Iran, and returned to the United States, after nearly two
years. He is a member of several academic and religious organizations
and is in private practice in California.
Chibuzo Casey Ohanaja was born and
raised in Dallas, Texas. Coming from a Nigerian Christian background he
was not introduced to Islam until High School through a close friend
from Pakistan. As a Political Science/Arabic and Middle Eastern studies
major at the University of Notre Dame he began to deeply research and
study various faiths, beliefs and systems of life. Allured by the
message of Islam he discovered the Quran and found that it had the most
humane, logical and pragmatic system of life. He reverted to Islam at
the age of 20. Although through further studies of the Muslim history,
hadith, fiqh, the Arabic language and observations through his travels
in Africa and the Middle East he found that the traditional Islam
prevalent around the world was incompatible with the message of Islam in
the Quran. Now realizing that only the Quran can be used to guide and
bring peace to mankind he has dedicated himself to informing and
lecturing to people about the true message of Islam which is preserved
in the Quran. He is currently the President of the Muslim Student
Organization in Notre Dame, Indiana and is a coordinator for the
University of Notre Dame Interfaith Fellowship. After graduation from
the University Notre Dame he hopes to continue his studies in law,
Arabic and Islamic studies.
Dilara Hafiz is a retired investment banker,
Sunday school teacher, interfaith activist and co-author of The
American Muslim Teenager's Handbook along with her daughter,
Yasmine, and son, Imran. This abridged article originally appeared in
Altmuslim.com and is distributed with permission by the Common Ground
News Service (CGNews). The full text can be found at
http://www.altmuslim.com.
Edip Yuksel, J.D., was born in Turkey in 1957
as the son of Sadreddin Yuksel, a prominent Sunni scholar. During his
youth he was an outspoken Islamist, and spent years in prison for his
political views. While a popular Islamist author and youth leader,
adopted the Quran Alone philosophy after corresponding with Rashad
Khalifa and reading his landmark book, Quran, Hadith and Islam. This led
him to break with the traditional approach to Islam in 1986. In 1989,
he was sponsored for immigration to the US by Rashad. He moved to
Tucson, worked with Rashad for one year in Masjid Tucson, and became a
prominent member of the United Submitters International. After the
assassination of Khalifa he broke away from the United Submitters
International as he objected to the new cult-like ideas arising among
its members. Yuksel is the author of over twenty books on religion,
politics, philosophy and law in Turkish and numerous articles and a few
books in English. His current work is as the co-author of:
Quran: a
Reformist Translation and the author of the
Manifesto for Islamic
Reform which are available at http://www.brainbowpress.com. Edip is
the founder of Islamic Reform organization and his online books,
interviews, and articles are published at: http://www.19.org ?
http://www.islamicreform.org ? http://www.yuksel.org ?
http://www.quran.org ? http://www.quranix.com ? http://www.mpjp.org ?
http://www.opednews.com ? and his English email list is at
http://groups.google.com/group/19org.
Faraydon Karim, PhD., is a Kurdish-American
mathematician and has been working in computer industry since 1978. In
1978-1999 he worked as Development Engineer and R&D Engineering
Manager for IBM. Spent many years in architecture of Engineering
Scientific processors at High-End computers. Then later worked in
architecture of PowerPC Floating Point and Multimedia SIMD processor.
Karim has involved in many other processors development including
Graphics processors. Holds over 100 technical disclosures and patents
and is the co-author of a book on Compiler. He then worked for
STMicroelectronics for seven years until 2007 as a Technical Fellow,
where he directed research in computing and applications. With his team
and collaboration with over a dozen of universities around the world,
Karim conducted various activities in major areas of SoC and Embedded
Systems. Currently he is working for NBCTR as CTO.
Fereydoun Taslimi is an entrepreneur
philanthropist who came to Islam after rejecting it. "I was not a Muslim
until I rejected all that I thought was Islam, heresy is my path to
salvation." He is the co-founder of Noor Foundation and founder of
several High-tech companies. Prior to joining PerformanceIT, Mr. Taslimi
was co-founder and CTO at infoGO, Inc. Before that, he was Vice
President of ESI, Inc. from 1986 to 1996, co-founding the company along
with Mr. Mittel. During his tenure, Mr. Taslimi was instrumental in the
design and development of several successful product lines in the area
of voice processing and Internet Telephony servers. Prior to ESI, Mr.
Taslimi started Adax, Inc. in 1984, a company that developed a
programmable PC-based phone system. While finishing graduate school, Mr.
Taslimi founded Informatics Sciences a company that developed
multi-lingual computers and applications systems that was subsequently
sold in 1984. Mr. Taslimi graduated with honors from University of
London in 1975 and received a Masters degree in computer science from
Georgia Tech. His organization's website: http://www.noor.org
Iftikhar Ahmed Mehar, PhD. was born in
Nairobi-Kenya. He obtained the Doctorate in Business Administration and
Information Technology from Columbia S. University (USA). He is an
Adjunct Professor and teaches these subjects. He is a Muslim; an Islamic
Scholar and a Theologian. From time to time he holds seminars to
explain the essential Islamic values. He has contributed a variety of
articles; mostly to clear any ambiguities about Islam. He is the author
of “Al-Islam: Inception to Conclusion.” His current book, “Al-Islam: The
Origin of all Sciences” is scheduled to be released in the spring 2009.
He has not aligned himself to any particular sect or group but
practices Islamic values as declared by the last prophet Muhammad.
Martha Shulte-Nafeh, PhD, is Assistant
Professor of Practice at the University of Arizona and Language
Coordinator of Middle Eastern Languages at the Department of Near
Eastern Studies. Martha received her B.S.
from Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in Economics, received
her M.A., in Linguistics from the University of Arizona in 1990, and her
Ph.D. from the same university in Near Eastern Studies - Arabic
Language and Linguistics 2004. In 1982, she taught English as a Foreign
Language at American University inCairo, Egypt.
Melody Moezzi, J.D. is a writer, activist,
author and attorney. Her first book, War on Error: Real Stories of
American Muslims, was published in the fall of 2007 by the University of
Arkansas Press. Ms. Moezzi has a regular column in Muslim Girl Magazine
and has written essays and articles for several other print and online
publications, including Parabola, Dissident Voice, American Chronicle,
Urban Mozaik, and the Yale Journal for Humanities in Medicine.
She has also appeared as a commentator on NPR's All Things Considered.
Born in Chicago in 1979, Ms. Moezzi grew up mostly in Dayton, Ohioamid a
strong and vibrant Iranian-American diaspora. Today, she lives in
Atlanta, with her husband, Matthew, and their cats, Olyan and Talula.
She is a graduate of Wesleyan University and Emory University School of
Law, as well as the Emory University School of Public Health. Her
website: http://www.melodymoezzi.com
Mike Mohamed Ghouse is a Speaker, Thinker and a
Writer. He co-chairs the center for interfaith inquiry of the Memnosyne
Foundation, president of the Foundation for Pluralism and is a
frequent guest on talk radio and local television network discussing
interfaith, political and civic issues. He is the founding president of
World Muslim Congress with a simple theme: Good for Muslims and good for
the world. His comments, news analysis and columns can be found on the
Websites and Blogs listed at his personal website
http://www.MikeGhouse.net. Ghouse is originally from Yelahanka,
Bangalore and Dallas, Texas has been his home town for nearly three
decades. Also see: http://www.foundationforpluralism.com
Richard S. Voss, Ph.D. teaches business
management courses at Troy University, where he is pursuing several
research tracks, among which his favorite involves an ongoing project to
integrate established theories of national cultural, universal human
values, and civilizations into a unified civilizational theory. Dr. Voss
embraced Islâm in Morocco in 1983 and adopted his Islâmic Reformist
orientation upon discovering Dr. Rashâd Khalifa's book, Quran, Hadith,
and Islam, in the bookstore of the University of California at
Riverside, his undergraduate alma mater where he had studied foreign
language, shortly after his return to the United States. Several of his
articles are posted on: http://www.19.org
Ruby Amatulla is an American Muslim business
woman who is an activist to promote understanding and constructive
engagements between the West and the Muslim world. She is a writer and a
speaker for the cause. She is the president of a recently formed
non-profit organization, Muslims for Peace, Justice and Progress (MPJP).
Also see:
http://peace-justice-international.org/
T.O. Shanavas, M.D. is a physician based in
Michigan. He is the author of the book Creation and/or Evolution wherein
he discusses the Quranic view on evolution and its roots in Islamic
history.
CANADA:
El Mehdi Haddou, MD. is a 37 year-old Canadian
veterinary Doctor originating from Morocco. At the age of 24, he started
to question his faith, Islam, the purpose of this life and the
existence of God. In November 2006, after reading Rashad Khalifa's
book: 'Quran, Hadith and Islam' posted at
http://www.submission.org, he began to verify Rashad Khalifa's ideas of
code 19 and confirmed the findings. Recognizing that God has answered
his questions and had given the proof that I was always looking for.
Since that day, he witnessed a big change in his spirituality. "Now", he
says, "Without hesitation I have attained certainty. I am following
only the Quran, the whole Quran and nothing but the Quran."
Eman M. Ahmed Originally from Pakistan, Eman
came to Canada in 2000. She is currently the Projects Coordinator at
CCMW. In Pakistan she worked in areas related to social development and
human and women's rights. She was also the managing editor for the
Heinrich Boll Foundation book series on Women and Religion. Her
publications include "A Dangerous mix: Religion & Development Aid",
(WHRNet), "Violence Against Women: The Legal System and Institutional
Responses" in Violence, Law and Women's Rights in South Asia,
(Sage Publications); and "Promoting Inclusivity; Protecting (whose)
Choice?" (AWID). She has MAs in Publishing (SFU), Social Anthropology
(Oxford) and English (Pb)
Hasan Mahmud is the Ex President and Director
of Sharia and Islamic Law, Muslim Canadian Congress and the author of:
Book “Islam and Sharia” (in Bengali - being translated into English).
Two books, “Chasing the Mirage – The tragic illusion of Islamic State”
and “Cruel and Usual Punishment” refer to this book about analyzing
Sharia Law. Docu-Movie on Sharia Law – “Silent Genocide” Docu-drama on
Sharia Law – “Law and Justice” DVD on Sharia-Debate. DVD on Sharia issue
of Apostasy. Hasan delivered speeches on Sharia Law in many seminars,
conferences and Educational institutes in Europe, USA, Canada and Asia.
Mohamed Hedjaj, PhD. is a French and Tunisian
engineer born in Tunisia in 1971. He traveled from France to Tunisia,
where he spent five years to study secondary school in Arabic from 13 to
18 years old, and then returned to France to continue his education. He
graduated from Arts et Métiers engineering school in Paris and has a
PHD on vibration analysis of engines. He is working in France as an
expert in vibration and mechanical analysis for firms like Peugeot and
DELPHI. He promotes monotheism and justice by posting articles and
comments on the Internet. He is fluent in French and conversant in
English. He does not differentiate between different forms of
fanaticism, be it from "Muslims", Catholics, or Zionists. He prefers
using the word monotheist because he considers that the word "Muslims"
is associated to false ideologies. His knowledge of Arabic has permitted
him to study Quran in its original language: Arabic. He disagrees with
some classical understanding of verses and is appreciative of Quran more
than any other source.
Irshad Manji is a Canadian feminist, author,
journalist, activist and professor of leadership. Manji is Director of
the Moral Courage Project at New York University. The Moral Courage
Project aims to teach young leaders to speak truth to power in their own
communities. She is author of The Trouble with Islam Today: A
Muslim’s Call for Reform in Her Faith, now published in more than
30 countries. She is also creator of the Emmy-nominated documentary, Faith
Without Fear, which launched the American Islamic Congress 2008
“Think Different” Film Festival.
HOLLAND:
Arnold Yasin Mol is born and raised in Holland.
Coming from a Catholic background, he started to research many faiths
and beliefs, and while studying biochemistry at college he, discovered
the Quran and found it to have a logical social and scientific message.
He embraced Islam at the age of 20. Being first drawn into classical
Islamic doctrine, he studied its message and history thoroughly and
found it contradicted the Quranic message on many points, and decided to
study Theology at college (tertiary level Theology) to study how
history, religions and cultures influenced another. Now only accepting
the Quran as a divine source based on its social and scientific message
and make up, he has founded an organization together with several Muslim
thinkers to study the Quranic message as the basis for a secular social
global society and works with several modern Islamic thinkers.
Currently he has studied Arabic at the University of Rotterdam, the
Netherlands and is starting Social Theology at Amsterdam College. Arnold
is the CEO of DRC Think Tank. His website is:
http://www.deenresearchcenter.com
MALAYSIA:
Kassim Ahmad is Malaysia's foremost thinker and
philosopher. Kassim Ahmad was born on 9 September, 1933 in Kedah,
Malaysia. He received his Bachelor of Art's degree in Malay language and
literature, but also read widely in political science and Islamic
philosophy. He grabbed national headlines in the 1950s with his
dissertation on the characters of Hang Tuah (Perwatakan Hang Tuah), the
Malay literary classic. He taught Malay language and literature for a
time in the London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and then in a
secondary school in Penang where he has been staying with his family
since 1966. Kassim was jailed for nearly five years under the ISA (theInternal
Security Act, Malaysia’s draconian measure of detention without
trial) for daring to express openly his political views, an experience
which he recounted in his book, Universiti Kedua (Second University).
Kassim again shook the Malay world with his "Hadith: A Re-Examination"
in which he challenges the infallibility of the purported words of
Prophet Muhammad. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in Letters by the
National University of Malaysia. He has written several books on Malay
literature as well as on Islamic subjects. His English and Malay
articles are published at http://www.kassimahmad.blogspot.com.
PAKISTAN:
Mohammad Mova Al Afghani works at a
Jakarta-based Lawfirm and lectured at Universitas Ibn Khaldun Bogor. He
founded the Center for Law Information (CeLI), a law information NGO in
1999. He is a frequent contributor at Daily Jakarta Post and has had
several international publications. Mr. Al Afghani is also a member of
the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology (CRN) Task Force on
Implication and Policies. He graduated from the law faculty of
Universitas Indonesiaand -- with the scholarship from Deutsches
Akademisches Austausch Dienst (DAAD) -- obtained a master in European
Law from University of Bremen (with distinction).
SAUDI ARABIA:
Layth Saleh al-Shaiban is one of the leading
muslim intellectuals for Islamic Reform. Layth is the founder of
Progressive Muslims and Free-Minds organizations. He is the co-author of
the Quran: a Reformist Translation, and the author of The Natural
Republic. Layth works in a financial institution as a financial adviser,
and lives in Saudi Arabia. See also: http://www.free-minds.org
TURKEY:
Caner Taslaman, PhD. was born in 1968 in
Istanbul, and graduated from the sociology department at
BosporusUniversity, Dr. Taslaman pursued his studies for MA and PhD
degrees in Philosophy and Religion, and he also studied political
sciences. He is post doctorate scholar at Harvard University. His range
of interests, not being limited to philosophy, sociology and political
sciences, stretched to such fields of positive sciences as physics and
biology, and he produced works on the said disciplines as well. In all
these scientific treatises, dealing in widely differing subjects, his
focus point has always been religion. Among his works are; Quran
Unchallengeable Miracle; The Big Bang, Philosophy and God; Evolution,
Philosophy and God; Modern Science, Philosophy and God; Quantum Theory,
Philosophy and God. Two of his many websites are:
http://www.canertaslaman.com and http://www.Quranmiracles.com
Christopher Moore was born in Nicosia, Cyprus,
which was under British rule at the time, soon after gaining
independence. Due to his father's devotion to Military Service his
education was conducted by the Military. Now married for years to his
wife Linda and the grandparent of two young granddaughters. Like Cyprus,
he gained independence from British rule at the age of 49 to retire to
Turkey. Since retiring he has been able to feed his growing passion for
Quranic Islamic studies.
Mustafa Akyol is son of a well known
journalist, Taha Akyol. He has criticized both Islamic extremism and
Turkish secularism, which he likens to Jacobinism and fundamentalism. He
is an outspoken promoter of intelligent design. Akyol was born in 1972
and received his early education in Ankara. He graduated International
Relations Department of Bosphorus University. He earned his masters in
the History Department of the same university. He is currently a
columnist for the Turkish Daily News and Director of International
Relations at the Intercultural Dialogue Platform, a subsidiary of the
Journalists and Writers Foundation. He has given seminars in several
universities in the U.S. and the U.K. on issues of faith, science,
religious tolerance or inter-faith dialogue. Mustafa Akyol's articles on
Islamic issues, in which he mostly argues against Islamic extremism and
terrorism from a Muslim point of view and defends the Islamic faith,
have appeared in publications like The Weekly Standard, The Washington
Times, The American Enterprise, National Review, FrontPage Magazine,
Newsweek, and Islam Online. His book on Kurdish issue questioned the
official taboos and offered practical solutions. Akyol is a co-host in a
Turkish TV program and his Turkish articles are published at
http://www.mustafaakyol.org.
UNITED KINGDOM:
Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, PhD., is one of the
leading spokespeople of the Muslim community in Britain. He is regarded
as an expert on Islamic fundamentalism and Muslim political thought. He
is one of the first Muslim leaders who has championed women’s causes,
against forced marriage, domestic violence and murder in the name of
honour. Last year, together with some senior clerics, he launched Muslim
Marriage Contract to protect rights of women. He is now leading a
campaign against child abuse within faith-based environment. He has
consistently opposed the invasion of Afghanistan and subsequently that
of Iraq, joining the Anti-war Coalition at its inception, becoming a
member of its central executive. As a patron of Guantanamo Human Rights
Commission and active member of ‘Campaign Against Criminalizing
Communities’ (CAMPACC), he has campaigned against detention without
trial of people held in Guantanamo Bay and Belmarsh. As director of one
of the oldest Muslim think tanks, the Muslim Institute, he has promoted
dialogue across all barriers: social, cultural and political. His
organization's website:
http://www.muslimparliament.org.uk/
Farouk A. Peru is a human being in the world.
This is where his discourse begins and ends, at the factualness of
being
human. As a human being, he addresses the human condition by being a
student of Quran, which he considers to God’s message for humankind.
Farouk is also a novice academic whose interests include the study of
Quran according to its author. This entails the resurrection of the
author’s voice in understanding Quran as the author provides methods of
self-reference in the text itself. He also pursues the study of Quranism
and Quranisticism which are the Muslim approaches to Islam relying
solely on the Quran and the tendencies towards a Quranocentric Islam by
Traditionist Muslims respectively. Lastly, he is interested in Islamic
fundamentalism as a totalistic philosophy and Islamic pluralism as a
counter-measure . He is also very interested in philosophy and hopes to
pursue the philosophy of being in the tradition of Martin Heidegger and
Jacques Derrida. He regularly blogs at:
http://quranistislam.wordpress.com/ (which hosts his study of Quran) and
http://www.original-islam.org/ (which hosts his writings about Islam and the Muslim world)
SWITZERLAND:
Kerem Adigüzel is a Turkish-Swiss mathematics
student at the University of Zurich, minor in Computer Science and
alongside learning Arabic. He is especially interested in Philosophy,
Sociology, Psychology, Theology, Arabic, Logic, music and Science. He is
an author of several articles on, maintainer and webmaster of
alrahman.de and also a non-professional translator from Turkish and
English to German (already translated many English and Turkish articles
for AlRahman.de). This site is unfortunately the only extensive website
in German, which is critical with traditional thinking in
Mainstream-Islam. Kerem is calling out for rational reasoning in
religion and science. He likes to explore new things and unconventional
ideas and attempt to be open-minded to all claims. Fluent in German and
Turkish, good in English, basic in French and very basic skills in
Arabic (currently taking Arabic courses at the university to improve
Arabic). See: http://www.alrahman.de
News
For the last 3 years a new phenomena has arisen on the anti-Islam/Islamophobia scene. My countryman Geert Wilders. His anti-Islam rhetoric became harsher and harsher over the last 5 years since the murder of director Theo van Gogh, who was killed by a madman who believed he acted in the name of Islam. The killer followed medieval writings of several severe dogmatic scholars, who lived in a time of war and chaos. The idea that a person offending Islam or the Prophet Muhammad should be killed, contradicts the Qur'an on many points:
