Liberal and progressive Islam in North America

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This is a list of individual liberal and progressive Islamic movements in North America , sorted by country.

Contents

Canada

Canadian Muslim Union

Muslim Canadian Congress

Tarek Fatah and other MCC board members at anti-war and anti-Zionist demonstration in Toronto related with the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. Tarek Fatah at an anti-war demonstration in Toronto.JPG
Tarek Fatah and other MCC board members at anti-war and anti-Zionist demonstration in Toronto related with the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.

Formed in December 2001, the Muslim Canadian Congress was organized to provide a voice to Muslims who support a "progressive, liberal, pluralistic, democratic, and secular society where everyone has the freedom of religion." [1] Tarek Fatah was one of the founders of the Muslim Canadian Congress in 2001, after the September 11 attacks [2] and served as its communications director and spokesperson until 2006. The group gained prominence by opposing the implementation of Shariah in civil law in Ontario and supporting the country's same-sex marriage legislation. The group also promotes gender equality and was involved in organizing a Muslim prayer session in which the prayers were led by a woman, Raheel Raza. It has also been critical of Islamic fundamentalism and has urged the government to ban donations to Canadian religious institutions from abroad arguing that doing so will curb extremism. [1]

United States

American Islamic Congress

The American Islamic Congress (AIC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in the United States. AIC was founded in November 2001 by a group of American Muslims to promote tolerance following the September 11, 2001 attacks. [3] AIC is a non-religious, civil rights organization whose stated goal is to build interfaith and inter-ethnic understanding. [4] It receives significant funding from the U.S. government. [5] Zainab Al-Suwaij co-founded the organitazion to "represent those American Muslims who cherished the freedoms of the U.S. after living under repressive regimes." [6] Suwaij was a prominent public supporter of the 2003 U.S. war with Iraq. [7] [8]

American Islamic Forum for Democracy

American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) is an American Muslim think tank formed in 2003 by a small group of Muslim professionals in Phoenix, Arizona. The group's founder is Zuhdi Jasser who is also the group's president and chief spokesman. [9] AIFD advocates for the separation of religion and state and confronts the ideologies of political Islam and openly counters the belief that the Muslim faith is inextricably rooted to the concept of the Islamic state. [10] [11] Jasser and a group of American Muslims founded the group with the goal of demonstrating the compatibility of Islam with democracy and American values. [12] The AIFD supports separation of religion and state, religious pluralism, equality of the sexes, the unconditional recognition of Israel, and the creation of an independent Palestine "on the current ‘occupied territories.’" [12] The organization rejects terrorism and any justification for it. [12] Zuhdi Jasser has been the center of various controversies and has been criticized by several muslims and non muslims alike.

Center for Islamic Pluralism

The Center for Islamic Pluralism (CIP) is a United States–based Islamic think tank challenging Islamist interpretations of Islam. It was founded in 2004 by eight people including the Sufi Muslim author Stephen Suleyman Schwartz [13] and officially opened on March 25, 2005. [14] With its headquarters in Washington, D.C., today it has subsidiaries in London and Cologne, Germany and correspondents in 32 countries of the world. [13]

Project on Middle East Democracy

Muslims for Progressive Values

Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV) was founded and incorporated by Ani Zonneveld in August 2007, headquartered in Los Angeles and with a regional office in Malaysia. In December 2013, United Nations recognized Muslims for Progressive Values as an official non-government organization (NGO) association member. [15] The NGO/DPI Executive Committee represents 1,500 NGO organizations with monthly meetings. [16] MPV's consultative status enable its advocacy to go global by challenging human rights abuses in the name of Sharia law of Muslim-majority countries at the United Nations and at the Human Rights Council on issues of women's rights, LGBT rights, Freedom of Expression and Freedom of and from Religion and Belief. [17] MPV has a board of advisors including scholars and activists such as: Reza Aslan, Amir Hussein, Karima Bennoune, Daayiee Abdullah, Zainah Anwar, Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur, and El-Farouk Khaki. [18]

Muslim Reform Movement

The Muslim Reform Movement is an organization dedicated to reform in Islam based on values of peace, human rights and secular governance. The organization was founded on December 4, 2015 when the founders read a "Declaration of Reform" at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The founders then went to the Saudi-affiliated Islamic Center of Washington [19] and posted the Declaration of Reform on the doors of mosque "denouncing violent jihad, rejecting Islamic statism and opposing the 'ideology of violent Islamic extremism.'" [20]

Founding signatories of the Muslim Reform Movement are Asra Nomani, Tahir Aslam Gora, Tawfik Hamid, Usama Hasan, Arif Humayun, Farahnaz Ispahani, Zuhdi Jasser, Naser Khader, Courtney Lonergan, Hasan Mahmud, Raheel Raza, Sohail Raza, and Salma Siddiqui. [19]

Progressive Muslim Union

Secular Islam Summit

The Secular Islam Summit was an international forum for secularists of Islamic societies, held 4–5 March 2007 in St. Petersburg, Florida. It was largely organized and funded by the Center for Inquiry, a secular humanist educational organization, along with secular Muslims such as Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi and in partnership with the International Intelligence Summit, a forum on terrorism. [21] [22]

The common ground of the participants was the belief that Islam and secular democracy should be compatible. [23] They agreed that Islam must be either a religion or a political philosophy, not both. [24] According to Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi, one of the organizers, one of the summit's goals was to be a "sanctuary" for victims of Islamism and a forum for the embrace of secular values. [25]

Speakers ranged from former believers to devout reformers, [23] including Ibn Warraq (the pen name of an ex-Muslim author known for criticism of Islam), Tawfik Hamid (an ex-jihadist, now in hiding), Afshin Ellian (an Iranian refugee under police protection), Irshad Manji (a self-described "radical traditionalist"), Ayaan Hirsi Ali (a former member of the Dutch Parliament), and Hasan Mahmud (director of Shariah at the Muslim Canadian Congress). [26] [27]

Several devout Muslims that had been invited to speak, such as Faisal Abdul Rauf and Mike Ghouse, did not attend; one that did, Irshad Manji, criticized the summit for "not making stronger overtures to practicing Muslims", and urged them to seek common ground. [28]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irshad Manji</span> Canadian educator (born 1968)

Irshad Manji is a Ugandan-born Canadian educator. She is the author of The Trouble with Islam Today (2004) and Allah, Liberty and Love (2011), both of which have been banned in several Muslim countries. She also produced a PBS documentary in the America at a Crossroads series, titled Faith Without Fear, which was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2008. A former journalist and television presenter, Manji is an advocate of a reformist interpretation of Islam and a critic of literalist interpretations of the Qur'an.

The Progressive Muslim Union of North America (PMU) was a liberal Islamic organization. The group officially launched on November 15, 2004, in Manhattan but was disbanded in December 2006.

The Progressive Muslim Union (PMU) is the result of almost two years of conversation and collaboration between a group of North American Muslims who are committed to representing and renewing our community in all its social, ideological and political diversity. PMU members range from deeply religious to totally secular, sharing in common a commitment to learning, political and social empowerment, a commitment to justice and freedom and a concern and love for the Muslim community.

The Muslim Canadian Congress was organized to provide a voice to Muslims who support a "progressive, liberal, pluralistic, democratic, and secular society where everyone has the freedom of religion."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asra Nomani</span> American journalist (born 1965)

Asra Quratulain Nomani is an Indian American journalist and author. Born in India to Muslim parents, she earned a BA from West Virginia University in liberal arts in 1986 and an MA from the American University in international communications in 1990. She subsequently worked as a correspondent for The Wall Street Journal with her colleague Daniel Pearl in Pakistan post-9/11. Pearl was kidnapped and murdered by Islamist terrorists while following an investigative lead. Nomani later became the co-director of the Pearl Project, a faculty-student investigative-reporting project which has looked into Pearl's murder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarek Fatah</span> Pakistani-Canadian journalist and author (1949–2023)

Tarek Fatah was a Pakistani-Canadian journalist and author. He was a Punjabi born into Islam and was a vocal critic of the Pakistani religious and political establishment, and the partition of India.

The Secular Islam Summit was an international forum for secularists of Islamic societies, held 4–5 March 2007 in St. Petersburg, Florida. It was largely organized and funded by the Amherst, NY-based Center for Inquiry, a secular humanist educational organization, along with secular Muslims such as Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi and in partnership with the International Intelligence Summit, a forum on terrorism.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zuhdi Jasser</span> American doctor, Muslim activist, and commentator

Mohamed Zuhdi Jasser is an American religious and political commentator and physician specializing in internal medicine and nuclear cardiology in Phoenix, Arizona. Jasser is a former lieutenant commander in the United States Navy, where he served as staff internist in the Office of the Attending Physician of the United States Congress. In 2003, with a group of American Muslims, Jasser founded the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) based in Phoenix, Arizona, and in 2004 he was one of the founders of the Center for Islamic Pluralism.

American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) is an American Muslim think tank formed in 2003 by Zuhdi Jasser in Phoenix, Arizona.

Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi is an Iranian writer, film producer and human rights activist.

Ani Zonneveld is a Malaysian singer, songwriter, activist, and writer based in Los Angeles. She has released three original albums, produced music for other artists, and participated in the writing of Grammy-winning songs. She is the first Malaysian person to have won a Grammy.

Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV) is a grassroots human rights organization founded and incorporated by Zuriana (Ani) Zonneveld and Pamela K. Taylor in 2007. Headquartered in Los Angeles California, MPV has chapters around the United States as well as regional offices in Malaysia, the Netherlands as well as various other countries under different names such as Universal Muslim Community. It also has separate networks in Bangladesh, Canada, France, Chile, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia & throughout the U.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zainab Al-Suwaij</span>

Zainab Al-Suwaij (b. 1971) is an Iraqi American activist and the co-founder and executive director of the American Islamic Congress. She advocates for women's equality, civil and religious rights, and interfaith understanding.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muslim Reform Movement</span> U.S.-based organization devoted to reform in Islam

The Muslim Reform Movement is a U.S.-based organization dedicated to reform in Islam based on values of peace, human rights, and secular governance.

References

  1. 1 2 "Curb donations to religious institutions: Muslim group". CBC News. 2006-06-13. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  2. ↑ Handler R Tarek Fatah and his case against 'radical' Islam CBC News October 15, 2008 (retrieved May 12, 2015)
  3. ↑ Wax, Emily (July 12, 2012). "Moderate American Muslim tries to navigate a deeply divided community". The Washington Post.
  4. ↑ "AIC's Story". Archived from the original on 2012-08-24. Retrieved 2017-09-09.
  5. ↑ "(PDF) 2010 Annual Report of the American Islamic Congress" (PDF).
  6. ↑ Wax, Emily (July 12, 2012). "Moderate American Muslim". Washington Post.
  7. ↑ Iraqi people yearn to taste freedom again Zainab Al Suwaij, USA Today, January 13, 2003
  8. ↑ "RNC Al-Suwaij Transcript". Fox News. August 30, 2004. Archived from the original on May 23, 2007.
  9. ↑ T.A. Frank (March 10, 2011). "Meet Peter King's Star Witness". The New Republic. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
  10. ↑ "AIFD's About Page". Aifdemocracy.org. Archived from the original on 25 October 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
  11. ↑ M. Zuhdi Jasser - January 9, 2010 12:00 A.M. My Turn (January 9, 2010). "AZ Central – It's time to root out political Islam". Azcentral.com. Retrieved September 29, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. 1 2 3 "AIFD's Founding Principles and Resolutions". Aifdemocracy.org. March 3, 2003. Archived from the original on November 19, 2010. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
  13. 1 2 "About Us" . Retrieved 2014-12-27.
  14. ↑ "Moderate Islam Gets a Washington Address". 2005-03-25. Retrieved 2014-12-27.
  15. ↑ "Muslims for Progressive Values Secures United Nation's Consultative Status". prlog.org. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  16. ↑ "NGO/DPI Executive Committee – The Executive Committee of Non-Governmental Organizations Associated with the United Nations Department of Public Information". ngodpiexecom.org. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  17. ↑ HINCH, JIM (20 April 2014). "Muslim group posits harmony with Western values". ocregister.com. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  18. ↑ "Muslims for Progressive Values : 2015 Press Kit" (PDF). Static1.squarespace.com. Retrieved 2016-09-17.
  19. 1 2 "About". Muslim Reform Movement.
  20. ↑ "Muslim Reform Movement decries radical Islam, calls for equality". Washington Times. December 6, 2015.
  21. ↑ First "Secular Islam Summit" to convene early next month in Florida, Kuwait News Agency, February 2007, archived from the original on 2014-02-03
  22. ↑ Susan Jacoby (April 19, 2007), "Diverse Muslims, Violent Islamist Fundamentalism", Washington Post, archived from the original on April 29, 2007
  23. 1 2 Jay Tolson (April 8, 2007), Fighting for the soul of Islam, U.S. News & World Report, archived from the original on October 8, 2012
  24. ↑ Andrew Bieszad, The Conference on Secular Islam, Telospress.com
  25. ↑ Kuwait News Agency; "First "Secular Islam Summit" to convene early next month in Florida; 27 February 2007
  26. ↑ Stephens, Bret (2007-03-06). "Islam's Other Radicals - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
  27. ↑ Geneive Abdo (March 17, 2007), "A More Islamic Islam", Washington Post
  28. ↑ Elfenbein, Madeleine (April 19, 2007). "Irshad Manji's Flying Leap". The American Prospect.
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