Progressive Muslim Union

Last updated

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.

Contents

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. [1]

Woman imam

These differences came to a head in March 2005, when PMU endorsed a mixed-gender prayer led by a woman imam, Professor Amina Wadud. The prayer was co-sponsored by the progressive Muslim online magazine Muslim WakeUp! and Asra Nomani's Muslim Women's Freedom Tour. The event, which was attended by about 150 congregants in New York City and heavily covered by international media, became a huge controversy, galvanizing both supporters and detractors around the world.[ citation needed ]

Opponents, in particular M. A. Muqtedar Khan, argued that reform should be restricted to social matters, not matters of worship. Supporters, however, asserted that nothing in the Qur'an, the Muslim holy scripture, prevents a woman from leading mixed-gender prayers, and that restrictions are based on outmoded cultural and patriarchal notions.[ citation needed ]

PMU's co-chair, Pamela Taylor, reinforced PMU's position when she joined hands with the Muslim Canadian Congress and the United Muslim Association to be the first woman to deliver the Friday sermon and lead the mixed-gender congregation in a mosque on July 1, 2005.

Current state

PMU is now defunct, due to a schism. In July 2005, board member Muqtedar Khan resigned. In August 2005, three of the four founding members, Omid Safi, Hussein Ibish and Sarah Eltantawi resigned along with Laury Silvers and Michael Muhammad Knight (Ahmed Nassef was the fourth founding member). [2] When Michael Muhammad Knight resigned, he predicted that PMU would collapse within one year.[ citation needed ]

In December 2006, chair Pamela Taylor and executive director Ani Zonneveld resigned from the board, citing unreconcilable conflicts with board member Tarek Fatah. Soon after, Fatah, who controlled PMU's e-mail discussion list, blocked posting by list members.

Two of the original eighteen leaders of PMU, [3] Ani Zonneveld and Pamela Taylor, created a new organization, Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV) in May 2007.

See also

Related Research Articles

Liberalism and progressivism within Islam involve professed Muslims who have created a considerable body of progressive thought about Islamic understanding and practice. Their work is sometimes characterized as "progressive Islam". Some scholars, such as Omid Safi, differentiate between "Progressive Muslims" versus "Liberal advocates of Islam".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amina Wadud</span> American Islamic scholar (born 1952)

Amina Wadud is an American Muslim theologian. Wadud serves as visiting professor at 4 Consortium for Religious Studies and was also a visiting scholar at Starr King School for the Ministry. Wadud has written extensively on the role of women in Islam.

There is a difference of opinion among Muslims regarding the circumstances in which women may act as imams, i.e. to lead a mixed gendered congregation in salat (prayer). The orthodox position is that women cannot lead men in prayer, which is justified by various Quranic verses and Hadith about the roles and responsibilities of men and women.

Islamic feminism is a form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam. It aims for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate for women's rights, gender equality, and social justice grounded in an Islamic framework. Although rooted in Islam, the movement's pioneers have also utilized secular, Western, or otherwise non-Muslim feminist discourses, and have recognized the role of Islamic feminism as part of an integrated global feminist movement.

Ihsan, is an Arabic term meaning "to do beautiful things", "beautification", "perfection", or "excellence". Ihsan is a matter of taking one's inner faith (iman) and showing it in both deed and action, a sense of social responsibility borne from religious convictions.

Gender roles in Islam are based on scriptures, cultural traditions, and jurisprudence.

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."

AlMaghrib Institute is a 501(c)(3) Islamic studies organization founded in Houston, Texas, by Muhammad AlShareef in 2002. AlMaghrib provides courses on Islam in a six-day, two-weekend intensive seminar and other courses in a shorter, three-day, single-weekend format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Muhammad Knight</span> American novelist

Michael Muhammad Knight is a white American novelist, essayist, journalist, and convert to Islam. His writings are popular among American Muslim youth. The San Francisco Chronicle described him as "one of the most necessary and, paradoxically enough, hopeful writers of Barack Obama's America," while The Guardian has described him as "the Hunter S. Thompson of Islamic literature," and his non-fiction work exemplifies the principles of gonzo journalism. Publishers Weekly describes him as "Islam's gonzo experimentalist." Within the American Muslim community, he has earned a reputation as an ostentatious cultural provocateur.

Louay M. Safi is a Syrian-American, a scholar of Islam and the Middle East, and an advocate of Arab and Muslim American rights. He published on such issues as social and political development, modernization, democracy, human rights, and Islam and Modernity. He is the author of 11 books and numerous papers, and speaker on questions of leadership, democracy, Islam, and the Middle East. He is also a spokesperson for the Syrian National Coalition, a league of Syrian opposition groups fighting Syrian President Assad, which was formed in November 2012 in Doha, Qatar.

Omid Safi is an Iranian-American professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Duke University. He was the Director of Duke Islamic Studies Center from July 2014 to June 2019 and was a columnist for On Being. Safi specializes in Islamic mysticism (Sufism), contemporary Islamic thought and medieval Islamic history. Before joining Duke University, Safi was a professor at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Prior to joining the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he was on faculty at Colgate University as an Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion from 1999 - 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Muslim Union</span> Islamic organization based in Canada

The Canadian Muslim Union (CMU) is a registered not-for-profit corporation in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El-Farouk Khaki</span> Canadian politician

El-Farouk Khaki is a Tanzanian-born Muslim Canadian of Indian origin who is a refugee and immigration lawyer, and human rights activist on issues including gender equality, sexual orientation, and progressive Islam. He was the New Democratic Party's candidate for the House of Commons in the riding of Toronto Centre in a March 17, 2008 by-election. Khaki came in second with 13.8% of the vote.

Religious liberalism is a conception of religion which emphasizes personal and group liberty and rationality. It is an attitude towards one's own religion which contrasts with a traditionalist or orthodox approach, and it is directly opposed by trends of religious fundamentalism. It is related to religious liberty, which is the tolerance of different religious beliefs and practices, but not all promoters of religious liberty are in favor of religious liberalism, and vice versa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raheel Raza</span> Canadian journalist and activist

Raheel Raza is a Pakistani-Canadian journalist, author, public speaker, media consultant, anti-racism activist, and interfaith discussion leader. She is among the most prominent Muslim supporters of Israel. She lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Mukhayriq ibn al-Nadir was an Arabian Jewish rabbi who belonged to the Banu Tha'laba tribe of Medina and fought alongside Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Battle of Uhud on 19 March 625.

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.

Ebrahim Moosa is the Mirza Family Professor of Islamic Thought & Muslim Societies at the University of Notre Dame with appointments in the Department of History and in the Kroc Institute for International Studies in the Keough School of Global Affairs. He is co-director of the Contending Modernities program at Notre Dame. He was previously Professor of Religion and Islamic Studies at Duke University. He is considered a leading scholar of contemporary Muslim thought. Moosa has been named as one of the top 500 Influential Muslims in the World.

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

References

  1. Creet, Julia (2011). Memory and Migration: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Memory Studies. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. 175. ISBN   978-1-4426-4129-7.
  2. "Uber hyped 'Progressive Muslim Union' a bust as three more founding members resign". Militant Islam Monitor. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  3. Sheila Musaji. "(TAM)". The American Muslim. Retrieved 2015-11-25.