Liberalism and progressivism within Islam

{{Main|Islamic philosophy|List of Muslim philosophers|Islamic ethics|Political aspects of Islam}}

The rise of Islam, based on both the transmission of the Quran and the life of Muhammad, strongly altered the power balances and perceptions of origin of power in the Mediterranean region. Early Islamic philosophy emphasized an inexorable link between religion and science, and the process of ijtihad to find truth — in effect, all philosophy was "political" as it had real implications for governance. This view was challenged by the "rationalist" Muʿtazilite philosophers, who held a more Hellenistic view, emphasizing reason above revelation, and as such are known to modern scholars as the first speculative theologians of Islam; they were supported by a secular aristocracy who sought freedom of action independent of the Caliphate. By the late ancient period, the "traditionalist" Ashʿarīte theology had in general triumphed over rationalists. According to the Ashʿarītes, reason must be subordinate to the Quran and the sunnah.{{cite book|last=Aslan|first=Reza|author-link=Reza Aslan|title=No god but God|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AkyupJn81RMC&pg=PA153|year=2005|publisher=Random House Inc.|isbn=978-1-58836-445-6|page=153|quote=By the ninth and tenth centuries... }}

File:AverroesColor.jpg was the preeminent philosopher in the history of Al-Andalus. 14th-century painting by Andrea di Bonaiuto]]

Ibn Rushd (1126–1198) often Latinized as Averroes, was an Andalusian polymath. Being described as "founding father of secular thought in Western Europe",{{cite web|title=John Carter Brown Library Exhibitions – Islamic encounters |url=http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/John_Carter_Brown_Library/islam/pages/exchange.html |access-date=October 30, 2012}}{{cite web |title=Ahmed, K. S. "Arabic Medicine: Contributions and Influence". The Proceedings of the 17th Annual History of Medicine Days, March 7th and 8th, 2008 Health Sciences Centre, Calgary, AB. |url=http://dspace.ucalgary.ca/bitstream/1880/47472/1/2008_HMD_Ahmed.pdf |access-date=October 30, 2012 |archive-date=June 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606022334/http://dspace.ucalgary.ca/bitstream/1880/47472/1/2008_HMD_Ahmed.pdf |url-status=dead }} he was known by the nickname the Commentator for his precious commentaries on Aristotle's works. His main work was The Incoherence of the Incoherence in which he defended philosophy against al-Ghazali's claims in The Incoherence of the Philosophers. His other works were the Fasl al-Maqal and the Kitab al-Kashf. Ibn Rushd presented an argument in Fasl al-Maqal (Decisive Treatise) providing a justification for the emancipation of science and philosophy from official Ash'ari theology and that there is no inherent contradiction between philosophy and religion; thus Averroism has been considered a precursor to modern secularism.{{cite journal|last1=Sarrió|first1=Diego R.|title=The Philosopher as the Heir of the Prophets: Averroes's Islamic Rationalism|journal=Al-Qanṭara |volume=36 |issue=1 |year=2015 |pages=45–68 |issn=1988-2955 |doi=10.3989/alqantara.2015.002|doi-access=free }} p.48Abdel Wahab El Messeri. [http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/tvtk/ch21.htm Episode 21: Ibn Rushd], Everything you wanted to know about Islam but was afraid to Ask, Philosophia Islamica.Fauzi M. Najjar (Spring, 1996). [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2501/is_n2_v18/ai_18627295/pg_13 The debate on Islam and secularism in Egypt] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100404173457/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2501/is_n2_v18/ai_18627295/pg_13/ |date=2010-04-04 }}, Arab Studies Quarterly (ASQ). Ibn Rushd accepts the principle of women's equality. According to him, they should be educated and allowed to serve in the military; the best among them might be tomorrow's philosophers or rulers.{{Cite book|author= Averroes|translator-link1=Ralph Lerner (philosopher) |translator=Ralph Lerner |title= Averroes On Plato's Republic |publisher= Cornell University Press |year= 2005 |isbn= 0-8014-8975-X|page=xix}}{{Cite book|last=Fakhry |first=Majid |title=Averroes (Ibn Rushd) His Life, Works and Influence |publisher=Oneworld Publications |year=2001 |isbn=1-85168-269-4|page=110}} The 13th-century philosophical movement in Latin Christian and Jewish tradition based on Ibn Rushd's work is called Averroism. Ibn Rushd became something of a symbolic figure in the debate over the decline and proposed revitalization of Islamic thought and Islamic society in the late 20th century. A notable proponent of such a revival of Averroist thought in Islamic society was Mohammed Abed al-Jabri with his Critique de la Raison Arabe (1982).Nicola Missaglia, [http://www.resetdoc.org/story/00000021666 "Mohamed Abed Al-Jabri's new Averroism"]

File:Tahtawi.jpg

Egyptian Egyptologist and renaissance intellectual Rifa'a al-Tahtawi (1801−1873) is considered one of the early adapters to Islamic Modernism. Islamic Modernists attempted to integrate Islamic principles with European social theories. In 1831, Rifa'a al-Tahtawi was part of the statewide effort to modernize the Egyptian infrastructure and education. They introduced his Egyptian audience to Enlightenment ideas such as secular authority and political rights and liberty; his ideas regarding how a modern civilized society ought to be and what constituted by extension a civilized or "good Egyptian"; and his ideas on public interest and public good.{{cite book|last=Vatikiotis|first=P. J.|title=The Modern History of Egypt|year=1976|publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson |isbn=978-0297772620|edition=Repr.}} p. 115-16 Tahtawi's work was the first effort in what became an Egyptian renaissance (nahda) that flourished in the years between 1860 and 1940.{{cite book|last=Vatikiotis|first=P. J.|title=The Modern History of Egypt|year=1976|publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson |isbn=978-0297772620|edition=Repr.}} p. 116

In 1826, Al-Tahtawi was sent to Paris by Mehmet Ali. There, he studied at an educational mission for five years, returning in 1831. Tahtawi was appointed director of the School of Languages. At the school, he worked translating European books into Arabic. Tahtawi was instrumental in translating military manuals, geography, and European history.Gelvin, 133-134 In total, al-Tahtawi supervised the translation of over 2,000 foreign works into Arabic. He even made favorable comments about French society in some of his books.Cleveland, William L. (2008)"History of the Modern Middle East" (4th ed.) pg.93. Tahtawi stressed that the Principles of Islam are compatible with those of European Modernity. In his piece, The Extraction of Gold or an Overview of Paris, Tahtawi discusses the patriotic responsibility of citizenship. He uses Roman civilization as an example of what could become of Islamic civilizations; at one point, all Romans are united under one Caesar but split into East and West. After splitting, the two nations see "all its wars ended in defeat, and it retreated from a perfect existence to nonexistence." Tahtawi understands that if Egypt is unable to remain united, it could fall prey to outside invaders. He stresses the importance of citizens defending the patriotic duty of their country. One way to protect one's country, according to Tahtawi, is to accept the changes that come with a modern society.Galvin 160-161

File:Muhammad Abduh.jpg (1849–1905)]]

Egyptian Islamic jurist and religious scholar Muhammad Abduh (1849—1905), regarded as one of the key founding figures of Islamic Modernism,Ahmed H. Al-Rahim (January 2006). "Islam and Liberty", Journal of Democracy 17 (1), p. 166-169. broke the rigidity of the Muslim ritual, dogma, and family ties.{{cite encyclopedia |last=Kerr |first=Malcolm H. |editor-first=Dale H. |editor-last=Hoiberg |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |title='Abduh Muhammad |edition=15th |year=2010 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. |volume=I: A-ak Bayes |location=Chicago, IL |isbn=978-1-59339-837-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newencyclopaedia2009ency/page/20 20–21] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/newencyclopaedia2009ency/page/20 }} Abduh argued that Muslims could not simply rely on the interpretations of texts provided by medieval clerics, they needed to use reason to keep up with changing times. He said that in Islam, man was not created to be led by a bridle, man was given intelligence so that he could be guided by knowledge. According to Abduh, a teacher's role was to direct men towards study. He believed that Islam encouraged men to detach from the world of their ancestors and that Islam reproved the slavish imitation of tradition. He said that the two greatest possessions relating to religion that man was graced with were independence of will and independence of thought and opinion. It was with the help of these tools that he could attain happiness. He believed that the growth of Western civilization in Europe was based on these two principles. He thought that Europeans were roused to act after a large number of them were able to exercise their choice and to seek out facts with their minds.Gelvin, J. L. (2008). The Modern Middle East (2nd ed., pp. 161-162). New York: Oxford university Press. In his works, he portrays God as educating humanity from its childhood through its youth and then on to adulthood. According to him, Islam is the only religion whose dogmas can be proven by reasoning. He was against polygamy and thought that it was an archaic custom. He believed in a form of Islam that would liberate men from enslavement, provide equal rights for all human beings, abolish the religious scholar's monopoly on exegesis, and abolish racial discrimination and religious compulsion.Kügelgen, Anke von. "ʿAbduh, Muḥammad." Encyclopaedia of Islam, v. 3. Edited by: Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas and Everett Rowson. Brill, 2009. Syracuse University. 23 April 2009

Muhammad Abduh claimed in his book Al-Idtihad fi Al-Nasraniyya wa Al-Islam that no one had exclusive religious authority in the Islamic world. He argued that the Caliph did not represent religious authority, because he was not infallible nor was the Caliph the person to whom the revelation was given; therefore, according to Abduh, the Caliph and other Muslims are equal.ʿAbduh, Muhammad. "al-Idtihad fi al-Nasraniyya wa al-Islam." In al-A'mal al-Kamila li al-Imam Muhammad ʿAbduh. edited by Muhammad ʿAmara. Cairo: Dar al-Shuruk, 1993. 257-368. ʿAbduh argued that the Caliph should have the respect of the ummah but not rule it; the unity of the umma is a moral unity which does not prevent its division into national states.Hourani, Albert. Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age 1798-1939. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983. 156. Mohammad Abduh made great efforts to preach harmony between Sunnis and Shias. Broadly speaking, he preached brotherhood between all schools of thought in Islam.Benzine, Rachid. Les nouveaux penseurs de l'islam, p. 43-44. Abduh regularly called for better friendship between religious communities. As Christianity was the second biggest religion in Egypt, he devoted special efforts towards friendship between Muslims and Christians. He had many Christian friends and many a time he stood up to defend Copts.

Egyptian Qur'anic post-modern thinker, author, academic Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd is one of the leading liberal theologians in Islam. He is famous for his project of a humanistic Qur'anic hermeneutics, which "challenged mainstream views" on the Qur'an sparking "controversy and debate".{{cite web|title=Naṣr Ḥāmid Abū Zayd|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nasr-Hamid-Abu-Zayd|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=10 December 2015}} While not denying that the Qur'an was of divine origin, Zayd argued that it was a "cultural product" that had to be read in the context of the language and culture of seventh century Arabs,{{cite book|last1=Cook|first1=Michael|title=The Koran: A Very Short Introduction|date=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rUEe1twiimUC&q=The+Koran+%3A+A+Very+Short+Introduction |isbn=0192853449|page=46}} and could be interpreted in more than one way. He also criticized the use of religion to exert political power. In 1995 an Egyptian Sharia court declared him an apostate, this led to threats of death and his fleeing Egypt several week later.{{cite news|title=Nasr Abu Zayd, Who Stirred Debate on Koran, Dies at 66| newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/06/world/middleeast/06zayd.html?_r=0|access-date=10 December 2015|agency=REUTERS|date=6 July 2010}} He later "quietly" returned to Egypt where he died. According to scholar Navid Kermani "three key themes" emerge from Abu Zayd's work:

1. to trace the various interpretations and historical settings of the single Qur'anic text from the early days of Islam up to the present;
2. to demonstrate the "interpretational diversity" ({{transliteration|ar|al-ta 'addud alta 'wili}})Mafhum al-nass: dirasa fi 'ulum al-Qur'an. Cairo, 1990. p.11 that exists within the Islamic tradition;
3. and to show how this diversity has been "increasingly neglected" across Islamic history.Kermani, "From revelation to interpretation", 2004: p.174

Abu Zayd saw himself as an heir to the Muʿtazila, "particularly their idea of the created Qurʿān and their tendency toward metaphorical interpretation".{{cite web|last1=Shepard|first1=William E.|title=Abu Zayd, Nasir Hamid|url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0919|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304113656/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t236/e0919|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 4, 2016|website=Oxford Islamic Studies Online|access-date=14 December 2015}} Abu Zayd strongly opposed the belief in a "single, precise and valid interpretation of the Qur'an handed down by the Prophet for all times".Kermani, "From revelation to interpretation", 2004: p.173 In his view, the Quran made Islamic Arab culture a 'culture of the text` ({{transliteration|ar|hadarat al-nass}}) par excellence, but because the language of the Quran is not self-explanatory, this implied Islamic Arab culture was also a culture of interpretation ({{transliteration|ar|hadarat al-ta'wil}}).Kermani, "From revelation to interpretation", 2004: p.171 Abu Zayd emphasized "intellect" ({{transliteration|ar|`aql}}) in understanding the Quran, as opposed to "a hermeneutical approach which gives priority to the narrated traditions [ hadith ]" ({{transliteration|ar|naql}}). As a reflection of this Abu Zayd used the term {{transliteration|ar|ta'wil}} (interpretation) for efforts to understand the Quran, while in the Islamic sciences, the literature that explained the Quran was referred to as {{transliteration|ar|tafsir}} (commentary, explanation).Kermani, "From revelation to interpretation", 2004: p.172 For Abu Zayd, interpretation goes beyond explanation or commentary, "for without" the Qur'an would not have meaning:

The [Qur'anic] text changed from the very first moment - that is, when the Prophet recited it at the moment of its revelation - from its existence as a divine text (nass ilahi), and became something understandable, a human text (nass insani), because it changed from revelation to interpretation (li-annahu tahawwala min al-tanzil ila al-ta'wil). The Prophet's understanding of the text is one of the first phases of movement resulting from the text's connection with the human intellect.Naqd al-hhitab al-dini, p. 93., translated by {{cite book |chapter-url=http://blog.malakut.org/nkermani(cut).pdf |chapter=From revelation to interpretation: Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd and the Literary study of the Qur'an |first=Navid |last=Kermani |title=Modern Muslim Intellectuals and the Qur'an |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2004 |page=172 |editor1-first=Suha |editor1-last=Taji-Farouki |access-date=2017-05-02 |archive-date=2022-10-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004093402/https://blog.malakut.org/nkermani(cut).pdf |url-status=dead }}

Abu Zayd's critical approach to classical and contemporary Islamic discourse in the fields of theology, philosophy, law, politics, and humanism, promoted modern Islamic thought that might enable Muslims to build a bridge between their own tradition and the modern world of freedom of speech, equality (minority rights, women's rights, social justice), human rights, democracy and globalisation.{{cite book |title=Faith and Philosophy of Islam |date=2009 |publisher=Gyan Publishing House |isbn=978-81-7835-719-5 |pages=166–7 |chapter=10. Reformers. Reformers in the Modern Period}}

Socialist Shi'ism had a significant impact on the first and so far only Islamist revolution, the 1979 Iranian Revolution by giving a radical political interpretation to the religious themes of Shia Islam. Socialist Shiaism arose from a 1970s movement of young secular-educated leftists in majority-Shia Iran who sought a socialist revolution to overthrow the pro-American authoritarian monarchy of Shah Mohammad Reza Shah. Although a socialist revolution never came, the Shah was overthrown by the Islamist revolution, whose leader, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, borrowed many of the socialist Shia ideas and in doing so was able to draw crucial support from students and the Iranian middle class.{{sfn|Kepel|2002|p=40-41}} In attempting to build their revolutionary force the Iranian socialists failed to establish "deep roots" with the Muslim Iranian masses{{sfn|Kepel|2002|p=37-39}} who did not relate to Marxist concepts of rationalism, materialism, and atheism.{{sfn|Kepel|2002|pp=39, 107-108}} Traditional peasant and manual laborer Iranians did however strongly relate to the traditional religious Messianic expectation of the return of the Mahdi to cleanse the world of injustice,{{sfn|Kepel|2002|pp=107-108}} and to traditional stories of the tragic/heroic struggle of the Imam Husayn, one of the most revered figures in Shia Islam, who had been defeated and killed by the Sunni Umayyad Caliphate at Karbala.

File:Dr Ali Shariati.jpg]]

Ali Shariati Mazinani (Persian (1933–1977) was the leading member amongst the Shia socialists. He came from a "strictly religious family" but was a sociologist, not a religious scholar. He had studied in Paris and been influenced by the writings of Marxist-oriented writers such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Frantz Fanon, and Che Guevara.{{sfn|Kepel|2002|p=37}}

Shariati intertwined the Shia belief in an inevitable elimination of injustice by the Mahdi with socialist revolution against the Iranian ruling class.{{sfn|Kepel|2002|pp=107-108}} Socialist Shia preached that Imam Hussein was not just a historical holy figure but the original oppressed one (muzloun), and his killer the "analog" of the modern Iranian people's "oppression by the shah".{{sfn|Kepel|2002|pp=107-108}} His killing was not just an "eternal manifestation of the truth but a revolutionary act by a revolutionary hero".Nasr, Vali, The Shia Revival, Norton, (2006), pp. 128 Shi'a should respond to his killing not with the traditional lamentation, flagellation,{{sfn|Kepel|2002|p=38}} and patient awaiting of the return of the messiah, that the traditional clergy encouraged,{{sfn|Rahnema|2000|pp=123–124}} but by fighting against the injustice of the state as Ali and Hussein had.{{sfn|Kepel|2002|p=38}}

Shariati's harsh criticism of the traditional Usuli Shia clergy as standing in the way of the revolutionary potential of the masses,{{sfn|Rahnema|2000|pp=123–124}} was met with fatwas. Ayatullah Hadi Milani, the influential Usuli Marja' in Mashhad during the 1970s, issued a fatwa prohibiting his followers from reading Ali Shariati's books and Islamist literature produced by young clerics. This fatwa was followed by similar ones from Ayatullah Mar'ashi Najafi, Ayatullah Muhammad Rouhani, Ayatullah Hasan Qomi, and others. Ayatullah Khomeini, however, refused to comment.{{sfn|Rahnema|2000|pp=274–276}}

In addition to socialism, Shariati advocated women's rights, as evidenced in his book Fatima Is Fatima, where he argued that Fatima Zahra the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad is as a role model for Muslim women around the world and a woman who was free.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

Shariati did not advocate Western liberal democracy which he saw as involved in imperialist plundering of the developing world and advocated what he called "Commitment Democracy", which would be, according to Shariati, the government of Imam Ali. {{cn|date=March 2025}} Shariati was influenced by anti-democratic Islamist ideas of Muslim Brotherhood thinkers in Egypt and tried to meet Muhammad Qutb while visiting Saudi Arabia in 1969.{{sfn|Bohdan|2020|p=256}}

Iran was a petroleum exporter and had relatively large sums to devote to education, which led to the creation of a relatively large number of post-secondary students. While Iranian peasants, proletariat, and lumpen proletariat did not respond to Socialist Shiaism in large numbers, Shariati was phenomenally popular with students.{{sfn|Abrahamian|1982|p=534}}{{sfn|Nasr|2006|p=129}} The Islamic Marxist movements, most notably the People's Mujahideen, were strongly influenced by Shariati. Ayatollah Khomeini emphasized Shariati's themes of revolution, anti-imperialism, and the radical message of Muharram; and incorporated into his public declarations such 'Fanonist' terms as the 'mostazafin will inherit the earth', 'the country needs a cultural revolution', and the 'people will dump the exploiters onto the garbage heap of history.'"{{sfn|Abrahamian|1982|p=534}}

{{further|Mahmoud Taleghani}}

File:Mahmoud Taleghani (1).jpg

Mahmoud Taleghani (1911–1979) was another Shia leftist and contemporary of Khomeini, but also a cleric and a veteran leader in his own right of the movement against Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. A founding member of the Freedom Movement of Iran, he has been described as a representative of the tendency of many "Shia clerics to blend Shia with Marxist ideals in order to compete with leftist movements for youthful supporters" during the 1960s and 1970s.Nasr, Vali, The Shia Revival, Norton, (2006), pp. 126–7 He served a total of a dozen years in prison,{{cite web |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,947428,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016225503/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,947428,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 October 2007|title=Milestones, Sep. 24, 1979|date=24 September 1979|via=time.com}} where he developed connections with leftist political prisoners and the influence of the left on his thinking was reflected in his famous book Islam and Ownership (Islam va Malekiyat) which argued in support of collective ownership "as if it were an article of faith in Islam."Nasr, Vali 2006 p.127

Taleghani was instrumental in "shaping the groundswell movement" that led to the Iranian Revolution and served as the chair of powerful and secret Revolutionary Council during the Islamic Revolution.{{cite web | url=http://www.irdc.ir/en/calendar/366/default.aspx | title=Demise of Ayatollah Taleghani | publisher=Islamic Revolution Document Center | access-date=21 June 2016 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130413064337/http://www.irdc.ir/en/calendar/366/default.aspx | archive-date=13 April 2013 | df=dmy-all }} He clashed with Khomeini in April 1979, warning the leadership against a 'return to despotism.'" After two of his sons were arrested by revolutionary Guards, thousands of his supporters marched in the streets chanting "Taleghani, you are the soul of the revolution! Down with the reactionaries!" Khomeini summoned Taleghani to Qom where he was given a severe criticism, after which the press was called, and Khomeini made a statement pointedly not referring to Taleghani as an Ayatollah. "Mr. Taleghani is with us, and he is sorry for what happened."Mackay, Iranians, (1998), p. 291

{{main|Ijtihad}}

Ijtihad (lit. "effort, physical or mental, expended in a particular activity"){{cite encyclopedia|first=Intisar A. |last= Rabb|title=Ijtihād|encyclopedia=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World|editor=John L. Esposito|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|year=2009|isbn= 978-0-19-530513-5|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195305135.001.0001/acref-9780195305135-e-0354|url-access=subscription }} is an Islamic legal term referring to independent reasoning{{cite encyclopedia|title=Ijtihad|chapter=Taqiyah |editor=John L. Esposito|encyclopedia=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam|publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-512558-0 |chapter-url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195125580.001.0001/acref-9780195125580-e-2338|chapter-url-access=subscription }} or the thorough exertion of a jurist's mental faculty in finding a solution to a legal question. It is contrasted with taqlid (imitation, conformity to legal precedent).{{cite encyclopedia|title=Taqlid|editor=John L. Esposito|encyclopedia=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam|publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-512558-0 |url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195125580.001.0001/acref-9780195125580-e-2339|url-access=subscription }} According to classical Sunni theory, ijtihad requires expertise in the Arabic language, theology, revealed texts, and principles of jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh), and is not employed where authentic and authoritative texts (Qur'an and hadith) are considered unambiguous with regard to the question, or where there is an existing scholarly consensus (ijma). Ijtihad is considered to be a religious duty for those qualified to perform it. An Islamic scholar who is qualified to perform ijtihad is called a mujtahid.

Starting from the 18th century, some Muslim reformers began calling for the abandonment of taqlid and emphasis on ijtihad, which they saw as a return to Islamic origins. Public debates in the Muslim world surrounding ijtihad continue to the present day. The advocacy of ijtihad has been particularly associated with Islamic modernists. Among contemporary Muslims in the West, new visions of ijtihad have emerged, emphasizing substantive moral values over traditional juridical methodology.

{{Excerpt|Al-Baqara 256|paragraphs=1,2|only=paragraphs}}

{{Main|Islamic feminism|Hermeneutics of feminism in Islam}}

{{See also|Women in Islam|Gender roles in Islam|Islam and domestic violence|Religious views on female genital mutilation#Islam|List of Muslim feminists}}

A combination of Islam and feminism has been advocated as "a feminist discourse and practice articulated within an Islamic paradigm" by Margot Badran in 2002.[http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/569/cu1.htm Al-Ahram Weekly | Culture | Islamic feminism: what's in a name?] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320074746/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/569/cu1.htm |date=March 20, 2015 }} Islamic feminists ground their arguments in Islam and its teachings,{{cite web|url=http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/2004/16-31Jan04-Print-Edition/1631200425.htm|title='Islamic feminism means justice to women', The Milli Gazette, Vol.5 No.02, MG96 (16-31 January 04)|work=milligazette.com|access-date=9 December 2015}} seek the full equality of women and men in the personal and public sphere, and can include non-Muslims in the discourse and debate. Islamic feminism is defined by Islamic scholars as being more radical than secular feminism,[http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/569/cu1.htm "Islamic feminism: what's in a name?"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320074746/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/569/cu1.htm |date=2015-03-20 }} by Margot Badran, Al-Ahram, January 17–23, 2002 and as being anchored within the discourse of Islam with the Quran as its central text.[http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1426&fuseaction=topics.event_summary&event_id=42775 "Exploring Islamic Feminism"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050416072620/http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1426&fuseaction=topics.event_summary&event_id=42775 |date=2005-04-16 }} by Margot Badran, Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, November 30, 2000

During recent times, the concept of Islamic feminism has grown further with Islamic groups looking to garner support from many aspects of society. In addition, educated Muslim women are striving to articulate their role in society.[http://www.monitor.upeace.org/innerpg.cfm?id_article=789] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410054924/http://www.monitor.upeace.org/innerpg.cfm?id_article=789|date=2011-04-10}} Rob L. Wagner: "Saudi-Islamic Feminist Movement: A Struggle for Male Allies and the Right Female Voice", University for Peace (Peace and Conflict Monitor), March 29, 2011

Examples of Islamic feminist groups are the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, founded by Meena Keshwar Kamal,{{cite web |url=http://lantos.house.gov/HoR/CA12/Human+Rights+Caucus/Briefing+Testimonies/Fahima+Vorgetts.htm |title=RAWA testimony to the Congressional Human Rights Caucus Briefing |publisher=U.S. Congressional Human Rights Caucus |date=December 18, 2001 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070628022728/http://lantos.house.gov/HoR/CA12/Human+Rights+Caucus/Briefing+Testimonies/Fahima+Vorgetts.htm |archive-date=June 28, 2007 }} Muslim Women's Quest for Equality from India,{{cite web|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/muslim-women-s-group-demands-complete-ban-on-shariah-courts/story-kgNMV7LwDSgEaMRAOIecfI.html |title=Muslim women's group demands complete ban on Shariah courts | india-news |date=6 September 2016 |publisher=Hindustan Times |access-date=2016-09-07}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/sc-admits-muslim-womans-plea-to-declare-triple-talaq-illegal/article9036511.ece |title=SC admits Muslim woman's plea to declare triple talaq illegal |work=The Hindu |date=2016-08-26 |access-date=2016-09-07}} and Sisters in Islam from Malaysia, founded by Zainah Anwar and Amina Wadud among other five women.{{cite web|url=http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/132369|title=Polygamy not a God-given right to Muslims|date=21 May 2010 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/syariah-court-fails-to-protect-and-safeguard-muslim-girls-sisters-in-islam|title=Syariah court fails to protect and safeguard Muslim girls — Sisters in Islam|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714201933/http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/syariah-court-fails-to-protect-and-safeguard-muslim-girls-sisters-in-islam|archive-date=2014-07-14}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thestar.com.my/story.aspx/?file=%2f2006%2f12%2f17%2fnation%2f16348692&sec=nation|title=Archives|access-date=2017-04-22|archive-date=2014-07-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714180102/http://www.thestar.com.my/story.aspx/?file=%2f2006%2f12%2f17%2fnation%2f16348692&sec=nation|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.sistersinislam.org.my/comment.php?comment.news.309|title=Sisters In Islam: News / Comments / Dress and Modesty in Islam|access-date=2017-04-22|archive-date=2013-08-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823113231/http://www.sistersinislam.org.my/comment.php?comment.news.309|url-status=dead}}

In 2014, the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS) issued a fatwa declaring that Sisters In Islam, as well as any other organisation promoting religious liberalism and pluralism, deviate from the teachings of Islam. According to the edict, publications that are deemed to promote liberal and pluralistic religious thinking are to be declared unlawful and confiscated, while social media is also to be monitored and restricted.{{cite web|url=http://www.e-fatwa.gov.my/selangor |title=Selangor | Portal Rasmi Fatwa Malaysia |access-date=2014-11-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103123327/http://www.e-fatwa.gov.my/selangor |archive-date=2014-11-03 }} As fatwas are legally binding in Malaysia, SIS is challenging it on constitutional grounds.{{cite web|url=http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/10/31/Sisters-in-Islam-files-for-judicial-review-on-fatwa/|title=Sisters in Islam files for judicial review on fatwa - Nation - The Star Online|website=www.thestar.com.my}}

While most Conservative Muslims believe the hijab is mandatory, many Progressive Muslims take alternate views.

In a fatwa, Khaled Abou El Fadl states that the Quran requires women only to cover their bosoms. The idea that the Quran mandates a piece of cloth (khimar) to cover either a woman's face or her hair, but not her face, is ahistorical. In addition, he declares that it is an error for Muslim women to continue wearing a hijab if it brings them undue attention or puts her at risk of harm.{{Cite web |date=2016-01-02 |title=FATWA: On Hijab (The Hair-covering of Women) UPDATED |url=https://www.searchforbeauty.org/2016/01/02/fatwa-on-hijab-the-hair-covering-of-women/ |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=Khaled Abou El Fadl on The Search For Beauty in Islam |language=en-US}} Sheikh Mustapha Mohamed Rashed at Al-Azhar University similarly defended a thesis that concluded wearing a hijab is not a religious duty, and that the Quran only mandates a piece of cloth to cover breasts.{{Cite web |last=jamal-saidi |date=2012-06-24 |title=Hijab is Not an Islamic Duty: Muslim Scholar |url=https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2012/06/151461/hijab-is-not-an-islamic-duty-scholar/ |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=Morocco World News |language=en-US}}

{{Main|An-Nisa, 34}}

Verse An-Nisa 34 of the Quran has traditionally been interpreted as mandating wives' obedience to their husbands and beating as a punishment for disobedience,{{cite web |last1=Ibn Kathir |title=Tafsir (Abridged) |url=https://quran.com/an-nisa/34/tafsirs |website=Quran.com |access-date=5 March 2025}} with the following translations from Mustafa Khattab and Sahih International:

{{Blockquote|text=Men are the caretakers of women, as men have been provisioned by Allah over women and tasked with supporting them financially. And righteous women are devoutly obedient and, when alone, protective of what Allah has entrusted them with. And if you sense ill-conduct from your women, advise them ˹first˺, ˹if they persist,˺ do not share their beds, ˹but if they still persist,˺ then discipline them ˹gently˺. But if they change their ways, do not be unjust to. Surely Allah is Most High, All-Great.|author=Quran 4:34 ("The Clear Quran" translation by Mustafa Khattab)|title=}}

{{Blockquote|text= Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allāh has given one over the other and what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband's] absence what Allāh would have them guard. But those [wives] from whom you fear arrogance - [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them [lightly]. But if they obey you [once more], seek no means against them. Indeed, Allāh is ever Exalted and Grand.|author=Quran 4:34 (Sahih International translation)|title=}}

However, Progressive Muslims have given many alternative interpretations and translations of the verse.{{Cite journal |last=Ghafournia |first=Nafiseh |date=2017-12-07 |title=Towards a New Interpretation of Quran 4:34 |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/haww/15/3/article-p279_279.xml |journal=Hawwa |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=279–292 |doi=10.1163/15692086-12341309 |issn=1569-2078|url-access=subscription }} (such as a deterrent from anger-based domestic violence).{{cite web|url=https://yaqeeninstitute.org/tesneem-alkiek/islam-and-violence-against-women-a-critical-look-at-domestic-violence-and-honor-killings-in-the-muslim-community/#.Xk6BVBdKgb0 |title=Islam and Violence Against Women: A Critical Look at Domestic Violence and Honor Killings in the Muslim Community |author=Tesneem Alkiek, Dalia Mogahed, Omar Suleiman and Jonathan Brown |publisher=Yaqeen Institute |date=May 22, 2017 |access-date=February 23, 2020}}{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/20/AR2006102001261.html|title=Clothes Aren't the Issue|last=Nomani|first=Asra Q.|date=October 22, 2006|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922033032/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/20/AR2006102001261_2.html?noredirect=on|archive-date=2018-09-22|url-status=live}}

Riffat Hassan, has taken the view that qawwamun in the verse is not talking about men being superior to women, but rather is referring to men's role as breadwinners. Nushuz is interpreted as not referring to domestic disobedience but to a mass rebellion of all women against their role as child-bearers. Asma Barlas has taken a similar view that qawwamun means moral guidance or caring, nushuz means disharmony, and that wa-dribuhunna has multiple meanings, such as "to set an example" or "to separate", and that "to beat" is "the worst one!" of all possible interpretations.

Amina Wadud has stated that qawwamun refers to men's financial support of women while nushuz refers to disharmony in the relationship. She interprets wa-dribuhunna, the word often translated as "strike" or "beat", as being used in a non-literal sense.{{Cite journal |last=Dunn |first=Shannon |last2=Kellison |first2=Rosemary B. |date=2010 |title=At the Intersection of Scripture and Law: Qur'an 4:34 and Violence against Women |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/394785 |journal=Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=11–36 |doi=10.2979/fsr.2010.26.2.11 |issn=1553-3913|url-access=subscription }}

Laleh Bakhtiar, in her Quran translation, The Sublime Quran, translated wa-dribuhunna as "to go away from" or "to leave", claiming the verse recommends husbands to leave their wives if there are irreconcilable disagreements and differences. She cites prophetic biographies claiming Muhammad never beat his wives and talking about his respect for women, and other Quran verses like 2:231.{{Cite web |date=2017-03-26 |title=How Three American Women Translated One of the World's Most Popular Qurans |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-three-american-women-translated-one-of-the-worlds-most-popular-qurans/ |access-date=2024-11-16 |website=The Daily Beast |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=MacFarquhar |first=Neil |date=March 25, 2007 |title=New Translation Prompts Debate on Islamic Verse |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/us/25koran.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120629034648/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/us/25koran.html |archive-date=June 29, 2012 |access-date=November 15, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}{{Cite web |last=Tribune |first=Chicago |date=2007-04-10 |title=A new look at a holy text |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2007/04/10/a-new-look-at-a-holy-text/ |access-date=2024-11-16 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}

Laury Silvers, based on the methodology of medieval Islamic thinker Ibn Arabi, believes that "God may intend all meanings, but it does not follow that he 'approves' of all meanings." Using this, she believes that the Quran has to be ambiguous, as if it weren't, there would be no room for human responsibility. Using this, she claims that Allah did intend for all meanings of wa-dribuhunna, including beating, and that true human morality comes from the freedom to choose the best of these interpretations. It is claimed Muhammad never beat his wives, and that his "conflicted response" to this revelation shows that God revealed it out of necessity (to restrain existing violence against women) rather than out of approval, and that it remains best to refrain from violence entirely.{{Cite journal |last=Silvers |first=Laury |date=2006 |title=“In the Book We have Left out Nothing”: The Ethical Problem of the Existence of Verse 4:34 in the Qur'an |url=https://journal.equinoxpub.com/CIS/article/view/9646 |journal=Comparative Islamic Studies |language=en |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=171–180 |doi=10.1558/cisv2i2.171 |issn=1743-1638|url-access=subscription }}

Khaled Abou El Fadl claims nushuz is better understood as "a grave and known sin" and in 4:34, this is a lewd act or sexual sin that can be proven by evidence and verified by a judge. According to his interpretation, 4:34 is about how a judge would punish a woman for a sexual crime, rather than about wifely disobedience. Fatema Mernissi cites Quran 33:35 as evidence for gender equality within Islam and several hadith to claim that while beating was permissible, the best Muslims would never beat their wives.

Edip Yüksel in his Quran translation, The Quran: A Reformist Translation, interprets qawwamun as "supporters" rather than as "guardians" or "in charge of", citing other Quran verses using the word. Furthermore, he believes nushuz is not referring to disobedience, but instead an extramarital affair or marital disloyalty, citing Quran 4:128. Finally, he claims idribuhunna does not mean beating, but rather means separation, saying beating would not make sense with Quran 30:21 stating that marriage is tranquil.{{Cite book |title=The Quran: A Reformist Translation |date=2007 |publisher=Brainbow Press |isbn=978-0-9796715-0-0 |editor-last=Yüksel |editor-first=Edip |location=United States of America |pages=17–20, 104 |language=en |editor-last2=al-Shaiban |editor-first2=Layth Saleh |editor-last3=Schulte-Nafeh |editor-first3=Martha}}

{{further|Human rights in Muslim-majority countries|Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam}}

File:Badshah Khan.jpg with Mahatma Gandhi.]]

Moderate Islamic political thought contends that the nurturing of the Muslim identity and the propagation of values such as democracy and human rights are not mutually exclusive, but rather should be promoted together.[https://books.google.com/books?id=vl-8rypoHY0C&pg=PA162 The Fundamentalist City?: Religiosity and the Remaking of Urban Space], Nezar Alsayyad (ed.), Chapter 7: "Hamas in Gaza Refugee camps: The Construction of Trapped Spaces for the Survival of Fundamentalism", Francesca Giovannini. Taylor & Francis, 2010. {{ISBN|978-0-415-77936-4}}." Most liberal Muslims believe that Islam promotes the notion of absolute equality of all humanity, and that it is one of its central concepts. Therefore, a breach of human rights has become a source of great concern to most liberal Muslims.Hassan Mahmoud Khalil: "Islam's position on violence and violation of human rights", Dar Al-Shaeb, 1994.

Liberal Muslims differ with their culturally conservative counterparts in that they believe that all humanity is represented under the umbrella of human rights. Many Muslim majority countries have signed international human rights treaties, although the impact of these largely remains to be seen in local legal systems. Muslim liberals often reject traditional interpretations of Islamic law, which allow Ma malakat aymanukum and slavery. They say that slavery opposed Islamic principles which they believe to be based on justice and equality and some say that verses relating to slavery or "Ma malakat aymanukum" now can not be applied due to the fact that the world has changed, while others say that those verses are misinterpreted and twisted to legitimize slavery.{{cite web|url=http://www.ahewar.org/debat/show.art.asp?aid=125503 |title=Writer and Islamic thinker "Gamal al-Banna": The Muslim Brotherhood is not fit to rule (2-2) |publisher=Ahewar.org |access-date=2016-03-25}}{{cite web|url=http://www.ahewar.org/debat/show.art.asp?aid=125296 |title=Writer and Islamic thinker "Gamal al-Banna": The Muslim Brotherhood is not fit to rule (1-2) |publisher=Ahewar.org |date=2008-02-18 |access-date=2016-03-25}} In the 20th century, South Asian scholars Ghulam Ahmed Pervez and Amir Ali argued that the expression ma malakat aymanukum should be properly read in the past tense. When some called for a reinstatement of slavery in Pakistan upon its independence from the British colonial rule, Pervez argued that the past tense of this expression means that the Quran had imposed "an unqualified ban" on slavery.{{cite book|last1=Clarence-Smith|first1=William|title=Islam and the Abolition of Slavery|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0195221516|pages=198–200|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nQbylEdqJKkC&q=translation&pg=PR9|year=2006}} Liberal Muslims have argued against death penalty for apostasy based on the Quranic verse that "There shall be no compulsion in religion".{{cite news |title=Sudan death penalty reignites Islam apostasy debate |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27433241 |access-date=21 September 2020 |work=BBC News |date=15 May 2014}}

{{Main|LGBTQ people and Islam#LGBTQ-related movements within Islam|Al-Fatiha Foundation|Gay Muslims}}

File:El-Farouk_Khaki_nomination_campaign_launch_Apr5-07.jpg, founding member of Salaam group and the Toronto Unity Mosque / el-Tawhid Juma Circle]]

In January 2013, the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity (MASGD) was launched.{{cite web |url=http://www.muslimalliance.org |title=Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity |publisher=Muslimalliance.org |access-date=2013-11-18 |archive-date=2014-08-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140805082228/http://www.muslimalliance.org/ |url-status=usurped }} The organization was formed by members of the Queer Muslim Working Group, with the support of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.{{clarify|"National" implies a specific country - which one?|date=December 2020}} Several initial MASGD members previously had been involved with the Al-Fatiha Foundation, including Faisal Alam and Imam Daayiee Abdullah.{{cite web | url=http://outsmartmagazine.com/2013/10/the-progressive-muslim-movement/ | title=The Progressive Muslim Movement | publisher=OutSmart Magazine | date=October 1, 2013 | access-date=November 18, 2013}}

The Safra Project for women is based in the UK. It supports and works on issues relating to prejudice against LGBTQ Muslim women. It was founded in October 2001 by Muslim LBT women. The Safra Project's "ethos is one of inclusiveness and diversity".{{cite web|url=http://rabble.ca/toolkit/rabblepedia/safra-project|title=The Safra Project - rabble.ca|work=Rabble.ca|date=11 April 2014 |access-date=5 April 2017}} In Australia, Nur Wahrsage has been an advocate for LGBTI Muslims and founded Marhaba, a support group for queer Muslims in Melbourne, Australia. In May 2016, Wahrsage revealed that he is homosexual in an interview on SBS2’s The Feed, being the first openly gay Imam in Australia.{{cite news|last1=Power|first1=Shannon|title=Being gay and muslim: 'death is your repentance'|url=http://www.starobserver.com.au/news/being-gay-and-muslim-death-is-your-repentance/148975|access-date=5 May 2016|work=Star Observer|date=3 May 2016}}

In Canada, Salaam was founded as the first gay Muslim organization in Canada and the second in the world. Salaam was founded in 1993 by El-Farouk Khaki, who organized the Salaam / Al-Fateha International Conference in 2003.Catherine Patch, "Queer Muslims find peace; El-Farouk Khaki founded Salaam Offers a place to retain spirituality", Toronto Star, June 15, 2006 In May 2009, the Toronto Unity Mosque / el-Tawhid Juma Circle (ETJC) was founded by Laury Silvers, a University of Toronto religious studies scholar, alongside Muslim gay-rights activists El-Farouk Khaki and Troy Jackson. Unity Mosque / ETJC is a gender-equal, LGBT+ affirming.{{cite web|title=El-tawhid juma circle|url=http://www.jumacircle.com/|access-date=19 April 2017|archive-date=19 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419195623/http://www.jumacircle.com/|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|last1=Mastracci|first1=Davide|title=What It's Like To Pray At A Queer-Inclusive Mosque|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/davidemastracci/toronto-lgbt-unity-mosque|access-date=19 April 2017|work=BuzzFeed|date=April 4, 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Habib|first1=Samra|title=Queer and going to the mosque: 'I've never felt more Muslim than I do now'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/jun/03/unity-mosque-queer-muslim-islam-samra-habib|access-date=19 April 2017|work=The Guardian|date=3 June 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Gillis|first1=Wendy|title=Islamic scholars experience diversity of Muslim practices at U of T summer program|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/08/25/islamic_scholars_experience_diversity_of_muslim_practices_at_u_of_t_summer_program.html|access-date=19 April 2017|work=Toronto Star|date=August 25, 2013}}

In November 2012, a prayer room was set up in Paris by gay Islamic scholar and founder of the group Homosexual Muslims of France, Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed. It was described by the press as the first gay-friendly mosque in Europe. The reaction from the rest of the Muslim community in France has been mixed, and the opening has been condemned by the Grand Mosque of Paris.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20547335|title=Gay-friendly 'mosque' opens in Paris|first=Robin|last=Banerji|work=BBC News|date=30 November 2012}} Examples of Muslim LGBT media works are the 2006 Channel 4's documentary Gay Muslims,{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/media/documents/corporate/annual-reports/C4_Creative_Greenhouse_2015.pdf|title=Channel 4 in a Nutshell.}} the film production company Unity Productions Foundation,{{cite web|url=https://www.upf.tv/about-upf/|title=About UPF - UPF (Unity Productions Foundation)|work=UPF.tv|access-date=5 April 2017}} the 2007 and 2015 documentary films A Jihad for Love and A Sinner in Mecca, both produced by Parvez Sharma,{{cite web|url=http://ajihadforlove.org/home.html|title=A JIHAD FOR LOVE:::A FIlm by Parvez Sharma|work=AJihadForLove.org|access-date=5 April 2017}}{{cite web|title=Press|url=http://asinnerinmecca.com/press/|website=A Sinner in Mecca|access-date=7 May 2015|archive-date=10 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010033125/http://asinnerinmecca.com/press/|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|title=In 'A Sinner in Mecca,' a Gay Director Ponders His Sexuality and Islamic Faith|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/04/movies/in-a-sinner-in-mecca-a-gay-director-ponders-his-sexuality-and-islamic-faith.html|website=The New York Times|date=3 September 2015 |access-date=7 October 2015|last1=Webster |first1=Andy }} and the Jordanian LGBT publication My.Kali.[http://www.ilgrandecolibri.com/2012/08/jordan-gay-mykalimag.html "Jordan: a gay magazine gives an hope to Middle East", Ilgrandecolibri.com, retrieved 11 August 2012]{{Cite web|url=http://www.gaymiddleeast.com/country/jordan.htm |title=Gay Egypy |work=Gay Middle East |access-date=20 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711080257/http://gaymiddleeast.com/country/jordan.htm |archive-date=11 July 2011 }}

Quranic verses about the Story of Lut have traditionally been interpreted as condemning homosexuality, with the following translations of Al-A'raf 81 from Mustafa Khattab and Sahih International:

{{Blockquote|text= You lust after men instead of women! You are certainly transgressors.|author=Quran 7:81 ("The Clear Quran" translation by Mustafa Khattab)|title=}}

{{Blockquote|text= Indeed, you approach men with desire, instead of women. Rather, you are a transgressing people.|author=Quran 7:81 (Sahih International translation)|title=}}

{{Excerpt|LGBTQ people and Islam|Modern interpretation|paragraphs=6}}

{{main|Islam and secularism}}

{{See also|Criticism of Sharia law|Application of Islamic law by country}}

The definition and application of secularism, especially the place of religion in society, vary among Muslim countries as it does among non-Muslim countries.Asad, Talal. Formation of Secular: Christianity, Islam, Modernity. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2003. 5-6. As the concept of secularism varies among secularists in the Muslim world, reactions of Muslim intellectuals to the pressure of secularization also varies. On the one hand, secularism is condemned by some Muslim intellectuals who do not feel that religious influence should be removed from the public sphere.{{cite web|url=http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e2130?_hi=2&_pos=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617230348/http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t125/e2130?_hi=2&_pos=1|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 17, 2013|title=From the article on secularism in Oxford Islamic Studies Online|access-date=3 November 2014}} On the other hand, secularism is claimed by others to be compatible with Islam. For example, the quest for secularism has inspired some Muslim scholars who argue that secular government is the best way to observe sharia; "enforcing [sharia] through coercive power of the state negates its religious nature, because Muslims would be observing the law of the state and not freely performing their religious obligation as Muslims" says Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im, a professor of law at Emory University and author of Islam and the secular state: negotiating the future of Shariʻa.Naʻīm, ʻAbd Allāh Aḥmad. Islam and the secular state: negotiating the future of Shariʻa. Cambridge:Harvard University Press, 2008. {{ISBN|9780674027763}} Moreover, some scholars {{which|date=August 2017}} argue that secular states have existed in the Muslim world since the Middle Ages.Ira M. Lapidus (October 1975). "The Separation of State and Religion in the Development of Early Islamic Society", International Journal of Middle East Studies 6 (4), pp. 363-385 [364-5]

{{importance section|date=June 2022|reason=It is unclear how this section relates to liberalism or progressivism with Islam, or if any of the sources even make a connection.}}

The place of equality versus hierarchy in Islam is sometimes disputed, with Progressive Islam coming down on the side of equity and equality.

{{Main|Caste system among South Asian Muslims|Kafa'ah#The Hadhrami Controversy}} Progressive Islam emphasizes what is sometimes called the "decidedly egalitarian spirit" (Judith Miller) of Islam,{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Judith |title=God Has Ninety-Nine Names |date=1996 |publisher=Touchstone |isbn=0684809737 |page=91}} and how it is "in principle egalitarian, recognizing no superiority of one believer over another by birth or descent, race or nationality, or social status" (Bernard Lewis).{{cite book |last1=Bernard |first1=Lewis |title=The Middle East, A Brief History of the Last 2000 Years |date=1995 |publisher=Touchstone Book |page=179}}

At the same time, Muslims known as Sayyids (those accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) traditionally have special privileges in Islam, notably of tax exemptions and a share in Khums.{{Cite book|title = Sayyids and Sharifs in Muslim Societies|last = Kazuo|first = Morimoto|publisher = Routledge|year = 2012|isbn = 978-0-415-51917-5|pages = 131, 132|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5VnmEMh0MF4C&pg=PP1}} A number of scholars (quoted in a number of fatwa sites) have also encouraged discrimination in regards to intermarriage between persons of Arab and non-Arab lineages (Darul Ifta Birmingham (Hanafi fiqh) quoting Raddul Muhtar,{{efn|*According to Darul Ifta Birmingham (Hanafi fiqh) quoting Raddul Muhtar: 'An Ajmi (non-Arab) cannot be a match for a woman of Arab descent, no matter that he be an Aalim (religious scholar) or even a Sultan (ruling authority).'

The Jurists have stated that among Arabs, a non-Quraishi male is not a match (Kuf) for a Quraishi woman, nor can any person of non-Arab descent be a match for a woman of Arab descent. For example, the Sayyids, whether Siddique or Farooque, Uthmaani or Alawi, or belonging to some other branch, can never be matched by any person not sharing their lineage, no matter his profession and family status. The Sayyids are suitable matches for one another, since they share descent from the Quraishi tribe. Thus, marriages between themselves are correct and permitted without any condition, as appearing in Durrul Mukhtar:

"And Kafaah in lineage. Thus, the Quraysh are suitable matches for one another as are the (other) Arabs suitable matches for one another."

The ruling relevant to non-Arabs is as follows: ‘An Ajmi (non-Arab) cannot be a match for a woman of Arab descent, no matter that he be an Aalim (religious scholar) or even a Sultan (ruling authority).(Raddul Muhtar p.209 v.4, {{Cite web|url=https://islamqa.org/hanafi/daruliftaa-birmingham/87680|title=Islam QA|date=2019-07-01|website=Darul Ifta Birmingham|language=en|access-date=2020-07-14}}

"the classic Shafi’i manual of Islamic law titled ‘Umdat as-Salik wa ‘Uddat an-Nasik (Reliance of the Traveller and Tools of the Worshipper)" "Kafa’a (Suitability in marriage for a female) is in the lineage (ancestry of the man), and in religiousness, and his being a free man (not a slave), and in his profession, and his being free of defects that can cause the annulment of the marriage. And the ajami (non-Arab) is not suitable for an Arab woman, ... " (the quote goes on to forbid marriages between Muslims of different tribes).

{{cite web |title=Non-Arab men are NOT suitable for marriage with Arab Women |url=https://islamicvirtues.com/2013/12/13/non-arab-men-are-not-suitable-for-marriage/comment-page-1/ |website=Islamic Virtues ~ This day have I perfected your religion for you! ~ al-Ma'idah, Verse 3 |access-date=12 April 2022 |date=13 December 2013}}}} Quraishi and non-Quraishi,{{efn|*Still another site ("Answered according to Shafi'i Fiqh by Qibla.com ... Answered by Shaykh Amjad Rasheed") states: "… most of the scholars do consider this aspect [i.e., lineage] for suitability, therefore a non-Arab is not suitable for an Arab. And a non-Qurayshi is not suitable for a Qurayshi woman …"

• Q. I heard that an Arab father has the right to refuse the proposal of a non-Arab to his daughter. How is this in line with the teachings of Islam? How could one, for example, reject a God-fearing man like Bilal, may Allah be well pleased with him?
• A. This issue is known as the issue of suitability in marriage. What is meant by this is that a woman and her guardians have the right that she not be married off except to someone that is suitable for her. The scholars have differed in the characteristics that should be considered for suitability, but they have agreed that one of them is religion. This means that a corrupt man is not suitable for a religious woman. They have also differed as to whether lineage should be considered. So, most of the scholars do consider this aspect for suitability, therefore, a non-Arab is not suitable for an Arab. And a non-Qurayshi is not suitable for a Qurayshi woman. This means that if an Arab woman wants to refuse marriage to a non-Arab, she may, and her guardian can not force her. Also, the guardian can refuse an Arab woman’s marriage to a non-Arab if she wishes. But if an Arab girl is content, as well as he guardian, with marrying a non-Arab, it is perfectly permissible for them to marry and their marriage contract is valid. This is what most of the scholars have decided.{{cite web |author=Amjad Rasheed |title=Arab father refusing the proposal of non-Arab for his daughter |url=https://islamqa.org/shafii/qibla-shafii/33598/arab-father-refusing-the-proposal-of-non-arab-for-his-daughter/ |website=IslamQA.org |date=14 September 2012 |access-date=12 April 2022}}

}} and Sayyid and non-Sayyid,{{efn|Can a Sayyed marry a non-Sayyed?

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by IslamicSolutions.org.

Scholar: Shaykh Saeed Ahmed Golaub

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

Hadrat Ali Radiallaho Anhu was the cousin of Rasulullah Salallahu Alaihi wa Salam. Hadrat Ali Radiallaho Anhu was married to Hadrat Fatima Radiallaho Anha ,who was the daughter of Rasulullah Salallahu Alaihi wa Salam. The progeny of Hadrat Ali Radiallaho Anhu and Hadrat Fatima Radiallaho Anha are called Sayyeds. The progeny of Hadrat Ali Radiallaho Anhu and his other wives are called Alawis.(Bahishti Zewar Vol. 1 Pg. 365.)

Shariah emphasizes ensuring that nikah takes place with persons who are compatible with each other in order for a marriage to be successful. Spouses of different backgrounds and incompatible can lead to a breakdown in the marriage. The following are areas of consideration for compatibility in a marriage according to the Hanafi school of thought:

(i) Lineage (ii) Deen (iii) piety (iv) wealth (v) occupation (Bahishti Zewar Vol. 1 Pg. 441) [the fatwa goes on to say that the decision is in the hands of the family guardian] A Syed woman cannot marry a non-Syed man, without the consent of the family guardian. If a Syed woman marries a man from a different lineage without the consent of the guardian, the guardian will have the right to annul the marriage if he deems it necessary.

{{cite web |url=https://islamqa.org/?p=232764 |title=Can a Sayyed marry a non-Sayyed? Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by IslamicSolutions.org. Scholar: Shaykh Saeed Ahmed Golaub}} as can be found in a number of fatwa sites.

This is notably in direct contrast to the Prophet Muhammad's last sermon, "...All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action."{{cite web |author=Yusuf Khan |title=What did the Prophet say about Racism |url=https://www.islamicity.org/3601/what-did-the-prophet-say-about-racism/ |website=islamcity.org |access-date=10 June 2022}}

{{for|individual movements|Liberal and progressive Islam in Europe|Liberal and progressive Islam in North America|List of Islamic feminist movements}}

Over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, in accordance with their increasingly modern societies and outlooks, liberal Muslims have tended to reinterpret many aspects of the application of their religion in their life in an attempt to reconnect. This is particularly true of Muslims who now find themselves living in non-Muslim countries.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20100103092804/http://islamlib.com/en/article/being-a-muslim-in-the-us Being a Muslim in the U.S.ا]}}

{{Main|Islamic modernism}}

Islamic modernism, also sometimes referred to as modernist Salafism,[http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195390155/obo-9780195390155-0070.xml Salafism] Modernist Salafism from the 20th Century to the Present{{cite web|author=Tore Kjeilen |url=http://i-cias.com/e.o/salafism.htm |title=Salafism |publisher=I-cias.com |date=2006-01-18 |access-date=2016-09-04}}[http://tonyblairfaithfoundation.org/religion-geopolitics/glossary/salafism Salafism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150311113435/http://tonyblairfaithfoundation.org/religion-geopolitics/glossary/salafism |date=2015-03-11 }} Tony Blair Faith Foundation is a movement that has been described as "the first Muslim ideological response"{{efn|"Islamic modernism was the first Muslim ideological response to the Western cultural challenge. Started in India and Egypt in the second part of the 19th century ... reflected in the work of a group of like-minded Muslim scholars, featuring a critical reexamination of the classical conceptions and methods of jurisprudence and a formulation of a new approach to Islamic theology and Quranic exegesis. This new approach, which was nothing short of an outright rebellion against Islamic orthodoxy, displayed astonishing compatibility with the ideas of the Enlightenment."{{cite book|author=Mansoor Moaddel|title=Islamic Modernism, Nationalism, and Fundamentalism: Episode and Discourse|page=2|publisher=University of Chicago Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dk6BLopmn3gC&q=islamic+modernism|isbn=9780226533339|date=2005-05-16}}}} attempting to reconcile Islamic faith with modern Western values such as nationalism, democracy, civil rights, rationality, equality, and progress.Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, Thomson Gale (2004) It featured a "critical reexamination of the classical conceptions and methods of jurisprudence" and a new approach to Islamic theology and Quranic exegesis (Tafsir).

It was the first of several Islamic movements – including secularism, Islamism and Salafism – that emerged in the middle of the 19th century in reaction to the rapid changes of the time, especially the perceived onslaught of Western Civilization and colonialism on the Muslim world. Founders include Muhammad Abduh (1849–1905), a Sheikh of Al-Azhar University for a brief period before his death in 1905, Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani (1838–1897), and Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (1817–1898).

The early Islamic Modernists (al-Afghani and Muhammad Abdu) used the term "salafiyya"[http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195390155/obo-9780195390155-0070.xml Salafism, Modernist Salafism from the 20th Century to the Present] oxfordbibliographies.com to refer to their attempt at renovation of Islamic thought, and this "salafiyya movement" is often known in the West as "Islamic modernism," although it is very different from what is currently called the Salafi movement, which generally signifies "ideologies such as wahhabism".{{efn|"Salafism is, therefore, a modern phenomenon, being the desire of contemporary Muslims to rediscover what they see as the pure, original and authentic Islam, ... However, there is a difference between two profoundly different trends that sought inspiration from the concept of salafiyya. Indeed, between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, intellectuals such as Jamal Edin al-Afghani and Muhammad Abdu used salafiyya to mean a renovation of Islamic thought, with features that would today be described as rationalist, modernist, and even progressive. This Salafiyya movement is often known in the West as 'Islamic modernism.' However, the term salafism is today generally employed to signify ideologies such as Wahhabism, the puritanical ideology of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."{{cite web|last1=Atzori|first1=Daniel|title=The rise of global Salafism|url=http://www.abo.net/oilportal/topic/view.do?contentId=2000323|access-date=6 January 2015|date=August 31, 2012}}}} Since its inception, Modernism has suffered from co-option of its original reformism by both secularist rulers and by "the official ulama" whose "task it is to legitimise" rulers' actions in religious terms.{{cite book|last1=Ruthven|first1=Malise|title=Islam in the World|orig-year=1984|year=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=318|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=92lQfWj6_VIC&q=since+reformism+has+been+coopted+ruthven&pg=PA318|access-date=23 April 2015|isbn=9780195305036}} Modernism differs from secularism in that it insists on the importance of religious faith in public life, and from Salafism or Islamism in that it embraces contemporary European institutions, social processes, and values.

{{main|Quranism}}

{{See also|Criticism of Hadith}}

Quranists reject the hadith and follow the Quran only. The extent to which Quranists reject the authenticity of the Sunnah varies,Richard Stephen Voss, [http://www.masjidtucson.org/publications/books/sp/1996/apr/page1.html Identifying Assumptions in the Hadith/Sunnah Debate], 19.org, Accessed December 5, 2013 but the more established groups have thoroughly criticised the authenticity of the hadith and refused it for many reasons, the most prevalent being the Quranist claim that hadith is not mentioned in the Quran as a source of Islamic theology and practice, was not recorded in written form until more than two centuries after the death of the Muhammad, and contain perceived internal errors and contradictions.Aisha Y. Musa, [https://www.academia.edu/1035742/The_Quranists The Qur’anists], Florida International University, accessed May 22, 2013. Quranists believe Muhammad himself was a Quranist and the founder of Quranism, and that his followers distorted the faith and split into schisms and factions such as Sunni, Shia, and Khawarij.

Some Muslims (Saeed Nasheed, Abdul Karim Soroush, Sayyed Ahmad Al-Qabbanji, Hassan Radwan) have argued for taking "the bold step of challenging the very idea that the Qur’an and Sunna are infallible", and asserting that instead the Qur'an is "divinely inspired but ... human-authored".{{cite news |last1=Radwan |first1=Hassan |title=Muslims can reinterpret their faith: it's the best answer to Isis |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/16/muslims-faith-isis-religion-islam |access-date=13 March 2021 |agency=The Guardian |date=16 December 2015}} Saeed Nasheed writes:

"The Qur’an is not the speech of God, just as the loaf of bread is not the work of the farmer. God produced the raw material, which was inspiration, just as the farmer produces the raw material, which is wheat. But it is the baker who turns the wheat or flour into bread according to his own unique way, artistic expertise, and creative ability. Thus it is the Prophet who was responsible for interpreting the inspiration and turning it into actual phrases and words according to his own unique view."{{cite book |last1=Nasheed |first1=Sa’eed |title=Religious Freedom: A Foundation for Individual Freedom |publisher=Dar al-Tanweer |location=Beirut }}

By acknowledging this, Hassan Radwan argues, Muslims will be freed to use their reason to "take what is useful and helpful from religion and ignore what is not."{{cite web |last1=Radwan |first1=Hassan |title=Is the Quran a Miracle? |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD3bcQTPQTM | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424080941/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD3bcQTPQTM| archive-date=2019-04-24 | url-status=dead|website=YouTube |access-date=13 March 2021 |date=17 February 2018}}

{{main|Muslims for Progressive Values}}

Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV) is a Progressive Muslim grassroots human rights organization founded by Ani Zonneveld and Pamela K. Taylor in 2007.{{Cite news |last=Khaki |first=El-Farouk |date=2007-06-21 |title=For the love of Allah |url=https://nowtoronto.com/news/for-the-love-of-allah/ |access-date=2018-04-25 |work=NOW Magazine |language=en-us}}{{Cite news |last=Huus |first=Kari |date=2011-11-24 |title=Battling for Gay Right's in Allah's Name |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/44993807/ns/us_news-life/t/battling-gay-rights-allahs-name/#.Xtf9KZ5Ki3I |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130415073713/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/44993807/ns/us_news-life/t/battling-gay-rights-allahs-name#.Xtf9KZ5Ki3I |archive-date=April 15, 2013 |access-date=2020-06-03 |work=NBCNews.com |language=en-us}} In December 2013, the United Nations recognized MPV as an official non-government organization (NGO) association member.{{cite web |title=Muslims for Progressive Values Secures United Nations' Consultative Status |url=http://www.prlog.org/12298027-muslims-for-progressive-values-secures-united-nations-consultative-status.html |access-date=11 July 2016 |publisher=prlog.org}} It has supported women's rights, LGBTQ rights, and interfaith marriage.{{Cite web |date=2017-01-05 |title=Muslims for Progressive Values is challenging the mainstream narrative |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/muslims-progressive-values-challenging-mainstream-narrative-n702821 |access-date=2024-11-16 |website=NBC News |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2012-03-29 |title=The New Radical Islam |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/progressive-muslims-launch-gay-friendly-women-led-mosques_n_1368460 |access-date=2024-11-16 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}

For its progressive beliefs, the organization was expelled from the Islamic Society of North America Convention bazaar with it being accused of "promoting ignorance of Islam among Muslims at the event" and "claiming haram was good and virtuous".{{Cite web |last=Shaikh |first=Ahmed |date=2019-07-31 |title=Were Muslim Groups Duped Into Supporting an LGBTQ Rights Petition at the US Supreme Court? |url=https://muslimmatters.org/2019/07/31/were-muslim-groups-duped-into-supporting-an-lgbtq-rights-petition-at-the-us-supreme-court/ |access-date=2024-11-16 |website=MuslimMatters.org |language=en-US}}

{{Excerpt|Sisters in Islam|only=paragraph}}

{{main|Tolu-e-Islam (organization)}}

This organization was initiated by Muhammad Iqbal, and later spearheaded by Ghulam Ahmed Pervez. Ghulam Ahmed Pervez did not reject all hadiths; however, he only accepted hadiths which "are in accordance with the Quran or do not stain the character of the Prophet or his companions".{{cite web |title=Bazm-e-Tolu-e-Islam |url=http://www.tolueislam.com/ |access-date=22 March 2015}} The organization, which does not belong to any political party or to any religious group or sect, publishes and distributes books, pamphlets, and recordings of Pervez's teachings.

• Abu Layth (born 1979) – British Islamic scholar and mufti
• Adnan Ibrahim – Palestinian Islamic scholar
• Amina Wadud (born 1952) – American Islamic scholar and co-founder of Sisters in Islam
• Asma Barlas (born 1950) – Pakistani Islamic scholar
• Asma Lamrabet (born 1961) – Moroccan Islamic scholar
• Edip Yüksel (born 1957) – Kurdish Quranist scholar
• Fazlur Rahman Malik (1919-1988) – Pakistani Islamic scholar and philosopher
• Hassan al-Maliki (born 1970) – Saudi Islamic scholar
• Irfan Habib (born 1931) – Indian Marxist historian
• Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (born 1952) – Pakistani Islamic scholar and philosopher
• Khaled Abou El Fadl (born 1963) – Kuwaiti Islamic scholar and UCLA professor of law
• Laleh Bakhtiar (1938-2020) – Iranian Islamic scholar
• Leila Ahmed (born 1940) – Egyptian Islamic scholar
• Mahmud Shaltut (1893-1963) – Egyptian Islamic scholar and Grand Imam of al-Azhar (1958-1963)
• Mohsen Kadivar (born 1959) – Iranian Islamic scholar and philosopher
• Muhammad Asad (1900-1992) – Pakistani polymath
• Muhammad Shahrur (1938-2019) – Syrian Islamic scholar
• Nasr Abu Zayd (1943-2010) – Egyptian Islamic scholar
• Reza Aslan (born 1972) – American scholar of religious studies
• Riffat Hassan (born 1943) – Pakistani Islamic scholar
• Shabir Ally (born 1953) – Canadian Islamic scholar
• Siti Musdah Mulia (born 1958) – Indonesian Islamic scholar and feminist activist
• Ziba Mir-Hosseini (born 1952) – Iranian legal anthropologist

• Bilkisu Yusuf (1952-2015) – Nigerian writer and journalist
• Ed Husain (born 1974) – British writer
• Fatema Mernissi (1940-2015) – Moroccan feminist writer and sociologist
• Hidayet Şefkatli Tuksal (born 1963) – Turkish columnist and activist
• Irshad Manji (born 1968) – Canadian writer and educator
• Mustafa Akyol (born 1972) – Turkish writer and journalist
• Nassima al-Sadah (born 1974) – Saudi writer and activist
• Samina Ali – Indian author and activist
• Shahla Sherkat (born 1956) – Iranian feminist author, journalist, and activist
• Shamima Shaikh (1960-1998) – South African feminist journalist and activist
• Zainab Salbi (born 1969) – Iraqi feminist writer and activist

• Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1890-1988) – Indian independence activist
• Ani Zonneveld (born 1962) – Malaysian activist and co-founder of Muslims for Progressive Values
• Kadra Yusuf (born 1980) – Norwegian feminist activist
• Linda Sarsour (born 1980) – American feminist activist
• Malala Yousafzai (born 1997) – Pakistani feminist activist
• Manal al-Sharif (born 1979) – Saudi feminist activist
• Samar Badawi (born 1981) – Saudi feminist activist
• Taimur Rahman (born 1975) – Pakistani socialist activist
• Zainah Anwar – Malaysian feminist activist and co-founder of Sisters in Islam

• Ilhan Omar (born 1982) – American congresswoman in the US House of Representatives
• Rashida Tlaib (born 1976) – American congresswoman in the US House of Representatives
• Rania Al Abdullah (born 1970) – Queen consort of Jordan
• Salman Taseer (1944-2011) – Pakistani Governor of Punjab (2008–2011)
• Zille Huma Usman (1971-2007) – Pakistani provincial minister for social welfare in Punjab (2006–2007)

• Akhbari
• Cultural Muslim
• Islah
• Islam and modernity
• Islam and secularism
• Islamic revival
• Jaringan Islam Liberal
• Modern Islamic philosophy
• Muslims for Progressive Values
• Mu'tazilism
• Nahdlatul Ulama
• Post-Islamism
• Ideology of Mahmoud Mohammed Taha
• Unitarian Universalism

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Abrahamian|first=Ervand|author-link=Ervand Abrahamian |year=1982|title=Iran Between Two Revolutions |publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton, NJ|isbn=9780691053424|oclc=7975938}}
• {{Cite journal|last=Bohdan|first=Siarhei|date=Summer 2020|title='They Were Going Together with the Ikhwan': The Influence of Muslim Brotherhood Thinkers on Shi'i Islamists during the Cold War |url=https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mei/mei/2020/00000074/00000002/art00005;jsessionid=3669aj37j07cl.x-ic-live-03|journal=The Middle East Journal|volume=74|issue=2|pages=243–262|doi=10.3751/74.2.14 |s2cid=225510058 |issn=1940-3461|url-access=subscription}}
• {{cite book | last = Nasr | first = Vali | title = The Shia Revival | publisher = Norton | year = 2006}}
• {{cite book |title=Traditionalists, Militants and Liberal in Present Islam |first1= Jebran |last1=Chamieh |publisher= Research and Publishing House |date=1977}}
• {{cite book |title=Islam after Liberalism |editor-first1=Faisal |editor-last1=Devji |editor-first2=Zaheer |editor-last2=Kazmi |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2017 }}
• {{cite book|last1=Kepel|first1=Gilles|title=Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam|url=https://archive.org/details/jihad00gill_0 |url-access=registration|date=2002|publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0674010901}}
• {{cite book |last1=Rahnema |first1=Ali |title=An Islamic Utopian - A Political Biography of Ali Shari'ati|date=2000 |publisher=I.B. Tauris |location=London, NY |isbn=1860645526 |url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/islamic-utopian-9781780768021/}}
• {{cite book |editor-last=Safi |editor-first=Omid |editor-link=Omid Safi |date=2003 |title=Progressive Muslims: on justice, gender and pluralism |location=Oxford |publisher=Oneworld Publications |isbn=9781851683161 |oclc=52380025}}

• Safi, Omid, Progressive Islam, in Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God (2 vols.), Edited by C. Fitzpatrick and A. Walker, Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2014, Vol. II, pp. 486–490. {{ISBN|1610691776}}
• Qur'an and Woman by Amina Wadud.
• American Muslims: Bridging Faith and Freedom by M. A. Muqtedar Khan.
• Charles Kurzman, ed. (1998). Liberal Islam: A Sourcebook. Oxford University Press, USA. {{ISBN|0-19-511622-4}}.
• "Debating Moderate Islam", edited by M. A. Muqtedar Khan.
• Qur'an, Liberation and Pluralism by Farid Esack.
• Revival and Reform in Islam by Fazlur Rahman Malik.
• The Unthought in Contemporary Islamic Thought by Mohammed Arkoun.
• Unveiling Traditions: Postcolonial Islam in a Polycentric World by Anouar Majid.
• Islam and Science: Religious Orthodoxy and the Battle for Rationality by Pervez Hoodbhoy.
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=nHmRBQAAQBAJ Islam is Mercy: Essential Features of a Modern Religion], by Mouhanad Khorchide 2012; English 2014.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060223170558/http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2004&leaf=06&filename=7273&filetype=html The Viability of Islamic Science] by S. Irfan Habib, Economic and Political Weekly, June 5, 2004.
• [http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-575/_nr-30/_p-1/i.html The Reformist Islamic Thinker Muhammad Shahrur: In the Footsteps of Averroes]
• [http://www.chron.com/channel/houstonbelief/commons/aliberalmuslimblog.html?plckBlogPage=Blog&plckBlogId=Blog:a85cee4e-2a0d-4f7f-86fb-89c76240a84f&plckScript=blogScript&plckController=Blog&plckElementId=blogDest&newspaperUserId=a85cee4e-2a0d-4f7f-86fb-89c76240a84f A Liberal Muslim Blog]
• Vanessa Karam, Olivia Samad and Ani Zonneveld, eds. (2011). Progressive Muslim Identities. Oracle Releasing. {{ISBN|978-0-9837161-0-5}}.
• Mustafa Akyol (2011). Islam Without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty. W. W. Norton & Company. {{ISBN|978-0-393-07086-6}}.
• {{cite book |last=Alrabaa |first=Sami |year=2010 |title=Veiled Atrocities: True Stories of Oppression in Saudi Arabia |location=Amherst, NY |publisher=Prometheus Books |isbn=978-1-61614-159-2 }}
• {{cite book |last=Al-Rasheed |first=Madawi |year=2007 |title=Contesting the Saudi State: Islamic Voices from a New Generation |location=New York |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-85836-6 }}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20040722203058/http://www.unc.edu/~kurzman/LiberalIslamLinks.htm Charles Kurzman's Liberal Islam links], compiled by the author of Liberal Islam: A Sourcebook.

{{Islam topics|Studies}}

{{Liberalism}}

Category:Women's rights in Islam

Category:LGBTQ Muslim organizations

Category:LGBTQ and multiculturalism

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