Are there pro-gay Muslims?
You mean, like me?I'm Muslim, and I'm very very pro gay, if that's a word. I reconcile Homosexuality with the Quran as followsThe Quran has no explicit mention of punishments for sodomy. It talks about Sodom, but many scholars think that was about raping visitors, not homosexuality.Orientation is defined at birth. Since God created humans in a perfect mould, homosexuality is a part of that perfect mould. Questioning orientation is akin to questioning God.Muslims can be differentiated only by piety and good action. Using pt 1 and 2, homosexuals cannot be discriminated against.The prophet employed the Mukhannathun - Wikipedia , the effimate men. Though it is not clear whether they were homosexual, they certainly weren't heteronormative, and they were accepted in the society.In fact, one of my favourite Quranist is gay - Irshad Manji. One of my favourite Islamic studies scholar is very pro LGBT - Amina Wadud. There are gay imams today - Dayiee Abdullah.And this is not a recent development either, lest the “westernization” be blamed. Islamic empires have had gay caliphs(Al-Amin), gay master poets(probably Rumi and Shams, definitely Shah Hussain), and people who worked for gay rights, thus leading to the Ottoman empire decriminalizing sodomy in 1858.So, yeah, over the generations, many muslims have been pro-gay.
Don't you think the oppressive Muslim countries need a strong feminist movement?
The thing to remember is that just because we think feminism means one thing, doesn't mean the whole word thinks that way. If a movement were to work it would need to be based on the values of the people, not our values. So it would really need to be something that Muslim people led, not outsiders from the west.
Muslims only please?
I'm searching for my religion i was born into a christian family so that was my first religion then converted to wicca then judaism and now here i am please i search alot i just need a little help dont make this harder then it already is. thank you!
Can Muslim women be Feminists?
Of course it is possible.It’s similar to Christianity or Judaism, or any ancient religion, in that whether you are more fundamentalist or more liberal, you are having to rely on interpretation, and some interpretations allow for feminist ideals and others do not. Some people interpret the old religions in a way to modernize them and others try to follow rules and customs exactly as they were when the religions were first founded. Some people say Islam in particular was feminist at the time it was created (Mohammad’s wives Khadijah and Aisha both were educated in the Quran and Khadijah had a successful business and Aisha was a military leader). Mohammad himself praised the women in Medina for their interest in education. There have also been active women in Quranic Education throughout the history of Islam such as Fatima al-Fihri's founding of the University of Al Karaouine in 859 CE.So many muslims believe that women should keep expanding their rights. There are others that want things to go back to a time when women couldn’t be educated, and others that think women should be covered and never leave the house unattended. Not unlike different sects of Christianity as well, such as Mormon polygamist compounds.
I am married, to a beautiful Muslim lady, i am a non practising Christian?
Congratulations!I don't think so your doing anything wrong nor you should worry as religion is a personal thing that each individual should respect regardless of what one follows as long as you guys don't let the aspect of religion come into your love and marriage nothing can go wrong!Have a wonderful life and all the best!I strongly agree with your point that its not important what religion you follow but the most important thing is Your Actions or Karma as most of the religion believe that they follow the right path but i feel its wrong coz all religion takes you to one path i.e to God so its more important to be mindful of our own actions than spend rest of the life figuring out which religion is the best as it doesn't matter whether one is Christian,muslim or jew or hindu or buddhist as all faith takes us to one supreme power i.e GOD.People spend all their life thinking that their path or faith is right but in reality all religions are different ways of reaching the truth so don't worry, people need to have a more open mind and it so sad that people just don't think!
Who are the most "liberal" thinkers in Islam today? Where do they live and what, if anything, are they writing about Islam?
I really appreciate Hillel Gray's answer, and would like to present an alternative view. This question may seem simple, but the problem is that there is a fine line between "liberal" and "un-authentic". Note that both terms are loaded; but let us at least try to define them in this context: "Liberal" in this case is best defined by it being the opposite of "conservative" or "traditional." In other words, a "liberal" scholar is one who takes a view different to the existing conservative or established views. "Authentic" in this case means true to the original core teachings of the faith. In the case of Islam; this means (roughly speaking): accepting the unity of God, accepting Muhammad as his Messenger, believing that the Qur'an is the literal word of God, and accepting that both the Qu'ran and the traditions narrated of the Prophet's actions are the core sources of regulation for Muslims' behavior.The situation is not helped by the fact that the political and cultural situation in Western academic circles is interested in hearing of the liberal perspectives. And that this comes from a large history of Orientalist studies that authors like Edward Said have since deconstructed. For example, Hillel Gray suggests Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im. From his article "Mahmud Muhammad Taha and the Crisis in Islamic Law Reform: Implications for Interreligious Relations" (available at http://www.law.emory.edu/aannaim...) states that "it is imperative that the relevant principles of the Shari'ah be reformed to reconcile them with the current standards of constitutionalism and human rights." This gives primacy to the modern philosophies of constitutionalism and human rights over the traditional sources of Islam, and many Muslims would consider the perspective unauthentic. Other scholars who (perhaps) fall into the same category (mostly because they give primacy to other sources of regulation over the Qur'an and Sunnah) include: Amina Wadud, Irshad Manji. However, there are authors who are both liberal and authentic. The foremost of them is probably Tariq Ramadan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar...) including his recent book on radical reform (http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/ge...).
Why isn't there any female Muslim scholars?
First thing first: let’s fix that grammar.Why aren’t* there any female Muslim scholars?Second thing: you’re wrong. There are female Muslim scholars. Breitbart might not tell you, but they’re there. Right now.Maryam Mirzakhani.She is a woman from Iran. Yes, she’s a Muslim. And she’s one of the most brilliant mathematicians of the past century.Maryam received two gold medals at the 1994 and 1995 International Mathematical Olympiads. She scored 41 and 42 points, respectively, out of the maximum of 42. She is by far one of the most successful and brilliant mathematicians in the world, male or female.Outside of high school, she has made groundbreaking work in the field of Riemann surfaces. This work goes to the very foundations of geometry. And for that, she won the most prestigious award for young mathematicians: the Fields Medal. She is the first woman and Iranian to win the award.If she isn’t a scholar, than nobody is.Edit: I’ve just learned that Maryam Mirzakhani has recently passed away. May she rest in peace.
Why don't Muslim women promote women’s rights?
Islam has given Muslim women their entire rights. Not only Islam recognized the women’s rights over 14 centuries ago when likely no one even had thought about that but also fought against most of the people who had cruel customs about women.For instance, women in that time were deprived of inheritance, owning property, money and other things, killed by their father due to poverty or other excuses.Islam has considered in its teachings, various aspects of women’s life including their rights as a daughter [before getting married] and as a wife and as a mother.For example, based on Islamic teachings,They have not to participate in battles.They have not to work in order to make money but rather their father [before getting married] and their husband [after that] must provide what they need [food, clothes, home etc].They have not to clean the house, wash dishes, do the laundry, cook etc neither in their father’s house nor in their husband’s house.Fairly, the rights that Islam has given to women are unique and in this way can live respectfully and do their duties well.For more information,http://www.islamportal.net/artic...http://www.islamportal.net/book/...Maybe, some countries deprive women of their rights however, it does not relate to Islam but rather to the countries. I just explained the view point of Islam regarding the women’s right.