The Islamic State Is a Dead End -Jane Lampman
Abdullahi Ahmed an-Naim, a professor of law at Emory University, tells his co-religionists that a secular state and human rights are essential for all societies so that Muslims and others can practice their faith freely. "I need the state to be neutral about religious doctrine so that I can be the Muslim I choose to be."
He helped organize the first "Muslim Heretics Conference" in Atlanta over the weekend to discuss issues related to sharia (Islamic law), democracy, and women's rights - and how to cope with dissent and its consequences.
While a law student at the University of Khartoum in 1967, Naim heard a talk by a Sufi Muslim thinker, Mahmoud Mohamed Taha. "That lecture turned my life around," he says.
The essence of the Sufi's message had been that certain verses in the Koran represented the universal, eternal message of Islam, while others were relevant to a particular historical context and no longer viable.
(Christian Science Monitor)
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