Muslim Reform

Mission Statement

To campaign for more science among Muslims – at all levels of the society as social and religious duty, and thereby to help trans-form the Muslim society into one where science can thrive. [CAMSAM] And also to support inter-group cooperation among reformist Muslim sites for mutual benefit.[IGC] .

For further information including membership email us on info AT muslimreform.org (change AT to @)

Introduction

As the Quran says we need to change the state of inner selves, if we are serious about improving the weak status of Muslims at the present time. We describe this need to change the state of our inner selves as the necessary Muslim Reform. We wish to create a vibrant Muslim society that flourishes in science (including technology) and generally knowledge. This reformed society should be such that it can contribute at the highest level to this one human-world of the 21st century – as Muslims once did in the past. For our convenience, we shall divide the reforms of our interest into two areas.

Cultural reform (CR) that promotes the pursuit of knowledge, especially the cultivation of science (including technology) as a virtue. An added incentive for Muslims is that the study of science can be perceived as a religious duty, as was recognised – following Quranic endorsements – by the scholars of the Islamic Golden Age. [Observe that by science we mean universal science, the science that has created the modern technological wonders, the science which is secular and open, but not specific to any particular religion. Furthermore, for convenience we have used the term science in this website to include technology as well, unless implied otherwise.]

Social reform (SR) that calls for Freedom of speech, Equality of genders, Rule of law, Democracy and Human rights [FERDH]. These issues are important for the creation of a modern civic society.

Our Objectives

At present we have two objectives, which we wish to pursue through this website:

To campaign for more science among Muslims [CAMSAM] This campaign, a vital cultural reform, is the heart of this website, and is inspired by the perception that the study of science is a religious duty for Muslims. More science means more science at all levels of the Muslim society from the every-day life to the higher education and research. The longer term aspiration of CAMSAM is to help transform the Muslim society into one where science can thrive.

To support inter-group cooperation among reformist Muslim groups [Inter-Group Cooperation (IGC)] The aim is to support inter-group cooperation on all mutually beneficial areas among progressive Muslim groups working on social and cultural reforms (in the UK and elsewhere). Some of these areas may include cooperative assistance and joint activities, subject to reciprocal agreement among the groups concerned.

In order to assess support for more science among Muslims and inter-group cooperation, we wrote to and visited in late 2008 and early 2009 all the progressive groups that we could contact. The responses we received were very positive without any dissension. Not only they expressed a need for work in those two areas, but also they suggested that we could perhaps fill that void. This motivated us to create our group with those two objectives. As we intended our group to have an international dimension, we opted for the international domain .org.

Please click on the Links at the top of the page for entries on About Us, CAMSAM, IGC, and why the study of science should be considered a religious duty for Muslims.