As Imam Muhsin famously said, “The heart is not big enough to contain both fear and faith. You choose.” He chose faith, and was willing to be true to his interpretation of Islamic teachings, despite years of experiencing threats of violence from conservative extremists. Through his teachings and queer-affirming Al-Ghurbaah Mosque in South Africa, he inspired Muslims locally and globally to live authentic lives without abandoning their faith.

In addition to our gratitude for his work overall, we at MPV particularly want to acknowledge his contributions to our advocacy efforts in Urdu, including delivering this lecture to Urdu-speaking audiences.

While there is much we don’t yet know about the circumstances of his death, we know too well the many death threats Imam Muhsin had received over the years. We are disgusted by those condoning his murder and it is this theology of hate and of homophobia that has resulted in the intense threats on his life. We join Muslims and allies around the world in calling for the South African government to leave no stone unturned in investigating the motivation for his murder, and as a possible hate crime.

The attack on Imam Muhsin comes at a chilling time of increased violence against LGTBQ people all around the world, including in the US, and we call on Muslims to show compassion and support for this increasingly vulnerable population.

We join Muslims and allies worldwide in offering prayers for justice and healing for all of those impacted by this horrific killing. We call on all Muslims, regardless of our political and religious differences, to build a culture of tolerance and curiosity for various interpretations of Islam. At MPV, we will continue to advocate for freedom of religion for all, and freedom from persecution for all, demonstrating the beauty of Islam just as Imam Muhsin did.

A Statement from the Colleagues of Imam Muhsin at the Center for Contemporary Islam at University of Cape Town.

Indeed to Allah we belong, and indeed, to Allah we return. We are reeling from the targeted assassination of Imam Muhsin Hendricks, the first openly queer Imam in South Africa. Imam Muhsin was a pioneer in the rights of queer Muslims having previously led The Inner Circle and more recently the Al-Ghurbaah Foundation. He was recognised as a global leader who created a space to reconcile Islam, faith and sexual diversity, and provided a refuge for young queer Muslims that had been rejected in their homes. Muhsin courageously tracked a path of religious inclusivity and a vision of Islam as a home for all.

His theology was a liberation theology: God is a God of radical love and justice for all human beings. The safe space created by his work brought relief beyond the community of queer Muslims, extending to refugees, people who were homeless, those marginalised without community and belonging, for whom he provided a space of inclusion.

Despite this, we are also reeling from the ways in which some Muslims are condoning his assassination on social media. The compounded horror of such violence and brutality has brought into sharp focus the intense homophobia permeating the Muslim community.

This is a time for each of us as individuals, as well as in our collectives, whether in mosques, in community organisations, in our Palestinian solidarity formations, to deeply reflect on the ways in which our work for justice must be all-inclusive, and the right to dignity is unconditional.

In the last two years we have witnessed a genocide enabled by the language of dehumanisation of Palestinian people. It is the same underlying logic of dehumanisation that enables a targeted assassination of a queer human being who stood up for justice. We must recognise that when we are silent in the face of homophobia, patriarchy and

Zionism, we enable not only violent systems, but systems that perpetuate violence and death. We are both ethically and spiritually accountable.

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was sent as “Rahmatan li-l-Aalamin,” a mercy to all worlds, everywhere in all times. Every human being deserves justice and dignity.

Imam Muhsin has completed his work on this earth; it is for us to begin ours. Let us have the difficult conversations, let us grow seeds of love, justice and compassion. Let us truly engage what it might be to follow the sunnah of the Mercy to the worlds.

We salute your courage, Shaheed (Martyr) Imam Muhsin. May your soul be embraced in love and compassion by Allah. Dear contented soul, return to your Lord; may your Lord be pleased with you, may you be pleased with your Lord. May the work of justice, love and inclusivity that you worked so hard towards be realised. May we grow our communities in the work of justice, love and all-inclusive dignity.

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Public art protest organised by Victoria Gugenheim in solidarity with persecuted freethinkers, at the conference in London. Photo: CEMB.

In the ten years of its existence, the Council for Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB) has organised annual conferences to draw attention to issues facing ex-Muslims, their status as apostates and blasphemers, the distinction between Islam and Islamism, islamophobia and anti-Muslim racism, the links with other religious fundamentalisms, and religion and women’s rights.

To mark CEMB’s tenth anniversary, the international conference on Freedom of Conscience and Expression that took place in London last month was bigger and bolder than any before it. Appropriately, substantial time was devoted to the journeys and testimonies of women and men who asserted their right to live free from religion and found themselves at best forsaken by family (and that’s no easy option) and at worst risking death and imprisonment.

Whenever speakers gather from around the world I’m reminded of the truism that context is everything. At this conference, those who came from Muslim majority countries tended to be harsher in their condemnation of Islam – one even called it a “virus” – than speakers who have lived in the west where minority status, security concerns and tendencies to see all Muslims as terrorists have obliged them to tread a careful path between the religion and its politicisation.

Jimmy Bangash, a gay Pakistani living in Britain, broke with that pattern in a session called ‘Out, Loud and Proud,’ saying he struggled with the distinction between Islam and Islamism. He referenced the case of Jahed Chaudhury, the first Muslim gay man in Britain to marry, who was spat at and threatened with acid attacks by Muslims. Bangash said it was disingenuous to call this Islamism when it was simply people following Islam.

With that remark, Bangash landed on a central faultline in the conference between those who were practising, progressive Muslims and those who felt that the door marked ‘exit’ was the only option as Islam was essentially unreformable. Could these two groups of people work together in a secular alliance or do atheists and ex-Muslims feel silenced because their critique of religion is seen as offensive by some believers?
 
Could these two groups of people work together in a secular alliance or do atheists and ex-Muslims feel silenced because their critique of religion is seen as offensive by some believers?

These simmering tensions surfaced during a panel entitled ‘Secularism as a Human Right’. Chris Moos, council member of the National Secular Society, lit the fuse when he said it was not helpful to describe religious people as ‘stupid’ (in reference to comments made earlier at the conference) if you are trying to build an inclusive secular movement. He argued for more religious people to be part of campaigns for secularism, but said he feared they stayed away feeling their beliefs “were on trial”.

In her closing statement on this panel, Karima Bennoune, UN special rapporteur on cultural rights, emphasised that while the struggles of atheists are important, they are separate from those of secularists. This drew a passionate response from Maryam Namazie, founder of CEMB. Namazie said her “whole life has been bulldozed by Islam”. She expressed frustration at lacking space to say that Islam offends her, for fear of offending some of her religious sisters in a secular alliance.

Gita Sahgal, director of the Centre for Secular Space, argued from the floor that atheism got a raw deal in secular circles. She also talked passionately about the price paid by some ex-Muslims for whom “simply to pronounce their atheism was to fall into a human rights void”, losing their homes, jobs, custody of children and all their civil and social rights.

Ex-Muslims in Muslim majority countries have had to undertake dangerous journeys to becoming visible in order to find and give support to other ex-Muslims. Ex-Muslims in the west have had access to many more potential allies. But, as many speakers reiterated, finding the right allies can be a minefield. 

In another conference session, Benjamin David, editor of Conatus News, talked about the ‘regressive left’, the ‘liberal left’ and the ‘progressive left’. Later, David Silverman, president of American Atheists, delivered a high-octane, humorous presentation on ‘wrong left’ and ‘wrong right’ allies. Although talking of the American context, much of what he said applies to the UK too.

A slide from Silverman’s talk at the conference in London.Though deliberately reductionist, Silverman’s talk made some serious points. Black and minority ethnic (BME) feminists in the west, and particularly in Britain, have never received support from those who should have been their natural allies – the left – in their struggle against religious fundamentalism, particularly Islamic fundamentalism.

Silverman noted that the ‘wrong left’ believe that criticising Islam is racism, and in fact make no distinction between Islam and Islamism. He said the ‘right to not be offended’ has been gaining ground among left-liberal circles, shutting down free speech.

A recent example of this is the refusal by organisers of the Pride 2017 march in London to support Maryam Namazie and other ex-Muslims against a complaint filed by the East London Mosque which which described a CEMB placard saying “East London Mosque incites murder of LGBT” as itself “inciting hatred against Muslims”. The mosque said it had a “track record for challenging homophobia in East London”.

In a statement, Pride organisers said their community advisory board was considering whether CEMB could join the next march in 2018. “If anyone taking part in our parade makes someone feel ostracised, discriminated against or humiliated, then they are undermining and breaking the very principles on which we exist,” it said. “Pride must always be a movement of acceptance, diversity and unity. We will not tolerate Islamophobia”. (That old chestnut!)

the ‘right to not be offended’ has been gaining ground among left-liberal circles and shutting down free speech

At the London conference, Asher Fainman, president of the Goldsmiths University Atheist Society, deplored how universities had become bastions of the ‘right to not be offended’. He described an infamous incident when he invited Namazie to speak and her talk was repeatedly disrupted by students from the Islamic Society. They literally pulled the plug on her Powerpoint presentation when she showed cartoons of Jesus and Mo.

Namazie has been disinvited from talks at a number of universities on the basis that she is an Islamaphobe (a favourite tactic in shutting down criticism). At the conference, Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of Index on Censorship, said it was a tragedy that the right to free speech was increasingly associated with the right – though it is too important a right for progressive people to relinquish.

A slide from Silverman’s talk at the conference in London.I am not sure there is a ‘right right’ or what its position would be but, in Silverman’s framework, the ‘wrong right’ is racist because it posits Christianity as morally superior, therefore justifying all critiques of Islam. This position leads logically to support for ex-Muslims but this support is the kiss of death because it further alienates potential left supporters.

Silverman described the paradox that “the right doesn’t care about rape culture, homophobia or sexism unless it is in Muslim culture and we have a left that cares a lot about these things unless it is in Muslim culture. The right says Islam creates terrorists, the left says that criticising Islam creates terrorists”.

In this landscape, organisations like CEMB, Southall Black Sisters and Centre for Secular Space have been trying to occupy that lonely space where the primacy of universal rights is respected, regardless of brickbats from the left and right, of the ‘wrong’ or ‘right’ kind. Challenging religion should have no greater consequences than the crossfire of intellectual debate.

Rahila Gupta is a freelance journalist and writer. Her work has appeared in The Guardian and New Humanist among other papers and magazines. Her books include, Enslaved: The New British Slavery; From Homebreakers to Jailbreakers: Southall Black Sisters; Provoked;  and ‘Don’t Wake Me: The Ballad of Nihal Armstrong (Playdead Press, 2013). She is co-authoring a book with Beatrix Campbell with the title Why Doesn’t Patriarchy Die? Follow her on twitter @ RahilaG

This article is part two of a series on the Conference on Free Expression and Conscience, which took place in London in July 2017.

This article was first published on openDemocracy.

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Aims:
Raise awareness within British Muslims and the wider public, of democracy particularly ‘secular democracy’ helping to contribute to a shared vision of citizenship (the separation of faith and state, so faiths exert no undue influence on policies and there is a shared public space).

• Encourage religious understanding and harmony, respect for different systems of beliefs, and encourage an understanding and celebration of the variety of Muslim cultures, values and traditions which are present in British society.

bmsd will achieve this by:

• Facilitating discourse and raising awareness of democracy particularly ‘secular democracy’ and its benefits.
• Facilitating broad and enlightened theological discourses, to enable British Muslims and the wider public to be better informed about the Islamic faith.
• Raising awareness of religious influence on UK domestic and foreign policies, particularly those which may lead to undue effect on civil liberties.
• Addressing Islamophobia and prejudice against Muslims and Muslim communities.
• Working with UK and global Muslim and other organisations, opposing radicalism and intolerant beliefs.
• Ensuring that politicians and community leaders encourage and practise transparency and ensure legitimate voting practices are followed.
• Engaging with marginalised Muslim communities, helping to identify root causes of deprivation and social exclusion, and help work towards a solution.
• Providing a lively and interesting social/educational programme which showcases the variety of Muslim histories, cultures, values and traditions in the UK today.
• Be responsive to the changing needs and pressures on succeeding generations of British Muslims and adjust and add to its programmes and projects accordingly.

About bmsd: bmsd was founded in 2006 by Nasreen Rehman and Yasmin Alibhai-Brown. We bring together a diverse group of Muslim democrats from a variety of ethnic and social backgrounds. We want to challenge perceptions, ideas and current thinking about British Muslims as a collectivity and the issues that affect the wider society. bmsd is not a theological group but one that advocates civic engagement and good citizenship. We are not concerned with judging or being judged on the basis of religious practice. If you call yourself a ‘Muslim’, you are most welcome to be a part of our movement. If you are non-Muslim, we equally welcome your association.

bmsd is about social inclusion, co-existence and harmony. Together we can all make a difference. It is now time to work towards this goal. bmsd aims to:
Raise awareness within British Muslims and the wider public, of democracy particularly ‘secular democracy’ helping to contribute to a shared vision of citizenship (the separation of faith and state, so faiths exert no undue influence on policies and there is a shared public space).

Encourage religious understanding and harmony, respect for different systems of beliefs, and encourage an understanding and celebration of the variety of Muslim cultures, values and traditions which are present in British society.

Contact: Not available on website

Website: http://bmsd.org.uk/

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Manifesto
We, non-believers, atheists, and ex-Muslims, are establishing or joining the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain to insist that no one be pigeonholed as Muslims with culturally relative rights nor deemed to be represented by regressive Islamic organisations and ‘Muslim community leaders’.

Those of us who have come forward with our names and photographs represent countless others who are unable or unwilling to do so because of the threats faced by those considered ‘apostates’ – punishable by death in countries under Islamic law.

By doing so, we are breaking the taboo that comes with renouncing Islam but also taking a stand for reason, universal rights and values, and secularism.

Whilst religion or the lack thereof is a private affair, the increasing intervention of and devastation caused by religion and particularly Islam in contemporary society has necessitated our public renunciation and declaration. We represent a majority in Europe and a vast secular and humanist protest movement in countries like Iran.

Taking the lead from the Central Council of Ex-Muslims in Germany, we demand:

1. Universal rights and equal citizenship for all. We are opposed to cultural relativism and the tolerance of inhuman beliefs, discrimination and abuse in the name of respecting religion or culture.
2. Freedom to criticise religion. Prohibition of restrictions on unconditional freedom of criticism and expression using so-called religious ‘sanctities’.
3. Freedom of religion and atheism.
4. Separation of religion from the state and legal and educational system.
5. Prohibition of religious customs, rules, ceremonies or activities that are incompatible with or infringe people’s rights and freedoms.
6. Abolition of all restrictive and repressive cultural and religious customs which hinder and contradict woman’s independence, free will and equality. Prohibition of segregation of sexes.
7. Prohibition of interference by any authority, family members or relatives, or official authorities in the private lives of women and men and their personal, emotional and sexual relationships and sexuality.
8. Protection of children from manipulation and abuse by religion and religious institutions.
9. Prohibition of any kind of financial, material or moral support by the state or state institutions to religion and religious activities and institutions.
10. Prohibition of all forms of religious intimidation and threats.

Contact: exmuslimcouncil@googlemail.com

Website: http://ex-muslim.org.uk/
 

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Objects: Exposing deviant ideologies, extremism, terrorism and their proponents

About: No details provided on the organisation’s website

Contact: Message box provided on the website

Website: http://www.islamagainstextremism.com/
 

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Mission:

10 Principles:
Collective Identity
We accept as Muslim anyone who identifies as such. The veracity and integrity of that claim is between the individual and God, and is not a matter for the state nor an issue which other individuals can or should judge. We welcome all who are interested in discussing, promoting and working for the implementation of progressive values – human rights, freedom of expression, and separation of church and state – as well as inclusive and tolerant understandings of Islam.

Equality
We affirm the equal worth of all human beings, regardless of race, sex, gender, gender identification, ethnicity, nationality, creed, sexual orientation, or ability. We are committed to work toward global societies that ensure social, political, educational, and economic opportunities for all.

Separation of Religious and State Authorities
We believe that freedom of conscience is not only essential to all human societies but integral to the Qur’anic view of humanity. We believe that secular government is the only way to achieve the Islamic ideal of freedom from compulsion in matters of faith.

Freedom of speech
We support freedom of expression and freedom of dissent. No one should be legally prosecuted, imprisoned or detained for declaring or promoting unpopular opinions whether political, artistic, social or religious, even when that expression may be offensive and that dissent may be considered blasphemous.

Universal Human rights
We are committed to social, economic and environmental justice. We believe that the full self-realization of all people, in a safe and sustainable world, is a prerequisite for freedom, civility, and peace. We support efforts for universal health care, universal public education, the protection of our environment, and the eradication of poverty.

Gender equality
We support women’s agency and self-determination in every aspect of their lives. We believe in women’s full participation in society at every level. We affirm our commitment to reproductive justice and empowering women to make healthy decisions regarding their bodies, sexuality and reproduction.

LGBTQI Inclusion
We endorse the human and civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) individuals. We affirm our commitment to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and we support full equality and inclusion of all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, in society and in the Muslim community.

Critical analysis and interpretation
We promote interpretations that reflect traditional Qur’anic principles of tolerance, inclusiveness, mercy, compassion, and fairness. We call for critical engagement with Islamic scripture, traditional jurisprudence, and current Muslim discourses. We believe that critical thinking is essential to spiritual development.

Compassion
We affirm that justice and compassion should be the guiding principles for all aspects of human conduct. We repudiate violence, whether on an individual, organizational, or national level.

Diversity
We embrace pluralism and the diversity of inspirations that motivate people to embrace justice. We affirm that one’s religion and belief system is not the exclusive source of truth. We engage with a diversity of philosophical and spiritual traditions to pursue a more just, peaceful and sustainable world.

Contact: info@mpvusa.org
Website: www.mpvusa.org/
 

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Motto: God is beautiful and He loves Beauty

Mission Statement
Whereas in the contemporary world the values of individual freedom, human rights and gender equality, science and democracy are cherished universal ideals, yet Muslims and non-Muslim minorities espousing these ideals in countries that are member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation face abuse, persecution, and violence;  and

Whereas Muslims and people of all other faith traditions need to come together in opposing bigotry in the name of Islam as preached and practiced in the mainstream mosques in Canada and across the Muslim world;

Therefore,
Our mission is to reclaim Islam for, as the word itself means, securing Peace for all people, and to oppose extremism, fanaticism and violence in the name of religion; and

Our vision is to advance among Muslims the principle of individual rights and freedoms, and for Muslims to embrace the idea of openness, of relating to others as equal and deserving of equal respect, and of defending freedom of speech as the basis of all other freedoms enunciated in the constitutions of liberal democracies, such as ours in Canada; and, accordingly,

We consider our effort is consistent with the forward-looking reading of the principle enunciated in the Qur’an, “There is no compulsion in religion;” and

We believe our mission and vision are intimately bound with the struggle for Enlightenment among Muslims and Reform of Islam in the modern world; and

In order to succeed we are dedicated to nurturing harmonious coexistence among people of all faith traditions, to supporting open and free intellectual discourse about our history beset with problems that need to be publicly discussed, and to celebrating as Canadians our cultural diversity in all of its aspects.

 Vision: “God is beautiful and He loves beauty.”
These words are attributed to the Prophet. But one of Allah’s ninety-nine names is
“husn” and Allah is the Creator of all that is beautiful in the universe. In Sura 67,
“Al Mulk,” we find the following opening verses (in A.J. Arberry’s translation)

“…and He is
the All-mighty, the All-forgiving —
who created seven heavens one upon another.
Thou seest not in the creation
of the All-merciful any imperfection.
Return thy gaze; seest thou any fissure?
Then return thy gaze again, and again, and thy gaze comes
back to thee dazzled, aweary.”

If we distill the meaning of all of our efforts, to which we are committed, the essence is about restoring Beauty back into living and thinking Islam that has been effectively destroyed by Islamists over the past century and ruined in our lifetime.

In other words, our struggle or jihad is against the Ugliness that has taken over Islam, the Ugliness that has made a wasteland of our history and faith-tradition. Today people around the world associate all things Muslim with Ugliness, from suicide-bombings and terrorism to the clothes worn, the features on display, the forbidding of arts and music, the denial of everything beautiful on the grounds that beauty (woman’s hair, for instance, or unveiled face) is Satan’s temptation to deceive man.

Once this sense of beauty is lost, or suppressed, or violated, or forbidden, then man inwardly turns ugly and the rest follows, which is ugliness then gone to war with beauty.

Email:  info@muslimsfacingtomorrow.com

Alternate:    razzaz55@gmail.com

Website: http://muslimsfacingtomorrow.com/
 

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Motto:

Vision: To unearth and spread the Light and Love of Islam, which in its purest form is Universalist.

Mission: To spread egalitarian understandings of Islam, Muslims and universal human rights and connecting individuals and communities of many schools of thought to spread harmony and peace.

Goals: To create and connect communities to inclusive spaces; to hold congregational mixed gender prayers, led by any gender; to support family and the institution of marriage, including interfaith and same sex unions and connect community members to Muslim officiants; to build multi-faith communities with shared visions, such as the Ottawa Network of Spiritual Progressives and Hate to Hope; to lead and/or support the entitlement of women to self-determination everywhere; to stand in solidarity, shoulder to shoulder, with LGBTQI individuals inside and outside Muslim communities and nations; to respect animals and the earth, for us now and for future generations to come.  

Contact: universalistmuslims@gmail.com

Website: http://www.universalistmuslims.org/
 

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Motto:

Declaration:

PREAMBLE
We are Muslims who live in the 21st century. We stand for a respectful, merciful and inclusive interpretation of Islam. We are in a battle for the soul of Islam, and an Islamic renewal must defeat the ideology of Islamism, or politicized Islam, which seeks to create Islamic states, as well as an Islamic caliphate. We seek to reclaim the progressive spirit with which Islam was born in the 7th century to fast forward it into the 21st century. We support the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by United Nations member states in 1948.
 
We reject interpretations of Islam that call for any violence, social injustice and politicized Islam. Facing the threat of terrorism, intolerance, and social injustice in the name of Islam, we have reflected on how we can transform our communities based on three principles: peace, human rights and secular governance. We announce the formation of an international initiative: the Muslim Reform Movement.
 
We have courageous reformers from around the world who have written our Declaration for Muslim Reform, a living document that we will continue to enhance as our journey continues. We invite our fellow Muslims and neighbors to join us.
 
A. Peace: National Security, Counterterrorism and Foreign Policy

1. We stand for universal peace, love and compassion. We reject violent jihad. We believe we must target the ideology of violent Islamist extremism in order to liberate individuals from the scourge of oppression and terrorism both in Muslim-majority societies and the West.
2. We stand for the protection of all people of all faiths and non-faith who seek freedom from dictatorships, theocracies and Islamist extremists.
3. We reject bigotry, oppression and violence against all people based on any prejudice, including ethnicity, gender, language, belief, religion, sexual orientation and gender expression.

B. Human Rights: Women's Rights and Minority Rights

1. We stand for human rights and justice. We support equal rights and dignity for all people, including minorities. We support the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.
2. We reject tribalism, castes, monarchies and patriarchies and consider all people equal with no birth rights other than human rights. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Muslims don't have an exclusive right to "heaven."
3. We support equal rights for women, including equal rights to inheritance, witness, work, mobility, personal law, education, and employment. Men and women have equal rights in mosques, boards, leadership and all spheres of society. We reject sexism and misogyny.

C. Secular Governance: Freedom of Speech and Religion

1. We are for secular governance, democracy and liberty. We are against political movements in the name of religion. We separate mosque and state. We are loyal to the nations in which we live. We reject the idea of the Islamic state. There is no need for an Islamic caliphate. We oppose institutionalized sharia. Sharia is manmade.
2. We believe in life, joy, free speech and the beauty all around us. Every individual has the right to publicly express criticism of Islam. Ideas do not have rights. Human beings have rights. We reject blasphemy laws. They are a cover for the restriction of freedom of speech and religion. We affirm every individual's right to participate equally in ijtihad, or critical thinking, and we seek a revival of ijtihad.
3. We believe in freedom of religion and the right of all people to express and practice their faith, or non-faith, without threat of intimidation, persecution, discrimination or violence. Apostasy is not a crime. Our ummah–our community–is not just Muslims, but all of humanity.

We stand for peace, human rights and secular governance. Please stand with us!

Launch: In the early morning of Friday, Dec. 4, 2015, courageous Muslim reformers from Europe, Canada and the United States stood at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., announcing the formation of a new initiative, the Muslim Reform Movement, each one reading a precept from the movement's Declaration of Reform.

In each one of their communities, from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Phoeniz, Arizona, each one of these reformers have been fighting against violent Islamist ideologies, social injustice and political Islam, motivated by a vision for an Islam of peace, human rights and secular governance. 

A group of the reformers piled into a Kia Rodando and a yellow taxi to journey west on Massachusetts Avenue, to the Islamic Center of Washington, a mosque largely run by the government of Saudi Arabia. There, the brave group posted the Declaration of Reform on the doors of the mosque and, after the pleas of men to the mosque managers, three women from the Muslim Reform Movement prayed in the main hall of the mosque, otherwise forbidden to women on the Muslim holy day of Friday. 

Muslim reform has begun. The revolution has begun. We invite you to join us!

Founding signatories: 
1. Tahir Gora, Author, Journalist, Activist, Toronto, Canada
2. Tawfik Hamid, Islamic Thinker and Reformer, Oakton, VA, USA
3. Usama Hasan, Imam, Quilliam Foundation, London, UK
4. Arif Humayun, Senior Fellow, American Islamic Forum for Democracy, Portland, OR, USA
5. Farahnaz Ispahani, Author, Former Member of Parliament, Pakistan, Washington, D.C., USA,
6. Zuhdi Jasser, M.D., President, American Islamic Forum for Democracy, Phoenix, AZ USA
7. Naser Khader, Member, Danish Parliament, Muslim democracy activist, Copenhagen, Denmark
8. Courtney Lonergan, Community Outreach Director, American Islamic Forum for Democracy, Professional facilitator
9. Hasan Mahmud, Resident expert in sharia, Muslims Facing Tomorrow, Toronto, Canada
10. Asra Nomani, Journalist, Author, Morgantown, WV, USA
11. Raheel Raza, Founder, Muslims Facing Tomorrow, Toronto, Canada
12. Sohail Raza, Vice President, Coalition of Progressive Canadian Muslim Organizations
13. Salma Siddiqui, President, Coalition of Progressive Canadian Muslim Organizations, Toronto, Canada

Contact: MuslimReformMovement@gmail.com
Website: http://muslimreformmovement.org/
 

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