Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 03:56, 16 July 2012

The Secular Islam Summit was an international forum for secularists of Islamic societies, held 4–5 March 2007 in St. Petersburg, Florida. It was largely organized and funded by the Center for Inquiry, a secular humanist educational organization, along with secular Muslims such as Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi and in partnership with the International Intelligence Summit, a forum on terrorism.

People

Speakers ranged from former believers to devout reformers, including Ibn Warraq (an ex-Muslim), Tawfik Hamid (an ex-jihadist, now in hiding), Afshin Ellian (an Iranian refugee under police protection), Irshad Manji (a self-described "radical traditionalist"), Ayaan Hirsi Ali (a former member of the Dutch Parliament), and Hasan Mahmud (an expert on Islamic law). (See others below.)

Their common ground was the belief that Islam and secular democracy should be compatible. They agreed that Islam must be either a religion or a political philosophy, not both.

Attendees included government officials from Arab countries, Europe, Canada, and the US. The summit was covered by Al-Jazeera and broadcast live on the Glenn Beck program on CNN.

Several devout Muslims that had been invited to speak, such as Faisal Abdul Rauf and Mike Ghouse, did not attend, and one that did, Irshad Manji, criticized the summit for "not making stronger overtures to practicing Muslims", and urging them to seek common ground.

Reception

The summit was described by Bret Stephens of the Wall Street Journal as "a landmark." Yvonne Haddad of Georgetown University criticized the lineup as extreme, though she did not offer an opinion on the contents of the summit.

On the same weekend as the summit, the south Florida office of the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim advocacy group, met in Fort Lauderdale. Attendees of the two meetings denounced each other, with the director of the Tampa chapter of CAIR dismissing the secular summit as "atheists and non-Muslims", and with speakers of the summit characterizing CAIR as Saudi-funded Islamists "hypersensitive to any criticism of Muslims" and "too quick to declare who is, or who is not, a true Muslim."

Summit activities

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2012)

Wafa Sultan, a pundit critical of Islam, accepted an award from the Center for Inquiry, saying, "I don't believe there is any difference between radical Islam and regular Islam", a view shared by some but not all of the attendees.

St. Petersburg Declaration

Although delegates to the summit "differed sharply on particulars", on March 5 they released a public manifesto calling for reform within Islam. The text, known as the St. Petersburg Declaration, expressed support for the separation of mosque and state, legal equality between men and women, and unrestricted critical study of traditional practices in Islam. It states, for instance,

We are secular Muslims, and secular persons of Muslim societies. We are believers, doubters, and unbelievers, brought together by a great struggle, not between the West and Islam, but between the free and the unfree...

We insist upon the separation of religion from the state and the observance of universal human rights...

We call upon the governments of the world to reject Sharia law, fatwa courts, clerical rule, and state-sanctioned religion in all their forms; oppose all penalties for blasphemy and apostasy, in accordance with Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; eliminate practices, such as female circumcision, honor killing, forced veiling, and forced marriage, that further the oppression of women...

We say to Muslim believers: there is a noble future for Islam as a personal faith, not a political doctrine; to Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Baha'is, and all members of non-Muslim faith communities: we stand with you as free and equal citizens; and to nonbelievers, we defend your unqualified liberty to question and dissent."

Those who signed the declaration were:

Irshad Manji decided not to endorse the declaration, saying it was not sufficiently inclusive of practicing Muslims like herself, though Hasan Mahmud, also a devout Muslim, did sign. Manji proposed an amendment addressing her concerns for a possible future version of the declaration.

Notes

1. "In order to be a unifying, effective call to action, the Declaration must include, unapologetically, the voices of faithful Muslims. ... It should clarify that secular Muslims are not necessarily atheists or people who have renounced the faith; rather, secular Muslims believe in separating clerics and politics, and this isn't any less loving of Allah, respectful of the Prophet Muhammad, or appreciative of the Quran."

References

1. ^ First "Secular Islam Summit" to convene early next month in Florida, Kuwait News Agency, Feb 2007, archived from the original on 2012.05.18 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |archivedate= (help)
2. Susan Jacoby (April 19 2007), Diverse Muslims, Violent Islamist Fundamentalism, Washington Post {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
3. ^ Fighting for the soul of Islam, US News and Word report
4. ^ Stephens, Bret (2007-03-06). "Islam's Other Radicals - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
5. ^ Geneive Abdo (March 17 2007), A More Islamic Islam, Washington Post {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
6. Andrew Bieszad, The Conference on Secular Islam, Telospress.com
7. ^ Elfenbein, Madeleine (April 19, 2007). "Irshad Manji's Flying Leap". The American Prospect.
8. Laughlin, Meg (March 6, 2007). "Intelligence conference draws criticism". Tampa Bay Times.
9. ^ "The St. Petersburg Declaration". Centerforinquiry.net. 2007-04-05. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
10. Susan Jacoby, "Diverse Muslims, Violent Islamist Fundamentalism", On Faith, Washington Post
11. ^ Manji, Irshad (March 12, 2007). "Your letters".

External links

• Official website

• Islamic politics and Islamic world studies
• Secularism
• 2007 in the United States