Secular Islam Summit - Misplaced Pages

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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.

Overview

The common ground of the participants 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. According to Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi, one of the organizers, one of the summit's goals was to be a "sanctuary" for victims of Islamism and a forum for the embrace of secular values.

Participants

Speakers ranged from former believers to devout reformers, including Ibn Warraq (the pen name of an ex-Muslim author known for criticism of Islam), 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).

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

Media attention

The summit was covered by Al-Jazeera and broadcast live on the Glenn Beck program on CNN.

Reception

The summit was described by Bret Stephens of the Wall Street Journal as "a landmark." Yvonne Haddad of Georgetown University commented on the lineup of speakers, describing them as being extreme in their anti-Islam views. However, Michael Ledeen, who attended the summit, described the participants as ex-Muslims and believers, who "all condemn the radical islamism that drives the jihad." He added: "After this conference, I think it is no longer possible for people to say there are no reformist (or “moderate”) Muslims."

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 members of CAIR dismissing summit speakers as "atheists and non-Muslims" hostile to Islam, 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

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Wafa Sultan, a Syrian-born American author and critic of Muslim society and Islam, accepted an award from the Center for Inquiry, saying that she believed there was no such thing as moderate 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, equal protection for all religions, legal and social equality between men and women, and unrestricted critical study of traditional practices in Islam.

Irshad Manji decided not to endorse the declaration, saying it was not sufficiently inclusive of practicing Muslims like herself; she elaborated that being a secular Muslim did not entail renouncing Islam for atheism or another religion, and that support for the separation of mosque and state was not un-Islamic. Hasan Mahmud, also a devout Muslim, did sign.

References

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)
^ Susan Jacoby (April 19 2007), Diverse Muslims, Violent Islamist Fundamentalism, Washington Post {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ Fighting for the soul of Islam, US News and Word report
Andrew Bieszad, The Conference on Secular Islam, Telospress.com
Kuwait News Agency; "First "Secular Islam Summit" to convene early next month in Florida; 27 February 2007
^ Stephens, Bret (2007-03-06). "Islam's Other Radicals - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
^ Geneive Abdo (March 17 2007), A More Islamic Islam, Washington Post {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ Elfenbein, Madeleine (April 19, 2007). "Irshad Manji's Flying Leap". The American Prospect.
Laughlin, Meg (March 6, 2007). "Intelligence conference draws criticism". Tampa Bay Times.
^ Secular Islam Summit, National Review, 2007-03-06, retrieved 2012-07-27
John M. Broder (2006-03-11). "For Muslim Who Says Violence Destroys Islam, Violent Threats". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-24. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
^ "The St. Petersburg Declaration". Centerforinquiry.net. 2007-04-05. Retrieved 2012-01-27.

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