Malek Chebl: 27 propositions for reforming Islam

From: http://www.arabwashingtonian.org/issue1/cultureAndArts.php

In his new book "Manifesto for an Enlightened Islam: 27 Propositions for Reforming Islam" (Manifeste pour un Islam des Lumières), Malek Chebel, a North African scholar in the field of Islamic studies, presents 27 proposals for reforming Islam. Malek Chebel was born in 1953 in Skikda, Algeria. He studied and taught Islam, Arabic, psychoanalysis, and philosophy in universities in France, Morocco, Tunisia, the United States, and Belgium. His latest book "Manifesto for an Enlightened Islam: 27 Propositions for Reforming Islam" protests against extreme fundamental interpretation of Islam. The book stands in opposition to the hijacking of a peaceful religion by certain groups to justify their political goals. Chebel, troubled by the widespread concept that all analysis of Islam is unconstructive, provides a positive vision of reform. His first proposal to reform Islam is to rethink and reinterpret the holy text and the speeches of the Prophet Mohammad. He believes a word-for-word interpretation of the Quran cannot address the real message of Islam or its true identity. "A modern and scientific interpretation of the holy text is urgently needed," Chebel says. Chebel finds inspiration in the principles of enlightenment during the peak of Islam in the 9th century to the 11th century, when reason and rationality dominated social, political, and religious discourse in the Muslim world. While Chebel admits Islamic core values have become "nebulous, without structure, almost hallucinatory", he points to the early 19th century movement led by prominent Islamic philosophers Egyptian Mohammed Abduh and Syrian Rashid Rida. Both men applied the same methods of reform at great risk to their lives to prove that principles of enlightenment can be applied to the modern Muslim world. The writer also calls upon Arab and Muslim thinker to emphasize the power of the mind over beliefs and ideologies. "Islam urges us to use judgment and rational thinking. It always fought superstitions and delusions," he notes. Chebel addresses a wide range of issues vital to the future of Islam including free speech, secularism, equality of the sexes, tolerance, democracy, reinterpretation of the Quran, and numerous other issues he sees as essential to Islamic development. "The reforms are clear, concise, and concrete. If followed, they could lead to a new and enlightened Islam," Chebel says. Chebel concludes his book with the question "What kind of Islam do we want for our future?" He answers, "It must be a rational Islam, a religion based on tolerance and civil institutions. It also must be based on modern education and the respect of common human values."