Irshad Manji and Project Ijtihad

WHAT IS IJTIHAD?

http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/sr125.html


Ijtihad: Reinterpreting Islamic Principles for the Twenty-first Century
Many Muslims believe that they must choose between Islam and modernity or between Islam and democracy, but these are false choices. To reinterpret Islam for the twenty-first century, the practice of ijtihad (interpretation and reasoning based on the sacred texts) must be revived.
Religious scholars effectively terminated the practice of ijtihad five hundred years ago. But the principles of interpretation are well established and the need for contemporary interpretation is compelling.
New interpretations of the texts are particularly important in relation to the status of women, relations between Sunnis and Shiites, relations between Muslims and non-Muslims, the role of Muslims in non-Muslim societies, and Islamic economic theories.
Most scholars would limit the practice of ijtihad to specialists who have not only knowledge of the Qur'an and the hadiths but also broad familiarity with a wide range of modern scholarship in Arabic grammar, logic, philosophy, economics, and sociology.
Other scholars assert that interpretation of the texts should not be confined to legal scholars but should be open to those with creative imagination.
Restrictions on the contemporary practice of ijtihad are imposed both by religious establishments and by repressive governments in Muslim countries. Democracy and freedom of inquiry and expression are essential to the practice of ijtihad and to the successful reconciliation of Islam and modernity. Reform of Muslim educational systems is also essential.
Muslim scholars and leaders in the United States and other Western societies have particular opportunities as well as a responsibility to lead a revival of ijtihad. Muslim scholars in the West have the freedom to think creatively while still being faithful to the texts, and their new interpretations could stimulate new thinking among the more traditional religious establishments in Muslim countries.
Introduction
Iraqi Shiite men hold a banner that reads: "Islam is the religion of peace" as they march to the al-Rohman mosque for prayers in Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, May 2, 2003. (Courtesy Wide World Photos/AP)
Muslims all over the world believe that the Qur'an is the literal word of God as revealed to Prophet Muhammad through the Angel Gabriel at the beginning of the seventh century. The Qur'an was revealed over the course of twenty-three years. Most of its verses came in response to and as guidance for emerging situations or conditions faced by the Prophet and his community of believers. Because any verse, when taken out of context, could be misunderstood or misapplied, a science known as asbab an-nouzoul ("the causes for the revelation") was developed to understand the specific reasons for and conditions related to any particular verse, thus enabling interpreters to better determine its meaning.
According to Radwan Masmoudi, president of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy, while there has been no disagreement among Muslims that the Qur'an is the literal word of God, there has been and continues to be substantial disagreement about the meanings of certain verses and their application to different situations. That is why, following the death of Prophet Muhammad in 632 CE and for at least the first eight or nine centuries of Islam, there were a wide variety of opinions and schools of thought on almost every issue and question. Another science known as ijtihad (or reasoning and interpretation) was developed by Muslim scholars in order to understand and apply the message of the Qur'an to varying societal needs and conditions.
Sharia (Islamic law) is also subject to interpretation and to the ever-changing needs of society. Its guiding principles were designed to protect the individual and the society, but it was not established as a set of fixed rules. To respond to the changing needs of Muslim societies, Muslim jurists and scholars have relied on the well-established process of innovation, ijtihad. This process is based not only on the Qur'an and religious tradition (sunna), but also on reason, deduction, and prioritization.
The following examples illustrate the use of ijtihad. Fifteen years after the death of Prophet Muhammad, Caliph Omar ibn-al-Khattab stopped cutting off the hands of thieves because most of them were stealing out of necessity due to hunger, poverty, and drought. While this contradicted a verse from the Qur'an, he justified his decision by stating that the principles of justice and fairness were supreme. Similarly, in 2000, councils of Muslim ulamas (scholars) in Europe and the United States decreed that it was permissible for Muslims residing in the West to buy houses with mortgages and to pay interest on these loans. This contradicted a Qur'anic teaching against charging and paying interest, but respected Muslim scholars justified the ruling, arguing that such permission was necessary for Muslims to meet their financial and social needs in the West. Another example is a case in which Imam Muhammad Ibn Idris al-Shafi'i, one of the founders of Islamic jurisprudence, gave a certain legal opinion in Baghdad. One year later he moved to Cairo, and in response to the same question he gave a very different opinion. Someone questioned him, "Oh Imam, last year in Baghdad you gave a different answer," and he replied, "That was in Baghdad and this is in Cairo. That was last year and this is now." When employing ijtihad, scholars considered the time, place, norms, and prevailing conditions when they rendered their religious advice and opinions.
According to Masmoudi, the process of ijtihad has enabled Muslims to be flexible and to learn from other cultures and civilizations. Islam teaches that no one owns the truth and that the true believer is always in search of the truth and wisdom; wherever he finds them, he follows. This ongoing search for truth and for the overarching Islamic principle of justice has led Muslims and Muslim scholars to respect one another's opinions, making them willing to change their own opinions if proven wrong. Muslim religious scholars used to say, "This is my opinion and I could be wrong. And this is someone else's opinion and they could be right." No one had a monopoly on the truth.
Until about 1500 CE, this process allowed Muslims and Muslim societies to continually adapt in the face of changing societal conditions and new advances in knowledge. Unfortunately, as Muslim civilization began to weaken about four or five centuries ago in the face of Western advances, Muslims began to adopt a more conservative stance in an attempt to preserve traditional values and institutions. As a result, many scholars became inclined to view innovation and adaptation negatively.
According to Masmoudi, this was the beginning of the decline of Muslim civilization. Since then, Islamic law has become increasingly detached from reality and modernity. Old interpretations no longer provide suitable answers to the difficult questions facing the Muslim world.
Many Muslims believe that they must choose between Islam and modernity, or Islam and democracy. According to Masmoudi, this is a false choice. When faced with this decision, most Muslims would choose Islam and reject anything that they regarded as alien or contrary to the principles of their faith. For this reason there is a crisis in the Muslim world today. There is no way out of this predicament without renewing the concept of ijtihad and using the process to develop modern interpretations of Islamic principles compatible with both the word of God and the situations, ideas, and values that have emerged over the past several centuries.

IRSHAD MANJI AND IJTIHAD
http://www.muslim-refusenik.com/ijtihad.html

Ijtihad (pronounced “ij-tee-had”) is Islam’s lost tradition of independent thinking. In the early centuries of Islam, thanks to the spirit of ijtihad, 135 schools of thought thrived. Inspired by ijtihad, Muslims gave the world inventions from the astrolabe to the university. So much of we consider "western" pop culture came from Muslims: the guitar, mocha coffee, even the ultra-Spanish expression "Ole!" (which has its root in the Arabic word for God, "Allah").
What happened to ijtihad?
Toward the end of the 11th century, the "gates of ijtihad" were closed for entirely political reasons. During this time, the Muslim empire from Iraq in the east to Spain in the west was going through a series of internal upheavals. Dissident denominations were popping up and declaring their own runaway governments, which posed a threat to the main Muslim leader -- the caliph. Based in Baghdad, the caliph cracked down and closed ranks. Remember those 135 schools of thought mentioned above? They were deliberately reduced to four, pretty conservative, schools of thought. This led to a rigid reading of the Koran as well as to a series of legal opinions -- fatwas -- that scholars could no longer overturn or even question, but could now only imitate. To this very day, imitation of medieval norms has trumped innovation in Islam. It’s time to revive ijtihad to update Islam for the 21st century. That’s why I’ve created Project Ijtihad.
What's Project Ijtihad?
Start a huge, foolish, projectLike Noah.It makes absolutely noDifference what peopleThink of you.
- Rumi, Muslim love poetProject Ijtihad is my foundation to spur a reform in Islam — a reform that enables the emerging generation of Muslims, especially young women, to challenge authoritarianism and restore Islam’s tradition of critical thinking.
The mission is to build a leadership network through which young, reform-minded Muslims can do three things:
Meet face-to-face so that they see they're not alone;
Develop the confidence to openly dissent with conformity in Islam; and
Learn about the Golden Age of Islam, when Muslims, Jews, Christians and others worked together to preserve and expand knowledge -- something we’re rarely taught in our public schools or in our Islamic religious schools. The center’s students will hail from around the world. In North America, many of our beneficiaries will come from first generation immigrant families. That way, the conversations they initiate at home and in their communities will reach real people rather than being confined to an elite. The point is to create a critical mass of critical thinkers so that young Muslims no longer fear speaking their minds.
How's the response so far?
Based on my extensive touring and interaction with young Muslims around the world, I can report good news: the idea of a campaign to revive ijtihad is generating huge excitement. Young Muslims and their friends are expressing gratitude, relief, even love for my willingness to help them confront the extremists. There’s no doubt that some young Muslims detest me and my message of ijtihad.
Irshad with Whitney, ChicagoThey tend to be the vocal and vitriolic ones. But everywhere I go, I’m quietly approached by Muslims, especially young women, who are desperate to know that it’s possible to dissent with mainstream orthodoxy while remaining faithful. The challenge now is to help transform that underground hunger for change into an above-the-ground phenomenon.
Who's financing this?
Project Ijithad has already captured the imagination of a multi-faith group of supporters led by Monica Graham of New York City. A champion for women’s equality within the Catholic Church, Monica is broadening her advocacy to include women and youth in the Muslim world. Monica and others are helping me raise money to establish the leadership center for young Muslims. But there are crucial steps to take along the way.
So what's next?
As we work towards launching the leadership center, we need to create educational materials in various formats. One of our immediate goals is to translate The Trouble with Islam Today into Farsi so that it can be distributed in Iran. We also need to produce audio versions of the book in various languages
Irshad with Adel, Torontoso that Muslims who live under severe state censorship, Muslims who are illiterate, or Muslims who can’t afford access to the internet can, nonetheless, hear the message. Initiatives like this will allow young Muslims worldwide to become aware of Project Ijtihad. That, in turn, will allow us to identify our future students at the leadership center.

Irshad Manji, Chief Catalyst, Project Ijtihad