The Challenge Of Islamic Reform

The entire foreign policy and much of the domestic policy of the United States and other Western governments is based on the proposition that the vast majority of Muslims are moderate and peaceful, including those who are emigrating now in large numbers to Europe, and those who are already living in Europe and North America. But as ISIS, al-Qaeda and other Islamic groups radicalize peaceful Muslims by appealing to the teachings of the Qur’an and the example of Muhammad, it is imperative for these moderates to articulate a vision of Islam, and an exegesis of Islamic scripture, that can withstand the challenge of the jihadis, refute their understanding of Islam, and establish on a firm foundation an Islam that is genuinely peaceful, tolerant, pluralistic and compatible with secular governance, the freedom of speech, and the equality of rights of all people before the law.

The Challenge of Islamic Reform is the first major effort to provide that foundation. Veteran journalist Christine Douglass-Williams interviews the foremost moderate and reformist Muslims in the Western world, including Zuhdi Jasser, Tawfik Hamid, Raheel Raza, Salim Mansur, Qanta Ahmed, and others. She asks them tough questions about how they deal with problematic Qur’an passages, how they intend to get their message across to the Muslim world, and more.

Their answers are revelatory in numerous ways, even in the ways in which they disagree with one another. Douglass-Williams has captured the Islamic Reformist movement in its full intellectual ferment, laying bare the tragedies and tensions, as well as the triumphs of the Reformers. Then in the book’s second half, following the interviews, she adds a crucial series of searingly honest and illuminating reflections on the challenges the reformers face, the chances they have of succeeding, and the implications of their struggle for the future of the Western world and of all free people.

Illuminating, engaging, and thought-provoking, The Challenge of Islamic Reform is an essential text for understanding the future of the United States and the West, and the implications of Muslim moderates’ struggle for the free world.