This is my favourite method of raising questions about Islam - by exposing people to a committed Muslim who is critical of the direction she sees her Faith taking. That way, nobody is tempted to call me nasty names and some may actually listen to what is being said.
Raheel Raza is a lovely lady and has my full support. There is one thing though with which I don't think she herself is dealing with honestly and that is that the problem is not some new radical, political, oppressive, corrupted version of Islam. The problem is Islam as it has been traditionally understood by the orthodox ulema (scholars).
The Islam she follows is perfectly peaceful and she finds it fulfilling (that would stop immediately should she meet Jesus, but I digress) - but it is extremely difficult for her to argue that her Islam is the True Islam. Brilliant scholars have already spent hundreds of years doing just that and the result is encoded in Sharia law. If you get a chance to watch her film The Honor Diaries (with part 2 here) you will see she gets defensive when it is suggested that the heart of the problem actually resides in the heart of Islam, not in some distortion. Nevertheless we should applaud her, she is extremely brave and needs our support.
Fourteen minutes with charts and surveys and a lady who is not afraid to ask questions.
Raheel Raza is a lovely lady and has my full support. There is one thing though with which I don't think she herself is dealing with honestly and that is that the problem is not some new radical, political, oppressive, corrupted version of Islam. The problem is Islam as it has been traditionally understood by the orthodox ulema (scholars).
The Islam she follows is perfectly peaceful and she finds it fulfilling (that would stop immediately should she meet Jesus, but I digress) - but it is extremely difficult for her to argue that her Islam is the True Islam. Brilliant scholars have already spent hundreds of years doing just that and the result is encoded in Sharia law. If you get a chance to watch her film The Honor Diaries (with part 2 here) you will see she gets defensive when it is suggested that the heart of the problem actually resides in the heart of Islam, not in some distortion. Nevertheless we should applaud her, she is extremely brave and needs our support.
Fourteen minutes with charts and surveys and a lady who is not afraid to ask questions.