Islamic Revival

Unfortunately due to the influence of the Western ideology and the resultant defeatist mindset, we now see the incorrect usage of the term ‘Ijtihad’ to mean ‘Islah’ (reform). Today the call for the reformation of Islam can be heard from many around the world especially Western thinkers and politicians. They espouse the reformation of Islam in a similar manner to how the Europeans reformed Christianity centuries ago. It must be clear that there is a stark difference between reformation and Ijtihad. Ijtihad as defined earlier is related to extracting the hukm of Allah upon an issue whereas Islah in this context means changing or reforming Islam to fit with the reality or a conclusion from ones mind. This approach of changing Islam to fit the reality espoused by some modernist thinkers is highly dangerous and completely contradicts the Shariah in a definitive manner. "We need an Islamic reformation," the then Deputy Defence Secretary of the United States, Paul Wolfowitz conf

Due to the current controversy on the issue of the veil sparked by the comments of Jack Straw of the UK the issue of the position of women in Islam has again come to the fore. The following is an excellent article related to the subject of women and equality. The current debate on women's rights has until now been predominantly shaped by its progress in the west. Whilst attitudes towards women have changed significantly in the west through the endeavours of feminists and women's rights movements of different philosophical persuasions, Akmal Asghar questions some of the assumptions - and their universality - as well as the broader impact of their successes. The treatment of women in any society has become, without doubt, a key marker in evaluating its progress. The accepted framework of the debate on women's rights has centred around the need for 'equality', to redress a historic imbalance that has empowered men considerably more than it has women, and to undermine p