Secular Islam Summit

I applaud the greatest ray of hope yet to emanate from the substantial Muslim community. On March 5, 2007, the Secular Islam Summit concluded with a press release, a portion of which is quoted below. Read it all.

We are secular Muslims, and secular persons of Muslim societies. We are believers, doubters, and unbelievers, brought together by a great struggle, not between the West and Islam, but between the free and the unfree.

We affirm the inviolable freedom of the individual conscience. We believe in the equality of all human persons.

…

We see no colonialism, racism, or so-called “Islamaphobia” in submitting Islamic practices to criticism or condemnation when they violate human reason or rights.

We call on the governments of the world to

• reject Sharia law, fatwa courts, clerical rule, and state-sanctioned religion in all their forms; oppose all penalties for blasphemy and apostacy, in accordance with Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human rights;

• eliminate practices, such as female circumcision, honor killing, forced veiling, and forced marriage, that further the oppression of women; protect sexual and gender minorities from persecution and violence;

• reform sectarian education that teaches intolerance and bigotry towards non-Muslims;

• and foster an open public sphere in which all matters may be discussed without coercion or intimidation.

We demand the release of Islam from its captivity to the totalitarian ambitions of power-hungry men and the rigid strictures of orthodoxy.

…

We say to Muslim believers: there is a noble future for Islam as a personal faith, not a political doctrine;

to Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Baha’is, and all members of non-Muslim faith communities: we stand with you as free and equal citizens;

and to nonbelievers: we defend your unqualified liberty to question and dissent.

Regrettably but predictably, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) slammed the Summit, thereby announcing to the world that it is truly the PR firm for radical Islam. Watch the creepy CAIR representative commenting on video that the "Secular" Islamic Summit is not Muslim enough. How did everyone miss the word "secular"?

Just as creepy: CAIR posted this video on its web site under the headline: "CAIR Rep Slams 'Secular Islam Summit" So, CAIR positions itself against the moderates. Note how the CAIR rep. refuses to condemn the Saudi government for barbaric acts such as death to apostates.