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January 2023 Newsletter

 

President's Note

At Hamlin University in Minnesota, an art professor was fired for displaying a painting of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) receiving
Qur’anic revelations, a painting that is included in a manuscript copy of Rashid al-Din’s "Compendium of Chronicles", created
in Iran during the early 14th century at the behest of a Muslim leader. Apparently the display, which students were warned
about prior to the specific webinar, offended a Muslim student in the course who complained that displaying the image in the
lecture was an act of “Islamophobia”. The subsequent dismissal was recommended by the Director of Diversity, Equity, and
Inclusion (DEI), which triggers the following question for me - how is the censorship of diverse interpretations of
historically relevant, artistic expression an acceptable act from DEI?

This is the sort of tyrannical censorship within the Muslim community (‘affectionately’ known as the Haram Police on social
media) that many of us Muslims are so fed up with. What are mosques and religious schools in the US teaching young Muslims?
How about the rights that other students have, regardless of whether they are Muslim or not, to learn about Islam’s rich
heritage of artists and creators?

We ask for you to stand in solidarity by please signing on to the petition ( [link removed] ) to
reinstate the professor and we encourage you to read Professor Amna Khalid’s piece entitled “Most of All, I am Offended as a
Muslim ( [link removed] )”.

Following along the theme of education, or lack-there-of, by now we all know the Taliban has banned young women from
attending secondary school and institutions of higher education. In addition to restricting their access to education, the
Taliban have also barred women from working outside the home, including in many internationally funded NGOs, and from
visiting libraries and parks.

In MPV’s newsletter from September 2021, I berated the many religious leaders who congratulated the Taliban for their return
to governing Afghanistan. I will recap that paragraph here:

"Even more disheartening is the outpour of congratulatory messages from various religious authorities and Muslim influencers
publicly proclaiming the Taliban comeback as "success of Islam against the infidels." A recent tweet by Syeikh Ahmad
al-Khalili the Mufti of Oman, circulated about the "victory of the Mujahideen'' after congratulating the "clear conquest."
The Mufti of Morocco ( [link removed] ) tweeted the League's statement about the
"victory and conquest that God bestowed upon our brothers in Afghanistan." Similar congratulatory messages were conveyed by
Syeikh Dr. Ahmad al-Raysuni head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars ( [link removed] ), Mufti Taqi Uthmani ( [link removed] ) (Pakistan), Hamas ( [link removed] ), Sheikh Dadow ( [link removed] ) (Mauritania), Dr. Muhammad Mukhtar
al-Shanqeeti ( [link removed] ) (an international influencer with 772K
followers at posting), and finally the Malaysian Islamist party, PAS ( [link removed] ), which is part of the
governing coalition."

As I was critical of the those who congratulated the Taliban, I believe it is equally important to acknowledge the Muslim
entities who have spoken up against the barring of education for women, which includes:

*
Sunni Islam’s institution Al Azhar University, which condemned the Taliban’s banning of university education for women
stating "....it is a decision that contradicts Islamic law... ( [link removed] )"

* Turkey’s government, which pressed for female education and inclusion ( [link removed] ).

* And Saudi Arabia, whose condemnations can be found here ( [link removed] ).

It should be noted that these statements are largely coming from government officials, rather than religious institutions and
leaders, which is an indicator of how in sync they are with Taliban leadership. What we should be doing is sanctioning and
freezing the assets of the Taliban leaders who conveniently send their daughters for higher education in Dubai. One gleefully
admitted on TV with “my daughter is in high school in Dubai and she’s even on a soccer team!”.

Such hypocrites.

Whether in an American University or the Taliban or Iran, the constant theme is the inclination of asserting power, control
and censorship in the name of morality.

To delve deeper into this topic, I invite you to read my Op-Ed titled “There is Nothing Moral about the Moral Police ( [link removed] )” published by Freedom of Religion and
Belief Women’s Alliance.

Onward and upward…

Ani Zonneveld

Founder, president

 
National Updates

The Progressive Muslim community is growing and as it expands, so too is Muslims for Progressive Values as we strive to be
there to welcome and educate people as they seek to learn more about Progressive Islam. We are excited to announce that our
application for volunteers is now open!

If you believe in the work that we do, are looking for a community to be a part of or help grow, or have benefited from our
work and would like to ensure that other people can also benefit from MPV's work, we encourage you to apply to be a volunteer
today! ( [link removed] )

Check out our new store ( [link removed] ), which features dozens of new items available for sale, including a
beautiful piece by Mariam Raj entitled Light of the Qur'an ( [link removed] ). For national and chapter events, check our calendar here ( [link removed] ).

 

MPV LA

February 17, 7:30-9 PM | The Future of Islamic Thought ( [link removed] ), at
Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles.

Join MPV-LA for an evening on "The Future of Islamic Thought ( [link removed] )" with Dr. Adis Duderija, senior lecturer in the Study of Islam and Society at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia,
in conversation with Dr. Amir Hussain, chair and professor of Theological Studies at LMU.

Professor Duderija, a feminist scholar of Islam, has been a longtime friend and ally of MPV, who has been laying down the
hermeneutics for progressive and inclusive Islam. Together, we have co-authored a chapter titled "Transnational Progressive
Islam: Theory, Networks, and Lived Experience ( [link removed] )" for an academic publication “Handbook of Contemporary Islam and Muslim Lives” published by Springer (2021).

 

MPV in the Media

FoRB Women’s Alliance | There is Nothing Moral about the Moral Police ( [link removed] ) | January 3, 2023

 
Progressive Islam in the Practice

At MPV we recognize that the Progressive Muslim movement will never sustain significant growth without making information
about Progressive Islam more accessible to the Muslim community. The Progressive Islam in Practice Series is a manifestation
of this campaign and as a result, we’ve helped to educate the community on topics from feminist readings of the Qur’an,
abortion rights in Islam, issues of child and forced marriages, to the acceptance of sexual diversity in Islam.

In addition to sharing the series on social media, we have built up an entire page on the website dedicated to the
Progressive Islam in Practice Series entitled Quick Learns ( [link removed] ).

To emphasis our earlier criticisms that a ban on the education of any individual is un-Islamic, we invite you to read our
series of Girls Education in Islam.

To learn more about women’s rights in Islam, we encourage you to visit our Women’s Rights page. ( [link removed] )

 
Support MPV

If you appreciate the work that we do, please consider making a donation ( [link removed] ) to ensure that
Muslims for Progressive Values can continue to promote progressive Islamic values today and everyday!

 

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