Our Chance to Reclaim Islam

Whatever one thinks of the war in Iraq, it's clear that it creates an enormous opportunity--and obligation--for American and Western Muslims. We have been trying to reclaim Islam, and now we might actually have a chance.

Ever since September 11, American Muslims--simultaneously appalled at the attacks on Islam

the hijacking of their faith by terrorists--have been doing a great deal of serious thinking. Because the criticisms of Islam became so intense, most of the Muslim voices we've heard have been those defending Islam.

But privately, in our mosques and in our homes--away from the judging ears of the world---we've been talking to each other with an honesty born of urgency. Little by little, we began to arrive at some common ground. We knew something had to be done or our religion risked being tarnished, even corrupted. We talked about our leadership--and how dissatisfied we were with aspects of it. We talked about the role of women--and how the Islam practiced in many lands abroad, lands to which we had looked for guidance, failed to capture the egalitarian spirit of the Islam we knew. We talked about violence--and how painful it was to accept that Islam, a religion whose name means "self-surrender," had been pressed into service by militant causes so often that, in many Western minds, it has become synonymous with violence.

We not only talked about what had gone wrong, but also about how things ought to be. We began to conceive, and then voice and then, finally, put to paper ideas about how we want to define Islam in this century. Since September 11th, American Muslims began to do something extraordinary. We began to take back Islam.

And yet, this historic debate was drowned out. The views of American Muslims were either lost in the din of war preparation or considered marginal because the "real action" is in the Middle East. Who cares if a bunch of American Muslim intellectuals call for democracy, if the Middle East is in the grip of dictators, secular and religious alike?

But the war in Iraq has blown everything wide open. We are now witnessing a debate about the kind of democracy that should grow there. Are Islam and democracy even compatible?

American Muslims can and must play an important role in this debate because, frankly, we actually have the most experience with practicing both Islam and democracy.

Last year, we published Taking Back Islam to help energize the debate. The book is more relevant than ever.

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