With the
collapse of the Ottoman Caliphate in 1924 the classical era
of Islam came to an end. Since then Muslims have been
engaged in a struggle to define and develop a post-Caliphate
Islam that addresses the realities of modernity. This
challenge has been thwarted to a large extent by the
dominance of Wahabi and Salafi (regressive, externalist,
fundamentalist) forms of Islam funded and promoted by the
massive oil wealth of Saudi Arabia. But against this, one of
the great epoch-making transformations that has occured in
the late 20th century (CE) has been the establishment of
large Muslim communities in the West and a growing number of
Western converts to Islam. These Western Muslims have
crossed an historical barrier and among them a new
expression of the timeless principles of Islam is taking
shape. After the events of September 11 2001 their role in
defining a post-Caliphate Islam has become more important
and more urgent.
'Abode of Peace' is an
approach to Islam formed from and designed for the
contemporary Western experience of Islam. It is a sketch of
an Islam that is orthodox, modern and meaningful, an
intelligent alternative to fundamentalist Islam. At the same
time, it is a traditional Islam that fully appreciates the
failings of modernity, that is faithful to all the
essentials of the religion, draws upon all the riches of the
classical era and has a deep respect for the perennial
values of the Muslim tradition as viewed from this side of
the post-Caliphate watershed. 'Abode of Peace' is not a
"liberal" or "progressive" Islam bent to accommodate Western
permissiveness and decadence; it is a sincere search to find
a viable, legitimate occidental expression of Islamic life
and spirituality, an Islam for the West.
The Rose at Dusk -
A Manifesto of Muslim Reform
Download 'The Rose at Dusk'
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It is reported - and Allah knows best - that
a man said to the Prophet Muhammad - upon whom be peace -
"Messenger of Allah, the laws of Islam are too much for me.
Tell me something I can cling to." He said, "Your tongue
should remain moist with the remembrance of Allah."
"I have always held the religion of Mohammed in
high esteem because of its wonderful vitality. To me it
seems the only faith able to adapt to life under different
conditions in a way which makes it attractive to every
people and every age."
- George Bernard Shaw
REMEMBER
ALLAH, THE ONE, THE EVERLASTING REFUGE