The Islam the Riots Drowned Out

Emran Qureshi has written a fascinating op-ed piece on the Harvard Law School website, under the title The Islam the Riots Drowned Out.

Qureshi’s central point is that is a strong humanistic tradition in Islam that is being destroyed by the extremists in the name of what they imagine Islam to be.

Sadly, the recent polarization obscures a rich humanistic tradition within Islam ? one in which cosmopolitanism, pluralism and a spirit of open-minded inquiry once constituted a dominant ethos.

He points out the irony that Islamic heritage is being destroyed by Muslims in the name of religious purity in Saudi Arabia while Muslims have been rioting across the world in protest at the cartoons that were orignally published in Denmark.

It’s a balanced, but sad, piece. Well worth a read.

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