The Redhunter

The Quilliam Foundation (h/t The Weekly Standard) seeks change in the Muslim world. Their founders reject Islamism, but are committed Muslims.

From their website, the foundation seeks to

• Expose and challenge the weaknesses, inconsistencies, and failings of Islamist thought and actions;


• Provide a scripturally rooted theological and ideological alternative to the rigidity of Islamism;


• Narrate public testimonies as to why Islamists have abandoned these movements;


• Encourage current Islamists to sever ties with their movements and enter the fold of mainstream Islam;


• Advocate full integration of Muslims into Western society as citizens, not as a faith community, and counter the separatism of Islamists.

They're not passive about it either. The only way to get one's views heard and hopefully adopted is to step out and challenge those with whom you disagree. The founders of the Quilliam Foundation do just that with their "Open Challenge:"

The Quilliam Foundation openly challenges Islamist groups to public debates. Our first challenge is to Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT), the group that influenced Syed Qutb in prison and is thus the ideological inspiration to al-Qaeda. While HT may disagree with Osama bin Laden's methods, they both aspire to the same end: the creation of a theocratic, expansionist dictatorship....

Islam, like other world faiths, is a religion, not a political ideology. As such, it makes no specific, monolithic prescription of an 'Islamic state', 'economic system', or 'foreign policy'. Hizb ut-Tahrir, and by extension al-Qaeda, have rejected mainstream Muslim tradition and are an aberration of global Muslim discourse. Their neo-Wahhabite Islamism is the backbone of jihadism, as illustrated by the history of Islamist movements in Algeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and other countries.

The Quilliam Foundation is relatively new, having been founded in April of this year.

I do not know quite enough about this group to give them my unqualified endorsement. That Ulf Gartzke of TWS likes them is a good start, but an article on the Counterterrorism Blog questions their support of a particular Egyptian Mufti Sheik.

Investigate the matter and reach your own conclusions. My guess is that they're not perfect but are headed in the right direction. We need to be careful, but not absolutist in looking for reformist Muslims to support. But find them and support them we must.

Other Reformist Muslim Groups and Individuals

Following are reformist Muslim groups and individuals that I have profiled here:

American Islamic Forum for Democracy
Free Muslims Coalition
International Quranic Center
Muslims Agrainst Sharia: Islamic Reform Movement
Irshad Manji

Update - January 1, 2009

Sigh. The Quillam Foundation has issued a press release calling "for (the) UK Government to pressure Israel to stop military operations " (h/t Melanie Phillips)

"The UK Government cannot seek to win hearts and minds across Muslim communities while failing to stop Israel from murdering Palestinians en masse. Gordon Brown and David Miliband have reached out to Damascus and Darfur in recent weeks in an attempt to bring peace and stand for fairness. That is commendable. And in that spirit, where is the outright condemnation of Israeli atrocities and pressure on Israel to stop its inhumane operations? Perceived double standards from our Government and the current green light (from Washington and London) to Israel's killing machine will strengthen Al Qaeda's metanarrative and radicalize yet another generation of young Muslims. Isolating and angering millions of Muslims by sitting on the fence will not aid the PREVENT agenda, or the moderate majority of Muslims. The FCO and Downing Street has a duty to stand, condemn, and call for immediate cessation of Israel's military operations, and end the siege".

Ed Husain, co-founder of Quillam, has an equally ridiculous editorial in the Guardian.

The International Quranic Center isn't a whole lot better:

The world sympathized with Israel for the rockets they endured in their backyards, but when they get on the revenge bandwagon and indiscriminately kill, they lose sympathy. The oppressed ones all around the world including the majority of Israelis and Jews feel the pain of this violence, it flies in the face of our continued efforts to stop massacres, it is time for all of us to speak up. This is not the act of peace making; this is the act of destroying a people.

Yes yes, how dare the Israelis respond.

Meanwhile, Muslims Against Sharia are supportive of Israel

The Free Muslims Coalition doesn't really take a position, which at this point I'll take as a positive. They recommend a two-state solution, which I could support maybe possibly support for Fatah, but not at this point I don't think they're much better than Hamas.

American Islamic Forum for Democracy and Irshad Manji are silent. I'm sure the AIFD supports Israel, though.