Progressive Muslims (U.S.)

American Muslims are a vibrant, diverse, and highly visible religious community in the United States. They are composed of both immigrant and native-born populations, express different sectarian perspectives, and represent an array of cultural and ideological positions. American Muslim woman are active members of their religious community, and American society in general, and play a vital role as representatives of their faith. A central focus of Muslim women's activism has been to improve women's status and participation in Muslim religious life through the recognition of their equal status as human beings before God.

The majority of American Muslim women are college educated and employed, but they do not necessarily share a strong commonality of experience, given the highly diverse character of Muslims in America. Over the past quarter century, Muslim women's involvement and leadership has grown significantly in intellectual production, community structures, and activism. An important moment for Muslim women in America was the 2006 election of

Ingrid Mattson as the president of the Islamic Society of North America, the largest Muslim organization in North America.

A central organizing principle for American Muslim women has been the promotion of women's equality in Islam. In response, some Muslim women engaged in this effort challenge women's inequality in Islamic practice and Islamic thought by identifying the theological and social structures in the Muslim community that perpetuate injustices against women. In their recognition of God as the final authority of truth, these American Muslim women have developed progressive feminist positions through the study and interpretation of Islamic sacred texts, which they claim reveal a fundamental egalitarian principle for humanity. Independent interpretation, or ijtihad, is deemed necessary because of the limitations placed on the sacred texts by traditional Islamic interpretations premised on women's inferiority.

Progressive feminist reformulations of Islamic thought on the basis of God's justice and equality for humanity are manifested in social action dedicated to Muslim women's emancipation and empowerment in both the United States and the global Muslim community. Central social concerns include women's access to spiritual education and literature and leadership roles, respect in the domestic sphere, and equality in the mosque. More moderate and conservative voices in the American Muslim community have disagreed with elements of progressive interpretations of the sacred texts and ritual practice on gender, such as the permissibility of female-led ritual prayer.

American Muslim feminist activity can be roughly divided into three categories: scholarship and literature; social services for women's education, health, and civil rights; and organizations that promote Muslim women's voices and participation in the Muslim community and the American public. American Muslim men are also active in these projects in recognition of their own liberation through the establishment of human equality and cooperation.

Key Muslim feminist scholars include Khalid Abu El Fadl, Leila Ahmed, Kecia Ali, Asma Barlas, Aminah Beverly McCloud, Riffat Hassan, Mohja Kahf, and Amina Wadud. Representative of more popular literature is the magazine Azizah, founded by Tayy-ibah Taylor, which promotes a positive self-image of [Page 1169]American Muslim women and brings their voices into popular media.

Karamah: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights is a well-known Muslim organization that promotes progressive Islamic values of human dignity and gender equality. Karamah's central activities include Muslim women's religious and legal education, legal consultation, and community outreach. It absorbed the flagship North American Council for Muslim Women in 2004. The Muslim Women's League, based in California, is also a model organization.

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