This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Kwamikagami (talk | contribs) at 06:59, 3 May 2012 (if we're going give criticism, we need to first say what they are. Rem. factual error.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 06:59, 3 May 2012 by Kwamikagami (talk | contribs) (if we're going give criticism, we need to first say what they are. Rem. factual error.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Secular Islam Summit was an international forum for secularists of Islamic societies, held in March 2007 in St. Petersburg, Florida, organized by secular Muslims together with the Center for Inquiry, a secular humanist educational organization, and in partnership with the International Intelligence Summit, a forum on terrorism.
Speakers ranged from ex-believers to devout reformers, and attendees included government officials from Arab countries, Europe, Canada, and the US. The summit was broadcast live on CNN's Glenn Beck program and described by the Wall Street Journal as "a landmark".
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Members of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil liberties advocacy organization, criticized the summit for being organized by a non-religious organization and for including ex-Muslims among its speakers. Yvonne Haddad, a professor of Christian and Muslim history at Georgetown, shared CAIR's apprehension, questioning the summit's claim to nonpartisanship.
St. Petersburg Declaration
Although delegates to the summit "differed sharply on particulars", on March 5 they released a public manifesto calling for reform within Islam. The text, known as the St. Petersburg Declaration, affirmed the separation of mosque and state, gender equality in personal and family law, and unrestricted critical study of Islamic traditions. It begins,
We are secular Muslims, and secular persons of Muslim societies. We are believers, doubters, and unbelievers, brought together by a great struggle, not between the West and Islam, but between the free and the unfree.
Those who signed the declaration were:
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References
- ^ Kuwait News Agency, Feb 2007. First "Secular Islam Summit" to convene early next month in Florida
- Washington Post, Susan Jacoby, Diverse Muslims, Violent Islamist Fundamentalism
- ^ US News and Word report: Fighting for the soul of Islam
- Washington Post March 17 2007
- Stephens, Bret (2007-03-06). "Islam's Other Radicals - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
- Laughlin, Meg (March 6, 2007). "Intelligence conference draws criticism". Tampa Bay Times. "Legitimate scholars are horrified by the lineup. The speakers are extreme in their views. Basically, it's everyone known for damning Islam."
- ^ "The St. Petersburg Declaration". Centerforinquiry.net. 2007-04-05. Retrieved 2012-01-27.