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Creative Director & Editor: Tariq Chowdhury Filmed by: Life of this World Media & Rebrandme.co.uk

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Host 2 : TR: 'And one of the most important problems that we have today in our families has nothing to do with women. It has to do with men; it has to do with fathers.'
Host 2 : TR: 'We have to deal with this political diversity as something which is a potential richness and not a liability undermining our community of faith. It's not easy; it's really not easy.'
Host 2 : An increasing future reality for Muslims is that people of the same faith may have different political opinions
Host 2 : Being critical of governments does NOT make one disloyal – rather they are an engaged citizen. The Muslims who question what is wrong are in fact the dignity of Britain – that is the contribution of Muslims.
Host 2 : TR: 'There is no way for us to go towards peace if we are not serious about consistency in politics. Meaning the blood of an Iraqi man is the same as the blood of an American man.'
Host 2 : TR: 'We need to make it clear for the Muslim community: don't only put money in mosques but put money in institutions.'
Host 2 : Palestine is an issue of concern in every part of the Muslim world.
Host 2 : HY: 'Part of the problem is [that] some of the best and brightest minds that we have no longer go into Islamic studies, they go into medicine'
Host 2 : On challenges faced by youth and women: all must get on with their tasks and excel, rather than being victims
Host 2 : HY: 'You can't just dictate to people what to do. You can try to convince them with arguments. And that's really what I believe Islam is about.'
Host 2 : TR: 'Very often, as Muslims, because we are under pressure - there are in many countries today in the West, a list of questions , which you have to respond to, and you are going to be a good or a bad Muslim depending on your answer'
Host 2 : Muslims are unfairly ‘tested’ with a list of issues to see if they are acceptable or not.
Host 2 : TR: 'I think it is important to humanize people and not to dehumanise people and i think that the types of attitudes that a lot of Muslims have are incompatible to the spirit of mercy and ‘rahma’.'
Host 2 : TR: 'This so called Islamic state has not existed in the history of Islam. And I think that it is a political fantasy that a lot of Muslims hold.'
Host 2 : TR: 'And the last point is never let them think that you can be bought. And I’m sorry there are people working for the governments, getting money from the governments and the only thing they are doing is following exactly the agenda of the government, and I think these people are dangerous.'
Host 2 : TR: The objectives (Maqasid) of Shariah need to be expanded. For example, in a world of emotional politics, the protection of human emotion must be added to the pre - existing objectives, and Islamic ethics must be able to contribute deeply on this topic.
Host 1 : TR: ‘Shariah Compliant Banking’ is an example of ‘adaptation’ rather than ‘transformation’. Muslims need to be faithful to the spirit and objectives of their texts in order to truly contribute to economics in a transformative, positive way.
Host 1 : TR: Dr. Ramadan discusses the connection between reforming society and reforming one’s self.
Host 1 : TR: Muslim scholars working with governments are playing a dangerous game – except in very specific circumstances.
Host 1 : TR: It is problematic to reform just to please the dominant culture.
Host 1 : TR: Knowledge of context is necessary in order to read the text, and in order to be a mufti/mujtahid.
Host 1 : TR: The process of reform is through Jihad. Jihad is not Holy War; it means resisting all that is bad and then to reform. There is deep connection between the inner struggles and self - reform, and societal reform.
Host 1 : TR: There are three terms in Arabic for Reform: Islah, Tajdeed, Ihya.
Host 1 : TR: I'm not talking about reforming Islam, because Islam is not to be reformed, and this is something which is for me not the right way to put the question, and to put the understanding of the framework. It is to reform the Muslim minds and the Muslim understandings of the texts.
Host 1 : TR: Reform should not be an impulse caused by feeling pressured into adaptation, but the impulse that comes from within Islam. Muslims must always be asking, “Are we doing the job? Are we applying ethics faithfully?”
Host 1 : TR: Although much does indeed already exist within the Islamic tradition, this is not enough. Moving beyond this is the ideas presented in Ramadan’s Radical Reform book: including a review of the methodologies of Law, and transforming the world through contribution informed by applied Islamic ethics.
Host 1 : TR: Scholars have been united in their faithfulness to the text, and the essence and objectives of the text, even if they differed in their understandings. Faithfulness is key.
Host 1 : TR: Although the text is one, scholars are in agreement that there is legitimate disagreement, and space for interpretations
Host 1 : HY: This is a crisis in our community: the crisis of authority. Who can read these texts and who can determine what they mean?
Host 1 : Shaykh Hamza discusses the loss of authority in Islam, and the real lack of creative minds and institutions to combat this, and what we must work towards.
Host 1 : HY: , who made him a Shaykh? Really. Who made Shaykh Osama bin Laden a Shaykh?
Host 1 : HY: And there's a reason for that. Because governments never do that out of the graciousness of their goodwill. They co - opt
Host 1 : HY: nothing taints a reputation more in our community than an association with the government.
Host 1 : HY: Britain is one of the most tolerant societies in the world, it really is!
Host 1 : HY: So this idea - this fantasy - that some of these British politicians have of bringing this 'wonderful cohesive America' over here? Good luck, my friends.
Host 1 : Shaykh Hamza address the issue of a “British Islam”, and unpacks the idea of a ‘cohesive society’.
Host 1 : HY: One of the most fundamental concepts in Muslim consciousness is the idea of 'Bid’ah, is the idea of innovation - of changing the structure of things, and this is why the Muslims are very wary of messing with the calibration of this religion.
Host 1 : Shaykh Hamza answers: why is there so much distrust and trepidation by the Muslim grassroots?
Host 1 : Shaykh Hamza provides examples of historical reform movements that are linked to colonisation and the loss of Muslim sovereignty.
Host 1 : HY: Legitimate Reform can only happen through following rigorous principles – leaving these principles, as many modern reformists trends are now tending towards, is a significant departure from the vast majority of the Muslims.
Host 1 : HY: the Muslims have always recognised diversity and differences of opinion, but we have what are called ‘thawabit’ and ‘mutaghayyirat'’ in our Islamic tradition. The ‘thawabit’ are things that do not change: they cannot be reformed.
Host 1 : HY: Islam and Western Liberalism are different paradigms, with different languages, and cannot be imposed onto one another.
Host 1 : Stay tuned - the transcript will be up very soon
Host 1 : Let us know you're watching - add your comments to the forum topics!
Host 1 : Welcome to the launch of the Rethinking Islamic Reform video!

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