What is Progressive Islam?

Abstract

The various understandings of Islam which fall under the rubric of 'progressive' are both continuations of, and radical departures fro m,the hundred and fifty year old tradition of liberal Islam. Liberal advocates of Islam generally display an uncritical, almost devotional identification with modernity, and often (but do not always) by-pass discussions of colonialism and imperialism. Progressive advocates of Islam, on the other hand, are almost uniformly critical of colonialism, both of its nineteenth century manifestation and its current variety. Progressive Muslims espouse a critical and non-apologetic 'multiple critique' with respect to both Islam and modernity. They are undoubtedly postmodern in the sense of their critical approach to modernity. That double engagement with the varieties of Islam and modernity, plus an emphasis on concrete social action and transformation, is the defining characteristic of progressive Islam today.