modernizing islam
as someone who was raised catholic, and used to be a big fan of strict catholicism, i am always somewhat dismayed by some of the push by people within the catholic church to "modernize", to make the church more inclusive by modern standards and change policies on everything from women priests to open acceptance of gays. i personally don't see anything wrong with most of these issues, but it saddens me when a strong moral code like catholicism slips closer to the swamp of moral relativism that is predominant today.

having said that, i can sortof understand where the opponents of asra nomani are coming from. but at the same time, some ideas are really, really outdated. i wouldn't like to see a return to pre-vatican 2 dogma, and many mosques across the country aren't just outdated in their teaching, they are positively midevil.

and she's fighting to change it. from the post gazette:

So began her moral jihad against the leadership of the Islamic Center of Morgantown, which she has taken to the editorial pages of The Washington Post and The New York Times. By her account, puritanical Arabs, whom she labels Wahhabis, a disputed and pejorative term for the strict strain of Islam centered in Saudi Arabia, have seized control and are pushing a theological agenda that demeans women and teaches contempt for non-Muslims.

my first thought was, woah, there's muslims in west virginia? but then i read the whole article, it's long but a very interesting view of modern islam from a woman who is tired of being treated as a lesser person and is trying to change islam from within.  ¶ 8:11 PM