Let's make our own reformed version of Islam.
Who wants to go first? We can later compile it and make it coherent. But brainstorm first.
Dear BlackDog, I do not think the issue is clarity of what we want islam to be, that I made very clear in introduction ie so long as muslims accept freedom, secularism, democracy, human rights and separation between religion and state there is no problem between muslims and nonmuslim. There is no confusion there at all as to what islam needs to be ie so long as islam is within the said parameters what else anyone thinks islam is that is his/her own business.
The real issue is serious conflict of interests between individuals and between individuals and their groups and between groups which keeps religion the way it is.
Religions were invented and modified to serve some purposes to begin with and so long as the sense of those purposes remains alive, we cannot get ourselves rid of religions. So we need to bring about a group that offers a better alternative to religions. You do not leave your parents house till you have some place better to go. Alternatively you may be thrown out of your parental home because you do not live by the house rules or that you may so dislike the parental house rules that you just walk away without much forethought as to how you are going to survive etc etc.
You see religions were brought about and modified by all sections of humanity, this is why each person is ready to defend his religion because in his or her mind it serves his or her purpose. For example, it gives control to rich and powerful and solace or comfort and courage to the poor to live another day. So rich and powerful person defends religion for his reasons and the poor for his reasons. To bring reality of religion to peoples' minds needs education and education needs backing of the rich and the poor ie so that rich help provide resources for education and the poor to make an effort to educate themselves. Once education is there it makes easier for people to see where their real interests lie.
Since rich and powerful individuals within a society can use religion to keep others under their control so why would they rock the boat? Or why would they change things when they suits them? Take this idea and apply it broadly and you will see the role rich and powerful people are playing to keep the power to themselves. They are well educated but their education serves them better to exploit their own people at their disposal even more for their own ends. Likewise do rich and powerful countries with poor and weak countries.
There is no one single reason for the way in which we find our world. There are religious reasons and there are human reasons. If we want a better world then we must try and change things that do not let us make our world a better place. The main reason is undue exploitation of weak by the strong. Unless we all push for a just and fairer world, we are not going to get much further. The problem is only some poor and their sympathizers are willing to go that way and all others are just doing nothing.
The rich world has plenty money to spend on arms but little to help built educational institutions in poor countries enabling them to become self supporting. They do not want poor world to become reasonably independent because then they will lose their power over that world. The people on top in the poor worlds are not held to account for unduly exploiting and manipulating their people and stealing their wealth away.
So one can see that there are serious problems within muslims as well as within nonmuslims and in between them both.
I am looking forward to the day when people will become truly free ie when all will become fair minded people to deal with matters pertaining to this world in a democratic way that is transparent. Human rights will be equally important for all humans and religions and states will be truly separate. The day when religious and nonreligious will all be accepted equal equal citizens of the state. When people would have learned to live in harmony and would cooperate for progress and prosperity.
In the short term we should do whatever we can to help world move towards these goals no matter how small the step ie every little bit helps. In fact this is why we are here discussing things to see what we each can do to make our world a better place.
I have simply brought up points that matter but they need to be discussed in detail so that we understand things better.
regards and all the best.
Topic: The Reformed Islam of COEM