Islamic Scholars taking the road less travelled

Very much worth taking a quick look at Magister’s latest column. He again does the English speaking world a favour by translating the main points of an article by Fr Christian Troll, S.J., this one entitled “Progressive Thinking in Contemporary Islam”.

We need to learn to be a little patient with our Islamic cousins. The Christian Church is still trying to come to terms with the Enlightenment after 200 years, and barely coping with post-modernism, and yet we expect the Muslim world to achieve in a matter of decades what we have in centuries? I strongly believe that the theological paths Troll outlines will be the future of Islam, but it might not get there in my generation.

An interesting and very inspiring Imam was in Melbourne recently—surprisingly sponsored by the US Consulate. His name is Imam Yahya Hendi, and you can get some idea about him from his website. He is an imam who has also done a degree in Christian theology from Hartford Seminary, and has also studied Judaism at a rabbinical seminary. A very interesting man, and quite a preacher. He’s out to convert the world—not to Islam, Christianity or Judaism, but to peace.