A MODERATE MUSLIM'S HETER ON INTERMARRIAGE. I saw a link to a post entitled "Islam Needs an Age of Reason." I was curious, so I clicked on the link and found the following article by Irshad Manji . I found more than what I expected:

Islam Needs an Age of Reason

Love and religion do not always mix. No wonder the most common question sent to my website these days comes from young Muslims in America and Europe. They desperately want to know if they can marry non-Muslims.

Their parents and imams tell them that Islam forbids marriage outside the faith. But that is not necessarily true. Dr. Khaleel Mohammed, a progressive American imam educated at traditional universities in the Middle East, has written a clear defense of inter-faith marriage from an Islamic perspective. I have posted his “blessing” on my website.

Now, this interfaith blessing is such a popular download that I have had to get it translated into several languages to keep up with demand. Welcome to a hot 21st-Century issue, as more Muslims are born in the West or migrate to it, then meet people of other religions.

What this imam did goes beyond matters of the heart. It reflects the power of using the mind to reinterpret the Qur’an for contemporary times. He has captured the spirit of ijtihad (pronounced ij-tee-had), Islam’s own tradition of creative reasoning. As globalization persists and pluralism spreads, both Muslims and non-Muslims need to know that Islam offers a positive alternative to the tribal mentality.

Here is the conclusion of Dr. Khaleel Mohammed's "psak" on the question of intermarriage:

The evidence indicates that the main hang-up is the problem I emphasized above -- that the religion of the male spouse becomes dominant (as also evidenced in the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible). In our day, since Qur'anic Islam (as opposed to the Islam of the male jurists) must acknowledge the radical notion that women are equals of men, that women have legal rights, and that those rights include placing conditions on the marriage (what you and I would term a 'pre-nuptial agreement'), then an inter-faith marriage can take place on condition that neither spouse will be forcibly converted to the other's religion. As long as that condition is respected, you and she have my blessing.

On the question of children, certainly there will be some religious confusion. But as a Muslim scholar, I can tell you that the Qur'an advocates the use of the heart and mind in forming opinions. If both parents are faithful to their interpretations of the Creator's will, then the children will make informed decisions when they come of age.

Whatever is going on inside of Islam today, it definitely is not monolithic--and the Wahabees do not necessarily have the last word.

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