Includes bibliographical references (p. [227]-256) and index.

Introduction / Kari Vogt, Lena Larsen and Christian Moe -- Part 1: The changeable and the unchangeable. The changeable and the unchangeable / Abdolkarim Soroush ; "Hold(ing) fast by the best in the precepts" : the Qur'an and method / Asma Barlas ; Law and ethics in Islam : the role of the maqāṣid / Mohammad Hashim Kamali ; Human rights and intellectual Islam / Mohsen Kadivar -- Part 2: The challenge of equality. Classical fiqh, contemporary ethics and gender justice / Ziba Mir-Hosseini ; Timeless texts and modern morals : challenges in Islamic sexual ethics / Kecia Ali ; Gender equality and Islamic law : the case of Morocco / Aïcha El Hajjami ; Historical and political dynamics of the "women and Islam" issue : the Turkish case / Nazife Şişman -- Part 3: Authority and Islamic normativity. Islamic authority / Khaled Abou El Fadl ; A theory of Islam, state and society / Abdullahi A. An-Na'im ; A call for a moratorium on corporal punishment : the debate in review / Tariq Ramadan ; Negotiating gender rights under religious law in Malaysia / Zainah Anwar ; The changing concepts of caliphate : social construction of Shari'a and the question of ethics / Muhammad Khalid Masud -- Part 4: Dialogue on new directions. Can the state enforce Shari'a? : a discussion in Yogyakarta / Kari Vogt, Lena Larsen and Christian Moe.

"How are Muslims to reconcile their beliefs with the pressures and imperatives of the modern world? How should they handle the tension between their roles as private citizens and their religious affiliations and identities? This volume shows in what ways prominent Muslim intellectuals have themselves attempted to bridge the gap by recasting traditional Islamic notions in the light of contemporary understandings of equality, justice and pluralism. The contributors to the book examine the tradition that they seek to reform in relation to the human rights ethic of the modern world. The new wave of Islamic thinking which they represent emerges as multi-stranded rather than defined by a single trend or doctrine." "Themes covered include a deconstruction of patriarchal interpretations of the Qur'an; the distinctions between universal and context-specific parts of Islamic texts; a re-contextualisation of Shari'a law; and a critique of religious jurisprudence, particularly where this impacts on matters of sex and gender. Old texts are re-interpreted through the lived situations of real people today. The result is an portrayal of progressive Islamic thought in the twenty-first century, which will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of religion, ethics and Middle East studies."--BOOK JACKET.