Dr. Omid Safi talks about Islam's relation to modernity, tradition, justice, and the emerging progressive religious movement.

In this new episode of Progressive Religious Voices, Dr. Omid Safi, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, describes the interplay between tradition and modernity that allows for a dynamic, progressive Islamic faith.

Here's a short excerpt from the podcast:

I think an important challenge that all of the religious traditions have had to deal with is simply the challenge of history, and in particular, the set of transformations that have come about through the Age of Enlightenment. Many of our religious traditions, Islam certainly included, have many beautiful teachings that I think are very resonant with some of what we think of today as international human right norms. And people like me who oftentimes think musically are very interested in this resonance of modern international secular human rights norms and traditional Islamic values. At a musical level, how do these two notes resonate with each other, without saying that one derives from the other one or that they must be collapsed into one and the same. It’s sort of a symphonic approach at that level.

Click here to listen to the podcast.




About Dr. Omid Safi
Dr. Omid Safi is an associate professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina and author of Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism. Holding a Ph.D. in Religion with a concentration in Islamic Studies from Duke University, Dr. Safi's primary areas of research involve progressive Islamic thought, the social and intellectual history of pre-modern Islam, and Islamic mysticism. He frequently gives presentations dealing with various aspects of Islam, religion in the contemporary world, and spirituality and mysticism at churches, mosques, synagogues, and civic groups.

About the Podcasts
Progressive Religious Voices is a bi-monthly podcast of interviews gleaned from nearly 100 interviews with progressive religious leaders. You can subscribe to the podcast feed directly or on iTunes to get all 24 exciting interviews that we will feature throughout 2008.

Other Resources
If you enjoyed this podcast, you might also enjoy our podcast featuring Dr. Eboo Patel, founder and executive director of the Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago-based international nonprofit that is building the interfaith movement through service and dialoge.

You can also read more about the growing progressive religious movement in my new book, Progressive & Religious: How Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist Leaders are Moving Beyond the Culture Wars and Transforming American Public Life.

Labels: islam, muslim, podcast, progressive islam, progressive religious voices, safi