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Wanted: Reformist Muslims in Obama’s campaign

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts on Aug 07, 2008

Forget who he’ll pick for vice-president. Barack Obama first has to fill a different job vacancy.

That’s because his Muslim outreach coordinator, Mazen Asbahi, has just resigned. I can’t say I’m disheartened. He’d been embraced by groups like the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the Islamic Society of North America, renowned for their conservative politics and “moderate” double-speak.

Because Obama’s campaign trumpets “Change We Can Believe In,” he needs reform-minded Muslims. I mean Muslims who recognize that the Quran has been left in a 7th-century tribal time warp. Its interpretations can and must be updated for the pluralistic context of the 21st century.

In my experience, most Muslim moderates won’t go there. They insist that “classical” interpretations are the answer. As if 10th-century Muslims dealt with exactly the same dilemmas that we have today.

Who, then, could Obama tap as his next Muslim outreach coordinator? Without having consulted either of them, I nominate two reform-minded Muslims…

Read the rest of my commentary on The Huffington Post.