'We are Muslims too': the politics of identity, practice, and discourse among British progressive Muslims

Thesis

This ethnographic study explores organisations in the UK that identify with the label ‘progressive Muslim’. The main organisation it studies is the Inclusive Mosque Initiative (IMI) together with other organisations that offer points of contrast and similarities with the IMI. The thesis describes the key academic and theological principles of contemporary progressive Islam and the ways these are utilised in specific socio-historical contexts. Specifically, it explores through participant observation and interviews the key areas of debate where progressive Muslim theology and principles are applied within the British context: female ritual leadership; LGBTQIA+ rights; Islamophobia and racism; and the counterterrorism and criminal justice systems. The thesis claims that the same theological resources and hermeneutical approaches can lead to contrasting and oppositional political positions and practices, thereby challenging any essentialist understanding of ‘progressive Muslims’ as either pro- or anti- ‘secular’ state actors. Progressive Muslims engage with religious resources in diverse ways and with diverse goals, ranging from rational textual hermeneutics aimed at creating a new orthodoxy to somatic and affective personal mystical experiences aimed at projects of ‘self-care’. Furthermore, they often straddle the boundaries between discourses, practices, and identities that are constructed as ‘incompatible,’ creating unique challenges as well as opportunities for religious and political responses that are unavailable or ineffective for other social actors. The thesis claims that this positionality of progressive Muslims within Western socio-political contexts makes them valuable subjects to interrogate the fault-lines of sensitive public and academic debates on Islamophobia, racism, feminism, queer rights, secularism, religious violence and extremism, and the criminal justice system.

Authors: Rahman, F

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-zbk6o8bmq
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: hermeneutics; abolitionism; British Islam; counter-terrorism; queer Muslims; feminism; British Muslims; homonationalism; progressive Islam; counter-radicalisation; anthropology of Islam; sexuality; female imams; securitisation; police; progressive Muslims; LGBTQIA+ rights; Islamophobia; secularism; prevent; gender; queer theory; racism
• Subjects: Anthropology of Islam; Anthropology; Islam and reason; Feminism and religion; Anthropology of religion; Prison abolition movements; Hermeneutics; Queer theory; Islam and secularism; Police abolition movement; Critical theory; Progressive Islam; Queer theology