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Article: Reopening Islamic interpretation.(COMMENTARY)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- March 12, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 The Washington Times LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Claude Salhani, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The solution to the turmoil gripping Muslim society today may be found in reintroducing ijtihad. Reopening the gates of ijtihad will allow Muslims "to reinterpret Islam for the 21st century," states a comprehensive August 2004 special report produced by the United States Institute of Peace.
"The practice of ijtihad," stresses the report compiled with the participation of several respected Muslim scholars, "must be revived."
Ijtihad - or hermeneutics - refers to the institutionalized practice of interpreting Islamic law (sharia) to take into account changing historical circumstances and, ...