A fair question Is it Good because God says so or God says so, therefore it is Good? (Socrates)... I think it is both. Our logic is God's ruh (revealed knowledge) and it works on 19 Rules of inference. We all share that logic system.

Let me a bit modify your question and let the answer for both question hover in the air)

"My question is, where is the willingness to set aside traditional and cultural political views inherited from previous generations if they conflict with the Word of God among this movement?"

Peae,
Edip

Well said, Dr. Yuksel - in fact, much of my case regarding "heavy allegorization" & "hyper literalism" as a means for - at least some - progressive Muslims to create a religion after their own likings was also argued against in your article, "Conspiracy against Conspiracies or Words in Wonderland".
(http//www.yuksel.org/e/religion/arab.htm)

"I agree with some of his arguments and disagree with the most. I find some of his arguments being inconsequential word choice, such as the meaning of DYN being way of life rather than religion, which I think, ultimately means the same thing. However, his argument aiming to eliminate Salaat and Hajj rituals are radical, yet fragile and unsupported. His arguments against rituals occasionally appear strong when they are compared to the traditional corrupt interpretation of some verses. In other words, the strength of his position mostly relies on the weakness of mushrik Sunni and Shiite (mis)translation of Quranic verses...

...This is another abuse and exploitation of the Quran Alone message. Aidid is not the first nor will be the last brave warrior who will use the powerful message of the Quran Alone against tradition to justify esoteric and absurd claims."

Again, while I am fluent in Hebrew and follow the faith of the Prophets as embodied in the much older Miqra (Hebrew Scriptures), I agree that sophistry and confirmation bias (http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias) are roadblocks to the true understanding of any nonfiction text.

Shalom `Aleikhem/As-salaamu 3alaykum -

-Ya`aqov

Peace,
How do you distinguish between "what you feel is right" and "what you feel god feels is right"?

Nadeem

In terms of Quran-only Islam, or Miqra (scripture)-only Judaism, the answer to the latter is a historico-grammatical exegesis of all passages relevant to a topic, and the deduction of a logical conclusion. The process sounds complex, but serves to remove as much personal bias as possible from the reading of Scripture to learn what God is saying, on His own terms. In Karaite history, this model of study established a kind of "scientific method" we can all have differing opinions/hypotheses of what God's will is on a subject, but it's only after gathering in information from the entirety of the Scriptures and other objective fields of human inquiry that we can arrive at a conclusion.

However, and please do correct me if I'm wrong, much of the articles on progressive Islam simply provide a conclusion first (say, a lack of a weekly day of worship, a ban on corporal punishment in all forms, anti-creationsim, etc.) and then pick through various ayaat as "proof" that their hypothesis is compatible with the Quran. Sometimes, the text is heavily allegorized to meet this purpose, and other times, the text is interpreted hyper-literally (ex the Al-Fatihah Foundation (an Islamic LGBT activist group) claims that ayah 2755 is simply dissaproving of "gay lust", and not men having sex with men overall, since it technically mentions the word Shahwat (lust).

If you are uncomfortable with the Quran, or the idea of Divine Revelation, or of an objective set of commandments that regulate all aspects of life, then why not be honest about it? On the other hand, if you're serious about God and living according to HIS guidelines, then shouldn't we see more articles about people proclaiming "not my will, oh God, but Yours be done" (like on many Qurani and Karaite websites)?

Just giving my 2 sheqels (or dirhams, lol)...

-Ya`aqov

Reading forum contributions and meeting progressive Muslims in person has led me to notice that much of this message is essentially indistinguishable from mere Theism or even Deism. Rather than searching for the true faith of the Prophets of God, it seems that all of the "religious Left" movements (whether liberal Judaism, Christianity, or Islam) tend to prioritize the values of the Secular West, and use those values to judge the veracity of their given texts.

My question is, where is the willingness to set aside one's personal political views if they conflict with the Word of God among this movement? I think that the search for truth should not be a quest for watering down a given message into a mushy, weak theology, of "do what you feel is right, and God'll love you all the same" (as if He were merely some kind of cosmic teddy bear/security blanket, with no objectives, or rules, or discipline). If a human parent took such a laissez-faire attitude with his children, most would see that as negligence, apathy, or simply being a pushover.

So with all due respect, what appeal does progressive Islam have over, say, porkless ethical deism?

I'm a Karaite myself, and base my worldview on the earliest revealed texts (the Torah and writings of the Prophets)... just FYI.

Thank you all,

-Ya`aqov