Minaret of Freedom Institute
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The Minaret of Freedom Institute is an Islamic, libertarian organization, established in 1993 and based in Bethesda, Maryland. Its president is Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad.
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[edit] Mission
Its stated aims[1] are to:
- counter distortions and misconceptions about Islamic beliefs and practice.
- demonstrate the Islamic origins of modern values like the rule of law and sciences like market economics.
- expose both American and Islamic-world Muslims to free market thought.
- advance the status of Muslim peoples maligned by a hostile environment in the West and oppressed by repressive political regimes in the East.
[edit] Political stances
[edit] Libertarianism and anti-imperialism
It suggests that Western libertarians must rediscover their anti-imperialist roots, in order to counter anti-capitalist rhetoric conflating capitalism with Western imperialism. Such rhetoric originated with communists but has also been adopted by some Islamist organizations.
[edit] The role of Shari'ah
The institute appreciates the importance of Sharia law to Muslims, and does not advocate that Muslims should adopt secular states on the Western model[2]. It does however emphasize that the traditional dhimmi system must be extended beyond the traditional People of the Book to cover all non-Muslims, and that dhimmi rights must be explicitly protected constitutionally.
[edit] Position on loan interest
One important point in which the institute deviates from orthodox Islamic thinking is its belief that the Qur'anic prohibition of riba (usury) does not prohibit all lending at interest. Indeed, Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad argued in his interview with Reason magazine that the Islamic world pioneered the scientific method, but was unable to progress to an industrial revolution because the traditional prohibition of interest prevented would-be inventors from obtaining the necessary financing to develop their inventions.
