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.

Contents

[edit] Mission

Its stated aims[1] are to:

[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.

[edit] External links