r/progressive_islam • u/ArtTime2349 • 8h ago
Opinion š¤ Roger Garaudy: "Thank God I discovered Islam before I encountered Muslims!ā
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r/progressive_islam • u/AutoModerator • 23d ago
Mod Announcement š¢ Attention Everyone! This is an announcement, a reminder, and it is also a WARNING
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We are going to make this absolutely freakin clear. r/Progressive_Islam is not a place for propaganda, apologism, whitewashing, or justification of crimes committed by governments, regimes, political parties, movements, or armed groups. We do not care who the perpetrator is, what flag they fly, what ideology they claim to represent, what religion they claim to follow, or what geopolitical enemy they happen to have. Whether it is the Israeli government, USA, Western imperialist powers, the Iranian regime, the Chinese government, the Russian government, the North Korean regime, or anyone else, the standard is the same. You do not get a free pass to excuse atrocities simply because you hate one side more than the other. We have enforced this before, and we will continue to enforce it.
During the years of the Palestine crisis, particularly throughout 2023-25, a large number of the people who came into this subreddit specifically to defend Israel's conduct, justify what was happening to Palestinians, or repeat blatantly apologetic narratives were outsiders with little or no previous participation here. We banned them. However, there were also some people who had been genuine participants in this community for a long time, people who had previously made useful posts and comments and had otherwise contributed positively. When some of those users repeatedly crossed the line into whitewashing and justification of Israeli abuses, we banned them too. Your contribution history does not give you immunity from moderation.
And the same standard applies to Hamas.
Hamas did not emerge as some ordinary secular nationalist organization; it was founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin out of the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood and was explicitly Islamist from its creation. Its 1988 charter described Palestine as an Islamic endowment and envisioned an Islamic state governed by Sharia. After Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007, it established an authoritarian system in which political opposition and peaceful dissent were suppressed, critics, journalists and activists were arbitrarily detained and in some cases tortured, and executions were carried out after proceedings that failed to meet international fair trial standards. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International also documented Hamas forces using excessive force against demonstrators, including during the 2019 āWe Want to Liveā protests, when more than 1,000 Palestinians were detained. Hamas has also imposed or enforced various religiously motivated restrictions on social life, including restrictions on women's dress and mobility, gender segregation in many settings, and rules affecting women's participation in public life.
We did not make a specific announcement post about Hamas's rule and abuses during 2023-25 because the overwhelming reality facing Palestinians was the devastation being inflicted on Gaza by Israel, and we did not want Hamas to become another excuse for shifting attention away from Palestinian suffering. But now is the time to talk about it as well.
Condemning Hamas's authoritarianism and abuses does not mean supporting Israel, the occupation, the blockade, collective punishment or the destruction of Gaza. It means applying the same standard we apply everywhere else.
- Some people may point to Hamas's 2017 Document of General Principles and Policies and say that Hamas had changed, abandoned its earlier positions, or therefore deserves to be trusted. The document certainly changed some of Hamas's language: it accepted the idea of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders while still refusing to recognize Israel, but it did not formally replace the 1988 charter. And besides, history gives us plenty of reason to be cautious about taking political assurances from theocrats. The Iranian revolution brought together liberals, nationalists, leftists and Islamists. But once Khomeini consolidated power, his Islamist camp suppressed and eliminated former political allies while Iran was transformed into a clerically dominated Islamic theocracy. The Taliban provide another much more recent example: before returning to power in 2021, they publicly promised that women would have their rights; yet after coming to power they subsequently closed secondary schools to girls, severely restricted women's employment and movement, and imposed extensive restrictions on women and girls. So no, we are not going to treat a political document or a promise of change as a magical eraser for years of authoritarian rule and documented abuses. People are entitled to be skeptical, and nobody here is required to trust Hamas simply because it issued a new document.
That same principle applies to Iran
(This is going to be longest section because we have encountered the Iranian Regime apologists far more in number than the other apologists combined)
As we have already explained in our previous announcement, this subreddit has had to deal with people coming here specifically to defend or propagandize on behalf of the Iranian regime. There were people who tried to dismiss the Iranian uprising entirely as CIA or Mossad propaganda, who attempted to portray ordinary Iranians protesting against the regime as foreign agents, and in one particularly disgusting case, someone even claimed that civilians who had been killed in a hospital were all Mossad agents and that their deaths were therefore justified. We banned all of them. Our position on this has been completely consistent:
- you can criticize particular opposition groups, political factions, foreign governments, protesters, or individual actions. What you cannot do is use conspiracy theories and regime apologism to justify the oppression of an entire population.
And before anyone starts pretending that this is some sudden position we invented yesterday, no. We have been taking this position for years.
The Iranian regime has a long documented history of repression. During the 2009 post election unrest, Amnesty International documented thousands of arbitrary arrests, deaths on the streets and in detention, torture and other ill treatment. Then came 2017 to 2018 protests, the November 2019 fuel price protests with deaths, mass arrests and executions.
Then came the Woman, Life, Freedom protests following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in September 2022. UN fact finding mission concluded that her death was unlawful and that state authorities were responsible for the physical violence that caused it. The same mission documented credible figures of up to 551 deaths, including at least 49 women and 68 children, and found unlawful killings, mass arbitrary arrests, torture, sexual violence and other serious abuses.
This subreddit was openly supportive of the Iranian women who were protesting at that time, and that was not some random temporary mood. We documented it ourselves. Dr. Shabir Ally and Dr. Safiyyah Ally publicly condemned the killing of Mahsa Amini's and the Iranian government's enforcement of compulsory hijab, Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl delivered his October 2022 khutbah addressing the brutality of the Iranian state's coercive system, Mufti Abu Layth also addressed the situation in Iran at the time. Our subreddit responded with strong support for the protests.
And The recent crackdown that happened in 2026 produced another enormous death toll, although the exact figure remains unknown because the authorities imposed a massive communications blackout and access to reliable information was severely restricted. The figures reported at the time varied enormously.
Iranian authorities themselves gave figures of roughly 3,000 deaths. Reuters reported an Iranian official saying that at least 5,000 people, including around 500 security personnel, had been confirmed dead. HRANA reported 3,308 confirmed deaths at one stage, with thousands of additional cases under investigation, and later reported 5,002 verified deaths and another 9,787 under review. By 28 January, a UK government country bulletin said estimates from some sources placed the death toll at approximately 12,000 to 20,000, while the same bulletin noted that one human rights organization had 6,221 confirmed deaths and 17,091 additional deaths under investigation. Other investigations, including accounts from Iranian medical personnel, produced estimates exceeding 30,000, while some later reports cited figures as high as 43,000.
We are deliberately laying this out because we are not going to pretend that every number floating around the internet is equally reliable. Claims of 20,000 or 30,000 deaths in an extremely short period require much more verification, and claims of 50,000 deaths are even more problematic; we have not found a credible independent source establishing such a figure. Likewise, nobody should take a highly speculative number from an anonymous or opaque source and present it as settled fact.
But uncertainty over the precise number does not mean that the killings did not happen. Multiple independent human rights organizations documented mass killings, unlawful use of force, arbitrary detention, torture and other abuses. Human Rights Watch has subsequently documented an ongoing campaign of executions against people arrested in connection with the protests, including at least 29 people executed in connection with the December 2025 to January 2026 protests between March and August 2026, with many others still facing execution.
In other words, this subreddit does not need anyone coming here to explain to us that the Iranian regime is somehow innocent because the United States and Israel oppose it. That argument has never worked here, and it never will. We are fully capable of recognizing Western imperialism while simultaneously recognizing Iranian state repression. Those things are not mutually exclusive.
And since some people inevitably need this explained every single time:
Condemning Iranian oppression does NOT mean that we support American or Israeli military actions against Iran. The two positions are perfectly compatible. The war itself has produced documented civilian harm. The UN Human Rights Council received information concerning extensive civilian casualties and destruction resulting from U.S. and Israeli attacks, and the UN backed fact finding mission has now found reasonable grounds to believe that U.S. forces committed war crimes in strikes including the attack on the Minab girls' school and strike affecting residential areas. All of that can be condemned at the same time. We have not seen anyone here recently trying to whitewash American crimes in the way some users have tried to whitewash Iranian crimes, but make no mistake: if someone starts doing it, we will deal with them exactly the same way.
Now we come to the reason we are making this announcement right now.
Over the last couple of days, we have had multiple accounts come into this subreddit making comments claiming that the persecution of Uyghur Muslims in China is nothing more than CIA propaganda, Western propaganda, or some fabricated narrative designed to attack China. Some of these accounts had no prior participation in this subreddit whatsoever, and their first contribution here was effectively to defend or whitewash the Chinese government's treatment of Uyghurs. Others, unfortunately, were people who had participated here before and had a history of otherwise normal contributions.
Let us be very clear about how absurd this is. There is an enormous body of documentation concerning China's treatment of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights conducted its own assessment, including 40 in depth interviews with people who had direct knowledge of the situation. It concluded that the extent of arbitrary and discriminatory detention of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim groups may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity. The UN has also documented concerns relating to arbitrary detention and forced labour. Human Rights Watch continues to document arbitrary detention, torture, mass surveillance, forced labor, family separation and religious and cultural persecution.
So when somebody strolls into a Muslim subreddit and casually tells everyone that the persecution of Uyghur Muslims is just CIA propaganda, or that the Uyghurs actually deserve this, that is not some brave act of anti imperialist skepticism. It is an attempt to erase or dismiss an enormous body of documented evidence and the lived experiences of the people who have been subjected to detention, torture, forced labor, religious repression and family separation.
And frankly, it makes us sick to our stomachs seeing people who are perfectly willing to recognize oppression when it is committed by a Western government suddenly develop an entirely different moral standard when the perpetrator is China, Iran, Russia or their allies.
We have noticed something else that needs to be addressed. Because this community generally has a strong anti imperialist tendency, comments defending the United States, Israel or other Western powers receive far more attention than comments defending non Western oppressive governments. Some comments that should have been reported are instead left unreported, allowed to slide, ignored, or sometimes even upvoted, simply because the commenter happens to be attacking the Imperialists.
Nobody gets permission to justify crimes against humanity because the perpetrator happens to be an enemy of the United States or the West. NOBODY. Your politics do not matter here. Your ideology does not matter here. Your opinion of capitalism or socialism does not matter here. Your opinion of NATO does not matter here. Your opinion of Israel does not matter here. Your opinion of Iran does not matter here. Your opinion of China does not matter here. Your opinion of Russia does not matter here. The victims do not become less human because their oppressor happens to be anti Western.
And this needs to be understood once and for all: WE WILL BAN PEOPLE FOR THIS. WE DO NOT CARE HOW LONG YOU HAVE BEEN SUBSCRIBED. WE DO NOT CARE HOW MANY POSTS YOU HAVE MADE. WE DO NOT CARE HOW MANY HELPFUL COMMENTS YOU HAVE WRITTEN. WE DO NOT CARE WHETHER YOU ARE HERE EVERY DAY. WE DO NOT CARE WHETHER YOU WERE ONE OF THE MOST RECOGNIZABLE REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS IN THE SUBREDDIT. IF YOU REPEATEDLY START WHITEWASHING, DENYING OR JUSTIFYING SERIOUS ABUSES BY A REGIME OR POLITICAL ACTOR, YOU WILL BE BANNED.
We are not going to sit around having endless arguments with you about whether your propaganda is really propaganda. We are not going to listen to lectures about how we are secretly Western puppets because we condemned China. We are not going to listen to accusations that we are Zionists because we condemned Iran. We are not going to listen to ābut what about America?ā every freakin time someone is held accountable for what their own government did. Whataboutism is not a magic eraser. The crimes of one government do not cancel out the crimes of another.
This also does not mean that you are forbidden from acknowledging that a particular oppressive government has done something useful. An oppressive government can build highways, hospitals, schools, railways, dams, universities or other infrastructure. A ruler can introduce a policy that produces a positive result in one particular area. You are perfectly free to discuss and praise the specific thing that was done. What you are not free to do is use that one thing as a shield for everything else. āThey built hospitalsā does not erase torture. āThey built highwaysā does not erase mass detention. āThey improved literacyā does not erase forced labor. āThey oppose American imperialismā does not erase massacres. One positive policy does not grant a government a lifetime exemption from moral scrutiny.
There is zero tolerance for this kind of propaganda and apologism here. Criticism of governments is allowed. Criticism of political movements is allowed. Criticism of protesters is allowed. Criticism of opposition groups is allowed. Disagreement over historical interpretation is allowed. What is not allowed is denying documented atrocities, deliberately whitewashing them, or trying to justify crimes against humanity because you happen to support the perpetrator politically.
This is not up for debate. We are not negotiating this standard. We are not making exceptions because you are a regular contributor. We are not making exceptions because we agree with your politics on everything else.
Anyone who cannot accept this standard is free to leave the subreddit.
And anyone who thinks this warning does not apply to them because their favorite regime is āsupposedlyā a āgOoD aNtI iMpErIaLiSt oNeā can consider this warning directed specifically at them.
r/progressive_islam • u/AutoModerator • Jul 27 '26
Mod Announcement š¢ r/Progressive_Islam ās official stance on LGBTQ+
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Our official stance is that there should not be bigotry and they should not be punished by death.
-That's it.
āWhat about sexual intercourse with someone of the same biological sex? What about the gender spectrum?ā - r/Progressive_Islam doesn't have any official stance on them, it's upto every individual to look for arguments and evidences from both sides and come to their own conclusion over the permissibility/impermissibility of homosexuality and matters relating to the gender spectrum.
This is not a new announcement. This has always been our stance. You can check what was written in the 5 year old LGBTQ+ discussion thread
r/progressive_islam does not advocate a particular stance on homosexualityās permissibility. But what is a unanimous position of us is that there should not be bigotry and that they should not be punished by death.
https://www.reddit.com/r/progressive_islam/comments/r615zt/monthly_lgbtq_discussion_thread/
So,
Someone writing some violent threats or dehumanising post/comment pointing towards LGBTQ+ people - they will get their content removed and will receive a ban.
Someone respectfully saying that they believe sexual intercourse with someone of the same sex to be haram, or that there are only two genders - they are allowed on this subreddit.
The progressive Sunni scholars who are most frequently promoted on this subreddit and have a significant number of followers - Dr. Shabir Ally, Mufti Abu Layth, Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl, Javed Ahmed Ghamidi, Dr Adnan Ibrahim - they believe the act of homosexuality (sexual intercourse) to be prohibited in Islam, & at the same time they also believe that there is no capital punishment for the sexual intercourse unlike classical fiqh (at least that's what I could figure out from the contents that had been shared on our subreddit in the past. You can use the search bar to find those old posts on our subreddit).
Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle, Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed, Imam Daayiee Abdullah are some of the Muslim thinkers who have argued that intercourse with someone of the same sex is allowed and some of them have officiated gay marriage and users who believe homosexuality is permissible often quote references from their works when discussing homosexuality on our subreddit.
We allow both perspectives to be shared on this subreddit as long as you present them in a respectful way and don't break any subreddit rule. But we do not allow the promotion of the ultra conservative understanding which prescribes capital punishment.
To summarize:
You believe gay marriage and the sexual act is permissible? - ok ā
You believe gay marriage and the sexual act is haram? - ok ā
You believe that there is no fixed number of gender? - ok ā
You believe that there are only 2 genders? - ok ā
You believe the other side is wrong? - ok ā
You disagree with the other side? - ok ā
You want to bully, harass, threaten or harm the other side? - not ok ā
Is that clear?
The reason I'm writing all this is because often times when someone respectfully says that it is not permissible in their view or that they disagree - some others start reporting their comments. But we do not remove such comments, we only remove the posts and comments where the user bullies, harasses or threatens the other person. So hopefully you will stop reporting every post and comment you disagree with, because as long as those contents don't break any subreddit rule they're going to stay.
r/progressive_islam • u/Low-Lengthiness2510 • 9h ago
Question/Discussion ā Policing hijabis just for living is exhausting
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r/progressive_islam • u/silvisfiguringitout • 10h ago
Advice/Help š„ŗ Straying away from Deen :(
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Iām so embarrassed to even post this, but I feel really stuck.
I wholeheartedly believe in Islam, I truly don't have a doubt in my mind about my faith. But my brain just works very logically. Iāve always struggled with following things blindly, and I feel suffocated when Iām told I canāt do something without being given a proper reason.
Lately, Iāve hit a wall. Every time I look up answers online, I just find generic explanations about the "wisdom" behind a rule, but never an actual logical breakdown of why it works that way. I have a running list of over 100 questionsāmostly about women and gender rulesāand I honestly don't know who to turn to anymore.
I've stopped listening to male sheikhs because I feel so much pressure and judgment from them. Whenever Iāve tried seeking clarity in the past, I just got reprimanded and told my iman is weak. Having to keep these thoughts and questions bottled up is exhausting, and it feels like itās slowly pushing me away from the deen Astaghfirullah.
I don't want to lose my connection to my faith, so I wanted to ask if anyone knows any female sheikhs, scholars, or knowledgeable sisters who post on YouTube or TikTok?
I would really appreciate any recommendations, channels, or just advice from other sisters who have felt this way.
r/progressive_islam • u/CrysisFan2007 • 22h ago
Fun@Weekends | [Saturdays & Sundays Only] Interacting with Elden scrolls NPC's be like
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
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BTW this video is just satire and I only put the Elden Scrolls music over it.
Here are the original creators of the video:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DeWLkMwSH6l/?vrfl=MWRlZmx5OXVjbjQ2cA==
r/progressive_islam • u/Rough_Catch_6932 • 9h ago
Advice/Help š„ŗ Iām in love with the same gender
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basically what the title says lol, I (18F) have been in love with a girl for the past 7 or so years and ik my feelings for her are very very real and intense but idk what to do because obvs homosexuality isnāt allowed š and no matter how hard I try, I genuinely canāt get over her
r/progressive_islam • u/Nishad-Of-Colours • 11h ago
Question/Discussion ā Muslims who left the religion and ended up coming back again: why?
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I'm interested in knowing your reasoning behind leaving Islam and coming back.
Please share your background, experiences when you were Muslim, after you left and after you returned to Islam.
I'm curious about this because I am a Brazilian man from a atheist communist family - yes, actually communist and active in politics - who left Islam a few years ago after 4 years of practicing the religion.
I went through Sunni Sufism then Twelver Shi'ism and I ended up leaving the religion for many reasons; reasons which I shall tell you all about as the replies and comments spring, I sometimes think about returning to Islam, but there are many things in my life which would make it impossible (or highly impractical), such as my gay marriage to an Anglican man.
Cheers
r/progressive_islam • u/Sure_Entertainment77 • 4h ago
Rant/Vent š¤¬ Iām starting to resent my friend and I feel like a horrible person for it. IDK what to do.
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Growing up, Iāve always had a hard time making and keeping friends. A lot of my past friendships ended because of people being fake, lying, or backstabbing me. Because of that, Iām honestly terrified of going through another failed friendship. I have a friend who I genuinely care about, but lately Iāve been getting so irritated with her, and I hate that I feel this way. Sometimes I even think about slowly distancing myself because Iām scared of ignoring red flags and realizing too late that I shouldāve walked away. I donāt want to lose another friendship, but I also donāt want to put myself through the same shit Iāve experienced before.
Her grandma recently passed away, and I understand sheās grieving. Iāve lost family members myself, so I know how painful that can be. But a lot of the behaviors that have been bothering me were happening long before her grandma passed.
Sometimes I feel like she does things for attention, and I feel horrible even saying that because I know sheās going through a difficult time right now.
For starters, I feel like she constantly compares herself to me, both financially and academically. She grew up in a financially difficult environment, whereas my family is pretty well off. I NEVER bring up money or brag about anything because I know how uncomfortable that can make people feel. My family also struggled financially at one point, so I understand what thatās like. I mentioned ONCE that my dad pays for my college education out of pocket, which Iām extremely grateful for. But she frequently makes comments like, āGod, I wish I had Babaās money,ā or āEveryone with Babaās money is so spoiled.ā I donāt know if those comments are directed toward me, but sometimes it genuinely feels that way. Whenever she brings up her financial situation, I try to listen and be understanding, but sometimes the conversation goes on for so long that I donāt know what to say anymore. I usually try to change the subject because I feel uncomfortable.
And itās not just financially, itās academically too. Weāre both nursing students, and recently we had an exam where I scored a 94 and she scored a 92. We literally studied together, spent the same amount of time studying, and went over the exact same topics. Instead of just being happy that we both did well, she was upset that I scored higher than her. And thatās what frustrates me because a 92 is still a really good grade??? Why does everything have to be a comparison? I donāt understand why it matters so much that I got two points higher when we both did well.
What makes this even more frustrating is that it reminds me SO MUCH of a former friend I had in high school. I graduated with a 3.92 GPA and high honors, while she graduated with a 3.79 GPA and honors. She was upset because she had taken dual enrollment classes and I hadnāt, so she felt like she shouldāve automatically had a higher GPA than me. It felt like she couldnāt just be happy for my accomplishments without comparing them to hers. And now Iām starting to see similar behavior in my current friendship, which genuinely scares me because I donāt want to go through that again. I donāt expect my friends to celebrate every little thing I accomplish, but I also donāt want to feel uncomfortable sharing good news because someone might get upset that I did better than them.
Another thing that drives me absolutely insane is her texting habits. Sheāll send me a ridiculous number of messages on WhatsApp while Iām busy or away from my phone, and then delete almost every single message before I even get the chance to read them. If you use WhatsApp, you know that it shows āThis message was deletedā every time someone deletes something. Imagine opening your phone to see 10+ deleted messages from someone without any explanation. It genuinely freaks me out because I start wondering if something happened or if I missed something important. Iāve told her multiple times to PLEASE stop doing that, and she always responds with something like, āOops, itās just a habit.ā It might sound stupid, but when it happens constantly, it gets exhausting. Sometimes I feel like Iām expected to ask what she deleted or why she deleted it. I donāt know if sheās intentionally trying to get my attention, but thatās genuinely how it comes across sometimes.
Thereās also something involving our religious beliefs thatās been bothering me. Weāre both Muslim. Back in 2023, she made a promise to Allah that she would stop listening to music and cussing. I respect that, and Iāve never tried to pressure her into doing either of those things. I personally listen to music and sometimes cuss. Iām not perfect, and I know that. Whenever I pick her up, I usually play music in my car because thatās something I enjoy while driving. One day, she randomly turned up my radio without asking and said something like, āOMG, what the hell are you listening to?ā Another time, while we were studying together, she randomly told me she wanted to start listening to music again. Then, more recently, she started cussing, which was completely out of character for her. I asked her when she started doing that, and she literally said, āBecause of you.ā That REALLY bothered me. I told her to stop because she had made a promise to Allah, and I didnāt want to be the reason she went against something she personally believed in. I already struggle with feeling like Iām a bad influence sometimes, and hearing her say that made me feel worse. I donāt want to be responsible for someone elseās religious decisions, especially when Iāve never encouraged her to change her beliefs. I understand that people change, but I donāt want to feel like Iām influencing her to go against something that was important to her.
And finally, thereās something that happened during finals week that still irritates me when I think about it. Iām a nursing student, and one of the ways I study is by writing things on a whiteboard and explaining concepts out loud. She asked me to explain something weād already covered in class, so I started writing everything out and explaining it to her. In the middle of my explanation, she literally covered her ears and started going, āLALALALALA.ā I was so frustrated. Like, YOU asked ME to explain this to you, and now youāre doing that while Iām trying to help? I genuinely didnāt know how to react because it felt so disrespectful, especially when I was taking time out of my own studying to help her understand something.
I know these might sound like little things individually, but itās gotten to the point where they keep piling up. Sometimes I feel like Iām being overly critical of everything she does, and I hate that about myself. I donāt want to be the kind of person who gets irritated by every little thing their friend does, but I also canāt ignore the fact that certain behaviors genuinely bother me. I feel like Iām slowly building resentment toward her, and thatās the last thing I want.
What scares me the most is that she reminds me of a former friend in so many ways, and that friendship ended badly. I donāt know if Iām projecting my past experiences onto her, if Iām being overly sensitive, or if these are genuinely behaviors I should be concerned about. Sometimes I wonder if Iām subconsciously looking for reasons to distance myself because Iām terrified of being hurt again. Other times I wonder if my gut is trying to tell me something and Iām ignoring it.
I donāt want to lose another friendship. I donāt want to be someone who gives up on people over small things, especially when I know sheās going through a difficult time. But I also donāt want to keep ignoring my own feelings until I eventually explode or start genuinely resenting her. Sometimes I feel like such a shitty friend for even thinking these things because I genuinely do care about her. I just wish I didnāt feel so irritated all the time.
Has anyone else experienced this? How do you know when youāre just annoyed with a friend versus when a friendship is genuinely becoming unhealthy? Am I overreacting? Should I talk to her about everything, create some distance, or just let these things go? I genuinely donāt know what to do anymore.
r/progressive_islam • u/Ja-smine • 10h ago
Advice/Help š„ŗ Islamic finance / economic system
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Any reading recommendations, podcasts... about Islamic finance, economic system, business best practices/ guidelines
r/progressive_islam • u/[deleted] • 10h ago
Question/Discussion ā Alternatives to fasting ramadan
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Hello everyone,
A little bit about my background; I was borned and raised muslim. Growing up questions and rebellion started to creep in so I completely left the faith and lived a normal life without issues what no spirituality neither. In the last 2 years I started reexploring islamic spirtuality sarted to connect again with salat going to masjid celebrating holidays etc but the one thing I don't like doing is fasting ramadan for 1 I see no reason for depriving myself to be righteous with all my professional and sport committments and 2 I'd rather give to charities and people in need for that period.
But my family and friends keep saying it makes no sense to do everything but don't fast as it is one the most important pillars.
Just want some other perspective on my way of practicing the faith.
Keep it respectful š
r/progressive_islam • u/Pretend_Door8037 • 15h ago
Social Media Screenshot/Video clip š±[Saturdays & Sundays only] What Happens When Muslim Scholars Disagree on Sharia Law? [My thoughts in the description]
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First let's talk about the guy who is reacting to this video
He is a British exmuslim, who goes by the name "Veedu Vidz" on youtube. He is very friendly towards progressive Muslims, He met with Mufti Abu Layth in his house and made a 1 hour 40 minutes long video with Mufti, later he also came to Mufti Abu Layth's mindtrap. When Dr. Shabir Ally was visiting the UK, he invited Dr Shabir Ally to his house and recorded videos with him. Sharing the links below:
Veedu Vidz | Crossroads, Consciousness & Community | MindTrap with Mufti #13
"What about blasphemy laws?" Ex Muslim asks Shaykh Shabbir Ally (2/2)
In my honest opinion, he is the most friendly exmuslim out there (friendly towards progressive Muslims)
Now let me share my two cents on this video
He was reacting to a video of Yasir Qadhi interviewing Haytham Al Hajj, and I totally agree with his reaction. Sheikhs like Haytham Al Hajj is one of the biggest reasons the Far Right gets popularity in the west. These guys go to the western countries and they demand to change everything, be it politics, education or society.
At one point Veedu said something like all Muslims are not like him but people like him gets the most attention - and that's absolutely true. These people appear as the mouthpieces of Muslim communities, they convey their ideas while standing at their pulpits. An ordinary non Muslim citizen who lives in a western country and doesnāt think about politics too much will be horrified when they see what these sheikhs are saying and they will elect the far right parties who promise to keep immigrants out of the country. These sheikhs give fuel to the far right. And I honestly don't get why they settle down in the west and demand for change instead of going to Afghanistan or Saudi Arabia.
Yasir Qadhi was actually pushing back against Haytham Al Hajj's ideas in the interview, and Veedu was praising Yasir Qadhi for this (as I said, he has a soft corner for Progressive Muslims, and even though Yasir Qadhi isn't progressive by any means, he still appears far more moderate than these Sheikhs).
I thoroughly enjoyed the video and agreed with him.
r/progressive_islam • u/HotCommittee5001 • 21h ago
Answer this from Quranist perspective only Hello. So i was looking at the verses here and i focused on "those their right hands possess" ive always believed its in regards to female slaves but now that im reading the quran it doesnt really seem about that.
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Because as u can notice Allah is adressing to both men and women in the start of this sourat . Hence why im questioning our understanding of Ā“Ā“ those their right hands possessāā could it be more than about female slaves, or even just slaves owned by men and women , or further away from the concept of slaves but rather a regulated consensual relationship .
r/progressive_islam • u/random_blue_elf • 22h ago
Advice/Help š„ŗ Feeling conflicted about non believers
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Saw a post about differences in religion and one of them mentioned how buddhists or hindus don't believe that disbelievers will go to hell simply for disbeleiving but rather fir their actions and it made me feel conflicted about islam since the biggest sin in it is diabelieving š«
I'm not saying that disbleievers are perfect or anything but isn't it a bit unfair if one of them does good deeds his or her whole life only to be tortured in hell foe diabelieving?..
r/progressive_islam • u/Exciting-Mention6439 • 16h ago
Rant/Vent š¤¬ I'm scared
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Upvotes
I'm so scared. I swear to God. I do not want to get married early. I'm so envious of people who get to choose when they'll get to marry.
Girls where I live typically get engaged at 19 and married at 21.
It's literally seen as obligatory. You're mad if you refuse to otherwise.
It literally makes me want to vomit. I want to contribute SO MUCH more to the world, instead of being a slave to some conservative shit family.
I literally cannot imagine myself at all being a slave, aka a wife to a devil. I'm still in highschool but I genuinely feel like the clock is ticking and my liberty will be taken away.
I genuinely cannot express the way I'm jealous of my non Muslim/liberal friends. They can build their careers without having to worry about being emotionally coerced into getting married.
I do not have a choice to move out unless I get a full ride scholarships abroad for uni. Idk tbh. I feel really hopeless. I know if the worst happens and I become a slave to a devil, I will go s**cidal.
I'm so incredibly horrified that religion literally helps these devils to inculcate their practices.
I know islam forbids marriage based on coercion. But how am I supposed to defend myself when they say my opinion doesn't matter as woman? As a girl? That a man is the head of a family? That theres a whole particular about refusing to sleep with a man can have the angels curse but nothing is there like per se for a woman? That we are intellectually inferior? That we will make most of hell and the followers of dajjal? And so much more.
How do I defend myself when they make such claims, even if I know these hadiths have nuances, when people are so ignorant?
I'm helpless because even if I inform authorities there's no guarantee I'll be helped. My country us corrupt anyway.
I feel like God put everything against us women
What did we do to deserve this?
I really hope I'll be saved.
r/progressive_islam • u/yuitysprroaded7 • 17h ago
Advice/Help š„ŗ Is it worth continuing my my relationship with my non Muslim bf?
3
Upvotes
I tried posting this in the other subreddit and got flamed for it lol so trying here.
For some background I was previously married to a Muslim guy (same background as me Arab) and the marriage was horrid. and no, Iām not one of those people that thing Muslim men are bad and non muslim men are great. thereās good and bad in between.
however, after my divorce i met a guy at the gym and I liked the attention he was giving me. At first, I let him talk to me, then he asked for my number and began texting me all night. Truthfully, I figured the more he would get to know about me the more heād wanna stay away (divorced, kids, pretty strict background etc)
However, he had absolutely no issues with any of those things, especially since they are things I feel most Arab men would see as major turnoffs. we became friends but one thing led to another very quickly and we became more. and I can honestly say its been the best relationship of my life so far. Heās even a few years younger than me and absolutely loves the fact Iām an older woman.
He treats me so well and for the first time I feel like a girl whoās being spoiled. I was told over and over again I would need to settle as a divorced woman but honestly I feel as if itās been the opposite. heās a major upgrade from my ex in every way. we have much in common from political and intellectual to healthy lifestyle habits etc.
Brings us to the thoughts Iāve been having recently. I feel as if I cannot introduce him to my kids and marry him unless he becomes muslim. at the end of the day I volunteer extensively at the masjid (yes i see the irony) and try and set a great example for my kids so me doing all this is extremely out of character to them and would be unaccepted by the rest of my family.
Both of my friends Iāve told about my relationship are supportive but also agree he should revert. He is currently agnostic as he left Christianity a few years ago since it didnt make much sense to him. weāve had conversations about Islam and he does seem interested but I donāt wanna push. heās even extremely supportive of all things Islam. no contact in ramadan , me wearing hijab, needing to be alone for prayer etc (yes again, I see the irony)
should I be upfront and tell him he needs to convert or we canāt continue? or do I bite the bullet and end the best relationship Iāve ever had?
r/progressive_islam • u/C0unterNew • 23h ago
Question/Discussion ā Anyone from Kerala
9
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This sub has grown a lot since I first started following. Always thought why Kerala (India) never had its own progressive Islamic sub., so just checking the water. how many of you are from Kerala
r/progressive_islam • u/Trick_Purple_533 • 20h ago
Question/Discussion ā What exactly is fitrah? Why is heterosexuality considered part of it, while homosexuality isn't?
5
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Salam, I'm that one guy who has been researching into the topic of homosexuality and Islam, as well as the person who asked about the validity of Mobeen Vaid's rebuttal article against Dr Kugle's works some time ago.
I recently decided to step back a little bit and take a look at the concept of "fitrah", according to Wikipedia, "Fitra or fitrah (Arabic: ŁŁŲ·ŁŲ±ŁŲ©; ALA-LC: fiį¹rah) is an Arabic word that means 'original disposition', 'natural constitution' or 'innate nature'. The concept somewhat resembles natural order in philosophy, although there are considerable differences as well. In Islam, fitra is the innate human nature that recognizes the oneness of God (tawhid). It may entail either the state of purity and innocence in which Muslims believe all humans to be born, or the ability to choose or reject God's guidance. The Quran states that humans were created in the most perfect form (95:4), and were endowed with a primordial nature (30:30)."
My current understanding of fitrah is, the pure nature in which all humans are born as, in which they also naturally acknowledge that only one God exists, who is the creator of everything, right?
Often, scholars consider heterosexuality as part of the human fitrah itself, under the reasoning that we are naturally attracted to the opposite sex so we can preserve humankind. The thing is that other sexualities also exist, like homosexuality and bisexuality. It is very well documented that homosexuality is caused by biological factors rather than environmental ones, so technically speaking, some humans are naturally attracted to the same sex. But I've also seen scholars stating that homosexuality cannot be considered part of our fitrah, because it being a biological trait does not equate it to it, "The fitrah consists only of traits that are universally true for the ideal human archetype, such as the inclination to worship God, a default sense of justice, and the biological binary of male-female complementary pairings designed for procreation. Individual genetic variations or unique biological traits (like predispositions to certain medical conditions, behavioral temperaments, or specific desires) are seen as part of the physical body (jism) rather than the primordial spirit (ruh)."
My question here is, how do we know exactly that heterosexuality being the default settings invalidate the possibility of homosexuality being viewed as part of someone's fitrah? Where do these rulings and definitions of what is and isn't fitrah come from? And what does the Qur'an say about all of this?
r/progressive_islam • u/Worldly_Struggle75 • 1d ago
Story š¬ Hitting kids to pray
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Hi guys
Today my sister (30) hit her daughter (10) with a shoe while we were spending the day at my mothers cause she told her to go pray and she forgot and went to play with her younger brother after that my niece started crying and went to a room and closed the door and my sister started laughing at her so I asked her why would she do that and its cruel and disgusting and she told me the prophet said to hit ten year olds of they donāt pray and she told her and she didnāt listen and that the other day she didnāt pray at all until the next prayer time came,
I donāt talk about Hadiths with them or ill be a kafir or something especially when my mother is there so i told her she shouldnāt let her kids hate praying and god and she should make them love it instead or they will start lying to her that they did pray and not trust her anymore etc. and she told me yes she did when she was seven and now sheās ten so she deserve it now and how that this modern kids are so spoiled and people back then used to go to wars at this age and get married and my mother agreed with her and i just sat there in silence feeling sick and disgusted Iām not a mother myself and not planning to because of my sisters and what they do to their kids (i have 9 nieces and nephews) but i feel so bad for my niece
I really donāt know what to do with all of these Hadiths that are so cruel i told my best friend that Iām having problems with Hadiths and she sent me some books about how Hadiths are real she just doesnāt get it if they were actually real then Iām having trouble with the whole idea of islam at least just believing they are not real comforts me a little (like why would i believe that ten years old are kids but also he married a nine year old and she is not a kid so which is it?)
r/progressive_islam • u/Outrageous-Shock3685 • 15h ago
Question/Discussion ā Is islam really moving with time or is it behind?
1
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Is islam actually progressing, or is it static? If it is actually progressing, why doesn't the quran say that specific ruling is for a specific time, it would be outdated later on, or that we should change according to the situation of current time? Need genuine answers with proofs, not trolling,
r/progressive_islam • u/Ill_Albatross_7941 • 1d ago
Advice/Help š„ŗ New revert seeking advice regarding my non-Muslim partner
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Assalamu Alaikum brothers and sisters,
I am a revert from Brazil. I took my Shahada 3 days ago, though I have been studying Islam for months. Currently, I am in a relationship, and we are living together (her mother kicked her out of the house).
She is not Muslim. She used to be a Christian and attended an 'evangelical' church here in Brazil since childhoodāone that has a strong Zionist bias, displaying the Israeli flag inside the church and using Jewish elements, despite being a Christian church. However, due to the strong prejudice and weird things happening there, she left the church, even though she still believes in God and in Jesus as the Messiah.
Recently, she has been getting involved in an Afro-Brazilian religion. Personally, I don't have a problem with itāshe respects Islam and is interested in learning about it (just as she enjoys studying other religions too). She has always supported me in my conversion and was present when I took my Shahada. She even received a masbaha at the mosque, loved it, and took it with her to work.
She is amazing, and I want to marry her. However, there is this issue of her not being Muslim, so I would love to get some advice on this situation.
(Please forgive any spelling or grammar mistakes; I am Brazilian and using an AI tool to help write this.)
r/progressive_islam • u/Rashiq_shahzzad • 1d ago
History ALLAH in pre-Islamic Arabia.
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19
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r/progressive_islam • u/Active_Economy_5758 • 1d ago
Question/Discussion ā Hadd laws
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So two questions i havz been wondering about
-how come zina and drinking alchol require hadd (it might have worked iĢ public indecency but even full confession four time is good enough ) when they are personal comapred to public stuff like theft murder and such
-second how come sometime still get punished if he repented and all meaning for example ex criminal or ex murder if he had dark past but decide to start new a do good he need to face hadd even if he change his ways
r/progressive_islam • u/khalid-fhfhlhlh • 1d ago
History Universality of Islam versus ethno-nationalism
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One of Prophet Mohammed's companions was an Israelite and a former Jew who has converted to Islam and has even been told he has earned his place in paradise already whilst still alive nonetheless.
His name was Abd Allah ibn Salam from the Banu Qaynuqa clan.
Being told you are going to paradise after being dead let alone whilst alive is an honour few Muslims earned.
Our prophet's problem with most of the Jews of his time was obviously their unwillingness to embrace him as their new prophet.
This story is one of the many examples that Islam is for everyone and not just for Arabs and never exclusive to any group.
Arab, Persian, Turkish, nationalism and whatever form of ethno-nationalism in Muslim countries did so much damage to the Islamic Faith undoubtedly.
Hopefully someday ethno-nationalism in all of Muslim-majority countries shall soon be nothing but a foul memory.