In recent years, scholars and policymakers have been debating whether Islam is compatible with modern democracy. Some have argued that until Muslims themselves undergo a reformation like that experienced in Europe, then Islam will remain mired in political and social backwardness and incapable of participating in the modern world democratically and peacefully. What are the various views of modernization in the Muslim world? What are the traditional sources for liberal democratic reform in Islam? What do the contemporary Muslim voices for liberal democratic reform say, and how are we to support and develop these voices?

The Ethics and Public Policy Center has invited Qamar-ul Huda to present his observations and reflection on these and other questions. Dr. Huda is assistant professor of Islamic Studies and Comparative Theology at Boston College. A scholar of Islamic thought and history, he is the author of Striving for Divine Union: Spiritual Exercises for Suhrawardî Sufis, and is presently writing Sufi commentaries on the Qur'ân and on contemporary issues of violence, religion, and Islamic moral philosophy. Professor Huda is also editor of Sufi Illuminations: A Journal Dedicated to the Study of Islam and Sufism, and serves as an advisor to the Archdiocese of Boston and the Islamic Council of New England Christian-Muslim Dialogue.