Every third Danish Muslim wants to modernise Islam

It’s time for the religion to better reflect contemporary society, argue advocates for change

Oct 13, 2015

While most Danish Muslims refuse to entertain any idea regarding the reformation of Islam, over a third want to modernise the religion to better reflect contemporary society.

A new Wilke survey on behalf of Jyllands-Posten newspaper revealed that 35.7 percent of Danish Muslims yearned for their religion to be reformed, while 52.4 percent wanted it to remain as it is.

“We’ve experienced there is a need for a re-interpretation of the Koran compared to the time and society we live in,” said Sherin Khankan, who recently established Denmark’s first mosque with female imams.

“If you use the word ‘re-interpretation’ instead, I think that many more can be convinced to jump on the reform bandwagon.”

Ch-Ch-Changes
Naser Khader, a current member of Parliament for the Konservative party, concurred with Khankan, arguing that Islam was in desperate need of a massive overhaul.

Meanwhile, the imam Fatih Alev from the Danish Islamic Centre has rejected any notion of reforming Islam – a sentiment echoed by Oussama El-Saadi, the spokesperson for the infamous Grimhøj Mosque in Aarhus.

“You can’t change what the Koran says and what the prophet has told us to do. Then you’re not Muslim anymore,” said El-Saadi.

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Every third Danish Muslim wants to modernise Islam

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