What is ijtihad? Ijtihad is associated with the idea of striving to arrive at a considered opinion on an ethical-legal issue in light of the broad guidelines, principles and ideas provided in the primary sources of Islam, namely the Qur’an and Sunnah of the Prophet.  In a sense, it is about thinking creatively within the broad framework of Islamic thought.  It is also about ways of meeting the challenges Muslims face today, in the twenty first century.  Though ijithad is often used in the context of Islamic legal thought, for the purpose of this blog we will not confine ourselves to ‘legal’ issues.  We will cover a range of issues that are of interest to Muslims today.

Examples of the kind of issues I am hoping to discuss are:

1. Is there a need to reform aspects of classical Islamic law in the area of family law (marriage, divorce, custody, inheritance and the like)? If so how?
2. Is there a need to rethink some of the classical Islamic laws such as specific punishments mentioned in the Qur’an and Sunnah? If so, why and how?
3. Is there a need to reconcile some of the classical Islamic understandings of certain areas of human rights such as religious freedom, gender equality, Muslim and non-Muslim equality before the law, equal citizenship and the like? If so, why and how?
4. Is there a need to ‘Islamise’ Muslim societies in areas such as legal systems, economic and financial systems, education systems and the like? If so, why and how?
5. Is there a need  to engage in inter-faith dialogue with people of other faiths? If so, how and on what basis?
6. Is there a need to establish an Islamic state today?  If so, why and how?

If you are interested in these and similar questions, I welcome your contribution.