Turkey is preparing to publish a document that represents a revolutionary reinterpretation of Islam - and a controversial and radical modernisation of the religion.
As part of its aggressive programme of renewal, Turkey has given theological training to 450 women, and appointed them as senior imams called "vaizes".
They have been given the task of explaining the original spirit of Islam to remote communities in Turkey's vast interior.
read the whole article at BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7264903.stm

Reword:
The argument is that Islamic tradition has been gradually hijacked by various - often conservative - cultures, seeking to use the religion for various forms of social control.

So reads:
The argument is that religious and or cultural tradition is regularly hijacked by various demogogues seeking to use religious and or cultural cloaks for various forms of social control for their control.

Such is life, eternal vigilance, which is why free speech is not welcommed, after all it is from free speech that free ideas spread.

ASymeonakis,

You might also be interested in a story in today's Age
(http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/survey-challenges-myths-about-islam/2008/02/27/1203788440028.html)

It describes a massive survey of the world's Muslims which undermines Western stereotypes that equate Islam with radicalism and violence.

The survey (50,000 interviews) was conducted by Gallup in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East shows that the overwhelming majority of Muslims condemned the attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, and other subsequent terrorist attacks.

Of 50,000 Muslims interviewed only 7% — the radicals — condoned terrorist attacks. Radical Muslims gave political, not religious, reasons for condoning the attacks, the poll showed.

The vast majority of Muslims condemned the attacks because innocent civilians were killed. Some cited religious justifications for their opposition to 9/11, quoting from the Koran — for example, the verse that says taking one innocent life is like killing all humanity.

A HUGE survey of the world's Muslims challenges Western notions that equate Islam with radicalism and violence.
In majority Muslim countries, overwhelming majorities said religion was a very important part of their lives — 99% in Indonesia, 98% in Egypt, 95% in Pakistan. But only 7% of the Muslims surveyed — the radicals — condoned the attacks on the US on September 11, 2001, the poll found.

Polpak has it down pat....

Frank... that article you linked to was not very accurate.

"A HUGE survey of the world's Muslims challenges Western notions that equate Islam with radicalism and violence."

Assumptions in that quote.

1/ The opinions of 'average Muslims' = 'Islam'
2/ That western notions are wrong.

Given that the West has seen countless atrocities perpetrated against it specifically in the name of Islam, their 'notions' are rather understandable.

Without re-hashing material already presented over and over, the important issue here is to establish what Islam as a faith really does teach, rather than what 'Many Muslims' feel it teaches.

You know the deal.. 'EAster+Christmas Christians'..... "do the haj and I'm ok Muslims" nominalism is rife in most religious communities.

7% of Muslims are politically radical ? out of 1.3 billion that equates to.....91,000,000 err.. which is quite a large number.
nearly 5 times Australia's population!

The survey could have missed out on some important data. It should have given a country by country breakdown so that the results can be correlated to other events.

EXAMPLE 1
A 2004 Pew survey revealed that Osama bin Laden is viewed favorably by large percentages in Pakistan (65%), Jordan (55%) and Morocco (45%). In Turkey as many as 31% say that suicide attacks against Americans and other Westerners in Iraq are justifiable

EXAMPLE 2
A 2005 Pew Research study that involved 17,000 people in 17 countries showed support for terrorism in the Muslim world declining along with a growing belief that Islamic extremism represents a threat to those countries.[2]A Daily Telegraph survey[3]showed that 6% of British Muslims fully supported the July 2005 bombings in the London Underground.

UK has 2.8% Muslims 1.5million. 6%=90,000

That is quite a significant figure.. Would you like 90,000 people in your country who FULLY supported London Bombings? I sure don't.

BOAZ, I see you're not going to let uncomfortable facts get in the way of your prejudice.

I know you have a hotline to G**, but are you really serious when you claim to know better than the 50,000 Muslims surveyed by Gallup not only what Muslims think, but also what they believe?

You also claim to know better than the 50,000 Muslims what their religion teaches them no matter what they 'feel it teaches them'. So, according to you, Islam teaches terrorism but the 93% who think it doesn't teach terrorism are just wrong!

Failing to mount a decent evidence-based argument, you predictably mount your regular fear stunt: the 7% of Muslims who are 'radical' (every one of them - you do the maths and find 91 million) are all lining up to kill us infidels! Only simple fools would equate the word 'radical' to automatically mean those with evil intent.

Next you resort to the well-worn ploy of attacking the source. We can't rely on this massive Gallup survey, you say, insisting instead that we trust a Pew survey. Who? Gallup is an internationally reputable research body with a history of more than 70 years. Pew is a fledgling organisation based solely in the US with a particular American-centric view of the rest of the world.

And if Pew doesn't cut the mustard, you ask us to accept a literal reading of an old discredited Daily Telegraph poll. Next you'll have us reading the Herald-Sun.

That derisory Telegraph poll has been doing the rounds of the religious right for yonks, BOAZ, and still no-one seems to be able to find the 90,000 Muslims in Britain just bursting to bring the country to its knees.

I don't know how you are going to sleep at nights what with 90,000 Muslims in Britain and a further 91 million elsewhere in the world sharpening up their weapons. I hope the Sihks don't throw away their kirpans. Australia might need them.