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The '''Secular Islam Summit''' was an international forum for [[secularism|secularists]] of [[Islam]]ic societies, held 4–5 March 2007 in [[St. Petersburg, Florida]]. It was largely organized and funded by the [[Amherst, NY]]-based [[Center for Inquiry]], a secular humanist educational organization, along with secular Muslims such as [[Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi]] and in partnership with the International [[The Intelligence Summit|Intelligence Summit]], a forum on [[terrorism]].<ref name=kuna>{{citation |publisher=Kuwait News Agency |date=Feb 2007 |url=http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1714231&language=en |title=First "Secular Islam Summit" to convene early next month in Florida |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203082755/http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1714231&language=en |url-status=live |archivedate=2014-02-03}}</ref><ref name=WP>{{citation |url=http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/susan_jacoby/2007/04/first_the_muslim_religion_and.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429123324/http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/susan_jacoby/2007/04/first_the_muslim_religion_and.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 29, 2007 |work=Washington Post |author=Susan Jacoby |author-link=Susan Jacoby |title=Diverse Muslims, Violent Islamist Fundamentalism |date=April 19, 2007}}</ref>

==Overview==
The common ground of the participants was the belief that Islam and secular democracy should be compatible.<ref name="usnews">{{cite news |url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070408/16muslims.htm |title=Fighting for the soul of Islam |author=Jay Tolson |work=[[U.S. News & World Report]] |date=8 April 2007 |accessdate=13 April 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123051213/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070408/16muslims_2.htm |archivedate=23 November 2007}}</ref> They agreed that Islam must be either a religion or a political philosophy, not both.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.telospress.com/main/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=187 |title=The Conference on Secular Islam |author=Andrew Bieszad |publisher=Telospress.com}}</ref> According to Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi, one of the organizers, one of the summit's goals was to be a "sanctuary" for victims of Islamism and a forum for the embrace of secular values.<ref>[[Kuwait News Agency]]; [https://web.archive.org/web/20070707022853/http://www.kuna.net.kw/home/Story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=956319 "First "Secular Islam Summit" to convene early next month in Florida]; 27 February 2007</ref>

==Participants==
Speakers ranged from former believers to devout reformers,<ref name="usnews"/> including [[Ibn Warraq]] (the pen name of an ex-Muslim author known for criticism of Islam), [[Tawfik Hamid]] (an ex-jihadist, now in hiding), [[Afshin Ellian]] (an Iranian refugee under police protection), [[Irshad Manji]] (a self-described "radical traditionalist"), [[Ayaan Hirsi Ali]] (a former member of the Dutch Parliament), and [[Hasan Mahmud]] (director of Shariah at the Muslim Canadian Congress).<ref name="WSJ"/><ref name="Post"/>

Several devout Muslims that had been invited to speak, such as [[Faisal Abdul Rauf]] and [[Mike Ghouse]], did not attend; one that did, Irshad Manji, criticized the summit for "not making stronger overtures to practicing Muslims", and urged them to seek common ground.<ref name=TAP/>

==Media attention==
The summit was covered by [[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al-Jazeera]]<ref name="WSJ"/> and broadcast live on the [[Glenn Beck (TV program)|Glenn Beck program]] on CNN.<ref name=Post>{{citation |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/16/AR2007031601941.html |work=Washington Post |date=March 17, 2007 |author=Geneive Abdo |author-link=Geneive Abdo |title=A More Islamic Islam}}</ref><ref>[https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/gb/date/2007-03-05/segment/01 Glenn Beck: Moderate Muslims Speak out Against Extremism], ''[[CNN]]'' March 5, 2007. (Transcript).</ref>

== Reception ==
The summit was described by [[Bret Stephens]] of the ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' as "a landmark."<ref name=WSJ>{{cite web|last=Stephens |first=Bret |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB117314819125027850 |title=Islam's Other Radicals - WSJ.com |publisher=Online.wsj.com |date=2007-03-06 |accessdate=2012-01-27}}</ref> [[Yvonne Haddad]] of [[Georgetown University]] questioned whether the summit was nonpartisan, saying many summit speakers were known for condemning Islam.<ref name="tbt">{{Cite news |work=Tampa Bay Times |url=http://www.sptimes.com/2007/03/06/Southpinellas/Intelligence_conferen.shtml |date=March 6, 2007 |first=Meg |last=Laughlin |title=Intelligence conference draws criticism}}</ref> [[Michael Ledeen]] of the politically conservative American magazine ''National Review'', who attended the summit, described the participants as ex-Muslims and believers, adding, "I think it is no longer possible for people to say there are no reformist (or "moderate") Muslims."<ref name="NRLedeen">{{citation |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/content/secular-islam-summit |publisher=[[National Review]]|title=Secular Islam Summit|date=2007-03-06 |accessdate=2012-07-27}}</ref> Arnold Trebach, a professor emeritus of [[American University]]'s Department of Justice, Law and Society, also mentioned the summit in the [[Washington Times]] as "a tiny spark of hope and reason," saying that all must try to protect the lives of the speakers.<ref>[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2007/mar/15/20070315-082220-7583r/ The spirit of Islamic reform] by Arnold Trebach, [[Washington Times]], March 15, 2007</ref>

On the same weekend as the summit, the south Florida office of the [[Council on American–Islamic Relations]] (CAIR), a Muslim advocacy group, met in [[Fort Lauderdale]]. Attendees of the two meetings denounced each other; Ahmed Bedier, who serves as CAIR's Tampa chapter's executive director, dismissed the summit speakers as "atheists and non-Muslims" hostile to Islam. In contrast, speakers of the summit characterizing CAIR as Saudi-funded Islamists "hypersensitive to any criticism of Muslims" and "too quick to declare who is, or who is not, a true Muslim."<ref name="usnews"/> CAIR elaborated on their criticism of the summit, referring to Haddad's comments on the speakers' extremism and stating that the summit was wrong in promoting the idea that only former Muslims who disdained Islam, rather than Muslims who desired reform, could bring effective change. They attributed to growing Islamophobia the idea of "reforming" Islam by converting Muslims.<ref>{{citation |url=http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/032207/opl_8647594.shtml |title=Reform is already in Islamic tradition |first=Parvez |last=Ahmad |work=Florida Times-Union |date=March 22, 2007}}</ref> [[Investor's Business Daily]], in an op-ed titled "What is CAIR Afraid Of?", described CAIR as a bullying Islamist group and stated that "... the Secular Islam Summit offers a ray of hope," envisioning a larger number of moderate Muslims further discomfiting the civil rights group.<ref>[http://news.investors.com/030707-430828-what-is-cair-afraid-of-.aspx What Is CAIR Afraid Of?], [[Investor's Business Daily]], 3 July 2007. Archived [https://web.archive.org/web/20070310164246/http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?secid=1501&status=article&id=258076311558394 here]</ref>

==Summit activities==
[[Ibn Warraq]] and [[Irshad Manji]] opened the summit at Sunday morning, followed by a panel discussions on the topic ''"Inside the jihadi mind"''. After the lunch, other panel discussions were held on the topics ''"Rediscovering secular traditions"'' and ''"Separating mosque and state"'' (with [[Afshin Ellian]]). The day was closed with a reception, after which some closed working group meetings were held.

The following morning opened with a panel discussion on ''"Secularism and Islamic thought."'' After the lunch ms Zand-Bonazzi released the joint declaration (see below) in a press conference which was followed by an open forum, in which all panelists were invited to participate. The next items on the agenda were a speech by [[Tawfik Hamid]] called ''"Islamism & terrorism: facts, reality & possible solutions"'' and a final panel discussion on ''"Women, Children, & Islam."''<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070630094410/http://www.secularislam.org/blog/post/summit/9/Program Program] on the website of the Secular Islam Summit. December 28, 2006 via [[Archive.org]]</ref>

[[Wafa Sultan]], who participated in the last panel discussion, accepted an award from the Center for Inquiry, saying that she believed there was no such thing as moderate Islam, a view shared by some, but not all, of the attendees.<ref name=WSJ/>

===St. Petersburg Declaration===
{{For|other, similarly named declarations|Saint Petersburg Declaration (disambiguation){{!}}Saint Petersburg Declaration}}

Although delegates to the summit "differed sharply on particulars", on March 5 they released a public manifesto calling for reform within [[Islam]]. The text, known as the ''St. Petersburg Declaration'', expressed support for the separation of mosque and state, equal protection for all religions, legal and social equality between men and women, and unrestricted critical study of traditional practices in Islam.<ref name=WP/><ref name="usnews"/><ref name=declaration>{{cite web|url=http://www.centerforinquiry.net/isis/news/the_st_petersburg_declaration/ |title=The St. Petersburg Declaration |publisher=Centerforinquiry.net |date=2007-04-05 |accessdate=2012-01-27}}</ref>

[[Irshad Manji]] decided not to endorse the declaration, saying it was not sufficiently inclusive of practicing Muslims like herself; she elaborated that being a secular Muslim did not entail renouncing Islam for atheism or another religion, and that support for the separation of mosque and state was not un-Islamic.<ref name=TAP>{{Cite news |url=http://prospect.org/article/irshad-manjis-flying-leap |work=The American Prospect |title=Irshad Manji's Flying Leap |date=April 19, 2007 |first=Madeleine |last=Elfenbein}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.centerforinquiry.net/ Center for Inquiry]
*[http://www.secularislam.org/ Institute for the Secularisation of Islamic Society (ISIS)]
*[http://www.centerforinquiry.net/ISIS The St. Petersburg Declaration]
*[http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2007/03/secular-islam-summit-update.html Mike Ghouse, "The Secular Islam Summit", March 6, 2007]

[[Category:Islam and politics]]
[[Category:Islam and secularism]]
[[Category:2007 conferences]]
[[Category:2007 in the United States]]
[[Category:2007 in Florida]]
[[Category:History of St. Petersburg, Florida]]

Secular Islam Summit - Revision history

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