[Dean's World] Ali Eteraz: Eteraz.Org; Interactive Web Community About Islam

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Posted by Ali Eteraz:
Eteraz.Org; Interactive Web Community About Islam
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1163656695.shtml


   At my regular blog which you came to know and love, and which was
   fortunate to be nominated for an International Best of the Blogs
   award, nominated weblog Unwilling Self-Negation, I sought to bring
   pertinent issues of Islamic reform to the forefront of new media. Now
   I have tried to take the 'next step.' I have, therefore, launched the
   first truly interactive and truly global blog community (complete with
   reader diaries) about Islam. [1]It is called Eteraz.Org: States of
   Islam.

   Not only will I be talking about these important issues but so will
   three of the most promising writers on Islamic Reform, a novelist and
   PhD candidate from Columbia University and the most honored blogger
   within the Western blogosphere, a NYT and Atlantic Monthly published
   writer, script-writer and resident of Cairo, and a British-Muslim
   blogger.

   At Eteraz.org , I am taking the goal of humanist Islam a step further:
   connecting these ideas with the activists, journalists, academics and
   concerned citizens who can put them into practice. From dialogue to
   grassroots social work, Eteraz.org will serve as a hub of Islamic
   reform on the web. The site will feature interviews and written work
   by some of the most cutting edge Islamic scholars (because we happen
   to be lucky enough to know these people), and the reader diary
   function will allow anyone who wants to participate in the discussion
   to post their opinions and be heard. I also plan on launching a number
   of research projects, including a survey of global Islamist leaders
   and a scorecard and database evaluating their stances on critical
   issues. It is my hope that Eteraz.org will prove that progress is
   possible and can begin with anyone willing to work hard and learn.

   Some more, from the About page:

     Eteraz is an online forum whose goal is to mobilize people of
     conscience throughout the world to identify, discuss, and take
     action on political and religious issues involving Islam and the
     Muslim world. Eteraz seeks a humanist vision of Islam for the
     future and looks to illuminate the wisdom and spirituality that
     made Islam a great religion historically by creating community,
     promoting informed opinions and more than anything else, moving its
     members to real world action.

     Most, if not all topics touching on the religion and politics of
     Islam are appropriate at Eteraz. This forum represents people of
     widely diverging (and even conflicting) theologies. However, the
     soul of Eteraz is, and always has been, a) the simple idea that
     every human, man or woman, believer or atheist, wealthy or poor,
     has the same intrinsic worth, and can only be judged on the basis
     of his actions; and b) that it takes more than emails, and more
     than flowery articles, to stand up for the intrinsic worth of
     individuals.

     Come, make this place your home (and then be prepared to work).
     Note that the site is beta right now. It will soon be available
     with an Eterazopedia in Wiki and in three more languages (Farsi,
     Arabic, French). Please check out the must-read FAQ about how to
     navigate the Eteraz community.

   Please come by the site, register, and become part of the community,
   because there are many here whose opinions will raise the level of
   discourse. You should come over if for no other reason than to take a
   look at what we look like and our (interesting?) biographies.

References

   1. http://eteraz.org/