Nawawi Foundation: What is the Islamic Tradition?

March 17, 2007 | What is the Islamic Tradition?

The Nawawi Foundation invites you to take part in an open discussion with Shaykh Hamza Yusuf and Dr. Umar F. Abd-Allah on “What Is the Islamic Tradition?” at Oakton Community College on Saturday, March 17, 2007, from 10:00am to 5:00pm.

We often hear Muslims described today as Traditionalist, neo-Traditionalist, as against the Tradition or neutral toward it. The word, “Islamic Tradition,” is familiar to us all and frequently part of our discourse about who we are and what we ought to be as American Muslims. But what exactly is this tradition, and how should we relate to it? Is it truly relevant to our present situation? Are we bound to follow a particular aspect of it? How can we negotiate the Tradition to discover authority without authoritarianism? It is often said that religious extremism—whether Jewish, Christian, Hindu, or Islamic—is partly predicated on a “selective” retrieval of tradition that exploits it to support alien agendas. Is that a danger for us also, and, if so, how do we avoid it?

Please join us in this important discussion, and we welcome your insights and participation.