On intelligent discourse and building Consensus in a Society.
The current course of events surrounding the women protection bill and its culmination in the “Mullah vs Feminists” battle is a typical portrayal of the simplistic mindset, our religious and secular elite reflect whenever religion and law is brought together .This polarization has not only been quite evident for some time now but is also predictable as they are but small players in a global game of politics and power. The real casualty of this dogmatism is the very “woman” and “family”, both claim to stand for. Professor Tariq Ramadan cited as one of the hundred most influential people by Times magazine and by the Foreign Policy Magazine as one of the top hundred global thinkers tends to view this dogmatism as an intellectual limitation. In his book Radical reform he tackles head on the issue of revival and reform in Islam and Islamic law. He talks about the need of “reforming thought” and not the “scriptural sources”. He writes: “Muslims must at a particular time in history b