When was the last time you came across a very enlightening post from a mainstream Islamic page that completely changed your paradigm, or at least made you think differently? If you only follow mainstream Islamic pages, chances are that it may very well have been a long time ago (if ever). I don’t know about you, but I’ve had some pretty terrible experiences with popular Islamic pages. And, let me tell you why.

Content. They say content is key to attract people to your Facebook page, yet Islamic pages that boast millions of likes barely have any substance to offer. Their content is hardly ever thought-provoking or oriented towards curbing real issues that face Muslims today. Pictures of holy sites, remnants of Prophet Mohammad’s belongings, or guides on how to eat “Islamically” are not the need of this age. No, the Muslim youth that is emerging now is more interested in educating themselves about Islam to counter Islamophobia and knowing more about Islamic scholarship & philosophy, or at least I would hope so. Bombarding their news feeds with pictures of the Ka’abah and Masjid Nabwi is just not going to cut it.

And neither would shameless advertising tactics like “Share if you love Allah/Prophet Mohammad” or “Share this to defeat Shaitan” are going to advance combating real issues that face Muslims today. It’s actually very disappointing to see that such captions get thousands of shares & comments – comments that are so ridiculous that it is painfully disturbing to see. When you see thousands of Muslims all typing in “Masha Allah”, “Subhan Allah” or “Alhamdullillah” on an obviously Photoshopped and, quite frankly, stupid picture displaying a tree or a tomato (yes, a bloody tomato) that has “Allah” graved inside it, then that is the time to really question what thousands of these Muslims are thinking, if they are thinking at all, that is.

However, thankfully there is a growing number of Muslims who are seeking more progressive interpretations of the Islamic texts (as was practiced by Prophet Mohammad (S) himself), and are questioning orthodox beliefs they have been brought up, or indoctrinated with– which brings us to another problem.

When I type Progressive Islam in the Facebook search bar, I’m shown only 6 results. If that’s not disappointing enough, 5 of these pages seem to have been abandoned, probably because none of them has more than 150 likes. So, we’re left with one page, which although does have nearly 20000 likes, their last posting was more than a month ago.

It basically boils down to this: If you don’t know any progressive Muslims personally, or any Progressive Islamic organizations, it seems quite hard to find us from scratch. You have to be in the “circle”, so to speak. And I guess that is the reason why, despite the meaningful content of these pages, they do not get as much engagement as one would hope they would.

So, if you’re a Muslim (or a non-Muslim) who is fed up with the lack of substance coming from traditional Islamic pages, and are intellectually oriented, then check out these 15 progressive Islamic Facebook pages (in no particular order):

1) Quranalyze It (www.facebook.com/quranalyzeit)

This is the official page of this blog, and the short introduction of the page reads:

“Looking for a Rational & Spiritual Outlook on Islam, devoid of Superstition? You’ve come to the right place!”

2) MPV (https://www.facebook.com/mpvusa)

“Mission: Muslims for Progressive Values’ (MPV) mission is to embody and be an effective voice of the traditional Quranic ideals of human dignity, egalitariansim, compasison and social justice.”

3) Sisters in Islam (https://www.facebook.com/officialSIS)

“Sisters in Islam (SIS) is a group of Muslim women committed to promoting the rights of women within the framework of Islam as based on the principles of equality, justice and freedom enjoined by the Quran”

4) The Wrong Kind of Muslim (https://www.facebook.com/TheWrongKindOfMuslim)

“To hell with terrorists and terrorism. It is time we took back the narrative and write the right future with education & tolerance.”

5) The Honesty Policy (https://www.facebook.com/honestypolicy786)

The creators of “Happy British Muslims” video, an adaptation of the song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams.

6) Universalist Muslims (https://www.facebook.com/universalistmuslims)

“We believe that Allah loves us all – all genders, all orientations, all races, all faiths.

We nurture Muslim communities who promote female led mixed congregational prayers. We promote interfaith and intrafaith work.”

7) Lost Islamic History (https://www.facebook.com/LostIslamicHistory)

Although this is not a “progressive” page, it is quite an enlightening one, for which reason I decided to include it as well.

“The achievements of Muslims have been neglected and forgotten. This page will bring that knowledge back inshAllah.”

8) Quranists (https://www.facebook.com/Quranists)

“True Islam is, GOD = ONE, Scripture = ONE, NO DUALITY.”

9) Islam (https://www.facebook.com/KhilafahOnline)

“In their work as Co-Directors of the Association of British Muslims, Sheikh Salahuddin Abu Sophia and Mohammed Abbasi set up a number of dawah projects, promoting Islam, positive thinking, personal development and the unity of our Human Family.”

10) Dr. Omid Safi (https://www.facebook.com/ostadjaan)

“The public page of Omid Safi, an American public intellectual. Omid is passionate about the connections of spirituality, social justice, & resistance.”

11) Dr. Amina Wadud (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dr-Amina-Wadud/1542191152675401)

“The official page of Amina Wadud, a Professor Emerita of Islamic Studies and International Consultant on Islam, Gender and Human Rights. Author of “Inside the Gender Jihad” and “Quran & Woman”

12 Irshad Manji (https://www.facebook.com/irshadmanji)

The Official Facebook Page of Irshad Manji, the author of “Trouble with Islam Today” and “Allah, Liberty, and Love”.

13) The Association of British Muslims (https://www.facebook.com/aobm.org)

“Established in 1889, the Association of British Muslims is the oldest extant organisation of Muslims in the UK.”

14) Joseph Islam (https://www.facebook.com/joseph.a.islam)

“Addressing the Misconceptions of Muslim Thought”

15) The Quran & The Life of Excellence (https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Quran-and-The-Life-Of-Excellence/232913490101261)

“The MRMO seeks to revitalize Islam as a dynamic and viable religion, in tune with the realities of the post-modern world, by extrapolating the Universal Truths revealed to Mankind in the Quran and studying the Quranic principles and ideals in a contemporary context.”

Annddd, *drumroll* there you have it. If you found this article helpful, I humbly request that you please share this article, in order to spread more awareness about these pages. For an Islamic renaissance to take place in this day & age, education is key: precisely what these pages seek to promote!

I’m sure I missed other Progressive Islamic pages. So, let us know in the comments section! And then, maybe we could do a revised edition!

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