Minaret of Freedom Institute
| Established | 1993 |
|---|---|
| President | Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad |
| Budget | Revenue: $21,834 Expenses: $16,708 (FYE December 2015) |
| Location | Bethesda, Maryland United States |
| Address | 4323 Rosedale Avenue Bethesda, MD 20814 |
| Website | www.minaret.org |
The Minaret of Freedom Institute is an Islamic libertarian organization established in 1993 and based in Bethesda, Maryland. It is dedicated to educating both Muslims and non-Muslims. It was co-founded by Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, its president, and Shahid N. Shah, its treasurer. Its early board of advisers included former Richard Nixon advisor Robert D. Crane, a convert to Islam, and Charles Butterworth, a University of Maryland Islamic scholar. Its current board of directors and board of advisers include religious, academic and business leaders.
Its Mission Statement aims for non-Muslims are:
Its Mission Statement aims for Muslims (in concert with Qur'an and the Sunnah obligations) are:
It implements these goals through independent scholarly research into policy issues of concern to Muslims; publication of scholarly and popular expositions of such research; translation of appropriate works on the free market into the languages of the Muslim world; and the operation of a scholars exchange program.
The Institute holds that adherence to Sharia law and even Islamist politics can be compatible with libertarian ideas. In a paper delivered at a 2005 Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy conference Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad noted the similarities of American secularism and Islamic law, argued that the free exercise of religion is inherently part of Islamic law and outlined a vision of "Islamic pluralism" where the traditional dhimmi system of protection of non-Muslims must be explicitly protected constitutionally.
In 2006 Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad commented on the Saudi Arabian Embassy's Islamic Affairs Department distribution of "The Noble Koran" which included commentary that disparaged Jews and Christians. Ahmad told The Washington Post "The outcry was so great...People were disgusted. And it wasn't just liberals. I couldn't find an American Muslim who had anything good to say about that edition. I would call it a Wahhabi Koran."
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