What hope is there for 'progressive Islam' today?

In the wake of Sept 11 and in the present state of global crisis and insecurity, there has been much talk of the emergence of 'progressive Islam' as a bridge between the West and the Muslim world.

Progressive Islam has been instrumentalised and deployed by a range of actors and agents according to a range of political and ideological ends.

In countries like Turkey and Pakistan, progressive Islam is seen as the final bulwark against the rising tide of religious exclusivism and militancy, keeping the doors of rational interpretation ( ijtihad ) open and serving as the ultimate defence against obscurantism and fanaticism.

In other countries like Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, progressive Islam has been harnessed as both a political force and ideological justification for developmental policies that often have little to do with the agenda of democratisation.