Are western Muslims an endangered species, or are they the future of Islam? The accelerated adaptation and change western Muslims are pushed to make in order just to survive has galvanized them into a serious effort of rethinking and reflection. This has, in turn, moved the worldwide debate on Islamic reform into a new higher gear. While Muslim intellectual activism in the West had deep historical roots, the claims of the new emerging movements and intellectual figures to moral, intellectual and religious leadership of the Ummah are unprecedented in their boldness and pride in their specifically western/modernist credentials. Moreover, it is paradoxical that what is in essence a response to the precariousness of the increasingly vulnerable Muslim presence in the West is at the same time trying to present itself as the most authoritative interpretation of Islam. This paper traces the historical roots of western Muslim intellectual activism, and assesses its success in attracting support both within the West and the wider Muslim world. Abdelwahab El-Affendi is Reader in Politics at the Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster and Co-ordinator of the Centre’s Democracy and Islam Programme. Educated at the Universities of Kartoum, Wales, and Reading, he is author of “Turabi’s Revolution: Islam and Power in Sudan” (1991), “Who Needs an Islamic State?” (1991), “Revolution and Political Reform in Sudan” (1995), “Rethinking Islam and Modernity” (2001), “For a State of Peace: Conflict and the Future of Democracy in Sudan” (2002) and “The Conquest of Muslim Hearts and Minds: Perspectives on U.S. Reform and Public Diplomacy Strategies (2005). Dr. El-Affendi was a member of the core team of authors of the “Arab Human Development Report” (2004) and a member of the core team of the Advisory Board and a contributor to the 2005 report. He is also a member of the Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia, member of the Board of Directors of Inter-Africa Group, and a trustee of the International Forum for Islamic Dialogue, and on the AMSS UK Advisory Board. (2010).

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