In recent decades, a cultural and intellectual trend has emerged, expressing scepticism towards metanarratives which attempt to provide overviews of history, society and humanity. This trend has influenced thinking on socio-political issues and policies, with postmodernist scepticism particularly apparent in studies of gender, but with the same trends finding footholds in a whole range of issues, from international development to education.
Islam is a religion of metanarratives which express the aim of guiding believers in their everyday lives and also in their understanding of the world. Contemporary Muslims working and writing in English have attempted to respond to key socio-political issues with due regard to these grand metanarratives. However, some Muslims have felt it a matter of human and intellectual integrity to challenge or reintepret these metanarratives when confronting key contemporary issues. Frequently, their views have been met with hostility, ostracism and exile, and even murder.
Further information can be found via this links page, developed by a sociologist with a special interest in 'liberal' or 'progressive' Islam:
http://www.unc.edu/~kurzman/LiberalIslamLinks.htm
