Replies

Not sure what you found - my understanding of the term derives from reading Robert Spencer's works. The drift I got was that in the couple of centuries after Mohammed there was actually some "interpretation" of the Koran going on. This swiftly ossified and whatever was in the Koran, the haditha, and a few other early texts became the inalterable dogma of Islam. The "gates of ijtihad," as I understand it, referred to actual discourse on the doctrines of Islam. Those gates are obviously shut tight now, as they have been for centuries.

I welcome any comments from anyone who can elucidate me further on this topic. I am not a scholar of Islam, and do not pretend to be.

"I am an American fighting man. I serve in the forces which guard my country and our way of life.
I am prepared to give my life in their defense."