"There is a need to form a new religious culture that will lay out the borders of the Shari'a laws in the Koran, will set out what is characteristic of the life of the Prophet, and will clarify when and how the law is absolute for every time and place… Then, there is a need to discuss intensively the issue of abolishing chapters in the Koran [naskh] and [a need to examine] whether it is true that the verse of the sword [Koran 9:5] abolished all mercy, leniency, and forgiveness in the Koran… [Likewise,] there is a need to view the first Muslims as human beings with feelings, aspirations, and political goals [and not as divine]… The Muslim world needs the religious equivalent of a constititional convention, where men and women of good will meet on a representative basis to clarify -- and transform where necessary -- the basic rules of Islamic political life.