A comparison of the ideas of the reformist Muslim thinkers Khaled Abou El Fadl and Tariq Ramadan with those of the more traditionalist scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi illustrates that, in contrast to what is generally assumed, there is substantial common ground between these reformist and traditionalist positions in four areas; human rights and democracy, women's rights, jihād and peace, and dialogue and collaboration. This consensus among these Muslim intellectuals on these important issues has arisen because they share a theory of interpretation that necessitates the utilization of and reliance upon "objectives of Sharī‘a" (maqāṣid alsharī‘a) to adjudicate between conflicting points of view. Since these thinkers espouse this methodology of jurisprudence and do not differ substantially concerning their views of the foundational principles of Islam, it becomes possible for them to propound similar ideas regarding the four areas mentioned above.