Irshad Manji
Irshad Manji (born 1969) is a Canadian Muslim author, journalist, and activist. A lesbian, feminist, and critic of Islamic fundamentalism, she was once described by The New York Times as "Osama bin Laden's worst nightmare".
Biography
Manji was born in Uganda, but moved to Canada at age three, when Idi Amin exiled all South Asians from that country. She mentioned in her book that she had a turbulent time as a youth, including an incident when her father chased her around the house holding a knife. She studied history at the University of British Columbia, and became the first humanities student to win the Governor General's Gold Medal for the top graduate.
Between 1998 and 2001, she was the host and senior producer of Q Files on Citytv. She was also the host and producer of In The Public Interest on Vision TV, and was involved in the televised debate series Friendly Fire.
Manji is the current President of VERB, a Canadian channel aimed at young people and specializing in diversity. She hosts the Big Ideas program on TVOntario, and is a writer-in-residence at the University of Toronto.
Manji was awarded Oprah Winfrey's first annual Chutzpah Award for "audacity, nerve, boldness and conviction". She is also a recipient of the Simon Wiesenthal Award of Valor. Manji has spoken at a number of forums, including the International Women’s Forum Leadership Conference and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference on Technology, Learning and Culture. She is also involved in the international public speaking circuit.
Manji's partner is Michelle Douglas, a Canadian activist.
Views
Manji has been a strong critic of the treatment of women, gay and lesbian and Jewish people in Islam. She does not wear the hijab or chador, suggesting that it is only the wives of Mohammed who are required to wear the garments. She has also been critical of Muslim attitudes towards Israel and the Palestinian leadership itself.
She has argued for a renewed questioning of historical interpretations of the Koran, and advocated the concept of ijtihad, "the Muslim tradition of independent thinking". Manji is a friend of controversial writer Salman Rushdie, and has received numerous death threats. The windows of her apartment are fitted with bullet-proof glass.
Criticism
Her views on Islam and attitude towards Israel are considered fringe by many Muslims. Many would not want her to be their spokesman any more than Osama Bin Laden is, on the other end of the spectrum. Most Muslims do not see her as one of them anymore, but rather as an apostate. Her writings on Islam have been criticized because they lack scholarly credibility, and her lack of knowledge for being one (e.g. she does not know Arabic, but insists on interpreting Quran according to her understanding of the English translation).
The attention given to her in the media is seen by many Muslims as disproportionate when compared to her qualifications. Her critics argue that she says what the western media want to hear about Islam. She has been debated on TV programs by Muslim scholars, such as Jamal Badawi.
Books
- Risking Utopia: On the Edge of a New Democracy (1997)
- The Trouble with Islam: A Muslim's Call for Reform in Her Faith (2002) Bestseller in Canada, sold many copies around the world, and has been translated into Arabic and Urdu.