DAR AL HARB - CANADA: "IT'S CALCIFIED, IT'S BRITTLE & IT CANNOT STAND UP TO QUESTIONS"

Calling all Muslims
Controversial writer Irshad Manji's special asks for faithful to examine their religion using critical thinking
by Stuart Laidlaw
Faith and Ethics Reporter

Irshad Manji's mother is her inspiration. This needs to be understood before any meaningful discussion of her call for a radical rethinking of Islam is possible.

"I like to see my mother as the hope for Islam, not me," says Manji, whose book, The Trouble With Islam Today, has been made into a television special called Faith Without Fear, airing Thursday at 9 p.m. on PBS and Saturday at 8 p.m. on Global.

And it's not because her mother, Mumtaz Manji, has come around to her daughter's way of thinking and embraced a more flexible approach to Islam. She remains, as Manji likes to say, a "five times a day on the rug praying" Muslim.

Manji's writing, and the thousands of keynote address, speeches and interviews it has spawned, calls for a rethinking of Islam in the modern world to break the hold of those who use it to use it to promote their repressive ideas.

But in the end, she says, if someone rethinks Islam, and rereads its holy book, the Qur'an, with a critical eye, and still opts for a conservative approach to her faith – as her mother has – that's just fine.

That's because it's the process of reinterpretation that's important, not the achievement of some predetermined theology, Manji says, stressing that true faith cannot be prescribed by others.

Muslims, she says, need to read the Qur'an for themselves and develop a personal relationship with the faith – rather than having it handed to them by their imams or in madressa schools.
"There's a difference between faith and dogma," says Manji.

Manji says her mother has gone through that process, reading and rereading the Qur'an. Mumtaz Manji has discussed and debated its meaning with her daughter and others over and over again.

And, in the end, she remained a conservative Muslim, covering her hair in public and attending prayer at her mosque faithfully. Manji says that's fine, because her mother has decided on her own to be that sort of Muslim. Nobody is forcing her.

Manji, however, is a different sort of Muslim.

In her book and the new television special, which is part of U.S. public broadcaster PBS's week-long special America at a Crossroads, she calls for a return to the Muslim tradition of ijtihad, a process of independent thinking that she says would renew Islam for the 21st century.

"It's high time we re-interpret – not rewrite – the Qur'an," she says.

That kind of talk has earned Manji a lot of enemies. Faith Without Fear, in fact, opens with an explanation from Manji that she must keep the location of her home secret, since she receives so many death threats.

Her challenge to Muslims to re-interpret the Qur'an is seen as blasphemy by fundamentalists.
The New York Times has dubbed her "Osama bin Laden's worst nightmare" for inspiring people to question some of the basic tenets of traditional Islam.

Take, for instance, the Qur'an, which Muslims are taught is the final word of God, handed down to the Prophet Mohammed – and therefore perfect.

"This supremacy complex is dangerous," Manji says.

It cuts off debate and leads to a literal interpretation of the scriptures. Jihadists, she says, are very adept at quoting the Qur'an to justify their violence, making other Muslims reluctant to criticize them for fear of being seen as questioning the perfection of the Qur'an.

"We're talking moderates here," says Manji, who saves some of her harshest criticism for liberal Muslims who do not speak out more against fundamentalists.

The problem, she says, is that even moderate Muslims believe in the perfection of the Qur'an, which feeds a tribal mentality in Islam and allowed fundamentalism to take root as the mainstream of the faith.

Liberal Muslims, she says, are in denial about this, and so fail to effectively challenge those who use Islam to promote terror.

"They are saying to the fundamentalists, `We are not going to go toe to toe with you with bold new interpretations of the Qur'an.'"

She fears for the future of her faith, saying it won't survive if cannot endure debate.

"It's calcified, it's brittle, and it cannot stand up to questions," she says.

That's what Faith Without Fear is all about, she says. It picks up where the book left off, challenging Muslims not to be afraid to question some of the basic aspects of their faith.

From her experience, the result could be good for all of Islam. Like her mother, she has found that questioning her faith has given her a new appreciation for Islam and a stronger understanding of the Qur'an.

"My own faith has deepened since this journey began."

The trick now, Manji says, is to convince more Muslims to take a similar journey.


Pertinent Links:

1) Calling all Muslims