Canada's Salman Rushdie?

[AussieBloke]

Lastnight I saw an interview of this girl Irshad Manji who has recently written a book titled "The Trouble With Islam: A Wake-up Call for Honesty and Change" on the show "Last Rope with Andrew Denton" on ABC in sydney. It was uncanny how similar her words were to those of Salman Rushdie. I listened to her interview where she labeled muslims as Jew bashers, Quran as contradictory and ambiguous etc. She said that she was kicked out of a madrassa at the age of 14. She said that she has been studying Quran for 20 years..although not the arabic version, but the English translation, and she has found many contradictory remarks in the Quran. She says that she prays 10 times a day...not the traditional prayer but her own devised form of prayer. She is fascinated with Israel and its concept of freedom. You can make up your own mind about what she says.

Since she is a practising muslim, her book has created a buzz in the media. She has already installed bullet proof windows in her house, hired a bodyguard and taken advices from Salman Rushdie.

She says that she has recived a lot of support from muslims over her book and now the for vs against stands at 50-50.

In my personal opinion Salman Rushdie is a wonderful writer. Lets not bring the debacle of "Satanic Verses" into it. But anyway I liked his "Moores Last Sigh" and "Midnights Children". I think this girl is trying to become infamous the same way Salman Rushdie did, even though I have serious reservations about her literary competence.

Anyone read this book yet?

[fab]

I haven't read this woman's book yet, however is it fair to compare it to the Satanic Verses? SV was a satire, poking fun and making derogatory and inflammatory statements against Islam. This book however is a constructive critique of Islam made in earnest.. This is from her website:

"The Trouble with Islam is an open letter from me, a Muslim voice of reform, to concerned citizens worldwide -- Muslim and not. It's about why my faith community needs to come to terms with the diversity of ideas, beliefs and people in our universe, and why non-Muslims have a pivotal role in helping us get there.

The themes I'm exploring with the utmost honesty include:

* the inferior treatment of women in Islam;
* the Jew-bashing that so many Muslims persistently engage in; and
* the continuing scourge of slavery in countries ruled by Islamic regimes. "

btw, the programme is called Enough Rope, and the transcripts of the interview should be found here within the next few days.

[AussieBloke]

Sorry for the ENOUGH ROPE part. Constructive critique of Islam? Quran is full of amibiguities..is that a constructive remark? This is what she said in another interview (http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles...e.asp?ID=10113) "The West has saved my faith in my faith," she affirms. "Now it is up to Islam to redeem itself."

[fab]

Oh you got this 'Canada's Salman Rushdie' idea from Frontpage mag? I am utterly astonished.. (NOT)

Quran is full of amibiguities..is that a constructive remark?

I would say it is constructive if she can back it up with evidence. Anyhow, I would like to reserve my judgement until I have read the book.

[Tehsin]

I like the name though. I think Islam needs a wake up call for some time now. Any other remarks are reserved until after I read the book (which may take ages but hey, I'm pretty sure you guys will be anxiously waiting to find out my view on this whole issue. khek).

[AussieBloke]

hahahaha..mate, there is nothing to hide. Otherwise the link would not have been provided. Just for the info, arabic when translated to english may differ in meaning..based on singular or plural term. Also often the recitation is different which contributes to different meanings in english. I am astonished that just by reading the english translation of Quran, and not the arabic one, Irshad Manji came to this conclusion that Quran is full of ambiguities and contradictions. I would have been curious had she actually read the arabic Quran and then passed judgement on Islam.

[oracle]

I am astonished that just by reading the english translation of Quran, and not the arabic one, Irshad Manji came to this conclusion that Quran is full of ambiguities and contradictions. I would have been curious had she actually read the arabic Quran and then passed judgement on Islam.

I am astonished too and whatever her argument is I am not buying those arguments that easily. If she has been reading the Quran for 20 years is'nt she the least bit curious how it is conveyed in arabic. At least with all that time in her hands and some intellectual curiosity she could have attempted that, especially if it is going to turn into such abook. Too many people passing judgements these days.

[Sakin]

I don't like the looks of this person. Its shame that we have these kind of people following islam.

[al Furqaan]

muslims do ingage in extaneous jew bashing, they do treat women inferiorly, and they are the most backward, violent and intolerent ppl in the world. but this is not the doing of Islam...this is the result of muslims somehow falling behind the civilized world (europe/USA/israel).

just think how many muslim countries are democracies. bangladesh may be a "democracy" but it certainly isnt a civilized country. it is quite backward as are all muslim countries.

i say all this with love for our ummah, but sadly the salman rushdie's, ibn warraq's, and now this hoe, start talking with malicious intent.

that is my two cents. this woman doesn't know what the hell she is talking about so dont pay her any attention. she is prolly a quack.

[nihi]

Once a convention for mads (Biswa pagol sommelon) hold in Jessore (or somewhere else) and was covered by BTV. The convenor known as Lulu pagol gave a very sane interview and very soberingly refuted the common idea of his being mad. As the audience truely became convinced about his sanity, he ended his interview with the punchline: "I am Lulu Pagol" (yeah, in english and in an unmistakbly lunatic tone).

[fab]

Originally posted by al Furqaan
i say all this with love for our ummah, but sadly the salman rushdie's, ibn warraq's, and now this hoe, start talking with malicious intent.

that is my two cents. this woman doesn't know what the hell she is talking about so dont pay her any attention. she is prolly a quack.

"And now this ho"... ? I guess that proves her first point..

Originally posted by Sakin
I don't like the looks of this person. Its shame that we have these kind of people following islam.

And that proves her second point re: islamic bigots

Aussiebloke and oracle, just out of interest, have you two read and fully comprehended the Arabic version of the Quran? Or do you just believe what your parents and/or your childhood hujurs told you..

[oracle]

have you two read and fully comprehended the Arabic version of the Quran?

Fab. The issue is not Oracle's or Aussieblokes hujur. I know what you are getting to but that's not the point made. Obviously, the author has spent a considerable time reading the Quran, in English. That's fine.
But she has gone a step further and embarked on a critique of it by writing a book. If you are going to do that properly go to the original text and then write your critique and conclusions. That's what western scholars do when they criticize Homer, Herodotus or Lao Tzu. Why can't the same standard be applied? And that is why I am suspicious of most of these "neo orientalist" authors but will reserve my admiration for the few figures (that do exist) and have done a proper academic work.

[AussieBloke]

Fab. Mate, now you sound like you have already made up your mind that muslims are in general bigots. Pls do a little bit of research on arabic text, pronounciation and their singular and plural forms, how when translated into English the arabic font may be misinterpreted. Also look at different English translations and how they differ from one another...then it may become clear why Quran should be read in arabic. Irshad Manji went on record that she has been studying Quran for the last 20 years...and thank God..that there were English translations available, which allowed her to see for herself how Quran professed ambiguities. So someone who even wont take time to read the original text and happily passes judgement on the biggest religion, that speaks itself of the scholarly content of the book.

[fab]

oracle and aussiebloke
I do agree with you that she should have critiqued the arabic version instead of an english translation if she wants her work to be viewed as scholarly material. My point is, people do not show the same level of critical thinking when they are fed religious dogma from madrassa hujurs etc. She probably has more understanding of Islam than your avg hujur, yet she is the one to get criticised and ridiculed. People like her and Salman Rushdie are far less destructive to Islam, than people like this:

"We have carried out the sentence of God against 12 Nepalis who came from their country to fight the Muslims and to serve the Jews and the Christians ... believing in Buddha as their God," said the statement by the military committee of the Army of Ansar al-Sunna."

Please tell me, which 'translation' of the Quran are these people following?

[fab]

Why Muslims in the West should speak out on human rights
August 31, 2004

Muslims and non-Muslims have a role to play in the reform of Islam, writes Irshad Manji.

I am a Muslim refusenik. That doesn't mean I refuse to be a Muslim; it simply means I refuse to join an army of automatons in the name of Allah.

I have not walked away from my faith and become a secular North American as so many of my fellow Muslims have done. But I remain a struggling Muslim because of the many human rights abuses in Islamist - note that I do not say Islamic - regions: the treatment of women, the Jew-bashing, the slavery. It is precisely because I believe in the universality of human rights that I do not believe any culture, any ethnicity, any religion ought to be immune from scrutiny.

Had I grown up in an Islamic country, I'd probably be an atheist in my heart. It's because I live in the West, where I can think, dispute and delve further into any topic, that I've learned why I shouldn't give up on Islam just yet.

I've thought lately that I should have called my book "The Trouble With Islam today". Because my book reminds my fellow Muslims that there was once in Islam a tradition of independent thinking. This is ijtihad. It sounds a lot like jihad to non-Arab ears, and indeed comes from the same root, to struggle. But unlike violent struggle, ijtihad is all about independent thinking and independent reasoning.

Read the rest here