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Inspiration for a new generation

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts on May 15, 2008

Engaging students at the Research Center for Leadership in Action, Wagner School of Public Service, New York University

This week, I’ll be giving the convocation address to the graduating class at NYU’s School of Public Service. The speech is almost written. Almost.

I’ve got room for a few more lines — and I’m inviting you to provide them.

What do you think is vital for young human rights activists, aid workers, eco-warriors and other social entrepreneurs to know?

If you could grab them by the shoulders, stare into their blood-shot eyes and mess with their heads, what would you say? And can you say it in 25 words or less?

Here’s your chance to reveal that soaring (a.k.a cheesy) phrase you’ve always wanted to use, but could never insert into a conversation with your buddies because they’d mock you forever. Let me mock you.

To get your juices flowing, I’ll confess that I’ve always wanted to tell a throng of exuberant voters, “Tomorrow begins tonight.” Of course I tried that in the draft of my convocation speech.

Didn’t work. “Tomorrow begins this morning” just doesn’t have the same ring. “Tomorrow begins today” is limp. There’s no disco ball to it. The line lives and dies by “tonight.” And maybe it deserves to die, period.

So don’t take it personally when your best suggestions flop. As some grads have heard convocation speakers spout, “If you never give up, you can’t say you’ve failed.” Damn, that’s good.

But not for our speech. We can do better.

Make no mistake: I’m thrilled with what I’ve already written. Still, over the years of engaging with readers, I’ve learned to learn. Which means inviting you into the process at precisely the moment that I’m “thrilled” and thus feeling smug about my own wisdom.

Mess with my mind if not that of the next generation. Your deadline is Friday morning, New York time.

Meet my mum, the Obama of the ummah

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts on May 11, 2008

Mum in the middle, flanked by my sister and me

Everywhere I go these days, one of the first questions people ask is, “How’s your mother?”

Already, on this Mother’s Day, I’ve received a number of emails from perfect strangers wanting me to convey their “salaams,” “greetings,” and “duas” (prayers) to my mum.

Why do they care? Because my mum is the undisputed star of Faith Without Fear. The film is being widely watched, and a lot of viewers have fallen in love with her.

I can’t blame them. In the movie, mum is dynamic, funny, humane and humanizing. And I’m not saying this because she agrees with everything I believe. Quite the opposite. She challenges me big time, even managing to shut me up in one scene.

Don’t get too excited. I recover quickly.

In another scene, mum responds to a couple of Muslim men trying to humiliate her. “Trying” is the key word: Her grace proves Eleanor Roosevelt’s point that nobody can take away your dignity without your permission.

Mind you, this isn’t the first time I’m paying tribute to my mum. In the “Afterword” of my book (written before the film), I tell the story of how she came to realize that we share the same struggle for Muslim reform. It’s just that we approach it in different ways. Which is entirely halal because unity is not the same thing as uniformity — a distinction that the worldwide Muslim nation, or ummah, would be wise to learn.

More than anybody I can imagine, my mum represents the hope for Islam today. She shows herself to be the kind of Muslim whom moderate liberals and moderate conservatives have a hard time hating. You could say she’s the Obama of the ummah.

Meet my mum by downloading video clips from Faith Without Fear. Let me draw your attention to two clips in particular:

* “Irshad and her mother discuss the dangers facing Irshad”; and

* “Irshad and her mother debate faith and prayer.” This is where she has me on the ropes.

So, to get back to the question: How’s your mother? In short, great — for more than one reason. A few days ago, she became a grandmother for the second time. Mum now has a girl and a boy who’ll see her either as a mentor or as a tormentor.

Or both, like her own daughters do.

Agent of moral courage: Roi Ben-Yehuda

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts on May 08, 2008

It’s Israel’s 60th birthday, and not every Jew is celebrating unconditionally.

Witness Roi Ben-Yehuda. He’s no party pooper. This boy knows how to have a good time. (Last year, he introduced me to the obnoxious Sacha Baron Cohen character known as Borat, and still imitates this clown at the most absurd moments in our otherwise serious conversations…)

Far from being a wet blanket, Roi is an agent of moral courage. He speaks truth to power not only when necessary, but also when inconvenient — on a landmark anniversary.

Here’s what I mean. As a rising journalist and public thinker, he’s just published a “tough love letter” to his country of Israel. A key passage from it:

“At sixty years young, you are an amazing success story and we are your grateful children. But grateful does not mean blind. When you shine a light on an object, you are also bound to get its shadow. And there is no escaping the fact that your shadow is Palestine.”

Roi goes on to write words that some will consider harsh. I consider them humane in that he sees the shared humanity of Palestinians and Israelis. So he also sees their destiny as shared. (I do, too, and I’ve blogged about the surprising insights that young Palestinians have clued me into.)

That’s why, elsewhere in his extraordinary letter to Israel, Roi writes that “the greatest gift you can give for your birthday is to lend a hand in creating a birthday for the Palestinian state. Don’t settle for just removing yourself; help construct a positive future for your sister nation.”

Imagine: a patriot who believes in giving rather than receiving on his country’s birthday. And giving not as an act of charity, but as a statement of national renewal. It’s what I’ve come to expect from these odd creatures whom I call agents of moral courage.

From the rest of the world, I’ve come to expect allegations of racism. Recently, I received several emails accusing me of anti-Semitism when I pointed out that secular Jewish women in Israel must still go to rabbinical courts for divorces. Even then, they often wind up with the shaft. Israel, in short, isn’t a perfect democracy for Israeli Jews, let alone for Israeli Arabs.

Finding this “shadow,” I suppose, makes me an anti-Semite. So be it. But what a shame for more than just Israel; for democracy itself. Democracy demands dissent — not to undermine its ideals but precisely to help realize them.

Roi Ben-Yehuda is one who gets it. He embodies a sentiment prominently showcased at the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC: Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander.

To read about other agents of moral courage, click here.

Mullah malpractise

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts, On The Road on May 04, 2008

Signing books at one of Indonesia’s biggest universities

The best ideas can be stated simply and clearly. You’ll love this one: malpractise suits against hateful mullahs.

Let me explain.

Last week, at one of Indonesia’s biggest universities, I spoke about the need to renew ijtihad, Islam’s own tradition of independent thinking, debate and re-interpretation. Two well-known scholars joined me. To my surprise, both agreed that ordinary Muslims, not just religious authorities, have the right and responsibility to exercise ijtihad. It’s when ordinary Muslims think for ourselves that we keep God’s self-appointed ambassadors honest.

During the Question and Answer session, a woman from the local Islamic political party disputed our call to democratize ijtihad. When she needs her teeth fixed, she said, she goes to a certified dentist, not some shmo (or Mo) spreading the gospel of indie thinking.

I must tell you that I hear the dentist analogy all the time. While it’s unoriginal, it’s also effective among Muslims who equate creativity with scientific formulas. Effective, that is, until now.

One of the professors on my panel responded to the woman this way:

When dentists and doctors harm people with their decisions, they can be sued for malpractise. Sister, if you’re going to liken religious authorities to medical professionals, then Muslims should have the right to sue mullahs when their conclusions harm people. And, in effect, that’s what Irshad Manji is doing by exposing their damage in the court of international public opinion.

Direct. Concise. Logical. Maybe too logical: The woman left before the Q & A ended.

Although I’ll never know her response, I do challenge the critics who read this site to send me their replies.

Meanwhile, don’t forget to floss.

As you’re doing that, enjoy my Indonesia photo album.

Way beyond Mecca

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts, On The Road on Apr 30, 2008

In Indonesia, the book tour comes to an Islamic boarding school

Read my earlier newsletter from Indonesia and you’ll know that I’m on a mini-mission. I’m out to educate Western journalists about why they should look past the Arab world for signs of where Islam is heading.

In this spirit, let me draw your attention to a New York Times essay that compares my approach to Muslim reform with that of Ayaan Hirsi Ali. It’s an exquisitely crafted piece: respectful to each of us — neutral without lapsing into limpness. An impressive balance.

That said, I take issue with the author’s suggestion that our “most sympathetic audiences are probably Western” because neither Ayaan nor I has a “significant Muslim constituency in the Middle East.” Such a statement implies that Arabs are the only Muslims who matter.

Fact is, fewer than 20% of Muslims worldwide are Arab! Which means more than 80% of us are non-Arab. Shouldn’t media be asking how non-Arabs — the vast majority of Islam’s universe — are responding to ideas about religious reform?

Having just wrapped my book tour in Indonesia, I can help answer that question by sharing one of my favorite moments: I was invited to present my ideas at a pesantren — an Indonesian Islamic boarding school. (Notice the basketball court for girls, and the Chicago bulls backboard.)

Through my translator, I emphasized to the students that their uniquely Indonesian voices are needed more than ever. Indonesia represents the possibility for new Muslim leadership — the kind that replaces desert Arabia’s tribal mindset with a love of diversity.

Moreover, I said, the time to assert Indonesian diversity is now. Why? Not only because Saudi influences are on the rise, but also because so much of the world is thirsting for an alternative to the us-versus-them mentality of the tribe.

Witness America, struggling with itself to replace George W. Bush’s “you’re with us or you’re with the terrorists” attitude. If Americans now believe that they need a different vision, and they’re willing to challenge themselves to achieve it, what should stop Muslims from accepting the same challenge for ourselves?

Think about it this way, I proposed to the students: Barack Obama emerged from nowhere to be the champion of change. Even if he doesn’t become America’s president this time, his call for reform has been heard far and wide. It has framed the campaign. It has galvanized the silent (or silenced) masses. Young Indonesians, out of “nowhere,” can become the Muslim world’s Obama.

I reminded them that historically, the most compelling ideas have come from the periphery, not the center! Remember, too, that Indonesia is a democracy, with all of democracy’s flaws, but at least it gives citizens far more freedoms than Arab dictatorships do.

So, I concluded to the students, use your freedoms of thought, expression and conscience to imagine a fresh future for Islam — and for humanity. Then use digital media to circulate your ideas worldwide. Don’t worry about being agreed with; just spark the debate. And when you do, you’ll be showing reform-minded Muslims everywhere that they’re not alone.

At the end of our session, a gaggle of girls surrounded me to ask questions, shake hands and snap photos. One of them (ok, I’ll fess up: the one in the pink scarf) said — in slow and deliberate English — “I am so inspired now. Thank you, Wonder Woman.”

Wonder Woman! It’s not the compliment that I embraced; it’s the fact that this girl signaled, through a shared pop cultural reference, that you can withstand the bullets coming your way if you really believe in justice.

Inspired, in turn, by these young women, I went with them to visit fellow students in the dorms. The pictures below show you the warmth of the reception I got.

One of my adult hosts at the pesantren, an Indonesian scholar named Hindun Annisa, later escorted me to the boys’ side. Hindun and I had bonded earlier in the day. She served on a panel to discuss my film, Faith Without Fear, with 350 students at one of Indonesia’s largest universities.

Hindun pointed out to the students that Muslim theologians who talk about “Islamic” history usually mean “Arab” history, which is among the reasons that Indonesian thinking need not march in lockstep with that of the Middle East.

After my tour of the pesantren, Hindun’s mother — who lives at the school as its principal of sorts — invited me to come back.

I suspect it’s because Indonesians are relieved to hear a Western Muslim “get” their reality (or care about it at all) that my constituency in their country is growing big-time: Indonesia is now the third largest source of hits to this website. Currently, more site visitors are coming from Jakarta than from any other city in the world.

Question to media: Just because I don’t get love-bombed like this in the Middle East, is it fair to say that my sympathizers are Western? What are Indonesians? Chopped liver?

Hell, for the future of Islam, Indonesia might be more important than any other Muslim state. That’s for two demographic reasons: First, Indonesia alone has about as many Muslims as the entire Middle East. Second, its 300 ethnicities and scores of languages capture the pluralism of Islam’s believers with an accuracy that the Middle East simply can’t.

Look, by no means am I implying that we should dismiss Arab Muslims. God knows I don’t. That’s why I’ve translated my book into Arabic and posted it on this site for free-of-charge download. To date, there have been 300,000 downloads — never mind how that number explodes when you include the Urdu, Persian and Malay downloads. None of these languages is “Western” either.

The Prophet Muhammad reportedly encouraged a perpetual search for knowledge, even if that means going as far as China. I think he’d be equally supportive of going to Indonesia. (Similar time zones!)

Sure, for Muslim reform to gain traction, an audience in the Middle East matters. But not to the exclusion of everywhere else.

Here’s my Indonesia photo album – with many more pics to come. Give me time to get over my jet lag, would you?

Launching my book in the world’s biggest Muslim country

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts, On The Road, Announcements on Apr 24, 2008

You heard me right: the biggest Muslim country anywhere. Indonesia, baby. That’s where I am to release The Trouble with Islam Today.     

  

That’s also where my publisher presented me with a meaningful poster: “Silence is no longer an option.”  Well, it’s never been with me. Now we can say the same about Jakarta!

             

Three hundred human rights activists, journalists and students attended.  Not everybody came to express support, but isn’t civil dissent exactly the point of this mission for Muslim reform and moral courage?

                  

You can learn more about my Indonesian launch through the newsletter that I’ve sent to my personal mailing list.  If you want to subscribe, look for the ”Get Updates” box on the right-hand side of this page.

Meanwhile, enjoy more moments from Indonesia…

What Muslims can learn from the Pope’s U.S. tour

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts, Q & A on Apr 20, 2008

When I ask Muslim-Americans what they appreciate most about living in this country, the answer usually comes back, “the First Amendment.” That’s the U.S. constitution’s guarantee of free worship, free assembly, free press and, ultimately, free speech.

This past week in America, Pope Benedict gave plenty of free speeches. We all expected him to be on his best behavior. But I hoped that his “best” would mean daring Americans of all faiths — Muslims, included — to use their constitutional freedoms and push their own religious leaders.

Push them to do what?  To speak up for the human rights of all, from Muslims facing genocide in Darfur to Buddhists fighting Chinese occupation in Tibet to Christians struggling for survival in Iraq. Delivered from the podium of the UN general assembly, what a message this would have sent on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

His Holiness might even have celebrated American Catholics as an example of how constitutional liberties can elevate people of faith into people of conscience.

For years, Catholics in the U.S. have exercised their freedom of expression to defend the dignity of young parishioners who’ve been molested by priests. In short, they pushed their religious leaders to respect human rights.

They’ve finally succeeded: On his American tour, the Pope surprisingly — and repeatedly — acknowledged that the Church has abused Catholic children through sexual malfeasance and official silence. According to The New York Times, victims, many of them adults by now, may be getting more opportunities from the Vatican to report their experiences.

The moral of my story is simple. Full-bodied use of the First Amendment can compel a Pope once known as “God’s rotweiller” to reveal his deeply human conscience.

Muslim-Americans ought to follow the Catholic lead. And, having shown that he’s trying to practice what he preaches, the Pope should challenge them to do so. No doubt, many moderate mouthpieces of Islam would accuse Benedict of “offending” Muslim sensitivities. Let them howl.

The Pope’s past perceived slights against Islam have sparked new conversations between Muslims and Catholics. At seriously high levels, I might add: An open letter from 138 Muslim scholars, a response to it from numerous Christian authorities and, later this year, an unprecedented formal dialogue where the participants will be received by the Pontiff himself.

To be sure, I’m no fan of scripted inter-religious dialogues, which usually amount to heart-tugging, mind-numbing gestures of little impact and less consequence.

But I’m a huge partisan of unexpected conversations.

Which is exactly what I had in Rome a year and a half ago with Pope Benedict’s then-deputy for inter-religious affairs, Cardinal Paul Poupard. At one point, the Cardinal grabbed my hand and showed me around his personal library. The 76-year-old effused about his books like a child who’d just decorated his room with the funkiest glow-in-the-dark planets. I say that affectionately: Cardinal Poupard couldn’t contain his joy at hosting a young Muslim woman who shared his love of big ideas. It was utterly charming.

It was also sincere. On the day that I met him, he and the Pope had just arrived home from a diplomatic mission in Turkey. They wanted to mend fences after the global uproar over Benedict’s speech at Regensburg University, in which he quoted an obscure Byzantine emperor who thought Islam had nothing to offer civilization. (In a minute, I’ll link you to a statement I made about why I don’t share Muslim anger about those remarks.)

In the wake of a bridge-building breakthrough, and exhausted from the trip anyway, Cardinal Poupard could have canceled his appointment with a Muslim reformist. But he kept it. Truth is, I’m the one who had to beg off to make my next engagement! What can I tell you? I figured that my audience with the Cardinal would be 15 minutes of polite formalities. It became a hi-octane 90-minute exchange about the need for an intellectual renaissance in every faith, including that religion called atheism.

See my point about embracing unanticipated dialogues, even (or especially) when they emerge from “offensive” remarks?

With that in mind, here’s a TV commentary I delivered after the Pope’s controversial speech at Regensburg U. I’m addressing why, as a faithful Muslim, I don’t believe he should have to apologize for causing offense. Once you watch the video or read the text, tell me where you think I’ve gone wrong. Create a conversation where none would have existed before.

Meanwhile, may His Holiness continue to hear Catholic dissidents. In so doing, may he affirm that introspection is the enemy of dogma, not of faith.

With the Pope in America, Bush should confess

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts on Apr 17, 2008

This is what President George W. Bush said in welcoming the Pope to America: “[W]e need your message to reject this dictatorship of relativism and embrace a culture of justice and truth.”

Really? Judging by how Bush’s administration has acted in Iraq, the President is practically swimming in relativism.  Here’s what I mean.

I pray that before the Pope leaves Washington, President Bush will pull him aside and make a confession. 

Faith Without Fear launches Muslim film festival

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts, On The Road, Announcements on Apr 14, 2008

Scene from “Faith Without Fear” showing me in a Yemeni classroom

Tonight in Boston, there won’t be a tea party.  But there will be an event that’s revolutionary in its own way: the American Islamic Congress is launching its first ever Muslim Film Festival — and my documentary, Faith Without Fear, kicks it off.

The festival highlights “think different women.” That means women on the front lines of reform, from Lebanon to Darfur. Featured films star Muslim female karate champions, women running for political office in Iran and Afghanistan, and Senegalese women using hip-hop as a way to transcend tribal politics. Fierce.

The American Islamic Congress is a civil rights organization working to end negative perceptions about Muslims. But not by playing victim. Instead, the AIC demands that Muslims lead by example. They recognize that we Muslims must champion social justice and pluralism within our own communities –- even at great personal risk.

Because the American Islamic Congress practices moral courage, I happily accepted their invitation to launch this year’s festival with my doc.

Faith Without Fear is being screened tonight at 6:30 pm at Boston University. I also invite you to stick around for the post-film discussion. Taking your questions on Muslim reform and moral courage will be Raquel Evita Saraswati, the coordinator of my charitable foundation, Project Ijtihad.

The event is free and open to the public. Click here for more information.

And to whet your appetite, watch selected clips of Faith Without Fear on my official YouTube channel.

In the spirit of the festival, thank you for thinking.

Gutsy, good and more global than ever

Posted in Announcements on Apr 10, 2008

My charitable foundation, Project Ijtihad, is reaching new heights in publicizing the message of Muslim reform and moral courage.

We’re now partnering with TakingITGlobal (”IT” as in “information technology” — get it?). TakingITGlobal is an non-profit organization that connects youth in every hemisphere to discuss today’s most important issues.

Each month for the next six months, TakingITGlobal’s website will feature my hand-picked Agent of Moral Courage — someone who’s speaking truth to power in his or her own community for the sake of a greater good.

Challenging your own is always more intimidating than pointing fingers at outsiders. After all, when hold your community to account, you’re losing the security blanket of instant belonging.

It’s because this demands serious guts that I want to give these individuals as big a platform as I can. TakingITGlobal’s site engages hundreds of thousands of young people in more than 180 countries. They thirst for inspiration. The Agents of Moral Courage can deliver.

This month, Project Ijtihad is highlighting two Agents of Moral Courage: Mohamed Adam Yahya and Suad Monsour. They’re refugees of the genocide in Darfur. Despite having lost their homes and family members to Arab militias (known as Janjaweed), these morally gutsy individuals are exercising their voices to demand positive action from the Arab world itself. I love their refusal to wallow in victimhood.

Last month, Project Ijtihad selected Deeyah, a young Muslim woman who’s using her musical talent to decry honor crimes that are committed under the banner of Islam. In the past, I’ve blogged about honor as well as about Deeyah. She — and the cause of human rights — deserve to be debated by youth around the globe.

The Agents of Moral Courage won’t always be Muslims. Check this space every month to learn about Project Ijtihad’s next pick.

If you want to move beyond reading to participate in the mission for moral courage, there’s a world of support waiting for you.

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