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Don’t turn Barack into the next bubble

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts on Nov 12, 2008

At the Moral Courage Project’s “Hope, Not Fear” event, Edgar Bronfman says, “Hey kids, use your brains! Think. Doubt. Ask questions.”

At which point, Irshad gets ready to ask the mother of all questions…

(All photos: Phil Gallo)

The world continues to go bananas over Barack. I confess that it’s mighty fun to watch and, yes, even wallow in. But I also wonder if we’re creating another global bubble. On the heels of the mortgage bubble bursting, are we developing “irrational exuberance” about a different investment in our future?

To avoid turning Barack into a bubble, we need to give ourselves — and each other — the permission to ask questions. Out loud. Without accusing each other of being closet Republicans or party-poopers.

Clarification: As an independent thinker, I have no problem pooping on both of the major parties. But I’m pro-joy. I jubilate in intellectual honesty — also known as keeping it real.

In that spirit, here’s one question I believe deserves airing: Should Obama have visited a mosque during his campaign?

I brought this question to a major Obama supporter, Edgar M. Bronfman. He’s the former head of the World Jewish Congress and a co-author of the new book, Hope, Not Fear. Days before the election, I interviewed him under the banner of the Moral Courage Project. Enjoy this feisty excerpt from our exchange:

Manji: “Hope, Not Fear”: Apply it to this U.S. presidential campaign.

Bronfman: Obama is hope, McCain is fear…

Manji: But Senator Obama himself felt fear during this campaign. As we know, he’s visited synagogues, but never a mosque. Should he have visited a mosque?

Bronfman: It would be dangerous. Let him visit a mosque after he’s elected –

Manji: Isn’t that selling out, Edgar? Isn’t that not having the courage of your convictions?

Brofman: Well… I don’t know how to answer that. If I were Barack Obama, I would not go to a mosque because I don’t want people to say I’m a Muslim and instill fear of the Karl Rove type into the whole electorate, and skew the election.

Manji: But why not actually stand up to that fear and say, “I am a Christian, proudly so, who is reaching out to my Muslim brothers and sisters and that is what America should be about. Why not make such a statement?”

Bronfman: I’d love to him to make that statement — after he’s elected. I want him to be elected.

[PAUSE]

Manji: So you don’t have a whole lot of faith in your fellow Americans.

Bronfman: No, I don’t.

Manji: Ok, well, thanks for being honest about that.

Hey, I told you that I jubilate in keeping it real. Honesty really does make me smile. Which is why Edgar and I remain allies in the cause of moral courage. Join us.

The unfinished dream

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts on Nov 07, 2008

Barack Obama has a dream. During the campaign, he told student journalists that he wants to mix Republican red and Democrat blue to paint the United States purple.

Lest that hope corrode into a pipe dream, the president-elect needs to buck his own base by shaking up the transition. For the ever-perfecting union that is America, transition may yet lead to transformation…

Read my entire commentary in the Globe and Mail.

They won anyway!

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts on Nov 05, 2008

I just realized something: When you’re in a hurry, “Obama-Biden” can look like “Osama-Bin-Laden.”

They won anyway.

God bless America.

A Canadian’s appeal to American voters

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts on Nov 03, 2008

Relax - I’m not telling you who to vote for. That’s your business. Rather, this blog is about what it means to be connected to the common good. It’s an expanded version of my Oct. 31 op-ed in the New York Times, posted here with their permission. As someone who loves America’s ideals, I hope you take the spirit of this story to the polls…

Read the rest of this commentary in the Huffington Post.

My latest in The New York Times

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts on Oct 31, 2008

For me and my family, October 31 has always been significant. Not because it’s Halloween, but because that’s the day we arrived as refugees to a free part of the world…

Read the entire commentary here.

Big shoes

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts, Announcements on Oct 29, 2008

Here’s a lovely email I just received about the Moral Courage Project’s event tonight:

“I check in to your site regularly to keep me inspired, and wanted to wish you well on your public dialogue with Edgar Bronfman. It reminds me of the book, Moments of Meeting: Buber, Rogers and the Potential for Public Dialogue.” [Irshad’s note: This book, according to its back cover, “tells the story of a uniquely important event in 20th century intellectual history, the 1957 public dialogue between philosopher Martin Buber and psychotherapist Carl Rogers, and explores the practical implications of that event for contemporary social and cultural theory.”]

Back to the email…

“I am currently in the process of designing a semester-long student intergroup dialogue course on the Middle East conflict based on our model here — dialogues that happen in a small, safe, trusting yet challenging setting. Where I have seen that, I have also seen hearts, minds and actions shift.” — Dr. Adrienne Dessel, The Program on Intergroup Relations, University of Michigan

From Abraham Lincoln, who delivered one of his seminal speeches on the same stage as ours, to Martin Buber and Carl Rogers, we’ve got big shoes to fill tonight. But I suspect we’ll also have fun.

See you at 6:30 pm.

Let the kvetching begin

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts, Q & A on Oct 26, 2008

Note to the gentiles: “Kvetching” is a Yiddish word for “complaining.” Now, I’m used to hearing complaints from Muslims. But Jews, too? Oy.

In my previous blog entry, I advertised an upcoming event being hosted by the Moral Courage Project. Describing it as a “dialogue between happy heretics,” I explained that my conversation partner would be “Edgar M. Bronfman, former head of the World Jewish Congress.”

Why him? Because he’s just released a book called Hope, Not Fear, in which he challenges North American Jews to transcend victimhood, welcome the intermarried, and embrace the creativity of outsiders. I went on to ask: “Not exactly received orthodoxy, is it? You might even call it moral courage.”

To which I received an annoyed response from one of you:

“Your line: ‘Not exactly received orthodoxy, is it?’ is at least part of the reason Mr. Bronfman’s book is yet another misdirected message. He would do better to target all forms of offense to Jewish people, subtle and overt. Jews seem to be consistently forced into a huddle. From the news anchor who asks why, if she sometimes works on the Christmas holiday, ‘could Jews not work on Rosh Hashana?’ to a recent invite to a media gathering that read ‘the liberal Jew media will be arriving after sundown following Yom Kippur,’ the list is long.

And while logical, it is also frustrating that we hear these lofty principles from billionaires who live behind tall iron gates and at the summits of long windy driving paths…’”

Slow down, sir. Before you mount your high horse a little too comfortably, read Edgar Bronfman’s book. He writes it as a proud Jew who seeks renaissance in his faith and culture — renaissance being a far more constructive aspiration than resentment. One need only observe how far Muslims have progressed as a nation and civilization to understand the debilitating effects of chronic complaint.

As for Mr. Bronfman living behind “tall iron gates” — having never been to his home, I can’t confirm your tidy assumption. What I can tell you is that fences or no fences, this guy doesn’t insulate himself from opposition.

In 2002, while still chairman of the World Jewish Congress, Edgar Bronfman wrote a letter to the New York Times in which he affirmed the humanity of Palestinians. He was defending a statement made by the noted hawk, Paul Wolfowitz, who conceded that ‘innocent Palestinians are suffering and dying in great numbers’ alongside innocent Jews. Having delivered this statement at a pro-Israel rally, Wolfowitz found himself roundly hissed and heckled.

Rather than scurry behind tall iron gates, Edgar Bronfman exposed himself to severe criticism by publicly calling for Jewish humility: “Those who booed should be ashamed of themselves and should be made aware of the passage in the Haggadah [Passover story],” Bronfman said in his letter to the Times. “God chastises the angels for cheering as the Egyptians were drowning while chasing the Israelites who had crossed the Red Sea. God told them, These are my people, too. Palestinians are dying in this war in the Middle East. My sympathies are for Israel and its people, but we must all be aware that Palestinians are people, too.”

It’ll be an interesting event on October 29. If you live in the New York area and wish to put me and Edgar Bronfman in our places — peacefully — RSVP here.

Yo New York, what are you doing on Oct. 29?

Posted in Announcements on Oct 22, 2008

 

Abraham Lincoln gave his most influential speech about slavery at Cooper Union in New York City. Many say it’s the event that catapulted him into the White House. So what could possibly live up to that legacy? Read on…

This is your personal invitation to attend the major Fall event of the Moral Courage Project. To be held at Cooper Union, it will be an on-stage dialogue between happy heretics — me and Edgar M. Bronfman, former head of the World Jewish Congress.

Here’s what makes Bronfman a heretic: He’s just come out with a book called Hope, Not Fear, in which he challenges North American Jews to transcend victimhood, welcome the intermarried, and embrace the creativity of outsiders. Not exactly received orthodoxy, is it? You might even call it moral courage.

We’ll explore what it takes to speak truth to power in your religious community, along with other questions of leadership that affect students, citizens and, yes, U.S. presidential candidates.

This event is FREE.

Join us in The Great Hall at Cooper Union (7 East 7th @ Third Ave.) on the evening of Wednesday, October 29. Doors open at 6:30 pm.

I know that’s the same night Barack Obama has bought airtime on the cable networks. We’ll wrap at 8 pm, so rest assured that you can get home in time to catch Obama it if you’re so inclined.

For security reasons, please RSVP here.

Launch this! (Except in Jordan.)

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts on Oct 19, 2008

At a time when a love poet in Jordan faces detainment and possible charges for carrying out his craft, it’s a relief that freedom of expression is winning somewhere. Sherry Jones has found a U.S. publisher for her controversial novel about A’isha, the Prophet Muhammad’s child bride. That’s the same book recently cancelled by a fearful Random House New York.

I’ve already received emails from “concerned” Muslims about my endorsement of The Jewel. One of the critics even claims to have read it — and, “disgusted by the content” of Sherry’s fiction, now refuses to read my book. As he puts it, “If Irshad Manji can promote [The Jewel of Medina] then I have no intention to read the filth that she will be peddling regarding my faith.”

Bummer.

Moving right along, I’m elated to report that Sherry’s book launch went smashingly — despite the weirdness of being surrounded by security. At my request, she’s written an account of the launch for you. As you read it, keep the embattled Jordanian poet in mind…

Never mind the plainclothes police guarding my every step. As I headed into my debut reading and signing of my novel, The Jewel of Medina, the greatest fears on my mind were these: Would anyone show up? And would the audience be friendly or hostile?

Hostility, I’m sorry to say, has become the normal response to my book — mostly from people who haven’t read it. They’re reacting not to the story in The Jewel of Medina, or to its depiction of A’isha, Islam, or the Prophet Muhammad, but to the reckless rhetoric of a university professor who called it “soft-core porn.” Thank goodness that charge has now been disproven again and again by literary critics who are reading The Jewel of Medina.

Since my book had arrived only a day or two before the independentstore hosting this event, I knew that nearly everyone who attended my presentation — all two of them, I worried — would not have read it. Would they, like so many others, deride my book as a “bodice-ripper” (this from a critic who admitted there is no sex in it) or as “trash”? Would they scorn me for my book’s positive portrayal of Islam as a religion of peace and its prophet as a wise, compassionate leader who respected women and gave them rights?

I had already learned from experience that the relatively small Muslim population in this city was no guarantee of a friendly reception for my book. During the brief time that I administered a weblog, I received more angry comments from Muslim-haters than from Muslims. I was just as likely to encounter hostility from these people, who have deemed me an “Islamo-panderer” and accused me of “sugar-coating pedophilia.” These bigoted slurs, so injurious to my soul, played a big part in my decision to shut down my blog.

Escorted by an elegantly polite policeman wearing a suit, tie, and headset, I walked into the upstairs meeting room at the book store and caught my breath. Nearly every seat was filled — more than three hundred in the audience! A few were friends, but, since I’ve only lived here for one year, most faces were new.

I took a few minutes in a smaller side room to sit, collect my thoughts, and say a quick prayer for strength, wisdom, peace, and love — my spiritual cornerstones. I invited A’isha to infuse me with her courage, and I asked for help remaining calm no matter what might happen.

Then I stepped up to the podium and began to speak. “My name is Sherry Jones. But I’ve been called a lot of other things these past few months.”

As I ran through the litany of insults and, yes, praise, I heard chuckles. I looked at the faces before me and saw many smiles. “Some Muslims have criticized my book, also, for deviating from the history that they know,” I explained. “But, as I keep saying, this is fiction.”

Across the room, people nodded. They still smiled. And I breathed a sigh of relief. Someone understood me — at last!

On my right, however, were two young women, college-age, who began to speak heatedly about my right — or lack of a right — to “ally myself” with another culture. I suspect these women had studied Edward Said’s Orientalism, and so were suspicious that my “appropriation” of ancient Arabian culture and history amounted to a form of racism.

I disagree. I approached my research for The Jewel of Medina in reaction to the racism I heard all around me in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks. I discovered ideas about Islam that gave me joy. And I wrote my book for this reason: To bring to the Western world the story of A’isha, one of the most remarkable women in the history of Islam and of the world — a girl whose life was controlled by men, who overcome formidable obstacles to become a self-empowered political leader, highly regarded Islamic scholar, and the most beloved wife of one of the most charismatic men of all time.

I turned to my audience. “The Jewel of Medina isn’t the definitive version of A’isha’s story,” I said. “It’s just my version, based on my interpretation of historical events and my imagination. Whatever you think of it or of my intentions in writing it, I think it’s a great book.”

The room filled with applause, and I signed books for a full hour.

It was, for me, the culmination of my entire life’s work, since the second grade when I began dreaming of writing novels. There, at a bookstore in my city, I connected for the first time with readers. With lovers of books.

The successful launch has now inspired my U.S. publisher, Beaufort Books, to send me on bigger tour of America. Already they’re wedging me into bookstores’ crowded schedules. I’m eager to meet you all.

Buy The Jewel of Medina here. Learn more about Sherry’s fight for free expression here.

The challenge of liberal democracy today

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts on Oct 15, 2008

 

(Photo: Michelle Douglas)

As I told Vaclav Havel’s gathering in Prague, the citizens of any open society face urgent questions today.

Among them: How do we balance being a nation of open minds while standing by a core set of values? In other words, can we be pluralists without becoming relativists?

I’ll tackle that question vigorously in my next book.

As a starting point, read my latest column in The Globe and Mail.

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