on the road

Faithful yet secular? Profile of me in La Presse

Posted in On The Road on Oct 09, 2007

A thoughtful piece (en francais) in one of Quebec’s most popular daily newspapers. The journalist, Rima Elkouri, explores with me the virtues and vices of multiculturalism, accommodation of minorities, universality of human rights… and the photo ain’t bad either.

“Faith Without Fear” DVD launch tonight!

Posted in On The Road, Announcements on Oct 03, 2007

Yep, that’s me in a hijab. GOTTA PROBLEM WITH IT?

You’re seeing the disc of my brand new DVD. If you live in Toronto, I invite you to join me at the Canadian DVD launch of Faith Without Fear. This documentary chronicles my journey to reconcile Islam with human rights and freedom of conscience. (Cynical Muslim friends have suggested I call it Mission Impossible, but I’m far more optimistic.)

Faith Without Fear premiered in America on PBS this past spring. Then it aired on Global Television in Canada. It’s now screening throughout Europe and parts of the Islamic world — underground.

This evening I’ll be above the ground, appearing at Indigo Bookstore (Manulife Centre) at 7 pm. Heather Reisman, CEO of Indigo, will interview me on-stage. Of course, we’ll play parts of the film and hold a book-signing afterwards.

Can’t make it to the launch but want to watch the film and its special features? I humbly recommend buying the DVD. Bonus features include my interview with a young Muslim woman who’s also editor-in-chief of a major Middle East newspaper, a glimpse of the spirited debate in Turkey between Islamists and secularists, and behind-the-stage clips from my encounter with Muslims in Detroit. Can you say “entering the lion’s den”?

Celebrating Mahatma’s birthday

Posted in On The Road, Announcements on Oct 02, 2007

Tonight, I’ll be headlining a fund-raiser for World Literacy of Canada, an organization that promotes social justice and international development, particularly in India. The fund-raiser doubles as a birthday bash for Mahatma Gandhi. They love the Great Soul as much as I do. (In fact, World Literacy of Canada gave me the bright orange Gandhi shirt that I wear throughout my documentary, Faith Without Fear.)

This evening, I’ll be paying tribute to Gandhi by emphasizing his moral courage. What I mean is, Gandhi called out not only British imperialists, but also Indian ones. He spoke truth to power within his community, insisting that there’s no victory in replacing a white oligarchy with a brown oligarchy because it’s still an oligarchy.

By daring to ruffle the feathers of his “tribe,” Gandhi displayed a level of integrity that’s increasingly rare among activists. It’s relatively easy to confront outsiders. There’s honor in doing so. Far more dangerous to stand up to your own because the emotional risks, from accusations of selling out to marginalization of your loved ones, are that much higher.

But Gandhi firmly lived up to a simple principle: “Be the change you wish to see.” That ideal is worth celebrating even more than his birthday is. If you can join us at his party tonight, click here for tickets.

Looking up to Frank McCourt

Posted in On The Road on Sep 30, 2007

Just had the pleasure of meeting Frank McCourt, internationally best-selling author of Angela’s Ashes and, more recently, Teacher Man. We both spoke at the first annual Carmel Festival of Authors and Ideas, which wraps up today. (Photo: Adam Marks)

Speaking @ Google

Posted in On The Road on Sep 27, 2007

One of the central features of this site will be my blog. It’ll consist of various themes - from your feedback about my work, to my thoughts about current headlines, religious reform, social change, geo-politics, and, of course, Islam. I’ll also be posting dispatches from my travels. Here’s the first of them:

I’m speaking today at GOOGLE headquarters in California. In my talk, I’ll explain that digital technology plays a huge role in the mission to reform Muslim societies. I know this first-hand: The Arabic edition of my book, posted free of charge on this site, has been downloaded more than 250,000 times. A New York Times Magazine writer recently emailed me to say that the online translation is being circulated among youth in various parts of the Middle East. And check out this email from Lorena, an anthropologist, who wrote me through my myspace page:

“I’m an anthropologist doing research with Muslim women living in the slums of Kolkata, India. During my last trip there, I showed some of the women your website and the started reading The Trouble with Islam Today in Urdu.

One woman, Amina, runs a small NGO that operates a free school for slum children, and she immediately incorporated your work into her classes on Islam. Her comment on reading your ideas: ‘This is exactly what I have been saying!’ They now read and discuss your work together.”

I cringe at the label “slum children,” but when children living in slums have access to a critique of Muslims and are free to discuss ideas like mine openly, you’ve got to applaud digital technology. And the idea of global interdependence. Love it!

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