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Happy Eid to the cartoonists of the world

Posted in Irshaddering Thoughts on Oct 13, 2007

At the end of Ramadhan, the Muslim month of fasting, my childhood memories have me dressing in a fine shalwar kameez, attending the mosque, comparing my crazy combo of colors to that of the other girls, and finally - oooh, mama - receiving a bowl of pudding in which foil-wrapped coins floated about. We kiddies could search for the bounty, consider ourselves rewarded for astronomical gastronomical sacrifice, and not resent the Catholics for their Easter egg hunts.

How we didn’t wind up choking on the coins, only Allah knows. Sorry Christopher Hitchens but God is, indeed, great.

Now, as an adult, what can I expect on Eid? Try a cartoon of myself, courtesy of a reader from the Philippines:

You can rest assured I won’t be starting a riot over this cartoon. Nor will I goad my many fans in al-Qaeda to put a bounty on the cartoonist’s head for suggesting that all Muslims sit improperly on our prayer rugs. In fact, I appreciate the depiction of me quietly reflecting.

If you’ve watched my documentary, Faith Without Fear, you know my mother would love this image too. “If only she would pray,” mother confides to camera about daughter, “I’d be such a happy mom.” But, ma, I do pray… just not the way you do.

Finally, the superfly — or super-fly-away — hair. That’s what transforms this cartoon into a caricature. Which makes me chuckle. It reminds me of the self-described moderate Muslim guy who wrote to say, “Irshad Manji, you lie so much about Islam that even your hair rises up in protest!” How do like it now, bro?

Eid Mubarak to one and all!