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Your letters - posted August 1, 2007

Posted in Q & A on Aug 01, 2007

 

Irshad floating - alive! - in the Dead Sea: A tribute to summer, good times and unshaven arms (cuz you don’t need a hijab to be ok with your body…)

Posted August 1, 2007

Friends and Foes: Summer has fully arrived in the Northern Hemisphere and that means having a little bit of fun with each other. In this website update, I’m posting my favorite messages of the year (so far). Some are serious and gratifying. Others are kooky, weird, and inappropriate. God, I love this season.

“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 they 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.” - Lorena

Irshad replies: Could this be the start of an alternative madressa movement?

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“Irshad, I thought you’d enjoy knowing that I received this Amazon.ca email:’Dear customer:We’ve noticed that customers who have expressed interest in The Trouble With Islam Today: A Wake-Up Call for Honesty and Change, by Irshad Manji, have also ordered High: Confessions of a Pot Smuggler, by Brian O’Dea.  For this reason, you might like to know that Brian O’Deah’s High: Confessions of a Pot Smuggler is now available in Paperback. You can order your copy at a savings of 27%…’  Hope you are keeping well, Irshad.” - Professor Phil Ryan

Irshad replies: Thanks for sharing this truly odd email.  Upon reading it, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.  What do you make of it?

Prof Ryan replies:  ”Perhaps it means that you are becoming a major counter-cultural icon. The Alan Ginsberg of your generation?…

It’s good to remember that Amazon is, among other things, an enormous computer.  And computers aren’t terribly intuitive… PS: No, I didn’t take advantage of Amazon’s kind offer to purchase Confessions of a Pot Smuggler at 27% off.  I’ll never know what I’ve missed.” - Phil

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“Like you, I’m an educator.  I’m also a gay Jew who teaches at an Islamic school.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I teach social studies to Grades 8-12.  My subjects include the Arab-Israeli conflict, religious extremism, groupthink and gay rights.  I’m not out to my students but a few of my colleagues know that I’m gay.  I’d like to know if there’s anything I can do to help you with your work.” - MikeIrshad replies: Oy vey, Mike, that’s one hell of a story. You can help my work by writing your memoir and showing that we can defeat tribalism - or groupthink - in all of our communities by being our complex, multi-faceted and authentic selves.  The seeming contradictions of your life attest to the fact that pluralism is at its best when we express ourselves as individuals, not as poster children of one or another agenda.  Likewise, I’ll bet the Muslim students whom you teach are fascinating and fluid individuals. Give them the opportunity to think freely.  How? Have them participate in the debates on Project Ijtihad’s MySpace page.  They can set up email handles if they’re too scared to identify themselves. For that matter, you can join anonymously and prod them into independent thinking.   Let the real education begin.

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“Would it be possible to get a photo of you which I can put up on my bulletin board at the University of Texas, where I work? I have a poster of Cesar Chavez, Jane Goodall, former governor Ann Richards and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.  I would like to add your photo.  Please let me know.” - Laura

Irshad replies: The photo’s in the mail, Laura. Just don’t put it beside Jane Goodall’s.  I might be mistaken for one of her apes.  Oh, I’m kidding.  Apes are way less hairy than me. (See my arm in the Dead Sea photo above.)

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“I am sure you have plenty of security around, as well you should.  But if you are ever in the New York area and find yourself in need of help, especially when it comes to your safety, I can be anywhere in the city in less than 30 minutes.  I drive really fast too.  Thank God for radar detectors.  Your courage is inspiring even to a so-called tough guy.  Please contact me.  I’ll be there.” - John

Irshad replies: Yes, yes, but are you attractive and brilliant? Because, according to the next letter, what I really deserve is a different kind of service…

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“Keep speaking out and hiding out to stay alive. If I could, I’d personally visit you regularly to reward you for doing so. I would reward you with ultimate sexual pleasure, as often as you like, because you deserve it. If you want to meet, let me know and we’ll find a neutral spot. I’m passionate, attractive, brilliant and a freedom lover like you. Live forever. Fight forever. Love forever.” - Anonymous

Irshad replies: Freak! Sicko! Pervert! Creepozoid! I don’t know what kind of girl you take me for, but I don’t do that kind of thing!! With men.