The imam who taught Irshad Manji, then 14, in Richmond, B.C., in the early 1980s gave his inquisitive student a fateful ultimatum: either accept his strict Islamic teachings without question or leave his madrasah for good. Manji left and never returned to religious schooling. Instead, like many Canadians, she chose a path of self-examination to reconcile her feelings toward organized religionóin her case, Islam. "I realized from a very young age," Manji tells TIME, "there was a way to be liberal-minded, compassionate, open-hearted and still be a Muslim."

That thinking sent Manji, now a 35-year-old openly gay television producer and commentator, off on a controversial career path that has culminated in a new book. The Trouble with Islam: A Wake-Up Call for Honesty and Change (Random House Canada; 247 pages)ówhich has been creating a stir since its publication in Canada in Septemberóasks blunt questions, like whether Islam is more narrow-minded than the rest of the worldís religions. Manji prescribes changes she feels are necessary to end ìIslamís totalitarianism.î Reform, she writes, ìisnít about telling ordinary Muslims what not to think but about giving Islamís 1 billion devotees permission to think.î For Manji, that means having the freedom to examine attitudes toward women and religious minorities, promote tolerance and learning, and ask tough questions without fear of retribution.

Reactions to the book have been highly charged: Manji has received both praise and death threats. ìYou better believe that thereís a good amount of anger and vitriol,î she says. Much of it has come from within the Muslim community. ìSheís blaming Islam for the troubles that sheís facing in her life, and this is not fair,î says Mohamed Elmasry, president of the Canadian Islamic Congress. Others agree with her message but disapprove of how sheís delivering it. ìShe says whatever the media like to hear,î says Ali Al-Ahmed, executive director of the Washington-based Saudi Institute. And Manji can expect more criticism. The Trouble with Islam will soon be released in the U.S., Britain and France, and she is undertaking a documentary based on the book.

Despite the threats and her early experience in Richmond, Manji says that being raised in Canada helped foster her spiritual views. ìHad I grown up in a Muslim country, Iíd probably be an atheist in my heart,î she writes. ìItís because I live in this corner of the world, where I can think, dispute and delve further into any topic, that Iíve learned why I shouldnít give up on Islam just yet.î But this corner still has pockets of intolerance. Manji tells TIME that she recently overheard an imam telling a group of Muslim men on the University of Toronto campus that their duty is to bring jihad in North America. She has her work cut out for her. óReported by Cindy Waxer/Toronto