Customer Reviews

The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim's Call for Reform in Her Faith

5 star:		(99)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(62)

 

 

By Bill Marsano. Is there a campaign against Irshad Manji's book? Certainly it seems something odd is afoot. Impartial readers should examine the reviews posted (52 as of April 10) and decide for themselves. I have; here are my conclusions:

Thirty reviews are positive--3 to five stars--and 14 (nearly 50%) are by people who have reviewed for Amazon before. Only 7 (less than 25%) are anonymous, signed "A Reader"). In general, the reviewers discuss the merits of the <book>.

Twenty-two reviews are hostile--almost all only 1 star--and only 5 (about 23%) are by previous Amazon reviewers. (One claims a children's game caused repeated vomiting by her child; reviews a $2.79 screwdriver; and attacks a book she admits not having read. In short, she doesn't review--she rants.) Nine (about 40%) are anonymous. Many are merely ad hominem attacks on the author, who is described as dishonest, ignorant, money-hungry, publicity-seeking (even fatwa-seeking) and fostering a "craze for Islamophobia." One calls Manji "simply not a Muslim" because of her "inability to read Arabic, absence from active Mulim worship, embrace of the West and its secular values, not to mention her identity as a Lesbian feminist."

I believe Amazon's reader-reviews are important and should not be distorted by partisan attacks. Readers should be alert to possible unfairness in this case. Now (at last) to the book itself.

Manji addresses her fellow Muslims thus: "I have to be honest with you. Islam is on pretty thin ice with me. I'm hanging on by my fingernails . . . ." What sounds like a nifty, snappy, wise-ass opener is, it soon becomes clear, really an expression of pain. Spirituality is important to Manji, and she feels her religion has betrayed her--from childhood onward--and she makes a number of important points.

First, she rejects the notion, popular since 9/11, that the problem isn't Islam but that Islam has been 'highjacked' by murderous psychopaths. No, she says: Mainstream Islam IS the culprit; it is cruel and even brutal toward women, toward Jews, toward Christians, toward all other infidels--even toward other Muslims. Dissident Muslims can be and have been beaten, imprisoned, killed. Muslims who aren't religious enough (e.g., those impious, kite-flying Afghanis) have been crushed. (Indeed, they were the Taliban's first victims: There's nothing fundamentalists hate more than apostates.)

As for the simplistic idea that "you mustn't confuse Islam with culture," she's all too well aware that Islam and such cultural horrors as Sharia law go hand in hand, each supporting the other. Sharia law, you may recall, means honor killings, punishing homosexuals by toppling walls on them, punishing adulteresses by stoning them to death, and defining rape victims as adulteresses.

She is clear on Islam's hermetic nature: Ask a question and get no answer, especially if you're a woman. Propose interpretation and be told the Koran is the literal word of God--and that the 'hadiths' or secondary sources are likewise not to be questioned, analyzed, interpreted. The source of this closed view is, she says, "desert Islam"--the narrow, harsh Wahabist Islam of Saudi Arabia. Its hermeticism is only increasing. The Koran, according to fundamentalists, can't be translated but must be read in Arabic (some also believe that only Arabs are "real Muslims"), and the Wahabist madressas (religious schools) don't want many people to read it even in Arabic. They don't teach reading but foster illiteracy; their students must learn to recite Koranic verses by rote.

Very interesting: What you can't read, you can't question or analyze or parse. You can't even know there are contradictory Koranic passages of compassion and tolerance toward non-believers and other beliefs. Can they be literally God's words? "The Koran is so profoundly at war with itself," says Manji, "that Muslims who 'live by the book' have no choice but to choose what to emphasize and what to downplay." Unless, of course, they're madressa-trained illiterates who will never know the contradictions exist. Imagine that: a religion with a vested interest in illiteracy. Is that a recipe for backwardness, or what?

Manji says most "moderate Mulims" allow these and other abuses to continue without protest. They remain silent--silent except, Manji says, for "screaming self-pity." Indeed, Muslims are frequently quoted in the New York Times on being maginalized, discriminated against and harmed by "backlash" and Islamophobia. Really? Such reports conspicuously lack anything but accusations and charges; there are never any facts. If Muslims in America in particular and the West in general were being victimized, do you not think you'd have heard about it by now? Manji's view and mine is that Western Muslims either support the abuses of desert Islam--or they are crippled by fear of retirbution.

In 217 pages Manji cannot be a scholar nor a historian. She goes a little too easily on the West and Isrtael at times. But she is successful at raising important questions, contradictions and challenges. She is not the best of writers--her tone is urgent, insistent and unmoldulated (to the point of being tedious at times). But her flaws are few and her courage cannot be questioned.--Bill Marsano is a professional writer and editor.

Organized religion has a tendency to invite disaster due to the inherent flaws of the human condition that predicate judgment, mistrust, hatred, and disdain for those who adhere to a faith and dogma different from our own. In particular, the monotheistic Semitic religions over the course of history have proven to be the most rigid and intolerant of other faiths; this 'my way or the highway' approach has resulted in warfare, conquests, and carnage that--unfortunately--carries through to today.

In the post-9/11 world, Islam has occupied center stage of our global lexicon. In the name of this religion, international networks of terrorism have been spawned to attack, kill, and terrify. And Islam, like any other faith, has its problems--the totalitarian intolerance of dissent being one of its ugliest thorns. Under such a foreboding environment, Canadian TV journalist Irshad Manji dares to speak out via an open letter to all Muslims in her compelling and riveting book, THE TROUBLE WITH ISLAM.

Granted, the author openly admits she is grappling with her faith; one day, she laments, she may leave Islam for good. Yet Manji has the courage and fortitude to shed light on the myriad of problems inflicting her faith: the oppression of women in the Arab and Muslim world; the unwavering intolerance of other religions in Arab and Muslim nations; the rampant anti-Semitism festering and infecting mosques around the world. The author presents a convincing case that Islam has been captured by zealots who espouse a malignant, narrow interpretation of the Koran: an interpretation that portrays Islam as an antiquated relic looking backward--instead of a peaceful vehicle for adaptation and change in an ever-changing world. This rigid adherence to the past, according to Manji, is defined as 'foundamentalism,' or 'desert Islam.' And the author calls for the 'silent majority' of moderate Muslims to come together to reject such fundamentalism, beginning with Muslims in the West--Muslims who have the freedom to speak their minds.

THE TROUBLE WITH ISLAM is a remarkable, engrossing page-turner. Manji presents her arguments, evidence, and observations in a delightfully conversational--often witty--style. Based on the dozens and dozens of one-star reviews of this book, the author and other Muslims calling for sweeping reform have their work cut out for them; on the other hand, each critique represents the opportunity for dialogue--dialogue inherently welcomes discussion. And a frank, open, and honest discussion of Islam is absolutely in order.
--D. Mikels

[...] A liberal woman raised in a strict Islamic family, Manji offers readers an interesting insiders view of Islamic life. Questions regarding the narrowness of her experience may be legitimate, but they still offer a telling look at the trouble modern Muslims face trying to integrate their faith into their modern life style.

Many can question how Islam reached its current position, but despite its position as one of the world's fastest growing religion, Manji is correct that it faces a crisis. The largest funders of Islamic proselytizing and scholarship -- Persian gulf petrol dollars -- also represent the faiths most conservative elements. Not surprisingly, they often conflate ancient Arabian social custom with articles of Islamic faith causing substantial regression towards misogynist and anti-democratic principles. Here she offers ample evidence such as books donated by Saudi Arabian charities to Islamic primary schools, which contain blanket vitriolic attacks on America, the West, and Jews.

This analysis dovetails well with the question she raises about what effect the large number of repressive authoritarian governments in Islamic countries has on the faith. Here argument that changes in Islam will have to come from Western Muslims is interesting, though she does not do enough to ask how they can gain sufficient legitimacy to bring about such change.

Manji's most frightening observations and probably the most often attacked are her observations regarding the current Middle East crisis. In current charged times these are hot button issues, but her analysis adds a much needed element to the current debate. One need only look at the lionization in the Islamic world of suicide bombers who murder civilians to understand that this faith faces a grave threat of descending into nihilism. This death cult, hardly limited to the West Bank and Gaza posses grave risk for all Islam.

Manji's thesis, that Islam must embrace some sort of reformation as other faiths have, should not be dismissed out of hand. Many may find her analysis disturbing and particular diagnosis flawed, but its hard to deny the existence of a problem.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Few issues are as important as addressing the problems of radical Islam and promoting a more moderate version of that faith. Manji is in a good position to do this as she is a noted TV personality in Canada and therefore has access to a wide audience.

There is a lot going for this book. Manji is on strong ground when comparing her own experiences with Muslims and non-Muslims, such as the openness that she experienced at a Baptist Church where she was baby-sat compared to the closed structure of the Islamic school to which she was transferred. Another good example is describing the different treatment she received from Jews and Muslims in Israel.

Manji also presents a good argument that the Koran is open to a non-literal interpretation. This is harder in Islam than in Christianity as the Koran is allegedly the direct recitation of Allah while the Christian Bible is "divinely inspired." A tip from my college religion professor is useful. He stated that the Koran is not the equivalent of the Christian Bible because in Christianity it is through Christ, not the Bible per se, that one may reach salvation. In Islam, it is through the Koran that one may reach salvation. Therefore, the proper comparison is that the Koran is to Islam what Jesus is to Christianity. One can now see that a non-literal interpretation of the Koran is more difficult in Islam than a comparable Christian interpretation of the Bible and Manji deserves credit for making the case.

Finally, Manji does a good, though incomplete, job of describing the history of independent thought within Islam, called ijtihad. A general description of early Islamic societies open to such thought is provided.

The main problem with the book however, is that it seems too lightweight for the subject matter. This is not to say I would have preferred an academic to have written the book. I believe that many ideas that remain in the realm of intellectuals will have little impact unless they are transmitted to the masses. Therefore, people such as reporters and radio announcers play an important role. Manji is indeed such a person, again being a TV personality. Yet even given this standard, she is toooo breezy, toooo conversational. I have read her editorials in newspapers and think she expresses her ideas far better in such a format. A book deserves weightier treatment (though not necessarily heavy treatment) even for a non-academic book directed towards the general public.

After doing a good job of describing problems within Islam, Manji seems like little more than a cheerleader on how to address these issues and promote moderate Islam. We need more ijtihad, Rah Rah Rah. We need more freedom for women, Rah Rah Rah. If one had read only those sections in which Manji makes suggestions for promoting moderate Islam, one would have little sense of just how deeply embedded into Islamic culture such maladaptive traits really are. Indeed, even her discussion of earlier Islamic societies' co-existence with other religions only touches the surface as to the oppression inflicted upon adherents of non-Islamic religions by their Muslim overlords.

Manji also seems a bit naive about the "support" Islam may be receiving in Western societies. For example, she applauds the University of North Carolina's requirement a few years back of requiring its students to read a book about the Koran and accepts uncritically an assertion that the assignment was made to acquaint students with other cultures. Yet there are strong arguments that the assignment is better understood as being part of a pattern of anti-Western thought permeating modern academia, including UNC. Manji does nothing to address this possibility.

Overall I recommend this book. My three star rating is actually quite mixed and a recognition of both the strong and weak points of this book will allow a reader to take away a good deal while sifting out the rest.

Irshad Manji's book has generated a lot of knee-jerk negative reactions. Most of her detractors seem to be reacting to the fact that she's a woman, a lesbian, and an ally of Western values. Therefore, according to them, she is not fit to make any critical comments about her religion; her more radical opponents would even wish to see her dead for her beliefs. They are not, however, addressing her arguments and analyzing their merits; they are reacting to her, to what she represents and what she is bold enough to write.

They also illustrate one the chief problems she sees in her religion, even its mainstream variant - scarce public dissent, questioning, and debate. It's one thing to write a rational critique of Manji's book; it's quite another to rage against her for even daring to write it. To react to the book rationally is to engage in a debate, which is what Manji wants; to rail against its publication, to wish her silenced, is to promote tyranny and uniform thought in religion.

Manji is careful to point out that not all Muslims think alike or are all against dissent. She does not lump all Muslims into one group or one way of practicing Islam. She does, however, launch critiques and urges a kind of self-examination that might make a lot of Muslims uncomfortable... and also non-Muslims who feel they must bend unquestioningly to a certain PC way of thought and speech. To Manji, tangible actions, policies, and honesty count the most, not pretty words exchanged by diplomats or public organizations.

The book is deeply personal, and though it can have a choppy feeling to it - jumping from topic to topic, era to era, and switching not quite so seamlessly from general observations to personal anecdotes - it's difficult to ignore the kinds of questions Manji raises or feel detached from them. She raises excellent points, and the larger messages of her work are crucial to address. She writes, for example, that the best way to start liberating and improving a lot of the Muslim world is to empower women, who are all too often stifled, degraded, and kept hidden in homes and behind veils, their talents and skills wasted. How first to empower them? By allowing them to run their own businesses, giving them a stronger measure of economic independence and fostering literacy among them. And then, just as importantly? To encourage debate, among everyone in society. To encourage questions and creativity, to cultivate relationships with different kinds of people. What Manji craves is open dialogue and personal choice - if a woman wishes to wear a veil, for example, it should be her own choice, not enforced by her male relatives or a mullah.

The book is not written by someone who has abandoned Islam and is now providing the reasons for doing so. It is written from the perspective of a woman who sees herself as Muslim and wishes to radically improve how her religion is practiced throughout the world. She points out evidence of self-examination where she sees them, whether it be in her own city of Toronto or surprisingly enough in the op-ed pages of a Saudi newspaper; she also laments the rampant silencing and intellectual censorship she encounters. It is well worth it to read The Trouble with Islam and examine - as objectively as possible - its arguments, proposals, and the broad issues that it tackles.

This compelling and artfully-written book provides a ray of hope in the face of Islamic oppression of women and diversity across the globe. The author argues persuasively that Islamic reformation would build a bridge to peace and the recognition of other religions and stem the violence and terrorism that Islamists have foisted on the world. Rather than reject her faith and the leaders of that faith who have called for her death on numerous occasions, Manji takes a brave personal journey toward reform and offers insight on formative change.

I read this book a while ago but hesitated before writing a review of it because I could not answer (to my satisfaction) a simple question: If Irshad sees all these problems with Islam why is she still a Muslim? I didn't get it. So I read this (deceptively simple-seeming) book again. And while in the end, only Irshad can answer my question it seems to me that she remains a Muslim for two main reasons: she sees the beauty within Islam and Islam is what she is.

The Koran is all over the map she says and it requires interpretation. And, she points out, there is no priesthood in Islam. No-one is supposed to tell a Muslim what to do; what to think. Irshad's Islam is one in which every Muslim follows ijtihad; in which authority is endlessly questioned. It is that Islam which saw Islam's Golden Age; which saw over seventy universities in the Muslim World-the same number of universities in that far-off time as the virgins your typical suicide bomber expects to receive.

And it is the Islam of today that so shocks and upsets Irshad. Because the gates of ijtihad, of independent thought, had been closed by Muslim rulers 1,000 years ago when the Islamic empire was at its height-to protect that empire and they had never been opened. Why? Because there were too many people who obtained power over Muslims when they interpreted the Koran for them (a Koran whose translations from the Arabic into the many languages of Islam's many followers have never really been accepted). And today these men (and they are men) do not relish letting go of that power-even if it means that all they do is imitate imitations of a 1,000 years ago. And what was true 1,000 years ago is often not true today.

But there is another reason the gates of ijtihad remain shut. The vast majority of Muslims today are Asian-like Irshad herself. But the customs that have been enshrined as Muslim are not Asian customs; they are Arabic customs. And again there are vested interests within Islam that are struggling to preserve the pre-eminence of Arabic culture within Islam-whether Islam's many followers want to follow that culture or not.

The result is a tragedy and a radical departure from what Irshad feels Islam is; what it ought to be. And this book, this open letter to her fellow Muslims, is a call. It is a call for reform, for an end to the domination of Muslim minds by vested interests; for an end to the many tragedies that come of letting others dictate belief; for an end to the senseless violence and the claustrophobia. It is a call, in short, for the Islam of Islam's Golden Age-an age of Ijtihad. It is a call for Muslims to reclaim their identity as individuals within Islam.

You may not agree with everything in this book-I did not (for starters I did not and do not agree with the title). But I urge you to read it anyway, whatever your faith. For the main messages here: that religion is what we do, not some ideal; that we have a duty to question always and to fight when others try to shut our minds holds-whatever your faith.

And you may learn something about Islam that you will not see on the evening news.

A few months ago I attended a discussion with this book's author with few preconceptions, since it had somewhat mixed reviews. But she is the real deal; both she and the book are fascinating. Miss Manji is a thirty six year old gay (part of the controversy) journalist and TV personality now living in Canada. She was born in Uganda but her family was forced to flee when Idi Amin came to power. At age four she and her very strict parents moved to VA.; the openness of U.S. society began the process which led to her questioning the interpretation of her religion which form the basis for the male domination of the society in which her parents lived.



The book is written as a letter to the Muslim community. It is both the story of her personal journey of discovery regarding what she considers the true nature of her faith (and why she has not rejected it) and a plea for reinstitution of the idea of IJITIHAD, the spirit of inquiry and discovery which she portrays as originally an integral aspect of Islam. While both Miss Manji's writing style and conversational demeanor in person are non-confrontational and quite unassuming, her inner strength and strong convictions are indicated by her determination and zeal in pursuit of her attempts to stimulate a discussion concerning the nature of Islam despite the death threats which she has received since the book's publication.



I highly recommend this book to those with questions about the internal conflicts that are inherent in the KORAN (as in other religious texts). There is also an interesting list of readings at the back of the book (including several rigorous academic publications) for those who are interested in further pursuit of the issues which she raises. The reasons for the author's rejection of the totalitarian and inflexible version of what she labels "desert Islam" and which she perceives to a distortion of the teachings of Muhammad are certainly well documented, and wider acceptance of her viewpoint by other Muslims would certainly be an encouraging development.



Miss Manji is articulate, thoughtful, insightful and has spent a lot of time and energy in pursuit of answers to her questions concerning many of the issues which are fundamental to the nature of her faith. While she is opinionated and outspoken, she places her arguments in historical context as she shares her journey of intellectual discovery with the reader. In fact, I found her very open minded and courageous, which are two characteristics which I guess one needs to possess if you are a Muslim willing to question the mullahs. I have done some background checking and find that other people who I respect have also been impressed. (As an aside, the New York Times recently chose to publish an interesting op ed piece which she submitted concerning Iraq.)



An important note for potential readers of this book is the fact its rating is a function of as extreme a split in the viewpoints of reviewers as I have encountered. Of the 102 previous reviews, the overwhelming majority were almost evenly split between one star or five stars. (Thus, while the rating as calculated is three stars, in actuality despite that average only four of the 102 reviewers gave it that rating.) What is noticeable is that the majority of the one star reviews are personal attacks on the author or her thesis and only occasionally commentary regarding the manuscript itself. So if you believe that the mullahs' interpretations of the Koran are inviolate and that the male domination of strict Islamic societies does not both disadvantage them and repress their populaces, I suspect that you won't enjoy this book However, if you want to read an interesting account of a personal journey with an outcome that we can only hope occurs with increasing frequency as the Muslim world attempts to deal with the dissonant reality which the radical fundamentalists have embraced, this is a fascinating account and its conversational style makes it a very easy read.



Tucker Andersen

Irshad Manji makes a thoughtful analysis of the trouble with Islam today. The ancient traditions of individual interpretation and rational dialogue have been forced aside by fundamentalists that enforce their own interpretation of the Quran in mosques around the globe... Well worth a read. Anyone concerned with foreign relations, religion, women's rights, human rights, or an open dialogue should read it.

I remember seeing Manji's book in the store, and passing it by...because it sounded like another one of the Islam-bashing books so popular today. As a Muslim, I really don't need to hear anymore of that. I finally did order it, and was surprised that it is truly a book for Muslims. To be frank, I don't know if non-Muslims would enjoy it--or even understand it. Given that, her choice of titles is unfortunate--because she is alienating the audience she wished to engage. Also, sadly, too many Muslims will discard her points simply because she is a woman, non-Arabic speaking, or gay (or any combination of the three.) Manji raises some interesting and valid points--such as the treatment of Shi'as and women in 'Muslim' countries. Her point on why no other country except Jordan grants citizenship to Palestinians is also well taken. She loses me a bit on her other arguments, but they were nonetheless interesting to read. I wish her book would be taken up by halaqas (study circles) around the country, but I doubt that's the case. Instead, it will mostly be used by people who already have a prejudice against Islam to add ammunition to their hate. Sad.