foto: Irshad Minji
Challenging Islam is Risky
By Irshad Manji
United Press International | November 4, 2004
Tuesday's slaying of Theo van Gogh, a Dutch filmmaker who criticized
Islamic practices, reminds all of a nagging truth: More than 15 years
after
the government of Iran issued a death warrant against novelist Salman
Rushdie, challenging Muslims
remains a risky business.
As a Muslim dissident, I speak from experience. My book, "The Trouble
with
Islam," has put me on the receiving end of anger, hatred and vitriol.
That's
because I'm asking questions that we Muslims can no longer hide from.
Why,
for example, are we squandering the talents of half of God's creation,
women?
What's with the stubborn streak of anti-Semitism in Islam today? Above
all,
how can even moderate Muslims view the Koran literally when it, like
every
holy text, abounds in contradictions and ambiguity? The trouble with
Islam
today is that literalism is going mainstream.
Muslims who take offense at these points often wind up reinforcing them
in
their responses to me. I regularly get death threats through my Web
site. Some
of my would-be assassins emphasize the virtues of martyrdom, wanting to
hurl
me into the "flames of hell" in exchange for 72 virgins. Others simply
want to
know what plane I'm next boarding, so they can hijack it. Somehow, I
don't feel
the urge to share my schedule.
A few threats have been up-close and personal. At an airport in North
America,
a Muslim man approached my traveling companion to say, "You're luckier
than
your friend." When she asked him to explain, he turned his hand into the
shape
of a gun and pulled the trigger. "She will find out later what that
means," he
intoned.
But, for all of the threats, there's good news: I'm hearing more
support, affection
and even love from fellow Muslims than I thought possible. Two groups in
particular -- young Muslims and Muslim women -- have flooded my Web site
with letters of relief and thanks. They are relieved that somebody is
saying out
loud words they have only whispered, and grateful that they're being
given the
permission to think for themselves.
That's why I don't take my bodyguard everywhere I go. It may be
necessary
to have one when I visit France next week. But in my day-to-day life, I
refuse
to be closely protected. If I'm going to have credibility conveying to
Muslims
that we can, indeed, live while dissenting with the establishment, I
can't have a
big, burly fellow looking over my shoulder. I must lead by example. So
far, so
good.
To be sure, I haven't tried visiting Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia or
Pakistan since
the release of my book. (One challenge at time, please!) Still, the
relative safety
with which I've debated Islam in the West -- from Britain to Belgium,
from
Australia to Canada, from the Netherlands to the United States --
convinces me
that Muslims in the West have a sterling opportunity. They are best
poised to
revive Islam's tradition of independent reasoning. Why in the West?
Because it's
here that we already enjoy the precious freedoms to think, express,
challenge
and be challenged -- all without fear of state reprisal.
I'm not denying that some Muslims have been targeted for harassment,
profiling
and discrimination by Western governments. I faced the same during the
1991
Gulf War when I was marched out of a federal building in Ottawa, Canada
for
no apparent reason. However, none of this negates a basic fact: If
Muslims in
the West dare to ask questions about our holy book, and if we care to
denounce
human rights violations being committed under the banner of that book,
we need
not worry about being raped, flogged, stoned or executed by the state
for doing so.
What in God's name are Muslims in the West doing with our freedoms?
I know what many young Muslim would like us to be doing -- thinking
critically
about ourselves and not solely about Washington. Indeed, a huge
motivation for
having written my book came from young Muslims on American and Canadian
campuses. Even before 9/11, I spoke at universities about the virtues of
diversity,
including diversity of opinion. After many of these speeches, young
Muslims
emerged from the audiences, gathered at the side of stage, chatted
excitedly
among themselves, and then walked over to me.
"Irshad," I would hear, "we need voices such as yours to help us open up
this
religion of our because if it doesn't open up, we're leaving it."
They're on the front lines in the battle for the soul of Islam. Whatever
the risks
to my own safety, I won't turn my back on them -- or on the gift of
freedom
bestowed by my society.
Irshad Manji is author of "The Trouble with Islam: A Muslim's Call for
Reform in Her Faith." She can be contacted through her Web site,
www.muslim-refusenik.com.
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