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"The role of dissidents is to tell the truth as they see it"

Hasan Suroor

A special Indian edition of the outspoken Canadian writer and broadcasterIrshad Manji's controversial book,The Trouble with Islam Today, will be launched by imprintOne in New Delhi on November 10. In an interview, she responds to the criticism that the book is needlessly provocative.

— Photo: Special Arrangement

Irshad Manji: "Threats do not bother me because I refuse to live in fear."

Even many liberal Muslims think that your book is needlessly provocative and might have cost you potential converts.

As I say at the very beginning of my book, I know that I am blunt. That is not just deliberate; it is authentic. Politicians massage their language for the sake of "selling the message." But I am a dissident. By definition, dissidents dissent. We do not worry about who will be offended because our role is to tell the truth as we see it. This approach, I believe, achieves two constructive aims. First, it breaks deadly silences. Second, it legitimises other reformers because, compared to us, they seem more reasonable. In pursuing my work this way, I can retain my own integrity while contributing to the larger process of change.

As for potentially losing converts, I am much more interested in sparking conversations. ... That is why, at the end of my book, I invite readers to tell me where I have gone wrong.

What are you really arguing in this book?

Every critique of contemporary Islam that is written by a Muslim emphasises that the faith has been hijacked. This argument absolves mainstream Muslims of responsibility for our silence. The language of hijacking suggests that Islam itself is a plane cruising to some human rights haven, and were it not for those nasty 19 terrorists on September 11, 2001, Islam would have reached its wondrous destination. But we know this is not true. The passivity of even moderate Muslims allows heinous human rights violations to occur in the name of Islam. What is "ground-breaking," then, is that I am turning the mirror on the mainstream and not just on the radical fringe.

The trouble with Islam today is that literalism has gone mainstream. We Muslims, even in the West, are raised to believe that because the Quran comes after the Torah and the Bible, it is the final and therefore perfect manifesto of God's will. This supremacy complex is dangerous because it inhibits the moderates from asking hard questions about what happens when faith becomes dogma. We have to come to terms with the ambiguities... in the Quran — something that very few [if any] practising Muslims are willing to acknowledge publicly. But in recognising that the Quran provides plenty of room for debate and dissent, we also pay tribute to Islam's tradition of independent thinking: ijtihad. I hope to see ijtihad popularised and democratised.

Why blame Islam for what is being done in its name?

Let me emphasise: I believe that we Muslims are capable of being more thoughtful and humane than most of our clerics give us credit for. That is why I wrote this book. But for the sake of an honest discussion, I have to challenge Muslims to come clean about the Islam that they reflexively defend. Is this Islam in its real form or Islam as an ideal? Everything is wonderful as an ideal. Communism is egalitarian as an ideal. Capitalism is fair as an ideal.

The United States Constitution guarantees liberty and justice for all — as an ideal. Muslims know that the realities are very different. As people of conscience, we have to address Islam's realities too. By understanding religion as a living, breathing entity with consequences — rather than an abstract theory — we come to realise that the power is ours to reclaim Islam's better angels, those who care about human rights and intellectual freedom.

You talk a great deal about the status of women in Islam. How have Muslim women responded to the book?

Muslim women express a range of responses — love, hate, relief, consternation. But the common theme is gratitude. I am astounded by how many times I hear, "You have helped me find my voice." They go on to tell me that I am saying publicly what they have only dared to think privately, and that my book is giving them the courage to speak up. Sometimes, the "voice" that they are finding dissents with my own — a paradox that I adore. At Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, a young Muslim woman in hijab approached me to say, "I want to thank you for ruffling the feathers of the ummah." I thought she was thanking me because she agreed with my points. Not quite. She explained, "I'm so angry about what you've written that you've inspired me to hit the books and prove you wrong!" I offered to introduce her to my American publisher.

Is it true that you are not going to India to promote the book because you have received threats?

Yes, I have. Usually, threats do not bother me because I refuse to live in fear. Even overtly dangerous times do not affect me. The assassination of Dutch artist Theo van Gogh by a Muslim did not alter my plans to undertake a book tour in Europe a few days later. Nor did the July 7 bombings in London stop, the following week, from me from giving a long-scheduled speech about Islam at Oxford University.

However, different factors had to be considered when deciding about India. I am about to start shooting a feature film from various locations in the Islamic world, and I cannot afford to jeopardise my entry visas if an incident takes place in India owing to the threats... But I hope to visit India after the film. Inshallah, the sub-continent will not escape my presence!

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"The role of dissidents is to tell the truth as they see it"

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