Comments on: Awesome Quote By Irshad Manji

By: Frank Lovell

Frank Lovell — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 01:41:24 +0000

IMAD: I understand your hesitation, but buy END OF FAITH and give it a careful, thoughtful cover-to-cover read anhow! One way or the other (like it or hate it) you’ll benefit and be glad you did. Then after that, RUN (don’t walk) to buy and read LETTER TO A CHRISTIAN NATION by Sam Harris, and also THE GOD DELUSION by Richard Dawkins. Theists and atheists alike should read these books, they are the three most thought-provoking books I have read this century (granted, that might just mean that my reading a mere 40-50 books a year is simply not nearly enough reading ).

By: Imad

Imad — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 09:06:00 +0000

Sorry I forget to mention:
Frank Lovell, I was seconds away from clicking the checkout button on Amazon to buy the book you recomended [THE END OF FAITH], but my eye skimmed the 1st line of the Publishers Weekly review of the book, and it says:
“In this sometimes simplistic and misguided book, Harris calls for the end of religious faith in the modern world.”
So now I’m hesitant…

As for Kris: why have you left your blog [Nothing Aside] to die?

By: Imad

Imad — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 08:57:42 +0000

Kris says:
“Putting Islam into a Christian context will not help it kick out its bad influences”

I would like to disagree by saying that it DOES help. Every little bit of effort helps, whether it’s a method Kris believes in it or not.

I’m a muslim living in the middle east and I studied Islam in Arabic from 1st grade through 12th grade (12 years – mandatory in school), by both male & female teachers. My conclusion is that everyone’s input helps shape the future a tiny bit. Disagreeing with people (Irshad’s) input is also part of the process, but to say she’s not helping AT ALL is false. I’ve met many fellow Muslims who have read her book and have mobilized to help women’s rights groups – which helps reform Islam indirectly.

By: Frank Lovell

Frank Lovell — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 17:15:56 +0000

I urge EVERYone to RUN (don’t walk!) to fetch and thoughtfully read – from cover to cover – Sam Harris’ book, THE END OF FAITH [W.W. Norton & Company, NY, 2005]. Cover to cover – no skipping, no quitting prematurally in a know-it-all huff – read it all thoroughly and thoughtfully (including the footnotes as-you-go). If this book doesn’t provoke thinking and re-thinking, I don’t know what book could!

By: Justin Gardner

Justin Gardner — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 16:25:11 +0000

Thanks for the tip. I’ll be checking them out.

By: Kris

Kris — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 16:19:47 +0000

I think the quote makes sense in a Christian context. It makes sense to say that Muslims need to step back from the Qur’an and see its flaws. Yes, perhaps. But to do so is fraught with much danger in Islam since the book and God are so thoroughly meshed.

As for Christian fundamentalism, it seems that things have gone in the opposite direction. Christian fundamentalists have saught (ironically) to make the Bible into something more akin to the Qur’an in terms of how literal it is interpreted and how closely its words are seen as the actual voice of God.

Callimachus, this talk about a “Martin Luther of Islam” is exactly the problem. Putting Islam into a Christian context will not help it kick out its bad influences, and it won’t help those of us in the West understand the true nature of Islam any better. Not every religion needs a reformation to be successful – that’s just how the Christian story developed.

Like I said before, Manji isn’t the best voice out there if you want a thoughtful discussion on Islam today. Certainly read Qutb and see where bin Laden got his inspiration, but read some progressive voices (such as Khaled Abou al-Fadl or Omid Safi) who aren’t as loud and iconoclastic (as Manji is) but who bring a strong series of arguments, and you’ll get a better picture of what the challenges are in contemporary Islam.

By: Justin Gardner

Justin Gardner — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 14:08:52 +0000

Yes, for Christianity, stepping back from the text is much more practical. But for Muslims, the QurÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢an, as spoken through the Prophet Muhammad, IS the literal word of God. Much more so than in the Bible, the QurÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢an is seen as a much closer way to directly encounter God.

I understand, couldn’t you say the same thing about the growing Fundamentalist movement in this country?

From what I’ve read of her, I really like her approach from a more common sense view of the flaws of man, but I agree that this approach ultimately marginalizes her. Still, I don’t think it makes the quote any less powerful.

By: Callimachus

Callimachus — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 07:06:53 +0000

I think she’s wonderful; I wish she could be the Martin Luther of Islam. But it’s not going to happen. She’ll remain this wonderful dissident voice in the faith, and I’ll enjoy her writing and thinking, but we’ll have to look elsewhere for the spark that lights the Islamic reformation.

By: Kris

Kris — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 06:57:57 +0000

Careful with Irshad Manji. Her book is particularly aggressive in blaming far too many things on Islam. She makes good points that Muslims need to take responsibility for their religion and show that it is better than how it is seen, but she often does so by looking at Islam as if it is Christianity or some other belief system. It isn’t the same, yet she treats it the same. That second quote in particular shows just how Christianized her thinking is: Yes, for Christianity, stepping back from the text is much more practical. But for Muslims, the Qur’an, as spoken through the Prophet Muhammad, IS the literal word of God. Much more so than in the Bible, the Qur’an is seen as a much closer way to directly encounter God.

None of this is to say that Irshad Manji is totally wrong, but she does tend to try to convince her co-religists that much more is their fault than most would otherwise recognize. If you want to read some some better progressive Muslim voices, try Khaled Abou al-Fadl or Omid Safi.