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

Rating:
Summary: Should appeal to people willing to think outside the box
Review: I am not a religious person so this book is/was of interest to me because it was written by a woman, and because she is a woman who isn't what I traditionally see Islam and how it treats women to be. She is very upfront and honest about who she is and that she has had positive as well as negative reactions to her work.

I like how she writes and how she exposes elements of Islam that traditional or fundamentalist (can I say radical?) members of her faith do not know, understand or agree with. Having been a traditional "Christian" who disagreed with much of what the leaders of that religion teach, I like how she shows that fundamentalist Islam, Judaism, Christianity all share a rigidity that many of their believers may not know isn't necessarily "true." And that in each of these religions questions aren't always welcomed or even tolerated, and if you're a girl or woman woe to you if you aren't willing to just be quiet or as the saying goes "don't go away mad just go away".

Ms. magazine has named her a "Feminist for the 21st Century" and Maclean's, Canada's national news magazine, has declared her a "Leader for Tomorrow".

This isn't a book for everyone, but should appeal to people willing to think outside the box, and interested in literature that is outside their belief systems. Some may be off put with her noting so much of what Islam has done "wrong." But I have found the same from those who do not like to hear about the negatives of any religion, which are usually based on what humans in leadership have done that have been negative and not the pure aspects of the belief system itself.

Rating:
Summary: George Shollenberger of Martinsburg, WV
Review: Irshad Manji is new and effective freedom fighter. She has produced a great book with lots of ideas and lots of data. We need more like her even if errors are made. Errors are found in every good dialogue. These errors are corrected naturally as the dialogue proceeds. In her words, I learned of something very human and beautiful ' the huge amounts of love that reside in the Muslim mind.

The debates between monarchism and free states are thousands of years old and are amplified today with the debates between conservatives and liberals. Thus, one cannot expect these debate to end without continued discussion. So, let Irshad Manji express her thoughts. We need as much thought as we can get on both sides of these debates and by both sexes. The days of trying to silence people for expressing their thoughts is out-dated and an indication of the degeneration of the repressor's MINDSET.

However, debates among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam could fade away fast after the spiritual atoms (or monads) of Gottfried Leibniz are applied to God's creation and revealed to the general population. With spiritual atoms, all forces in the holistic universe are based on love relations. All things in the universe will be understood only with infinite sets and the transfinite numbers of Georg Cantor. When God empowers and enlightens things in the universe through spiritual atoms, all metaphysical theories and all higher celestial worlds are rejected. And, God becomes the only higher world. Mediators (angels demons, etc.) no longer exist because God has secured His communications to us through the new atoms. With spiritual atoms, revealed religions become figments of one's imaginations. This new atomic creation theory describes Nature as an eternal and non-linear continuum. Heaven and Hell are gone and reincarnation is in. Obviously, the new theory goes well beyond Moses creation theory. It will become public soon.

Of possible interest to Muslims is a 15th century paper on the Koran. Specifically, in 1461, Bishop Nicholas of Cusa of the Roman Church made an interesting report in response to a request by Pope Pius II for information on the Koran. (See Cusa, Nicholas of, 1461,'Prologues to an Examination of the Koran.' Found in the USA in Wertz, William,1993, 'Toward a New Council of Florence;' Washington, DC: Schiller Institute, Inc., pps. 387-396.) Cusa reports that Muhammad prepared the Koran only to explain and simplify the words of Jesus Christ for his followers in Mecca. He also reports that Muhammad died as a Nestorian Christian. In his report, Cusa speaks of three very crafty Jews who attached themselves to Muhammad in order to avert him. After Muhammad's death, Cusa reports that these Jews approached Alis, the son of Abitalip, to whom Muhammad had bequeathed his collection of writings. Abitalip was persuaded by these Jews to elevate himself to a prophet. They added and deleted what they wanted from the book of Muhammad and added passages so that Muhammad would also appear as a prophet. The full report should be available at the Vatican.

Rating:
Summary: Finally, a honest account of Islam by a spunky Muslim chick
Review: At last, a refreshing personal account of a Muslim woman's struggle with her religion should be a wake up call for all Muslims, especially those fortunate enough to be residing in the West, to initiate the reforms formulated by Ms. Manji. Her practical proposal of supporting Islamic female business enterprises as the first goal of Operation Ijtihad is ingenious.
Will enough Western Muslims hurdle their own limitations and back Ms. Manji's idea to help bring Islam out of the Middle Ages and into the new millenium? Has any other Muslim proposed a better plan to stem the rising popularity of militant Islam or "foundamendalist" Islam?

Ms. Manji, who grew up in a multi-ethnic section outside of Vancouver, studied traditional Islam in a madressa on Saturdays,
where she began questioning her teacher. She readily admits that
living in an open, democratic society compelled her questioning.
Rather than abandon her religion, Ms. Manji studied Islam on her own and discovered its spiritual vibrancy before the 1200's.

The author's wake-up call is not only addressed to Muslims but to non-Muslims, as well. Here is the first time I've heard a Muslim tell non-Muslims "to ruin the romance of the moment when Muslims insist" that democracies exist in our own way, treating women and religious minorities as 2nd or 3rd class citizens.
Her many references between Jewish and Islamic historical connections culminating in her positive depiction of Israel as a beacon of democracy proves to this reader that Ms. Manji is one unique, honest Muslim cookie.
Her book will hopefully initiate a blueprint for the reformation of Islam.

Rating:
Summary: What someone mentioned in the Acknowledgement section says
Review: It is not often that a person thanked in the acknowledgement of a book turns around and announces publicly, 'thanks, but no thanks.'

And yet this is precisely what I am about to do. At the receiving end of my rejection is Irshad Manji, the Salman Rushdie wannabe author of the fatwa-shopping, newly released book, 'The Trouble with Islam.'

The reason for my rejection? To assuage the souls of the thousands of Muslims from countries and regions as diverse and Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, India, Pakistan, and yes even Palestine and other Middle Eastern nations.

They laid down their lives in the Second World War in battles as significant as those of Stalingrad, which broken Hitler's back, and North Africa, which sent Hitler's Desert Fox, General Rommel, scurrying back to his den in Berlin.

Despite the sacrifices of these men, Ms. Manji in her book refers to the 'Muslim complicity in the Holocaust.' I froze as I read this serious accusation. Could I have missed something when I sat at the feet of Muslim veterans from Crete, Burma, Egypt, and Italy, and heard their horror stories? In one fragment of a sentence, 'Muslim Complicity in the Holocaust,' Ms. Manji places all these warriors on the wrong side of the trenches.

In writing her diatribe against Muslims, I doubt that Manji had heard of the Palestine Regiment, a unit in which Jew and Muslim fought side-by-side against Hitler's Afrika Korps in Libya. In the cemeteries of El-Alamein lie the dead Muslims, the Mohammeds, the Alis and the Ismail's who gave their lives so that Nazism could be defeated. The cemeteries of Stalingrad bear the names of the young Central Asian Muslims who lay buried, unable to refute the falsehoods being spread by fast-food historians. And what about the hundreds of thousands of Indian Muslims who fought shoulder to shoulder with our own Canadians in Italy and France.

So how did Ms. Manji come up with a charge as far reaching as the one by the recent German parliamentarian who said that 'Jews were complicit' in the Bolshevik revolution's atrocities? She bases it on one Haj Amin, the Mufti of Jerusalem, who, as she writes, 'wound up as Hitler's special guest in Berlin, presiding over the unveiling of the Islamic Central Institute in December 1942.'

According to Irshad Manji's rationale, because one Muslim Mufti accepted the hospitality of Hitler, after being expelled from Palestine by the British colonial authorities, all us 1.2 billion Muslims, a quarter of humanity, deserve to be accused of complicity in the Holocaust.

And what about other prominent Palestinians, such as Hazim Khalidi, a London School of Economics grad who volunteered to serve in the Indian army's "Palestine Battalion' and later assigned to the 'Palestine Regiment' that included Muslims, Jews, and Christians? Perhaps Irshad Manji may like to visit the cemetery in Mississauga where Sgt. Hannah Hazineh lies buried, unable to come to his defence. This decorated Palestinian veteran of the Second World War was wounded in the El-Alamein battle while fighting the Nazis. Ah! But why let facts get in the way of a good story.

Haj Amin, no doubt, was an influential Muslim cleric in Jerusalem. But so were countless Catholic and Protestant clergy in Europe who supported Hitler, and many looked the other way while their Jewish neighbours were being dragged away. Should we talk of Christian complicity in the Holocaust? Should we, like the German Parliamentarian who talked of a Jewish complicity in the Bolshevik uprising, allow the actions of a few to rub off on an entire people?

The Holocaust charge is not the only example of Manji's poor scholarship when it comes to Muslim bashing. In an amazing swipe at her co-religionists, Manji writes, 'Muslims of East Africa treated blacks like slaves.' The fact that the vast majority of Muslims in East Africa are themselves black is completely lost on her. She continues, 'We Muslims made dignity difficult for people darker than us.' A Somali friend bewildered at her accusation asked, 'Who is darker than me? Obviously, Irshad Manji does not consider black Muslims as Muslim enough,' he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

Irshad Manji says her book is addressed to fellow Muslims. Had it been written in good faith, I would have understood her reasoning, even if I did not agree with her. However, her book is not addressed to Muslims; it is aimed at making Muslim haters feel secure in their thinking.

And so, I politely tell Ms. Manji: Thank you for thanking my wife Nargis and me for a 'spirited discussion' that landed you 'important insights.' But the kind of insight you display in your book is troubling. Not quite our recollection of where you said you were coming from. And we would appreciate any mention of us being removed from your second edition ' that is, if you do manage to secure a threatening fatwa and have a second edition.

Tarek Fatah is host of the weekly TV show, The Muslim Chronicle and a founding member of the Muslim Canadian Congress.

Rating:
Summary: courageous accurate assessment of Islam
Review: My knowledge of world history and religions was better than most but woefully lacking as I have found out since 9-11. Shortly after 9-11, I began reading about Islam from multiple sources; some Islamic and others non-Islamic, some sympathetic and others not, some pre 9-11, some post.

It has taken me a long time to form opinions about Islam because the issues are so complex. Indeed, I do not have final opinions about many issues concerning Islam and probably never will. But in my two years of study, I have begun to feel that I have a sense of the religion.

Manji is the first Muslim who I have seen publicly speak openly, rationally and honestly about the current state of Islam. The book is light reading but insightful. I
would highly recommend it.

It is my belief that this is the most valuable assessment of Islam that has been published since 9-11.

Rating:
Summary: Riding the wave!
Review: I agree with the earlier reviews. This book lacks accuracy, is full of mistakes, misses the point of what Islam is about, and reads like a teenager throwing a hissy fit!

So why was it published? Perhaps the publisher saw a chance to take advantage of the anti-Islam climate and ride the wave to high profits. Indeed billions of dollars are spent each year to scare people away from Islam. In books like this, magazines, news reports, movies, etc. If Islam is so bad, anyone who studies it would see it for what it is and reject it. why bother? But the power that be are afraid!

So what is in Islam that they are so afraid of?
Well, let's open the Qur'an and read a few verses from the very beginning. Judge for yourself!

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Master of the Day of Judgment, You (alone) we worship; You (alone) we ask for help. Guide us to the straight path, The path of those whom You have favored; Not the (path) of those who earn Your anger nor of those who go astray.
Believe it or not that was the first chapter--only seven verses and a simple prayer for guidance-- nothing scary so far. Let's move on to the second chapter

In the name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
1. A.L.M. 2. This is the Book, in which there is GUIDANCE without doubt, for those who ward off evil. 3. Who believe in the Unseen, and establish prayer, and spend of that We have bestowed upon them; 4. And who believe in that which is revealed unto you (Muhammad) and that which was revealed before you (to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus), and are certain of the Hereafter. 5. They are on true guidance from their Lord. They are the successful.
There it is, in the second verse. That's what they want to keep you away from: Guidance. Divine guidance and a way of life based on God's complete and perfect knowledge of human nature. No more living based on guesswork, opinion of "experts," or what Madison Avenue and Hollywood deem fit as an acceptable way of life.

Imagine knowing the best way to live your life, spend your time, and how to be at peace with the One who gave you life, with yourself and the rest of the creation. Once you have this knowledge, once you have this guidance, then they cannot misguide you. And THEY know it!

Guidance was what the elite idol worshippers of Mecca feared and caused them to fight vehemently against Prophet Muhammad and Islam, and this is exactly the reason why the elite of the corporate world, government, media, Hollywood, etc. today are working so hard to keep you away from Islam. And all lies about Islam being violent, backward, intolerant, and oppressive is a smoke screen to hide True Guidance. Despite all their efforts Islam is the fastest growing religion in America and Europe.

So it's up to you to read and judge for yourself! If you decide to read the Qur'an, please keep in mind that the Qur'an is a collection of revelation to Prophet Muhammad. It is preserved in its original Arabic and available throughout the world. There are many English translations of the Qur'an. The one translation I have found very useful The Holy Quran: An English Translation by Allamah Nooruddin available at Amazon.

"... A Book which We have revealed unto you (Muhammad), in order that you may lead mankind out of the depths of darkness into light - by the leave of their Lord - to the Way of (Him) the Exalted in power, worthy of all praise!" 14:1

Say (O Muslims), "We believe in One God and that which has been sent down to us and that which has been sent down to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and to the twelve sons of Jacob, and that which has been given to Moses and Jesus, and that which has been given to the Prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we have submitted (in Islam)." 2:136

When My servants ask you concerning Me, I am indeed very close (to them): I answer the prayer of every suppliant when he calls on Me (directly without any intercessors, saints, angels,
idols, etc.): Let them also answer My call, and believe in Me: So that they may be rightly guided. 2:186

For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in Charity, for men and women who fast, for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah's praise, for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward. 33:35

"if anyone kill a person, unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land, it would be as if he killed all mankind: and if anyone saved a life it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind." 5:32.

"O mankind! We created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know (respect and love) one another. Verily, the most honorable of you in the sight of God is the one who is most God conscious (in thought and action, regardless of race and nationality). Verily, God is All-Knowing, All-Aware." 49:13

Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from falsehood; whoever rejects evil and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold that never breaks.
And Allah hears and knows all things. 2:256

Rating:
Summary: Manji alienates us and divides
Review: I have severe trouble with Manji's approach towards educating us upon the tenents of Islam and its reforms.

I feel that much of Manji's evidence is based upon a hatred for the people of Islam, rather than an analysis of Islam, itself. In effect, I feel her message divides us from the people we are trying to help, in effect, creating further division between the West and the Muslim World.

By following Manji's prescription for change, we would only alienate ourselves further from the people we need to embrace most ---- the Muslim World will not change through hatred and admonishment - they will change through our embrace of them, for the purposes of giving them our thoughts and goals.

Manji - I think you are dividing our world even more.

Rating:
Summary: The Trouble with Islam : A Muslim's Call for Reform in Her F
Review: The first problem with this book is that the title in question, i.e., The Trouble with Islam : A Muslim's Call for Reform in Her Faith by Irshad Manji (Author), is a misnomer. It should have been called the insult to islam since it is the most damaging book regarding this revered religion ever written. Manji can not speak for muslims since she is a lesbian and being lesbian is a sin and an abomination just not in the muslim religion but also frowned upon in the jewish religion and in the Christian tradition. Being a Christian, I found her overtly lesbian attitude to be offensive and she acts and writes more like a man then a woman. Her writing is inane and insane. She writes and writes; but the fact that she is a lesbian takes away all her credibility and makes all her arguments into stupid one liners that have no value. This is an insult to such a great tradition and people should avoid this pseudo intelectual junk...

Rating:
Summary: Confusing Islam and Muslim
Review: My title says it all. I do understand how she ended up having the particular view point of...whatever we might call her subject matter. I do concur on some of the issues she discusses (though for some only generlly). However, throughout the book, she should've been a little more careful in choosing or in the labeling of her subject matter.

I would agree, again in general terms, that MUSLIMS need to reform, or rethink how they apply, adopt, etc. Islam. But reforming ISLAM does not make much sense.

I can't emphasize this point enough. The confusion of the two terminologies blurrs all the arguments, both good and bad, and makes this book a non-worthwhile diary to read. Without the proper separation in Ms. Manji's mind, at least, of what this book is talking about and the proper labeling of it, this book would make no sense at all, except for the Islam-haters.

Rating:
Summary: There is a reason for dismissal of this book.
Review: I will, immediately, admit to two things. I have not read this book, and I am muslim. Without even delving too deeply into her thesis and personal opinions, I noticed one jarring fact...the author is lesbian. As a muslim (convert) raised in America, I am rather tolerant of different lifestyles, religions and people. I would never hate a person for any of these labels. However, I must say that being a lesbian is in direct conflict with being a muslim. Homosexuality is explicity forbidden in the Quran by God (Allah swt). It is her choice and she should not suffer any hatred by fellow human beings. But non-Muslims must be aware that her choice of sexual orientation is going to automatically devalue any relevant argument that she had. By becoming a lesbian, she is non-verbally saying that the commandments of Allah swt are null and void; and don't apply to her. This is a rather contentious stance. I hope Muslims and non-Muslims alike see her angle. She obviously doesn't believe in, nor practice, Islamic law (which is the basis for a Muslim lifestyle).