The Trouble with Islam Today

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Original cover of The Trouble with Islam

The Trouble with Islam Today, original title The Trouble with Islam is a 2004 book critical of Islam written by Irshad Manji, styled in an open-letter for Muslims world wide.

1 Contents
2 Chapters
3 Editions
4 Reception
- 4.1 Praise
- 4.2 Criticism
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Contents

In the book the author aims to provide an examination of what she describes as "the inferior treatment of women in Islam"; "Jew-bashing that so many Muslims persistently engage in", "the continuing scourge of slavery in countries ruled by Islamic regimes", "literalist readings of the Koran" and "the lost traditions of critical thinking Ijtihad".^[1]^[2]

"The Trouble with Islam is an open letter from me, a Muslim voice of reform, to concerned citizens worldwide – Muslim and not. It's about why my faith community needs to come to terms with the diversity of ideas, beliefs and people in our universe, and why non-Muslims have a pivotal role in helping us get there." - "That doesn't mean I refuse to be a Muslim, it simply means I refuse to join an army of automatons in the name of Allah."

[edit] Chapters

"The Letter"
"How I Became a Muslim Refusenik"
"Seventy Virgins?"
"When Did We Stop Thinking?"
"Gates and Girdles"
"Who's Betraying Whom?"
"The Hidden Underbelly of Islam"
"Operation Ijtihad"
"In Praise of Honesty"
"Thank God for the West"

[edit] Editions

The Trouble with Islam, St. Martin's Press (hardcover), 2004, ISBN 0-312-32699-8
The Trouble with Islam Today, St. Martin's Griffin (paperback), 2005, ISBN 0-312-32700-5

Translations:

Finnish: Islamin kahdet kasvot, Tammi (paperback), 2004, ISBN 951-31-3076-2, translated by Tiina Sjelvgren
Urdu, Arabic, and Farsi editions are available on her website here
Many other translations exist, from Hindi to German

[edit] Reception

[edit] Praise

The Trouble with Islam Today has created debate worldwide. The book is now translated into more than 30 languages. Manji also has multiple translations of the book (namely Arabic, Urdu, Malay and Persian) available for free download on her website. Meant to reach readers in those countries where her book is banned, the translations are widely popular.

Praise comes from both Muslim and non-Muslim sources. Khaleel Mohammed, an imam and professor of Islam at San Diego State University, wrote in his foreword to Manji's book that "Irshad wants us to do what our Holy Book wants us to do: end the tribal posturing, open our eyes, and stand up to oppression, even if it's rationalized by our vaunted imams... She remains obedient to the Divine Imperative: 'O you who believe! Be upholders of justice, witnesses for God, even if it be against yourselves, or your parents and kin' (Quran, 4:135)."

Hesham Hassaballa, a columnist with Muslimwakeup.com said that he "was deeply surprised by what she had to say. And deeply grateful."^[3]

Quantara.de, a website promoting interfaith dialogue, mentions that "Irshad Manji breaks every taboo in the book while also challenging our prejudices about Islam. What's more, she does so as a Muslim, not as a Westernized woman preaching from the pulpit of a feminist ivory tower."^[4]

Jane Mansbridge, Adams Professor of Political Leadership and Democratic Values at Harvard University, says that “all is not lost if people of Irshad Manji's capacity can carry a fresh and convincing message to the coming generation. I cannot urge her more strongly to maintain her frank, open and intelligent approach. This cause is, I believe, the most important new movement in several decades.”

The New York Times Book Review wrote a positive review of The Trouble with Islam. Although Sullivan found some of Manji's "prescriptions for change in Islam ... dwarfed by the scale of the problem", he nevertheless considers Manji "a nerve ending for the West -- shocking, raw, but mercifully, joyously, still alive."^[5]

The Times of India reviewed "The Trouble with Islam Today", and said that Manji's "courage is to be commended"^[6]. The Pakistan Friday Times encouraged Pakistan to set a "positive example" by letting the book be distributed and discussed freely^[7].

The Sydney Morning Herald also wrote a positive review.^[8]

[edit] Criticism

Criticism also comes from within Islam and from secular sources. Some of Manji's critics allege that she goes too far in her criticisms of Islam and Muslims. Some claim there is a double standard between her criticism of Muslim states and her staunch defence of Israel.^[9]

As'ad Abu Khalil, professor of political science at California State University, Stanislaus, charges Manji with disproportionately targeting Muslims, ignoring the peripheral context within which most Muslims live, and not applying the same critiques to other groups, notably those with significantly more power in society such as conservative Christians. Abu Khalil also asserts Manji is not trained in Islamic scholarship, history, or the Arabic language, and as such ignores the multiplicity of debates and traditions within Islam.^[10]

Tarek Fatah, a liberal Canadian Muslim, wrote in his critical review of The Trouble With Islam that the book "is aimed at making Muslim haters feel secure in their thinking." Others have been more blunt: Khaled Almeena, editor of the Arab News in Saudi Arabia, complains that "This fraudulent book has now become a guide to Islam."^[11]^[12]

Omar Afra, editor of Free Press Houston, charges Manji with a failure to see the problems of the Islamic world in a socio-economic context. He also states that Manji "sees the mis-treatment of women in the Islamic world as a monolith all the while ignoring rampant date rape and domestic abuse in Western culture."

In 2003, Tarek Fatah, who was acknowledged at the beginning of The Trouble with Islam (for the discussions he had with the author), has criticized the book: "In one fragment of a sentence, "Muslim Complicity in the Holocaust," Ms. Manji places all these warriors on the wrong side of the trenches." . He also generally called the book a "diatribe against Muslims", concluding: "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 asked his name to be removed from future editions. ^[13]^[14]^[15]

Irshad Manji answered: "[Tarek Fatah] should have read the very next paragraph in my book, which acknowledges that some Muslims refused to hitch themselves to Hitler -- despite Haj Amin's effort to recruit them. I emphasized that "Bosnian Muslims not only resisted his charms, but actively hid Jews in their homes." Yet we hear nothing about this from Mr. Fatah, the à la carte critic of a fast-food historian." and "[Tarek Fatah] bellowed, "This book was written by the Jews for the Jews!" It's painful to hear such words fly from the mouth of a self-declared Muslim reformer". ^[16]

In January 2005, Canadian activist Linda Belanger [1] of Women Against Occupation stated: "By page 30 of her book, Manji starts to sound like the pro-war, pro-Zionist, Islam bashing columnists from the pages of Canwest Global newspapers [...] Again, her enthusiasm for Western societies seems to be very ill informed. Women's rights are a relatively new thing in Canada. [...] The trouble with The Trouble with Islam is that it is a biased, poorly researched and negative book."^[17]