Customer Reviews

The Trouble with Islam: A Wake-up Call for Honesty and Change

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

I enjoyed reading this book, since I've always wondered how a reasonably intelligent woman would accept Islam without some form of coercion. Manji takes off where Bernard Lewis has drawn the line, and diagnoses what's really wrong with Islam, starting with the prohibition to question it, which forestalls any attempt to reform it or update it. She debunks the myth that it's a peaceful religion. Rather, it's the totalitarian doctrine with which the Caliphs built the Arab Empire. It would not have been possible to control the vast lands and populations without the militarism, and the threat of violent retribution against sceptics, nonbelievers, and enemies of the faith and the state, which are inseparable.

As a novice to the Middle East Conflict she fails, however, in her analysis of the political events that are currently shaping our world. She paints a black-and-white picture of Islam vs the West. Christians and Jews good, Muslims bad, Sunni Muslims worse. If there's a problem, it must be attributed to the Arabs' or the Turks' failure to accept their own faults.It's possibly her partiality to the Shiites, that she skirts the role of Iran in laying the groundwork for suicide terrorism, the resurrection of political Islam in the region, and the transformation of Palestine into an Islamic cause. She calls for "ijtihad", the independent interpretation of the Holy Book, yet makes only a passing reference to the great Ataturk Reformation, the first and only Operation Ijtihad that created a whole new generation of liberated women, and millions of refuseniks, enlightened Muslims, and independent thinkers.

Despite its shortcomings this is an historical book by a courageous woman that should be read by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Will Islam respond to her call for change ? Not likely, at least outside of Turkey. That's where the future of Islam will be decided. If you want to know why, read "The Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire" by Alan Palmer. Then read "Ataturk" by Lord Kinross, and see why he was The Man of the Millennium. Ataturk drew the road map for change 80 years ago. This is the only hope for Muslims, and indeed, for the world. As my friends from Afghanistan are saying, "All we need, and all that every Islamic country needs, is an Ataturk."

This book was a pleasure to read; a breath of fresh air, both in style and substance. Manji has an informal style of writing that will speak to a wide audience.

The only people who don't seem to like the way she writes (on Amazon.ca anyway) are the ones who write scathing reviews, and almost always spell Koran differently (e.g., Qu'ran, Coran, etc.), clearly identifying them as those Muslims who are unable to take a critical look at their faith. These reviewers are first to attack Ms. Manji on her young age, lack of knowledge about the Koran and Islamic history, "spiked hair" (read homophobic) and poor grammar (there's nothing gramatically incorrect with how she writes). Not surprisingly, these reviewers are also the exact people/Islamic-automatons that Ms. Manji is writing her book about. The same warped thinkers that blame Jews/Israel and "U.S. colonialism" for 9/11 and every other mishap in history.

Irshad, you're smart as a whip and a brave woman who is clearly ahead of your time. Thank you for such a compelling and timely read. You are a hero to Islam and I wish you the best in your quest for Ijtihad.

This is the best piece of polemical writing I have read in a long time, smart, challenging and engaging. The writing is informal and very readable. The book is also unique in providing a critical view of Islam from a Muslim point of view. There are a number of points that I would question and would want to discuss further with the author. But that's the great value of the work -- it engages readers in a critical discussion of crucial issues that are facing the world right now.

Manji is very clear about her position. Having grown up a Muslim in Canada she embraced the values of liberalism, tolerance and individuality that she found in western society. As a result her political philosophy is very "western" and she is much more sympathetic to western democracies than to Muslim theocracies. But her point is that while Muslim countries and the Islam religion have often been authoritarian and oppressive, they do not have to be. In her view Islam has been hijacked by a reactionary faction that gained control of the religion following Islam's "golden age." She wants to see a reformation of Islam, and she is challenging Muslims to be critical of the current orthodoxy and to start the process of reform. She is also challenging non-Muslims to question the position of mainstream Muslim friends and leaders who fail to question or critique more oppressive forms of Islam.

The book draws effectively on Manji's personal experiences growing up and as a television producer, and she also incorporates evidence from a wide variety of other sources to support her points. As would be expected in a polemical argument these are selective bits of evidence designed to illustrate and reinforce her point of view. They are not a definitive history of Islam or conclusive proof of her argument, but she does refer readers to her web site for details about the sources. The book moves from the personal to the historic and political and eventually to her suggestions for what's to be done. She has several concrete suggestions which she describes under the general heading of a campaign of "ijtihad" - a concept taken from the golden age of Islam that refers to a process of thoughtful development and reform.

Although I have limited knowledge of Islam and the Middle East, there are a couple of aspects of Manji's argument that I feel are lacking. First, she doesn't do much to relate the history of Islam to other social and economic developments that might help explain how and why it developed as it did. Second, she embraces western-style individuality and economic development uncritically. She seems to accept that economic development will lead to democratic institutions and social reform without appreciating how neocolonialism may operate to oppress less powerful countries and segments of society. While not totally embracing the position and actions of the United States she is willing to see George Bush and company as possible agents of social reform in the Middle East. Similarly, she is critical of Israel to a degree but she also admires the western, liberal aspects of Israeli society and contrasts these with the repressive nature of countries such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Because of this she pulls her punches with regard to both the US and Israel. Third, she argues that liberal westerners have been too tolerant of the intolerance of orthodox Islam. She is a bit muddy on this difficult question -- how to be both tolerant and critical at the same time. She doesn't seem to appreciate that western-style liberalism and individuality represent a particular cultural adaptation that might not be entirely appropriate for other societies. Instead she maintains a moral absolutism concerning western liberalism.

In spite of these misgivings I think the book is an excellent statement of a point of view that needs to be taken seriously. I would recommend it to anyone, if only so that they can better state their opposing views.

When I started reading this book, I could not put it down. It is honest, intelligent, funny, and very brave! On several occasions, as the author explains her efforts to be a good Muslim and to squelch her independent thinking, I had to laugh out loud. Her quirky personality shines through the narrative. Her description of the problems of Islam today, especially its intolerance and its fervent teaching of hatred for Jews and Americans, is chilling. I worry for her life.

By the way, I got a copy of this book from a friend in Canada. I can't wait until it is published in the US. I intend to send it as a Christmas gift to everyone in my family.

Irshad Manji has written an exceptional examination of the current crisis Islam is experiencing.The Writer calls for openess and self-reflection of those who share her faith to divorce the tenets of Islam from Arab Tribalism,and repressive laws.
A Brave Book, written by a brave Journalist.

Manji's entertaining and lucid style make this book extremely readable and very eye-opening. As an American I never realized how anti-Americanism and anti-semitism are central precepts instilled in most Islamic schools (and apparently this is nothing new) and are yet not central to the actual religion but only to mass-misinterpretation and mass-manipulation on the part of Islamic dictators and mullahs. Muslims and non-Muslims alike need to face the truth and work towards reform-- this is one heck of a wake-up call!

Irshad's book is both well-researched and entertaining; her journey is no less fantastic.
It's refreshing to find someone who thinks that you don't have to throw out your religion to reconcile it with modern-day values. Irshad puts a lot of faith and credit in Islam and Muslims by bringing to light both the good and the bad in Islam.
A very enjoyable read.

Manji brings marvelous tools to her writing table--critical thinking, insight, courage, and a way with words. In a paragraph she captures an essence that may take another a book to explain. She has messages for all of us, the most important perhaps is that wisdom follows maturity of insight and tolerance.

A snippet from p. 58 points to modern America: "The tricky part of empire isn't amassing it, but making it hum."

One clue that Manji has something to say lies in the range of reviewer ratings posted here; they are either great or terrible. Is Manji a controversial person? Certainly. Will she become a mover and shaker? She already is. Is she worth reading? Of course, regardless of your persuasion. Look for her insights into the mundane. Contrast the incisiveness you find with the negative platitudes you can read in other reviews here.

I was not surprised that moslem critics attacked Ms.Manji'book with the usual rhetorics and age-old comments like,"she has not read the Koran,she doesn't know the true Islam,etc" and more of the same ad-hominens which have been used as the most favored tool to counter their points in defense of the Islam for as long as I can remember. As far as I am concerned, she is to Islam that Martin Luther was to Christianity. In fact, most moslems have been duped,left behind, and wrapped up in lies for years and for them to face the truth is more painful than to reform. In my opinion, Islam is literally unreformable for their belief
that Koran is word-for-word from God. In reality, Ms.Manji has the guts to point out that Islam is badly in need of reformation in order to progress in this changing World shared by the other 5 billion people of different faith. Ms.Manji is indeed a breath of fresh air so needed for a faith that's viewed as 'angry religion' today, sadly.

S.Ebrahim, New York City, New York

Ms Manji must be congratulated for daring to speak up as a Muslim woman, a rare commodity in the Islamic World, a world made for and run by men. As a secular Turk, and a male, I share in her view that Islam must be reformed, and liberated from the yoke of medieval Arab culture. Unfortunately the reform movement started by Ataturk has not spread beyond the borders of Turkey, and is struggling against overwhelming regressive forces today. I do not share Ms Manji's admiration for the West and her ignorance of the West's colonial motives, nor her naive, biased and somewhat ill-informed analysis of recent or current political events in the Middle East, which read like editorials from the New York Times or the Jerusalem Post. She shouldn't buy those stories, either. On the whole, a noteworthy book that she might consider revising a little bit.