March 11, 2005

The Trouble with Irshad Manji?

By Hesham Hassaballa

Today, we are very pleased to introduce Friday with Hassaballa, a new exclusive MWU! regular column by Hesham Hassaballa, whom many of our readers will know from his writing on Beliefnet. -- Ed.

At first, I did not want to have anything to do with Canadian author Irshad Manji. When reading about her book, The Trouble With Islam (St. Martin's Press), I thought to myself, "Great. Another self-proclaimed Muslim bashing Islam." Then came her interview on Beliefnet.com, which headlined as an interview with a "Lesbian, Feminist, Israel-loving Muslim." Still being haunted by the ghosts of my fundamentalist past, I had an urge to skip the interview saying, "I don't want to read about her filth." Yet, I resisted this urge and decided to take a closer look at the "Muslim Refusenik." I must say that I was deeply surprised by what she had to say. And deeply grateful.

I found myself agreeing with a lot of what she had to say. I also found myself disagreeing with a lot of what she had to say. The most important point, however, was that I listened to what she had to say. My initial urge to dismiss Irshad Manji out of hand, simply because of the title of her book, was very wrong indeed.

I agree with her that some aspects of critical thinking were utterly abandoned by Muslim legal scholars for many centuries, to the utter detriment and decay of Islamic civilization. I disagree, however, that critical thinking is completely absent among Muslims today. I agree with her that scriptural literalism among Muslims is a serious problem. I disagree, however, that literalism is the mainstream of modern Muslim thought. I agree with her that sometimes Arab cultural traditions are confused for Islamic doctrine. I also agree with her that conversations with God do not have to be only in Arabic--heck, I pray to God in English all the time. I disagree, however, if she advocates saying the five daily Muslim prayers in English. Although she never said it explicitly, I agree with her that many Muslims have fallen way short of the ideals of their faith. I disagree, however, that the "trouble" is with Islam itself.

The most important thing is not whether I agree or disagree with Manji's views. The most important thing is that I am having such a "conversation" with Manji. Sadly, however, I see many Muslims refusing to engage in such a dialogue. For example, many Muslims dismiss Irshad Manji out of hand because they claim she is a member of the Shia Ismaili sect, a charge she has repeatedly denied. In addition, I am sure many Muslims are not fond of her being Lesbian, Feminist, and Israel-loving. Still, that is no reason why Muslims should refuse to listen to what she has to say. I think Ms. Manji makes some legitimate points about Muslims today, and those points need to be critically examined by Muslims today.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) once said that Muslims should seek to gain wisdom from wherever it may lie, and that includes Lesbian, Feminist, Israel-loving, Muslim Refuseniks. The same goes with Dr. Amina Wadud, professor of Islamic Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. At a recent event in Toronto, Canada, Dr. Wadud said that there are times when we must disagree with the Qur'an; there are times when we simply must say "no" to the Qur'an.

I must admit that I was taken seriously aback when I read about her statement. Yet, I was pained by the reaction of many who listened to her in the crowd that night. Rather than insult her in front of hundreds of people, why not ask her politely to explain what she meant? Rather than call her a "CIA agent" and walk out of the hall, why not seek her explanation of saying "no" to the Qur'an? That is exactly what I did (via email), and she was gracious enough to respond. And now I understand what she means.

That does not necessarily mean that I agree, but, again, that is not the point. The point is being able to disagree without being disagreeable. The fact that Irshad Manji has to protect herself because of death threats is disgusting and despicable. The fact that people shouted at Dr. Wadud was also horribly shameful. No matter what the view they espouse, they are our Muslim sisters, and that bond of faith is stronger than any disagreement over Qur'an or hadith.

After all, Allah (swt) did say: "Believers, Let not some men among you mock others: It may be that the (latter) are better than the (former): Nor let some women mock others: It may be that the (latter are better than the (former): Nor defame nor be sarcastic to each other, nor call each other by (offensive) nicknames: Ill-seeming is a name connoting wickedness, (to be used of one) after he has believed: And those who do not desist are (indeed) doing wrong" (49:11).

The most important part of the verse is the end: "...ill-seeming is a name connoting wickedness (to be used of one) after he has believed..." In the end, we are all brothers and sisters. Imam Ali (may God be pleased with him) was asked about those who fought against him, and he said: "They are our brothers who transgressed against us." He did not call them "kuffar," or "fussaq," or "agents of Shaytan." He never forgot that they were his brothers; we must also never forget.

I am grateful to God for having read Manji's interview and learned some of what she has to say. I am grateful to God for reading about how Dr. Wadud believes there are times to say "no" to the Qur'an. There was a time in my life when I would dismiss people out of hand because of the views they purportedly had with which I disagreed. This only made me all the poorer, because I arrogantly denied myself an opportunity to learn something new or see things from a different perspective. In addition, this practice ran counter to the guiding principles of Islam, which demands of its adherents to think and have open minds. Thank God I have changed. It may not always be easy to hear oneself be criticized, but it is vitally important to hear that criticism nonetheless. Otherwise, change for the better will be as elusive as the appearance of Mr. Godot.

Hesham A. Hassaballa is a Pulmonary and Critical Care physician currently practicing in the greater Chicago area. He has written extensively on a freelance basis, and his commentaries have been published in BeliefNet, the Chicago Tribune as well as other media around the country and around the world. He is the co-author of the forthcoming book, The Beliefnet Guide to Islam, to be pubished by Doubleday. In addition to writing, Dr. Hassaballa helped found the Chicago chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and is co-chair of the Media Relations Committee of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago. Make sure to visit Hesham;s blog at hassaballa.org.

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