Muslim reform activist to speak about new democratic perspectives

Journalist and filmmaker known as "Bin Laden's worst nightmare"

By: Aleksey Shats

Posted: 2/15/08

"Osama bin Laden's worst nightmare" is coming to speak at Syracuse University.

Irshad Manji received the title from The New York Times after receiving death threats for advocating her democratic views and activism for Muslim reform. Manji will lead a discussion titled "Islam and Democracy: Do They Have a Prayer?"

John Palmer, former dean of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and an economics professor, said Manji challenges traditional Muslim views and practices.

"We're trying to provide a forum of different perspectives," said Palmer, who organized the event. "We're trying to bring in speakers that present a diversity of perspectives that are being debated in our country and internationally."

This event is part of "The State of Democracy Lecture Series," run by Maxwell School and will take place on today at 4 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium. The series features speakers who offer different perspectives about democratic citizenship.

The forum will begin with Manji's PBS documentary, "Faith Without Fear," he said. The documentary traces Manji's efforts through the Arabian Peninsula to reform Islam with democratic ideas of freedom.

The documentary will focus on Manji's work and will be followed by an open dialogue in which the audience will be able to react to Manji's views and ideas, he said.

Manji is the director of New York University's Moral Courage Project. The goal of the project is to develop leadership by challenging unfair political practices and teach the skills needed for active democratic citizenship, according to Manji's Web site.

She is also the author of "The Trouble With Muslim Today: A Muslim's Call for Reform in Her Faith," a book that confronts the issues concerning radical Islam. In the book, Manji calls for a reform in the Islamic countries in the ways they treat women and homosexuals.

Mehrzad Boroujerdi, an associate professor in Maxwell, said messages of reform in the Muslim world such as Manji's are a step forward, but is not sure if they will be able to solve the current problems.

"There are a lot of Muslims who have been in search of thinking about what is wrong with the Muslim world, especially in a Western setting," he said. "I think it's always worthwhile to hear these types of voices, especially when it's someone who doesn't represent the mainstream view."

Manji carries the message the Western world wants her to state, Boroujerdi said. There is an audience in the West that is receptive to Manji's message, because of its feelings about democratic freedom, including the current war in Iraq, he said.

"Her stand on homosexuality is something that sets her apart and allows her to attack this core orthodoxy from a different angle," Boroujerdi said. "Her take on women, too, is something that's an obvious problem in the Muslim world."

However, the social and political atmosphere is different in the Muslim countries, where her message can be seen as a threat. The male elite who hold the power in many of the Muslim countries have put forth their own interpretations of Islam in their own interests, he said.

Governments have found different excuses and different rationales for maintaining their power and preventing their people from advancing beyond radical interpretations of Islam, he said.

Boroujerdi said a monopoly exists over interpretation of people's faith in the Muslim countries. There are many kinds of Islam. Islam in Turkey or Indonesia is different from Islam in Iraq or Afghanistan, he said.

"The real test is not what The New York Times says about you, the real test is how the colloquium of these things changes Islam," he said.

ashats@syr.edu