Irshad Manji

The New York Times calls Irshad Manji “Osama bin Laden’s worst nightmare.” Oprah Winfrey has given her the first annual Chutzpah Award for “audacity, nerve, boldness and conviction” She takes both as a compliment.

Irshad is Director of the Moral Courage Project at New York University. It develops young leaders who will challenge conformity and champion creativity. They include reform-minded Muslims, whom Irshad is strengthening through her books, films and media presence.

Her latest book, Allah, Liberty and Love, is a guide to reconciling faith and freedom in a world raging with repressive dogmas. Irshad’s previous book is the international bestseller, The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim’s Call for Reform in Her Faith.
Frequently featured on global platforms such as CNN, The Times of London Online and Al-Arabiya.net, Irshad is also a regular columnist with Canada’s own Globe and Mail. 

She has risen to prominence as the internationally best-selling author of the Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim’s Call for Reform in Her Faith. In those countries that have banned her book, Irshad is reaching readers by posting free translations on her popular blog. In just over a year, the Arabic translation has been downloaded 300,000 times and circulated by youth throughout the Middle East.

Irshad is also creator of the acclaimed PBS documentary, Faith Without Fear, which follows her journey to reconcile Islam with freedom and human rights. It is now being screened in Europe and shown via digital technologies in many parts of the Muslim world.

For her pioneering work, Irshad receives death threats and distinctions. 

The World Economic Forum has selected her as a Young Global Leader; Maclean’s, Canada’s national news magazine, has named her one of “10 Canadians Who Make a Difference”; and The Jakarta Post in Indonesia -- the world’s largest Muslim country -- identifies Irshad as one of three Muslim women creating positive change in Islam today. 

• 5. Women as the Key to Reforming the Muslim World

  Women's rights are human rights. But Muslim women today still suffer profound ill-treatment. Is there something inherent to Islam that opposes women's equality? Or is the issue more cultural than religious? Above all, how can liberating the entrepreneurial talents of women be the key to reforming the Muslim world? In this inspiring presentation, Irshad illuminates the root problems and offers concrete solutions based on Islam itself. Starting with her personal journey and ending on recommendations for action, Irshad urges all of us -- Muslim and non-Muslim -- to become leaders in the struggle for universal human rights. Better yet, she shows us how.

• 4. Confessions of a Muslim Reformer: Why I Fight for Women, Jews, Gays...and God

  In this energetic and profoundly personal speech, Irshad addresses the ideas in her internationally acclaimed film, "Faith Without Fear." With candour and humour, Irshad unearths the troubling cornerstones of mainstream Islam today: tribal insularity, the ill-treatment of women, deep-seated anti-Semitism, and an uncritical acceptance of the Koran as the supreme manifesto of God's will. But her message is ultimately a positive one. She expresses a new, humane and intellectually vibrant vision for humanity -- based on Islam's own tradition of critical thinking. She has a refreshing challenge for both Muslims and non-Muslims: Don't silence yourselves. Ask questions out loud. Irshad Manji gives all of us the permission to think.

• 3. The Future of Islam

  In this dynamic speech, Irshad charts the course for a reform of Islam. By "reform," she means a change that promotes freedom and human rights. Along the way, Irshad offers key insights about a new generation of Muslims, illuminating their challenges and opportunities. She also empowers non-Muslims to support reform in ways that bring out the better angels in all of us.

• 2. Shut up and be Diverse! (Not)

  Diversity is a many-splendored thing. It can be the source of conviction or confusion. It can incite bigotry or inspire opportunity. By sharing examples from her own life and that of renowned historical figures, Irshad Manji shows us the key to embracing diversity. Hint: It's not simply about race, gender, or culture. Don't miss this chance to enhance the diversity of your environment by first appreciating yourselves as individuals. Speak your mind. Engage your conscience. Accept your uniqueness. Each of us has an authentic voice. Using her voice, Irshad will help you: ·Understand that group identities do not define diversity; individuality does;
  ·Explore how individuality benefits the wider organization;
  ·Realize how we can become more authentic human beings at work and beyond;
  ·Encourage the questions that will help conquer fears; and
  ·Live every day with the greatest of all human resources: courage.
  

• 1. The Power of Asking Questions - Out Loud

  Celebrated and condemned around the globe as a Muslim who stands up to the forces of terrorism, Irshad shows that one voice, asking simple questions out loud, can change the world. She has transformed her personal journey into a riveting story that teaches all of us how to develop moral courage and confront the challenges we face – whether as students, professionals, parents, or citizens. Irshad Manji's message is your wake-up call.

• The place couldn't stop buzzing about your fresh take on marketing 'with' youth instead of 'to' them.
  Canadian Cosmetic Toiletry & Fragrance Association
• Your presentation set a tone of freshness and openness.
  Canadian Healthcare Association
• You had an incredible impact on everyone who was there... Your message, your delivery and your passion made them think!!!!!
  York District Region School Board
• As I expected, she delivered precisely the kind of message I was hoping a keynote speaker, speaking on diversity and leadership, would convey to the college community. Her speech was both engaging and thought provoking.
  Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced LearningSheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning
• A great speaker generates as many ideas as he or she delivers information. I've come away with a brain sizzling with ideas.
  Toronto Law Office Management Association

• 
  June 2011

  Allah, Liberty and Love: The Courage to Reconcile Faith and Freedom

  In Allah, Liberty and Love, Irshad Manji paves a path for Muslims and non-Muslims to transcend the fears that stop so many of us from living with honest-to- God integrity: the fear of offending others in a multicultural world as well as the fear of questioning our own communities. Since publishing her international bestseller, The Trouble with Islam Today, Manji has moved from anger to aspiration. She shows how any of us can reconcile faith with freedom and thus discover the Allah of liberty and love—the universal God that loves us enough to give us choices and the capacity to make them.

  
  
• 
  February 2005

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

  In this open letter, Irshad Manji unearths the troubling cornerstones of mainstream Islam today: tribal insularity, deep-seated anti-Semitism, and an uncritical acceptance of the Koran as the final, and therefore superior, manifesto of God's will. But her message is ultimately positive. She offers a practical vision of how Islam can undergo a reformation that empowers women, promotes respect for religious minorities, and fosters a competition of ideas. Her vision revives "ijtihad," Islam's lost tradition of independent thinking. In that spirit, Irshad has a refreshing challenge for both Muslims and non-Muslims: Don't silence yourselves. Ask questions---out loud. The Trouble with Islam Today is a clarion call for a fatwa-free future.

  
  
• 
  January 1997

  Risking Utopia: On the Edge of a New Democracy

  Rejecting the dogma and slugfests of feminism, socialism and identity politics, Manji offers progressive insight, compassion and keen intelligence in Risking Utopia: On the Edge of a New Democracy. She urges people to move behind narrow categorization of right and left and to assert their individuality and build community.