Irshad Manji

Manji was born in 1968 near Kampala, Uganda.{{Cite web|url=https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/canada-150-irshad-manji-challenging-muslim-doctrine|title=Canada 150: Irshad Manji, challenging Muslim doctrine|last=Hume|first=Stephen|date=11 March 2017|website=Vancouver Sun|language=en|access-date=28 March 2019}} Her mother is of Egyptian descent and her father of Indian heritage.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/03/opinion/brave-young-and-muslim.html|title=Brave, Young and Muslim|last=Friedman|first=Thomas L.|date=3 March 2005|work=The New York Times|access-date=28 March 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}

When Idi Amin ordered the expulsion of Asians and other non-Africans from Uganda in the early 1970s,{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4tY_Rk0BTGMC&pg=PA93|title=Muslim Women Reformers: Inspiring Voices Against Oppression|last=Lichter|first=Ida|date=2009|publisher=Prometheus Books|isbn=978-1-61592-502-5|pages=93|language=en}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/04/international/americas/04FPRO.html|title=An Unlikely Promoter of an Islamic Reformation|last=Krauss|first=Clifford|date=4 October 2003|work=The New York Times|access-date=11 July 2006}} Manji and her family came to Canada as refugees when she was four years old.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303918204577446170153730122|title=Lady Gaga Versus Global Jihad|last=Stephens|first=Bret|date=4 June 2012|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=19 September 2019|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660}} They settled in Richmond, British Columbia, near Vancouver.{{cite news|url=https://vancouversun.com/news/staff-blogs/the-trouble-with-irshad-manji|title=The Trouble with Irshad Manji|last=Todd|first=Douglas|date=13 May 2008|newspaper=Vancouver Sun|access-date=22 July 2017}}{{cite news|author=Barry Gewen|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/weekinreview/27gewen.html|title=Muslim Rebel Sisters: At Odds With Islam and Each Other|newspaper=The New York Times|date=27 April 2008|access-date=22 July 2017}} Manji attended secular public schools and, every Saturday, a religious school (madrasa). Manji says that, at 14 years old, she was expelled from the madrasa for asking too many questions.{{cite journal|last=Popescu|first=Lucy|date=12 October 2011|title=Irshad Manji|url=https://literaryreview.co.uk/irshad-manji|journal=Literary Review|issue=400|access-date=22 July 2017}}{{cite news|last=Wente|first=Margaret|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/the-muslim-refusenik/article772583/|title=The Muslim refusenik|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|access-date=22 July 2017}}{{cite news|url=https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/canada-150-irshad-manji-challenging-muslim-doctrine|title=Canada 150: Irshad Manji, challenging Muslim doctrine|author=Stephen Hume|newspaper=Vancouver Sun|access-date=22 July 2017}}

In 1990, Manji earned a bachelor's degree with honours in the history of ideas from the University of British Columbia, and won the Governor General's Academic Medal for top humanities graduate.{{cite web|url=http://www.fondationtrudeau.ca/en/community/irshad-manji|title=Irshad Manji|website=Fondationtrudeau.ca|access-date=22 July 2017|archive-date=4 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171104065136/http://www.fondationtrudeau.ca/en/community/irshad-manji|url-status=dead}} In 2002, Manji became writer-in-residence at the University of Toronto's Hart House, from where she began writing The Trouble with Islam Today.{{cite web|url=http://magazine.utoronto.ca/life-on-campus/trudeau-foundation-ken-wiwa-irshad-manji/|title=Trudeau Foundation Names Mentors|last=Rundle|first=Lisa|date=Spring 2005|website=U of T Magazine|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616183815/http://magazine.utoronto.ca/life-on-campus/trudeau-foundation-ken-wiwa-irshad-manji/|archive-date=16 June 2016|access-date=10 July 2017}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/irshad-manji-challenges-islam|title=Irshad Manji Challenges Islam|last=Fennell|first=Tom|date=15 October 2003|website=The Canadian Encyclopedia|access-date=19 September 2019}} She was a visiting fellow with the International Security Studies program at Yale University in 2006{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/freespeech-irshad-manji/|title=freeSpeech: Irshad Manji|last=McNamara|first=Melissa|date=18 September 2006|website=CBS News|access-date=22 July 2017}} and was a senior fellow with the Brussels-based European Foundation for Democracy from 2006 to 2012.{{Cite web|url=http://www.gmfus.org/events/reconciling-islam-freedom|title=Reconciling Islam with Freedom|date=14 May 2007|website=The German Marshall Fund of the United States|language=en|access-date=19 September 2019|archive-date=12 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212223356/http://www.gmfus.org/events/reconciling-islam-freedom|url-status=dead}}{{Cite magazine|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/103301/islam-censorship-efd-manji-suppression|title=An Islamic Reformer Who Can't Be Silenced|last=Berman|first=Paul|date=12 May 2012|magazine=The New Republic|access-date=19 September 2019|issn=0028-6583}}

Manji began her career working in politics in the 1990s. She was a legislative aide in the Canadian parliament for New Democratic Party member of parliament Dawn Black, then press secretary in the Ontario government for Ontario New Democratic Party cabinet minister Marion Boyd,{{cite news |last1=Todd |first1=Douglas |title=The Trouble with Irshad Manji |url=https://vancouversun.com/news/staff-blogs/the-trouble-with-irshad-manji |access-date=28 August 2020 |work=Vancouver Sun |date=13 May 2008}} and later speechwriter for federal NDP leader Audrey McLaughlin. At the age of 24, she became the national affairs editorialist for the Ottawa Citizen and the youngest member of an editorial board for any Canadian daily. She was also a columnist for Ottawa's new LGBT newspaper Capital Xtra!{{Cite web|url=http://www.xtra.ca/public/Ottawa/Looking_back_on_issue_1_of_Capital_Xtra-6265.aspx|title=Looking back on issue #1 of Capital Xtra|last=Smith|first=Dale|date=11 February 2009|website=Xtra!|publisher=Pink Triangle Press|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303223005/http://www.xtra.ca/public/Ottawa/Looking_back_on_issue_1_of_Capital_Xtra-6265.aspx|archive-date=3 March 2009|access-date=28 February 2009}} She participated in a regular "Friendly Fire" segment on TVOntario's Studio 2 from 1992 to 1994, head-to-head against right-wing writer Michael Coren.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tMvzNiHF-XIC&pg=PA70|title=Joe's Toronto: Portraiture|last=Joe|first=Mendelson|date=2005|publisher=ECW Press|isbn=978-1-55022-715-4|pages=70|language=en}}{{Cite web|url=https://rrj.ca/a-talking-contradiction/|title=A Talking Contradiction|last=Habib|first=Samra|date=17 March 2003|website=Ryerson Review of Journalism|language=en-US|access-date=8 October 2019}}

Manji hosted and produced several public affairs programs on television, including Q-Files for Pulse24 and its successor QT: QueerTelevision for the Toronto-based Citytv in the late 1990s.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nwFuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA65|title=The Queer Encyclopedia of Film and Television|last=Burwell|first=Jennifer|date=24 April 2012|publisher=Cleis Press Start|isbn=978-1-57344-882-6|editor-last=Summers|editor-first=Claude|pages=65|language=en|chapter=Canadian Television|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nwFuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA65}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.vancouverobserver.com/5-minutes-with/irshad-manji%C3%A2%E2%82%AC%E2%84%A2s-moral-courage|title=Irshad Manji's moral courage|last=Chiu|first=Joanna|date=5 November 2012|website=The Vancouver Observer|page=2|language=en|access-date=8 October 2019}} When she left the show, Manji donated the television set's "big Q" to the Pride Library at the University of Western Ontario.{{Cite thesis|last=Cooper|first=Danielle|title="Big Gay Library": An Ethnography of the Pride Library at the University of Western Ontario|date=2011|degree=Master of Information|publisher=University of Toronto|url=https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/30559/1/Cooper_Danielle_201111_MI_thesis.pdf#page=41}}

She has also appeared on television networks around the world, including Al Jazeera, the CBC, BBC, MSNBC, C-SPAN, CNN, PBS, the Fox News Channel, CBS, and HBO.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/user/IrshadManjiTV|title=Irshad Manji|website=YouTube|language=en|access-date=25 May 2019}}

She was also a visiting professor at New York University (NYU) from 2008 to 2015.{{cite web|url=https://wagner.nyu.edu/community/faculty/irshad-manji|title=Irshad Manji | NYU Wagner|website=Wagner.nyu.edu|access-date=22 July 2017}}{{Dead link|date=May 2019|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}{{cite web|url=http://kwese.espn.com/olympics/summer/2012/story/_/id/8157338/ioc-bar-saudi-arabia-olympics-women-added-team|title=IOC should bar Saudi Arabia from Olympics unless women added to team|date=12 July 2012|website=Kwese.espn.com|access-date=22 July 2017}} Manji joined NYU's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service to create the Moral Courage Project, an initiative to teach young people how to speak truth to power within their own communities.{{cite web|url=http://www.irshadmanji.com/moral-courage-project|title=Explore the Issues|last=Manji|first=Irshad|website=IrshadManji.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901122500/https://www.irshadmanji.com/Moral-Courage-Project|archive-date=1 September 2012|access-date=22 July 2017}} Her courses focused on how "to make values-driven decisions for the sake of their integrity – professional and personal".{{cite web|last=Wagner|title=Moral Courage Project|url=http://wagner.nyu.edu/leadership/affiliates|publisher=Wagner School of Public Service|access-date=24 January 2014}} In April 2013, Moral Courage TV (on YouTube), was launched by Manji and Cornel West, a professor and activist.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7GguSvt-Ow|title=Cornel West & Irshad Manji at NYU Reynolds, 4/16|date=5 June 2013 |publisher=YouTube|access-date=22 July 2017}} West spoke of Manji's work as a "powerful force for good."{{cite web|title=Cornel West and Irshad Manji at NYU Reynolds on 4/16/2013| date=5 June 2013 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7GguSvt-Ow|publisher=NYU Reynolds Program in Social Entrepreneurship|access-date=1 October 2013}} In 2015, Manji developed "the West Coast presence of Moral Courage" at the Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy of the University of Southern California.{{cite web|url=https://communicationleadership.usc.edu/news/muslim-reformer-named-cclp-senior-fellow/|title=Muslim reformer named CCLP senior fellow|last=Chapman|first=Justin|date=11 September 2015|website=Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy|access-date=22 July 2017}}

{{Main|The Trouble with Islam Today}}

Manji's book The Trouble with Islam Today (originally titled The Trouble with Islam) was published by St. Martin's Press in 2004. The book was first released in Canada under the previous title in September 2003.{{Cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IWUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA27|title=Books: Unveiling Islam|last=Hays|first=Matthew|date=2 March 2004|work=The Advocate|access-date=8 October 2019}} It has since been translated into more than 30 languages. Manji offered Arabic, Persian, and Urdu translations of the book available for free-of-charge download on her website. In The Trouble with Islam Today, Manji investigates new interpretations of the Qur'an which she believes are more fitting for the 21st century.{{Cite web|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/analysis/role-of-women-central-to-necessary-reforms-within-islam-441608.html|title=Role of women central to necessary reforms within Islam|last=O'Mahony|first=T.P.|date=1 February 2017|website=Irish Examiner|language=en|access-date=8 October 2019}} The book has been met with both praise and scorn from both Muslim and non-Muslim sources. Several reviewers have called the book "courageous"{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Calling-all-believers-to-a-conversation-on-Islam/articleshow/1326998.cms|title=Calling all believers to a conversation on Islam|last=Rehman|first=Mujibr|date=11 December 2005|work=The Times of India|access-date=8 October 2019}} or "long overdue"{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/25/books/decent-exposure.html|title=Decent Exposure: The Trouble with Islam|last=Sullivan|first=Andrew|author-link=Andrew Sullivan|date=25 January 2004|work=The New York Times|access-date=8 October 2019}} while others have said it disproportionately targets Muslims.{{Cite web|url=http://www.democracynow.org/2006/2/7/freedom_of_speech_or_incitement_to|title=Freedom of Speech or Incitement to Violence? A Debate Over the Publication of Cartoons of Prophet Muhammed and the Global Muslim Protests|last=Goodman|first=Amy|author-link=Amy Goodman|date=7 February 2006|website=Democracy Now!|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008071329/https://www.democracynow.org/2006/2/7/freedom_of_speech_or_incitement_to|archive-date=8 October 2019|access-date=8 October 2019}}

Tarek Fatah, a fellow Canadian Muslim who originally criticized The Trouble With Islam,{{cite web|url=http://www.muslimwakeup.com/main/archives/2003/11/thanks_but_no_t.php|title=Thanks, but No Thanks: Irshad Manji's Book Is for Muslim Haters, Not Muslims|first=Tarek|last=Fatah|author-link=Tarek Fatah|date=27 November 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050207112221/http://canpalnet-ottawa.org/fatah.html|archive-date=7 February 2005}} reversed his stance, saying that Manji was "right about the systematic racism in the Muslim world" and that "there were many redeeming points in her memoir".{{cite news|first=Tahir Aslam|last=Gora|author-link=Tahir Aslam Gora|url=http://www.thespec.com/Opinions/article/392889|date=26 June 2008|title=Canada's a centre for Islamic reform|work=The Hamilton Spectator|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107225747/http://www.thespec.com/Opinions/article/392889|archive-date=7 January 2009}}

The Trouble with Islam Today is banned in many countries in the Middle East. Since July 2009, the book has also been outlawed in Malaysia.

In 2007 Manji released a PBS documentary, Faith without Fear. It follows her journey to reconcile faith and freedom, depicting the personal risks she has faced as a Muslim reformer. She explores Islamism in Yemen, Europe and North America, as well as histories of Islamic critical thinking in Spain and elsewhere.{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/weta/crossroads/about/show_faith_without_fear.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070214070904/http://www.pbs.org/weta/crossroads/about/show_faith_without_fear.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 February 2007|title=Irshad Manji calls on her fellow Muslims to reform|publisher=PBS|quote=Trekking through the Arabian peninsula, Manji speaks with Osama bin Laden's former bodyguard, who explains why he's willing to turn his young son into a martyr. She also engages a California convert to Islam who now lives in Yemen and says that by covering her body and face, she's exercising American-style freedom of religion. But is it really freedom if you'll be punished for not covering? Manji meets one Yemeni woman who faces a steep price for rejecting the rules. Through them, Manji discovers what she thinks has corrupted a religion of justice to become an ideology of fear.}} Faith Without Fear was nominated for an Emmy and was a finalist for the National Film Board of Canada's Gemini Award.{{cite web|url=http://www.nfb.ca/about/news.php?id=1584|title=2007 Gemini Awards|date=10 October 2007|publisher=National Film Board of Canada|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071221070903/http://www.nfb.ca/about/news.php?id=1584|archive-date=21 December 2007}}{{Sfn|Lichter|2009|p=96}} It launched the 2008 Muslim Film Festival, organized by the American Islamic Congress{{Cite web |url=http://www.muslimfilm.org/schedule.html |title=2008Muslim Film Festival - Think-Different Women |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080416235659/http://www.muslimfilm.org/schedule.html |archive-date=16 April 2008 |url-status=dead}} and won Gold at the New York Television Festival.{{Sfn|Lichter|2009|p=96}}

{{Quote box |width=360px |align=right |quoted=true |bgcolor=#FFFFF0 |salign=right

|quote =

It is time for those who love liberal democracy to join hands with Islam's reformists. Here is a clue to who's who: Moderate Muslims denounce violence committed in the name of Islam but insist that religion has nothing to do with it; reformist Muslims, by contrast, not only deplore Islamist violence but admit that our religion is used to incite it.

|source = — Manji in The Wall Street Journal, May 7, 2011{{cite news|last=Manji|first=Irshad|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703992704576305412360432744|title=Islam Needs Reformists, Not 'Moderates'|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=2017-07-22}}{{cite book|last=Siegel|first=Bill|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w3D-Od9r198C&pg=PA274|title=The Control Factor: Our Struggle to See the True Threat|publisher=University Press of America|date=2012|isbn=978-0-7618-5817-1}}

}}

In 2011, Manji published Allah, Liberty and Love. In the book, she examines how Muslims can reinterpret the Qur'an, speak more freely, and think more independently. To support her approach, Manji cites ijtihad, the Islamic tradition of critical thinking in the interpretation of Islamic texts and doctrines. Manji asserts that any change of lasting value to Muslims can only come from within and cannot be imposed from external sources.{{cite news|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-02/new-age-insight/30580878_1_muslim-irshad-manji-change|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017163043/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-02/new-age-insight/30580878_1_muslim-irshad-manji-change|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 October 2013|title=Changing Times|last=Siddharth|first=Gautam|date=2 January 2012|newspaper=The Times of India|access-date=8 October 2019}}

Manji agrees to and promotes the validity of interfaith marriages of Muslims to non-Muslims, specially of Muslim women to non-Muslim men, based on ideas of Khaleel Mohammed of San Diego State University (SDSU), in San Diego, California.{{Cite web|title=Imam Khaleel Mohammed's defense of inter-faith marriage.|url=https://freethinkingstokie.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/eng_bothpages.pdf}}

As with Manji's other writings, Allah, Liberty and Love generated both positive and negative responses. Rayyan Al Shawaf, a Beirut-based writer and book critic, laments Manji's focus on how the Qur'an can be reinterpreted by liberal Muslims and not on how legal limits can be set to curb the Qur'an's influence. He also argues that Manji promotes ijtihad while overlooking that "ijtihad is a sword that cuts both ways."{{cite news|last=Al-Shawaf|first=Rayyan|title=Author's 'Allah' implores Muslims to Think Freely|url=https://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2011/06/25/manjis_allah_implores_muslims_to_think_freely/|access-date=25 January 2013|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=25 June 2011}} Al-Shawaf also laments Manji's focus "on how liberal Muslims could reinterpret the Koran as opposed to how they might set legal limits on its socio-politico-economic influence." Melik Kaylan in his review for Newsweek describes the book as "a rallying cry to Muslims" and full of "snappy phrases that hover between epigrams and slogans—effective soundbites for her supporters."{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/irshad-manji-challenges-muslims-follow-their-conscience-67465|title=Irshad Manji Challenges Muslims to Follow Their Conscience|last=Kaylan|first=Melik|date=25 September 2011|website=Newsweek|language=en|access-date=8 October 2019}}

Omar Sultan Haque, a researcher and teacher at Harvard University Medical School, argues that although Manji's book is important in raising consciousness, it "fails to grapple with some of the more substantial questions that would make [a liberal and open] future [of Islamic Interpretation] a reality."{{cite news|url=http://www.tnr.com/book/review/allah-liberty-love-irshad-manji|title=What Is Islamic Enlightenment?|last=Haque|first=Omar Sultan|date=15 March 2012|newspaper=The New Republic}} Haque often describes Manji's ideas in a "patronizing manner". Howard A. Doughty, a professor of political economy at Seneca College, illustrates this with a quote from Haque's review: "Manji's God resembles an extremely affectionate and powerful high school guidance counselor."

Doughty, in summarizing his observations of Manji's critics says that some scholars (excluding himself) argue that "Manji may lack the gravitas to drive home her points and turn her ideas into action."{{cite web|last=Doughty|first=Howard A.|url=https://www.innovation.cc/book-reviews/rev_doughty_assay_manji18vi1a13.pdf|title=Review Essay: What's the Trouble with Human Rights?|access-date=16 July 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705121430/http://www.innovation.cc/book-reviews/rev_doughty_assay_manji18vi1a13.pdf|archive-date=5 July 2017}} He instead offers a defense of her approach and argues that "what her critics seem to miss is that her ease of communication, stripped of abstract philosophical, political and economic analysis, is precisely what allows her to turn her thoughts into other people's actions."

The international launch of Allah, Liberty and Love was met with controversy. In December 2011, Muslim extremists stormed Manji's book launch in Amsterdam;{{Cite news|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/irshad-manji-book-tour-in-indonesia-runs-into-trouble-with-islamic-thugs|title=Irshad Manji book tour in Indonesia runs into trouble with Islamic 'thugs'|last=Hopper|first=Tristin|date=10 May 2012|website=National Post|language=en-CA|access-date=8 October 2019}} twenty-two Muslim men rushed into the venue and attempted to assault her.{{cite web|url=http://israelbehindthenews.com/we-made-the-jerusalem-post-with-this-irshad-manji-speaking-the-truth/8343/|title=Speaking the truth: A moderate Muslim, Irshad Manji says Islam needs more introspection and self-criticism|last=Spivak|first=Rhonda|date=25 April 2012|website=The Jerusalem Post|via=Israel Behind the News|access-date=22 July 2017}} During Manji's book tour, police cut short her talk in Jakarta due to pressure from one of Indonesia's fundamentalist groups, the Islamic Defenders Front.{{cite news|url=http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/archive/indonesian-hardline-group-urges-govt-to-deport-liberal-canadian-muslim-activist/|title=Indonesian Hardline Group Urges Govt to Deport Liberal Canadian Muslim Activist|last=Mandiri|first=Ardi|date=5 May 2012|newspaper=Jakarta Globe|access-date=8 October 2019|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308024014/http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/archive/indonesian-hardline-group-urges-govt-to-deport-liberal-canadian-muslim-activist/|archive-date=8 March 2016}} A few days later, hundreds of men from the Indonesian Mujahedeen Council assaulted Manji's team and her supporters in Yogyakarta. Several people were injured and at least one had to be treated in a hospital.{{cite news|url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/05/10/irshad-manji-injured-mob-attack-yogya.html|title=Irshad Manji injured in mob attack in Yogya|date=10 May 2012|newspaper=The Jakarta Post|access-date=9 January 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310112512/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/05/10/irshad-manji-injured-mob-attack-yogya.html|archive-date=10 March 2013}} Shortly afterwards, the government of Malaysia banned Allah, Liberty and Love.{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2012/05/24/home-ministry-bans-irshad-manjis-book|title=Home Ministry bans Irshad Manji's book|date=24 May 2012|newspaper=The Star|access-date=25 January 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008063245/https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2012/05/24/home-ministry-bans-irshad-manjis-book|archive-date=8 October 2019|agency=Bernama|location=Malaysia}} But in September 2013, a High Court in Kuala Lumpur struck down the ban.{{cite news|last=Jong|first=Rita|title=Ban on Irshad Manji's book lifted|url=http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/ban-on-irshad-manjis-book-lifted|access-date=1 October 2013|newspaper=The Malaysian Insider|date=5 September 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004213928/http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/ban-on-irshad-manjis-book-lifted|archive-date=4 October 2013}} The previous year, Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz, a Malay woman who was one of the managers of a Borders, was arrested for selling a translation of Manji's book before the state had announced its ban.{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/08/2012867105109271.html|title='Un-Islamic' book trial opens in Malaysia|last=Mayberry|first=Kate|date=6 August 2012|website=Al Jazeera|access-date=22 July 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://antarapos.com/en/index.php?q9nan56SpKPkoObnaNGXpVvZn7WkcZFjZQ|title=Irshad Manji's Book: Borders Book Store Manager To Be Tried|website=Antarapos.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029023305/http://antarapos.com/en/index.php?q9nan56SpKPkoObnaNGXpVvZn7WkcZFjZQ|archive-date=29 October 2017|access-date=22 July 2017}} After her three-year legal battle with the authorities, Malaysia's Federal Court ruled in her favor and dismissed the government's bid to appeal.{{cite news|url=http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/nik-rainas-nightmare-finally-over-as-federal-court-dismisses-jawis-prosecut|title=Nik Raina's nightmare finally over as Federal Court dismisses JAWI's prosecution bid in Borders case|last=Palansamy|first=Yiswaree|date=23 June 2015|work=Malay Mail|access-date=22 July 2017}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/judges-slam-islamic-authority-for-premature-raid-on-borders|title=Judges slam Islamic authority for premature raid on Borders|last=Lim|first=Ida|date=22 August 2014|work=Malay Mail|access-date=25 August 2014}}

In a pre-release event for her latest book, Don't Label Me: An Incredible Conversation for Divided Times, Manji was the keynote speaker at the annual Day of Discovery, Dialogue & Action event of the Washington University in St. Louis on 19 February 2019.{{Cite web|last=McCarthy|first=Leslie Gibson|date=15 February 2019|title=Honest diversity, moral courage and shedding labels: A Q&A with Irshad Manji|url=https://source.wustl.edu/2019/02/honest-diversity-moral-courage-and-shedding-labels-a-qa-with-irshad-manji/|access-date=1 September 2020|website=The Source|publisher=Washington University in St. Louis|language=en-US}} Don't Label Me was published by St. Martin's Press on 26 February.{{Cite news|last=Schilling|first=Mary Kaye|date=21 February 2019|title=In Don't Label Me, Irshad Manji Has a Radical Prescription for Fellow Progressives: 'Stop Shaming and Start Listening'|work=Newsweek|url=https://www.newsweek.com/2019/03/08/irshad-manji-interview-dont-label-me-diversity-black-lives-matters-1335894.html|access-date=1 September 2020}} The book is written in the form of an imaginary conversation with Lily, Manji's first dog, who is now deceased and plays the role of Devil's advocate.{{Cite web|last=Gee|first=Dana|date=2 April 2019|title=Listening is the best way to get your point across, says Irshad Manji|url=https://vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/listening-is-the-best-way-to-get-your-point-across-says-irshad-manji|access-date=1 September 2020|website=Vancouver Sun|language=en-CA}}{{Cite web|last=Kronen|first=Samuel|date=1 May 2019|title=Irshad Manji's "Don't Label Me": Book Review|url=https://areomagazine.com/2019/05/01/irshad-manjis-dont-label-me-book-review/|access-date=1 September 2020|website=Areo|language=en-US}} According to Dana Gee of the Vancouver Sun, "It may seem like a gimmicky construct, but it actually works". Manji uses the conversation to advocate rising above tribalism and engaging in a discourse with those with whom the reader disagrees. In a video published by Time magazine in March 2019, Manji says "I'm here to propose that, while more and more schools are teaching young people how not to be offensive, they also need to be teaching a new generation how not to be offended".{{Cite web|last=Hahn|first=Jason Duaine|date=4 April 2019|title=Schools 'Need' to Teach Kids 'How Not to Be Offended' in 2019, Educator Pleads|url=https://people.com/human-interest/schools-kids-how-not-to-be-offended-irshad-manji/|access-date=1 September 2020|website=People|language=EN}} Comedian Chris Rock, a fan of Manji, also promoted the book on Twitter calling it "genius".{{Cite web|last=Kofinas|first=Demetri|date=15 July 2020|title=Don't Label Me: How to Do Diversity Without Inflaming the Culture Wars {{!}} Irshad Manji|url=https://hiddenforces.io/podcasts/irshad-manji-diversity-culture-wars/|access-date=1 September 2020|website=Hidden Forces|at=[https://hiddenforces.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Ep.146_Irshad-Manji_Regular-Episode_7-20-20.pdf 00:00:48]|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=@chrisrock|date=26 February 2019|title=The new book by @IrshadManji, Don't Label Me, is sheer genius. Today, schools and consultants teach ppl how not to be offensive. But Irshad shows us how not to be offended. That's good for comedy and for life. So read the book & learn to laugh, dammit.|url=https://twitter.com/chrisrock/status/1100499552933724165|access-date=1 September 2020|website=Twitter|language=en}} In a review of Don't Label Me for Areo Magazine, Samuel Kronen wrote that "Manji provides a wonderful combination of self-deprecation, wit and ferocious honesty and provides insights into some of the greatest social problems we face today."

Manji has received numerous death threats because of her views.{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/irshad-manji-islams-marked-woman-58908.html|title=Irshad Manji: Islam's marked woman|last=Hari|first=Johann|date=5 May 2004|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=8 October 2019}} While living in Toronto, she had the windows of her home fitted with bullet-proof glass for security. Manji has been described as a Quranist.{{cite book |last=Kaminski |first=Joseph J. |chapter=Introduction: Determining the Basis for Political Discourse for the Next Generation |title=The Contemporary Islamic Governed State |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=Cham |year=2017 |pages=1–28}}

In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, describing her political leanings, Manji said, "I'm not left-wing, I'm not right-wing. I'm post-wing".{{Cite web|url=https://www.jpost.com/Features/Manji-Young-Muslims-want-change|title=Manji: Young Muslims want change|date=22 June 2006|website=The Jerusalem Post|access-date=10 September 2018}} She has criticized the argument that US wars inspire Islamic extremism.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/16/opinion/16manji.html|title=Muslim Myopia|last=Manji|first=Irshad|date=16 August 2006|website=The New York Times|access-date=10 September 2018}} Manji initially supported the United States' wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the George W. Bush administration's War on Terror.{{Cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2007/04/19/on-tv-tonight-osama-bin-ladens-worst-nightmare/|title=On TV tonight: Osama bin Laden's worst nightmare|last=Aroon|first=Preeti|date=19 April 2007|website=foreignpolicy.com/2007/04/19/on-tv-tonight-osama-bin-ladens-worst-nightmare/|access-date=10 September 2018}}{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/missionary-position/|title=The Missionary Position|last=Lalami|first=Laila|date=1 June 2006|website=The Nation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910181407/https://www.thenation.com/article/missionary-position/|archive-date=10 September 2018|access-date=10 September 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://nowtoronto.com/art-and-books/q-and-a-irshad-manji/|title=Q&A: Irshad Manji|last=Cole|first=Susan G.|date=10 June 2011|website=Now|access-date=10 September 2018|archive-date=11 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911002456/https://nowtoronto.com/art-and-books/q-and-a-irshad-manji/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/article/Rebellious-writer-s-criticism-of-Islam-stirring-1628637.php|title=Rebellious writer's criticism of Islam stirring controversy|last=Duff-Brown|first=Beth|date=1 May 2005|website=Associated Press|access-date=10 September 2018}} By 2006, her views toward the war in Iraq had become highly critical of the Bush government. On Iraq, she said she "thought the Oval Office had information that was taken into account when it made decisions." She also said, "I have been openly questioning our work in Afghanistan and the implications of it."

She argues that Palestinians face two occupations: one imposed by Hamas on women and LGBT people and the other by the Israeli forces in all of Palestine.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/04/18/DI2007041801507.html|title=PBS 'America at a Crossroads': 'Faith Without Fear'|date=19 April 2007|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=10 September 2018}}

In 2016, Manji and her partner, Laura Albano, were married in Hawaii.{{cite news|url=http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2016/05/10/irshad-manji-marries-partner-laura-albano/|title=Irshad Manji marries partner Laura Albano|last=Firdaws|first=Nawar|date=10 May 2016|access-date=22 July 2017|work=Free Malaysia Today}} They lived there with their rescue dogs. The couple are now divorced.{{Cite web|last=Manji|first=Irshad|date=14 January 2020|title=Divorcing courageously|url=https://irshadmanji.com/divorcing-courageously/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200419055212/https://irshadmanji.com/divorcing-courageously/|archive-date=19 April 2020|access-date=1 September 2020|website=IrshadManji.com|language=en-US}}

• 1997 – Feminist for the 21st Century named by Ms. MagazineSeptember/October 1997 issue of Ms., p. 104
• 2004 – Oprah Winfrey's inaugural Chutzpah Award for "audacity, nerve, boldness and conviction"{{cite journal|url=http://www.oprah.com/spiritself/omag/slide/ss_o_slide_200405_chutzpah_04.jhtml|title=Be confident!|journal=O, The Oprah Magazine|volume=5|issue=5|issn=1531-3247|date=May 2004|page=234|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080617160849/http://www.oprah.com/spiritself/omag/slide/ss_o_slide_200405_chutzpah_04.jhtml|archive-date=17 June 2008}}{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/weta/crossroads/about/show_faith_without_fear_film.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071106014207/http://www.pbs.org/weta/crossroads/about/show_faith_without_fear_film.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 November 2007|title=America at a Crossroads . Faith without Fear|publisher=PBS|access-date=22 July 2017}}
• 2005 – Named by The Jakarta Post as one of three women making a positive change in Islam today.{{cite web|author=Irshad Manji|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/irshad-manji|title=Irshad Manji|website=HuffPost|date=1 January 1970|access-date=22 July 2017}}
• 2006 – Young Global Leader selected by the World Economic Forum{{cite web|url=http://www.weforum.org/content/pages/ygl-alumni-community|title=YGL Alumni Community|publisher=World Economic Forum|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813024501/http://www.weforum.org/content/pages/ygl-alumni-community|archive-date=13 August 2014}}
• 2007 – Global Vision Prize, Immigration Equality's highest honour2007 Annual Benefit, New York City.
• 2008 – Honorary Doctorate University of Puget Sound{{cite web|url=http://www.ups.edu/x27840.xml|title=Congratulations Class of 2008!|date=19 May 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080609034250/http://www.ups.edu/x27840.xml|archive-date=9 June 2008}}
• 2009 – Muslim Leader of Tomorrow from the American Society for Muslim Advancement{{cite web|url=http://asmasociety.typepad.com/mlt/|title=Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow|publisher=American Society for Muslim Advancement}}
• 2012 – The Ethical Humanist Award from New York Society for Ethical Culture's highest honour{{cite web|url=http://www.nysec.org/photo-galleries/12|title=Irshad Manji Ethical Humanist Award 2012|publisher=New York Society for Ethical Culture|year=2012|access-date=1 August 2013|archive-date=20 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131120045305/http://www.nysec.org/photo-galleries/12|url-status=dead}}
• 2014 – Honorary Doctorate Bishop's University{{cite web|last1=University|first1=Bishops's|title=Bishop's University News|url=https://www.ubishops.ca/about-bu/bu-news/details.html?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=457&cHash=425754d146460b625ca0d0491daf1ae7|website=Bishop's University|access-date=1 July 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701055759/http://www.ubishops.ca/about-bu/bu-news/details.html?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=457&cHash=425754d146460b625ca0d0491daf1ae7|archive-date=1 July 2014}}
• 2015 – Lantos Human Rights Prize{{Cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/three-women-muslim-countries-us-human-right-award/3098387.html|title=3 Women of Muslim Backgrounds Receive US Human Rights Prize|website=VOA|date=10 December 2015 |language=en|access-date=30 April 2019}}

• 1997 – Risking Utopia: On the Edge of a New Democracy, (Douglas and McIntyre {{ISBN|1-55054-434-9}})
• 2003 – The Trouble with Islam Today (St. Martin's Press, {{ISBN|9780312326999}})
• 2011 – Allah, Liberty and Love: The Courage to Reconcile Faith and Freedom{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aZGslAEACAAJ|title=Allah, Liberty and Love|first=Irshad|last=Manji|publisher=Atria Books|year=2011|isbn=978-1-4516-4520-0}} (Atria Books, {{ISBN|1-4516-4520-1}}, {{ISBN|978-1-4516-4520-0}})
• 2019 – Don't Label Me: An Incredible Conversation for Divided Times (St. Martin's Press, {{ISBN|9781250157980}})

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Irshad Manji}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Manji, Irshad}}

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