Ginny’s Thoughts & Things

Assalamu alaikum, a very interesting post from the Manrilla Blog. Marc does a better job of “’splaining” things that I could. A few years ago, I was listening to Air America Radio’s then morning news program called “Morning Sedition” and they had Irshad Manji on. I don’t know why I even listened to it. I guess because I’d never heard her speak before and I wanted to hear her voice, hear what she sounded like.

I don’t remember much about the program now but a few things I remember were the hosts seeming to go gaga over her “expertise”, the arrogant “I know everything”, “stuck-up” way she talked, the sound of her voice, and she kept talking about the “doors of ijtihad still being open” or something like that. I wanted to roll over and bury my head in the pillow.

If I’d not have been too sleepy to get up, or had I been more motivated, I’d have gotten up and either called the show or written an email or something. But I just felt like, “why bother”. I’ll probably be treated like an extremist anyway, and I just didn’t have the energy at the time for that. Wish I did, though. But most of the time, I don’t have energy for those kinds of debates with people.

Marc,Mashallah, did a good job of rebutting her argument, and he’s said the sorts of things that well, I wish I could’ve said back then. And that make sense even now, as it seems that Manji’s argument hasn’t changed (and sadly people are still willing to listen to it).

Marc wonders why reputable scholars of Islam have not been invited to engage in discussions with Irshad Manji during her talks, but rather, people seemingly friendly to her point of view. My guess is, probably because she’d be shown up and shown to be the, how do I put it? That her ignorance of Islam, its history, diversity, and scholarship, that her ignorance in that, and her lack of “expertise” in the matter would be brought to light and laid bare for all the world to see, and of course, she doesn’t want that, because she wants to continue to put herself out there as the “expert” on Islam, while at the same time, silencing or pushing out more “orthodox” and “correct” views on Islam.

She, imho, is not interested in “reforming Islam”, well, she is, but her whole goal is to promote herself, it’s all about her, and what she can gain out of this. And anyone who would keep her from that goal, any credible scholar who could rebut and debate her, isn’t invited because God forbid, she’s should to really not know what she’s talking about…