Irshad Manji Canadian Feminist

Irshad Manji is a feminist from Canada. She comes from a Muslim family of southern Egyptian and Gujarati Indian background. Born in 1968 in Uganda, she settled with her family settled near Vancouver in 1972 after they fled from Idi Amin's regime.

Irshad Manji studied both in a secular school and 'madrassah' ,an Islamic religious school. According to her own statement, she was expelled from her religious school for asking too many questions. But , she did quite well in a secular environment. She studied Islam through public libraries and with support of Arabic tutors for twenty years.

Irshad Manji graduated with honours in 'History of ideas' from the University of British Columbia and won Governor General's Silver Medal for topping humanities stream. At the start of her career, she was a legislative aide in the Canadian parliament, Press secretary in the Ontario government and speech writer for the leader of the New Democratic Party. When she joined the Ottawa Citizen as their national affairs editorialist, she was only 24, the youngest member of an editorial board for any Canadian daily. She hosted or produced several public affairs programs on television too. In 2002, she became writer-in-residence at the University of Toronto. Between 2005 to 2006 she was a visiting fellow with the International Security Studies program at Yale University.

Irshad Manji is an author, journalist and activist. She is quite well-known for her criticism of radical Islam and orthodox interpretation of Qur'an. She calls herself a 'Muslim Refusenik'. Her columns are a regular feature in Canada's 'Globe and Mail' and appear frequently in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Times of London , Al-Arabiya.net and other major news sources. She commenced writing 'The Trouble with Islam Today' when she was at the University of Toronto . This book has been published in 25 languages, including Arabic, Persian and Urdu and generated worldwide debate.

In an initiative to revive critical thinking and stir questions regarding traditional and orthodox interpretations of Islamic scriptures , Irshad Manji has founded Project Ijtihad. She expects that this project will grow to become the world's most inclusive network of reform-minded Muslims. Irshad joins New York University to embark on the Moral Courage Project with the expectation that leaders who can speak the truth powerfully within their own communities for the sake of a greater good will come up.

Her articles have been published in many places .She addressed audiences from Amnesty International, United Nations Press Corps, Democratic Muslims in Denmark and Royal Canadian Mounted Police and appeared in innumerable TV shows. Her other major work include documentary titled 'Faith without Fear' and a book 'Risking Utopia: On the edge of a new democracy' . Writings and opinions of Irshad Manji generated interest and reactions across the globe. Irshad Manji