10 May 2012

Irshad Manji is having second thoughts on Indonesia

Having become the center of conservative backlash against her visit to Indonesia, Canadian liberal Muslim activist Irshad Manji is having second thoughts over the country’s label as the largest Muslim democracy in the world.

In 2008, author Irshad Manji visited Jakarta and Yogyakarta to discuss her first book entitled Faith without Fear: The Challenge for Muslims Today.

The book catapulted the Ugandan-born woman to the forefront of public attention as an advocate of “reformist and progressive” interpretations of Islamic teachings.

The New York Times described her as the late Osama bin Laden’s “worst nightmare”.

In her newest book, entitled Allah, Liberty and Love, Manji included Indonesia as an example of a place where pluralistic Islam could be upheld in the real world. [The Jakarta Post] Read more