Irshad Manji speaks in London

Thursday 12 May 2005
Indian YMCA, London W1T
7 PM

Muslim, lesbian, feminist, writer, scholar and TV personality - Irshad Manji is all these things and the controversial best-selling author of 'The Trouble with Islam...'. She will be speaking in London on Thursday 12 May 2005, hosted by the Lesbian & Gay Christian Movement,
with backing from a wide range of gay, women's, faith and human rights organisations.

The theme of Ms Manji's talk in London will be 'Faith + Politics + Human Rights' and will follow from the issues raised in her book, which she descibes as:

"My book, 'The Trouble with Islam...' is an open letter from me, a Muslim voice of reform, to concerned citizens worldwide - Muslim and not. It's about why my faith community needs to come to terms with the diversity of ideas, beliefs and people in our universe, and why non-Muslims have a pivotal role in helping us get there."

Ms Manji describes the main purpose of her visit as being to speak on various dimensions of Islam and human rights - from the perspective of a faithful yet struggling Muslim. "My core message is that no community, no ethnicity, no culture and no religion ought to be immune from respecting the universality of human rights. This, of course, is a controversial message in an age of cultural relativism. Mine is a positive message of pluralism. I truly believe that we can be pluralists without becoming relativists. That's especially important for the lesbian and gay movement to understand, given the bigotry we so often face from ethnic and religious groups."

Oprah Winfrey awarded her the "Chutzpah Award" for "audacity, nerve, boldness and conviction", while Ms Magazine selected her as "Feminist for the 21st Century".

Tickets for the event cost £12 (or £7 concessions) and can be purchased online from faith-politics-humanrights.org

For more information about the London event:
 http://faith-politics-humanrights.org/
 info@faith-politics-humanrights.org

A print-quality photograph and other material avialable from:
 http://faith-politics-humanrights.org/mediakit.asp

Address of event:
Mahatma Gandhi Hall
Indian YMCA
41 Fitzroy Square
London W1T 6AQ

Map:
 http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?lat=51.5229&lon=-0.1387&scale=10000&icon=x

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About
Irshad Manji

BIO OF IRSHAD MANJI – APRIL 2005
The New York Times describes Irshad Manji has "Osama bin Laden's worst nightmare." She takes that as a compliment.

Irshad is the best-selling author of The Trouble with Islam: A Wake-Up Call for Honesty and Change. Her book has been published internationally, including in Pakistan. This year, it will be published in Turkey, Iraq and India.

A Farsi-language translation is in the works for Iranians.

Meanwhile, the Arabic-language edition is already posted on her website, and can be downloaded free of charge.

Irshad hosts "Big Ideas", a Canadian TV program that features innovative thinkers in fields ranging from science to spirituality. As a volunteer, she sits on the inter-faith editorial board of Seventeen magazine, based in New York.

She also serves as a mentor to young scholars, specialising in human rights and public policy, at the Pierre Trudeau Foundation in Montreal.

Above all, Irshad is working with young Muslims around the world to launch a leadership centre that will promote the liberal Islamic reformation.

Recognising Irshad's own leadership, Oprah Winfrey has honoured her with the first annual Chutzpah Award for "audacity, nerve, boldness and conviction".

Ms. magazine has named her a Feminist for the 21st Century. OUT magazine selected Irshad's book one of the "100 success stories of 2004". And on International Women's Day last month, the Jakarta Post in Indonesia identified Irshad as one of three Muslim women making a positive change in Islam.

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For more information about Irshad Manji, visit her website at:
 http://www.muslim-refusenik.com/

For more information about the London event:
 http://faith-politics-humanrights.org/
 info@faith-politics-humanrights.org