In cooperation with Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS), Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies (CRCS) Gadjah Mada University will conduct an intensive discussion with Irshad Manji on Friday, 26 April 2008 at R #306. The discussion which entitles ?Faith without Fear? mainly invites students and faculty members of CRCS and ICRS. Irshad Manji (born 1968) is a Canadian Muslim feminist, author, journalist, and activist. She is the Director of the Moral Courage Project at New York University. The Moral Courage Project will teach young leaders to speak truth to power in their own communities. She is a well-known critic of radical Islam and orthodox interpretations of the Qur’an. The New York Times has described her as “Osama bin Laden’s worst nightmare”.[1] Manji advocates a revival of critical thinking, known as ijtihad in Islamic tradition. To that end, she has launched Project Ijtihad, an international charitable organization dedicated to creating a network of Muslims interested in a liberal reform of Islam.
Manji’s book, The Trouble with Islam Today, has been published in over 30 languages, including Arabic, Persian, Urdu and Malay. Her PBS documentary, Faith Without Fearhas received wide acclaim. It chronicles Manji’s journey to reconcile faith and freedom. As a journalist, her articles have appeared in many publications, and she has addressed audiences ranging from Amnesty International to the United Nations Press Corps to the Democratic Muslims in Denmark to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. She has appeared on television networks around the world, including Al Jazeera, the CBC, BBC, MSNBC, C-SPAN, CNN, PBS, the Fox News Channel, and the CBS Evening News.
