Spring Break
The Daily OrangeMuslim reform activist to speak about new democratic perspectives
Journalist and filmmaker known as "Bin Laden's worst nightmare"
By Aleksey Shats
Posted: 2/15/08, 12:41 AM EST Section: News
"There are a lot of Muslims who have been in search of thinking about what is wrong with the Muslim world, especially in a Western setting," he said. "I think it's always worthwhile to hear these types of voices, especially when it's someone who doesn't represent the mainstream view."
Manji carries the message the Western world wants her to state, Boroujerdi said. There is an audience in the West that is receptive to Manji's message, because of its feelings about democratic freedom, including the current war in Iraq, he said.
"Her stand on homosexuality is something that sets her apart and allows her to attack this core orthodoxy from a different angle," Boroujerdi said. "Her take on women, too, is something that's an obvious problem in the Muslim world."
However, the social and political atmosphere is different in the Muslim countries, where her message can be seen as a threat. The male elite who hold the power in many of the Muslim countries have put forth their own interpretations of Islam in their own interests, he said.
Governments have found different excuses and different rationales for maintaining their power and preventing their people from advancing beyond radical interpretations of Islam, he said.
Boroujerdi said a monopoly exists over interpretation of people's faith in the Muslim countries. There are many kinds of Islam. Islam in Turkey or Indonesia is different from Islam in Iraq or Afghanistan, he said.
"The real test is not what The New York Times says about you, the real test is how the colloquium of these things changes Islam," he said.
ashats@syr.edu
Manji carries the message the Western world wants her to state, Boroujerdi said. There is an audience in the West that is receptive to Manji's message, because of its feelings about democratic freedom, including the current war in Iraq, he said.
"Her stand on homosexuality is something that sets her apart and allows her to attack this core orthodoxy from a different angle," Boroujerdi said. "Her take on women, too, is something that's an obvious problem in the Muslim world."
However, the social and political atmosphere is different in the Muslim countries, where her message can be seen as a threat. The male elite who hold the power in many of the Muslim countries have put forth their own interpretations of Islam in their own interests, he said.
Governments have found different excuses and different rationales for maintaining their power and preventing their people from advancing beyond radical interpretations of Islam, he said.
Boroujerdi said a monopoly exists over interpretation of people's faith in the Muslim countries. There are many kinds of Islam. Islam in Turkey or Indonesia is different from Islam in Iraq or Afghanistan, he said.
"The real test is not what The New York Times says about you, the real test is how the colloquium of these things changes Islam," he said.
ashats@syr.edu
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Oh Tham Eng
posted 2/15/08 @ 4:10 AM EST
The Bad and the Best in the Eyes of Prophet Mohammed (s.a.w)
Wicked Muslims, such as the Salafists and the AlQaedian demonoids, are largely the descendents of Al-Khawarij. (Continued…)
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