Irshad Manji: Faith without Fear

When Irshad Manji wants you to understand something, which she does quite often, the colour of her arresting brown eyes seems to intensify. Their shade at once deepens and shines. Her posture remains perfectly upright, while her whole body leans in and lengthens itself to one finger pointing directly at your heart while she speaks.

“I do not live with fear;” she says clearly and slowly, “Not because I have nothing to be afraid of, nor do I invite violence or hate. I refuse to live with fear. It is not part of my life.”

Courage is often required for Irshad to speak publicly, but she feels the importance of her work outweighs personal risk. After all, she little more reason to be afraid today than she did as a young girl, abused by her father and threatened by her educators at a private religious school. She has also taken great risks in her career; first in following her elected member of parliament to Ottawa, and later as the openly gay anchor of a national television show. Irshad is driven, insatiably curious, passionate about her cause, and fearless.

She is also defiantly loyal to a faith that provokes conscience-shaking acts. Irshad believes that the Muslim faith is an important and inherently good one, which can and will adapt to modern human rights and multicultural values. She prays every day and follows Ramadan. For her insistence on Western liberal values aligning to her faith, she is charged with disrespect and self-hate. She insists that the faithful must embrace and survive modern challenges to survive; that is the criteria for legitimacy that a global generation requires.

But since publishing and speaking about Islam’s relationship to the Western world (and vice versa), the nature of that risk has changed. Her home includes a top-notch security system and bullet proof windows. Death threats come in regularly - though mundanely by e-mail - from around the world and from within her own city.

“A book is worth more than a life,” Salman Rushdie once told her, providing the final push to write her controversial bestseller, The Trouble with Islam Today.

She speaks freely and often, with engagements in over a dozen countries per year. A new documentary, Faith without Fear, follows Irshad at home with her Mom and in dialogue with Muslims around the world. In Canada, she mentors students in human rights and public policy at the Pierre Trudeau Foundation in Montreal. Last year she lectured at Yale University; and this year she is creating a curriculum with NYU at the Wagner School of Public Leadership. Her foundation, Project Ijtihad, encourages young Muslims to engage in thoughtful debate about Islam, and to lead a global reformation of the faith.

While North American militaries are fully engaged in Islamic nations of the Middle East, Irshad’s talk is serious, her work is serious and there are, of course, serious reactions. So it is lucky for all of us that she’s got a wicked sense of humour. Her new documentary, for example, shows Irshad trying on a full burqa with the help of an Afghan tailor. “You know, I have always wanted someone to dress me,” she remarks dryly. Her comment escapes him and he removes her glasses in order to cover her face with a black veil. “Talk about blind faith,” she says, giving him a friendly nudge. He smiles and nods, though it’s hard to know if he understands.

Born in Uganda, Irshad Manji and her family were among thousands forced into exile by the brutal dictatorship of Idi Amin after 1970. She was four years old when the Manji family landed in the mildest part of Canada, Richmond British Columbia. Irshad attended public school along with the traditional Islamic madrassah, where an inherent gender bias and a few anti-Semitic teachers did not sit well with the girl from upscale and ethnically diverse Richmond.

Two very strong personality traits developed in those early years – a love of liberal democracy, and an insatiable desire to question the world around her. She quit her formal Islamic studies at the age of fourteen. Her mother, a guiding force and mentor throughout her life, was horrified by supportive.

At 22 years old, Irshad completed an Honours Bachelor of Arts, majoring in intellectual history, at the University of British Columbia. She worked for her local Member of Parliament, following her to Ottawa as a legislative assistant. She was a speechwriter for the New Democratic Party and then a national affairs columnist at the Ottawa Citizen – “the youngest member of an editorial board for any Canadian daily” at the age of 24. Two years later she published her first book, Risking Utopia. She made the shift from publishing to television, hosting several programs and engaging in public debate with well-known conservative figures like Michael Coren. Between 1997 and 2001, Irshad co-produced the Gemini-nominated series QT: QueerTelevision with media giant Moses Znaimer, among others. It was Znaimer who re-opened her personal challenge to the Muslim faith by demanding to know how she as a Muslim could condone practices of stoning. After leaving the program she embarked on a quest for knowledge, eventually coming up with Trouble, subtitled A Muslim’s Call for Reform in her Faith.

Her role models, Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi, have taught her to be unafraid of ruffling feathers within her own community, a message she passes on in her public engagements and on her blog, IrshadManji.com. She is connected to an international network of academics and activists, and delivers free online translations if her work within censored nations. The feedback from young Muslims has been encouraging.

“You know,” she says suddenly, as we stroll down a quiet Toronto street, “Not every little event or article seems important, but when you do have the chance to reach a large audience, it is an amazing feeling. It is a really incredible thing.” With that thought her energy returns and we say goodbye. She is already thinking of the next talk, the next chance, and the next audience she hopes to inspire.

Anna Porter: Publishing Political

If you are jailed as a political prisoner at the age of 6, escape on foot from a totalitarian state, attend Catholic boarding school in a foreign language, and scrub toilets at a mental hospital to pay for your higher education, you may be tough enough for the world of publishing, considers Anna Porter. These experiences, among others, certainly helped her to prepare for a successful stint as CEO and founder of Key Porter Books, and are also behind her recent foray into non-fiction.

The newly released Kasztner's Train, is an engaging, thoroughly-researched work of non-fiction, and Anna's 7th book. It is an examination of personal courage in a time of overwhelming moral ambiguity.. The subject matter is weighty and sobering – sentiments that are evident in her voice as she explains the final processes.

"I have tried so hard with this book," she says, "I don't think I have ever tried this hard at anything in my professional life. This book is so important. The questions raised here are timeless – what does a moral person do when faced with injustice? What are we doing about the genocide in Darfur? These are timeless issues, unfortunately. "

Anna moved to New Zealand in 1956 to escape the Hungarian revolution, after living under its increasingly tense and brutal foreshadowing. The family's first attempt to escape the country landed both six-year old Anna and her mother in prison for a few months. Anna was 12 years old when her family successfully walked out of their country.

A Catholic boarding school in New Zealand, administered by nuns, accepted her as their only refugee student. She learned the English language and some semblance of religious training through an unpleasant immersion. At 18 she left the convent school to attend the University of Canterbury. There she completed Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Arts degrees, both in English Literature. She loved poetry and hers was published in Hungary at a young age.

While a university student, Anna worked first as a maid in a mental hospital and then at a bookstore, owned by a publishing company in New Zealand. Her first job was as a proofreader. She then moved to England and worked in marketing and sales for a larger publishing house, which would prompt a trip to Canada.

She never meant to stay in Toronto, but it has been a successful stint. It was here that she assumed her first editorial role, with McClelland & Stewart at the age of 25. Here she also met her husband to be - a lawyer who, after seeing her photograph on the society pages of Toronto Life magazine, called her repeatedly (even providing references!) until she consented to meet for a coffee. She also became very close to publisher Jack McClelland; an influence and mentor to her throughout her career.

In her first ten years of Canadian life she became president and publisher of Seal Books, a company partially founded by McClelland & Stewart. Like her mentor and friend Jack, Anna developed close relationships with Canadian authors, most of whom remain her friends today. By 1979, Anna knew every facet of the industry and was at ease when launching her own business, Key Porter Books.

Her most recent book, Kasztner's Train, required Anna to read over 300 books in 3 languages, find and read primary documents, and to travel all over the world for interviews. The film rights have been bought, and she is working on 100 additional footnotes for the American release. Anna is convinced that she is more familiar with the subject of her book than anyone in the world, including his own family. That subject is Rezso Kasztner, who directly negotiated for the lives of 1684 Jewish Europeans, and saved an additional 20 000 more during the Holocaust. Like many issues surrounding the topic of genocide, the means and extent to which Kasztner acted is controversial. Anna is convinced that he is a hero. But she is ready for the acclaim and accusations that will come.

Her own dedication to personal ethics is evident in the grand array of Canadian associations with whom she is involved. Soulpepper Theatre, Schulich School of Business, World Wildlife Fund and PEN Canada continue to benefit from her input and intellect. In 1992, Anna Porter was awarded the Order of Canada for her efforts to promote Canadian literary talent abroad. She has been awarded Honorary Doctoral degrees from Ryerson University, St, Mary's University, and the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Published Women's Post, October 5 2007

Jill Barber's sweet tune of success

Jill Barber has won several music awards, filmed two videos for MuchMusic, recorded a duet with Blue Rodeo's Jim Cuddy, and receives performance requests from all over North America. She has been swept off her feet by the CBC, recently released a second full-length album, and will embark on a European tour this fall. Yet the 27-year-old singer songwriter still gets a little nervous in front of her home-town crowd in Toronto.

She is the rare sort of artist to whom the industry, as much as the music, seems to come naturally. Soon after moving to Halifax at the age of 22, with little more than an undergraduate degree, summer romance, and passion for music, Jill's career took off. The day of this interview finds her running between an appointment with her stylist, an interview with CBC's Jian Ghomeshi, and several live performances. Yet she is relaxed and low-key, ready for a small drink and a long chat on a Queen West patio.

On the walk toward refreshment, we pass Victor Syperek, a well known club-owner from Halifax, and some others from the Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent on Records (FACTOR), which, along with MuchMoreMusic, are responsible for funding her latest music video. The FACTOR group is welcoming and familiar. Though Halifax has clearly been a career catalyst and spiritual home for the artist, for Jill it was like starting over.

"I started playing at open mic shows and coffee houses when I was 16," she explains, "As a student in Kingston I played sold-out shows and people knew who I was." The small town loved Jill's unique blend of lyricism and folksy, jazz-influenced vocals. While earning her BA in philosophy at Queen's University, she was playing and promoting sold-out gigs. The summer after graduation, she embarked on the all-Canadian 20-something journey and went tree planting. There, she met the man who lured her to the East Coast.

"It had a happy ending, though" she says ruefully, on stage at a recent Toronto concert, "Well, it ended and I'm happy."

Although the romance that brought her to Halifax was short-lived, it was the first of many risky-but-calculated decisions which ultimately paid off. Upon moving, Jill began an unpaid internship with a local indie newspaper, The Coast. Known as the hipster-cum-activist rag around town, it was the perfect place to connect with the local music and entertainment scene. The internship quickly became a paid position, granting her instant access to every event in the city.

"When I moved to Halifax, I was following my boyfriend, not my career. I didn't know anyone. But I found an amazing community of artists and felt at home immediately. Ontario is the home I was given, but Halifax is the home that I chose."
It is the best sort of irony that, while at work in the depths of the accounting department for The Coast, a major source of entertainment information, Jill Barber was quietly recording an album that would earn her a place on the national stage. A few years after working at the newspaper, she would be featured on the cover. Twice, she was voted by Coast readers as Best Local Female Artist – quite the honour for one born in Port Credit, Ontario.

Although she left her fans, friends, and family in Ontario, she did bring a little piece of Kingston to Halifax, in the form of an EP that she had recorded in her dorm room. While working at The Coast, she dusted it off, cleaned it up a bit, and sent it into Atlantic Airwaves, a local CBC Radio show. Fate, it seemed, conspired to put it in the hands of a producer. She was soon performing as a guest on the show, and soon enough – "like a bit of a Cinderella" – her first full length album, Oh, Heart, was recorded in 2004 with the help of CBC studios, funding, and talent.

For a few years after, she played repeated shows around the Maritimes, teaming up with other young Canadian talent like Ron Sexsmith and Jim Bryson. She feels more at home on stage than anywhere else, so it should be no surprise that the logistics of managing a music career came just as naturally.

"I don't think people realize that the music industry is very entrepreneurial," she says. "The same skills you need to run a business are required in this industry, especially if you are the primary player. You need to have solid leadership skills and the ability, especially when on tour with friends and colleagues, to separate work time from play time. You also need to bring a good team to play."

Her second album, For All Time, has a distinctly different sound than the first. The album is a little more country-influenced, with slower melodies and more secretive lyrics. Her most personal expressions, the weight of all her savings, and a bank loan are riding on this most recent album. But the girl who believes that "one should always have a good book on the go" is not bothered. Early 2006 granted her two East Coast Music Awards and a schedule of back-to-back tours. This summer alone she played in the Yukon, Nova Scotia, and all parts in between. Her dusky, wise, and sentimental song style will also be featured on a series of CBC recordings called East Coast Sessions.

Her music resonates with many – musicians, writers, lovers, students, well-heeled professionals, hippies to hipsters. Self-taught, seemingly immune from the acclaim, and ever-grateful for the support, she stands in her flowered dress and cowboy boots under a single spotlight. Watching her perform, you can feel that Jill Barber is playing it by heart.