Islam's marked woman

Independent.UK: "Irshad is a key figure in the civil war within twenty-first century Islam. She is the Saladin of progressive Muslims, an out-rider for the notion that you can be both a faithful Muslim and a mouthy, fiercely democratic Canadian lesbian. As one American journalist put it, 'Irshad Manji does not drink alcohol and she does not eat pork. In every other respect, she is Osama Bin Laden's worst nightmare.'

Manji's best-selling book, 'The Trouble With Islam - a Wake-Up Call For Honesty and Change', is both a crash course in its terminology and a manifesto for the progressive side. The core concept in Maji's thought - and that of all progressive Muslims - is 'itjihad'. It's a simple idea, and devastatingly powerful. Itjihad is the application of reason and reinterpretation to the message of the Koran. It allows every Muslim to reconsider the message of the Koran for the changed circumstances of the twenty-first century. "What was true for ninth century Mecca and Medina may not be the best interpretation of Allah's message today", Irshad explains. "