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Source: http://www.forward.com/issues/2003/03.11.28/news18.html
Muslim Feminist Wows Crowd in Toronto
(Forward) Sheldon Gordon - A Muslim Canadian author has called for an Islamic Reformation that would purge the Muslim world of anti-Semitism. Irshad Manji, 34, a Toronto broadcaster and self-described observant Muslim, is the author of the Canadian best-seller The Trouble With Islam: A Wake Up Call for Honesty and Change. The charismatic and self-assured Manji, an avowed feminist, described how she visited local mosques incognito, dressed in a full-length burka, and heard the clergy talk of a "Western, Jewish-led conspiracy against Islam and declare that it is the responsibility of Muslims in the West to support the jihadis, with their money, if not with their sons." The Koran includes harsh commentaries on Jews, she said, "but it also reminds us of the Jews' 'exalted nationhood' and validates the sovereign role of Jews in the Holy Land." The Koran "gives ample opportunities to be respectful of Jews; it's a matter of what to emphasize and what to downplay," she said.