Rushdie Haunted by his unholy Ghosts — Page 172
172 NE W BR EED OF RUSHDIE’S There is no denying the fact that The Satanic Verses episode gave birth to more Rushdie’s who began to come out in the open, much like homosexuals and gays from the political and show business realms. Whether these new Rushdie’s came out in support of the original Rushdie, or whether they were coerced in a similar fashion to Rushdie by powers that I have hinted at previously, the truth of the matter is that all these were deliberate attempts to “rock the boat” and try and create a bigger rift between Islam and the West. To mention just a few “writers” of similar proclivity: Irshad Manji, a Ugandan Asian refugee who moved to Canada, wrote a 216-page book The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim’s Call for Reform in Her Faith which is just a mound of calumnies against the Prophet of Islam. A self confessed lesbian, she travels the globe to lecture about the liberal reformation of Islam. Her audiences include Amnesty International, the United Nations Press Corps, the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, the International Women’s Forum, the Swedish Defense Research Agency, the Pentagon, the Jean Jacques Rousseau Institute, and universities from Cambridge to Notre Dame. Oprah Winfrey honoured Irshad with the first annual Chutzpah Award for “audacity, nerve, boldness and conviction. ” Ms. maga- zine chose Irshad as a “Feminist for the 21st Century. ” Maclean’s , Canada’s national news magazine, selected her one of ten “Canadians Who Make a Difference. ” All this goes to show that authors, from a Muslim background, who criticize Islam get unreserved publicity and exposure and are taken right to the top of the tree to “rub salt” in the already wounded hearts of main stream Muslims.