IF ONLY THEY WERE FUNDAMENTALISTS:

It's time for all of us to embrace ijtihad (IRSHAD MANJI, 1/08/09, Globe and Mail)

In Gaza a few years ago, I conducted an on-camera interview with the political leader of Islamic Jihad, Mohammed al-Hindi. With his finely trimmed beard and gracious manners, he symbolized the modern - and moderate - Muslim man.

But his interpretation of the Koran suggested something else. "Where," I asked, "does it say that you can kill yourself for a higher cause? As far as I know, the Koran tells us that suicide is wrong."

Through his translator, the physician assured me that the verses endorsing suicide operations could be found "everywhere" in Islam's holy book. I challenged Dr. al-Hindi to show me just one passage.

After several minutes of reviewing the Koran, then calling for help on his mobile, then looking through companion booklets, he told me he was too busy and must go. "Are you sure you're not pulling a fast one on me?" I asked. He smiled, clearly understanding popular American lingo. "I want to know that you're telling me the truth," I repeated.
Irshad Manji, a Muslim feminist and activist from Toronto, listens to a question from the audience after a preview screening of her new PBS documentary Faith Without Fear in Detroit in 2007 Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Irshad Manji, a Muslim feminist and activist from Toronto, listens to a question from the audience after a preview screening of her new PBS documentary Faith Without Fear in Detroit in 2007. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
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The Globe and Mail

Dr. al-Hindi summoned two assistants to the office and made another call. His translator shifted uncomfortably, hanging his head as my camera swung past him to film the assistants. Backs to me, they flipped feverishly through the Koran. Minutes later, they presented a verse glorifying war.

But it had nothing to do with suicide. So I asked Dr. al-Hindi yet again. He said Islam permits defensive aggression. "If a thief comes to your door and steals your money, isn't it legitimate to protect yourself?" he said through the translator.

Still unable to draw the link between self-protection and suicide, I proposed this analogy: "If my boss steals my job and I kill myself because something that is mine has been taken away, am I a martyr?"

Horrified, the translator shook his head. "No, no, you can't ask this."

"Why not?" I wondered. "It's important, theologically, to ask these questions."

At that moment, my camera batteries died. This, the translator whispered, was a better outcome than me dying - which is what Dr. al-Hindi would have arranged if I stayed in his office much longer. The translator and I hurried out.

I'm reminded of this encounter as the world watches another Mideast crisis unfold, and otherwise liberal Muslims fall into the tribal trap of sanitizing Islamic extremism while condemning Israeli actions.

It would be far more helpful - to Palestinians, if nobody else - for Muslims to ask questions out loud.