The Trouble With Islam: Irshad Manji

I really liked the writer's voice in this book; her statements were so straightforward and spunky. "What makes us righteous and everyone else racist?...I am a Muslim Refusenik. That doesn't mean I refuse to be a Muslim; it simply means I refuse to join the army of automatons in the name of Allah". The section explaining the error of expecting 70 virgins as a reward for martyrdom was hilarious. There is some belief that the word was translated wrong and was actually Raisins. (They were expensive delicacies.)This section was educational. I didn't know some the text in the Koran was translated into Arabic from Judeo-Christian culture. Later in the book there is this quote "That is why", says Sardar, " Whenever the shai'ah is imposed- out of context from the time when it was formulated and out of step with our- Muslim societies acquire a medieval feel. We see that in Saudi Arabia, Iran, the Sudan, and Afghanistan after the Taliban." Ok, I guess I am just going to quote all the "ah ha" moments from this book "In North Africa, Jews and Christians wore shoulder patches with pictures of pigs and monkeys, respectively... In Baghdad, seat of the Islamic enlightenment, the Dhimmi peoples dressed in clothes bearing yellow symbols- a marker resuscitated by the Nazis." I really enjoyed reading this; it was equal parts educational and entertaining.