Public Policy Lecture Series
Click the link to the right to see photos from some of our previous lectures.
Spring Public Policy Lecture
Irshad Manji
7 p.m. Thursday, March 7, 2013
MCLA Church Street Center, Eleanor Furst Roberts Auditorium
Free and open to the public
Information: 413.662.5391
Irshad Manji is Director of the Moral Courage Project at New York University. Deepak Chopra describes her as "the new voice of reform, not only for Islam but for all religions." Her bestselling book, "The Trouble with Islam Today," has been published in 31 countries, including Indonesia, Lebanon, and Pakistan.
In 2011, Professor Manji released the sequel: "Allah, Liberty, and Love." Bill Moyers called it a "passionate yet practical guide for the journey that each of us must begin if we are to live with dignity on a crowded planet." O, The Oprah Magazine, selected it as one of the "10 Books You Must Read Now."
Wherever her books are banned, Irshad Manji reaches readers by posting free-of-charge translations on her website, IrshadManji.com. That's one reason Fareed Zakaria says, "Irshad Manji never gives up."
In-between books, she has produced Faith Without Fear, the PBS documentary that garnered an Emmy nomination for artfully following her campaign to reconcile Islam with women's equality, respect for minorities, and honest debate. Irshad Manji drives the fundamentalists crazy.
In all her work, Professor Manji shows us how to develop "moral courage," the willingness to speak up when everyone else wants to shut you up. Her Moral Courage Project at NYU grooms leaders who will challenge political correctness, intellectual conformity, and self-censorship. In the best spirit of higher education, the Moral Courage Project teaches that rights come with responsibilities, that we are citizens before we are members of mere tribes, and that meaningful diversity embraces different ideas and not just identities.
The Public Policy Lecture Series is made possible through the generosity of the Ruth Proud Charitable Trust.
