Islamic framework, and thus successfully resists
Ali’s polarizing statements that categorize any
opposition to his vision as un-Islamic. In its online
position statement, the CCMW identifies itself as a
pro-faith national organization that is not opposed
to Sharì≠a in general, but that rather opposes the
current plans to apply Sharì≠a in Canada. Against
Ali’s claims, the position statement points out that
while Muslims have five beliefs and five pillars of
practice, there is no sixth pillar or belief which
states that Muslims have to practice fiqh, or Islamic
arbitration.
The CCMW, with chief spokesperson Alia Hog-
ben, have leveled their chief argument against the
Sharì≠a campaign by challenging the notion that
those who will use the Sharì≠a courts will do so vol-
untarily. Rather, because of sociocultural factors,
many Canadian women will be coerced into choos-
ing the Sharì≠a courts over the Canadian ones. They
specify the written statements made by Mumtaz
Ali, which stress that not following the Sharì≠a
option is “tantamount to heresy-apostasy” as a
particular focus of concern, identifying his rhetoric
as coercive and as evidence against the voluntary
nature of the Sharì≠a option. The CCMW position
statement significantly explores the cultural and
historical specificity of Muslim women in diaspora,
and pinpoints their particular vulnerabilities to
pressures from both their culture of origin and their
host countries. Hogben points out that as newer
immigrants, Canadian Muslims are searching for
markers to identify themselves as a faith group, and
the use of Sharì≠a serves as one such marker. Hog-
ben expresses her concern that some Canadian
Muslim women may be persuaded to use Sharì≠a,
rather than seeking protection under the law of the
land, as part of a struggle for identity rather than a
search for justice. She calls attention to the role that
the fears and anxieties of being new immigrants
and a minority has in driving Canadian Muslims to
construct an identity that incorporates diverse ele-
ments, including living under Muslim law, and cau-
tions Muslim women that not all of these diverse
elements are essential to living in Canada as prac-
ticing Muslims.
The position statement further challenges Mum-
taz Ali’s assumptions by proposing that a non-
Muslim law, which is judged to be in harmony with
the spirit of Islamic law, could serve as suitable
basis for Islamic society in diaspora. The CCMW
strongly states that it does not recognize any com-
pelling reason to live under any form of law in
Canada other than Canadian law, and demands the
right to live under the same laws as other Canadian
women. The association praises the Canadian Char-162 family: modern islamic discourses
ter of Rights and Freedoms as a document that safe-
guards and protects women’s equal rights, and
claims that the values of Canadian law are also the
cornerstones of Islam. In inverse relation to the goals
of the Sharì≠a movement, the CCMW identifies its
objective as assisting Canadian Muslim women to
live under Canadian laws, which are congruent
with Islamic ideals of social justice and equality.
The International Campaign for the Defense of
Women’s Rights in Iran is another organization
leading a vigorous campaign against the Sharì≠a
courts in Canada, although it adopts a secular
framework from which to make its claims. Led by
coordinator Homa Arjomand, this organization
has engaged in awareness-raising through appear-
ances on radio and television; Internet publications
and newsletters; a sophisticated website; appeals to
key government and judicial figures; panels for dis-
cussion and debate; and an online petition, which
had been signed by 1,981 people by April 2004.
Arjomand argues that adoption of the Sharì≠a tri-
bunals constitutes a move against secularism, mod-
ernism, egalitarianism, and women’s rights, and
would send a message to women that they are unde-
serving of human rights protection. She points out
that since the government is responsible for ensur-
ing the safety and protection of all individuals and
the civil rights and liberties of all citizens living in
Canada, it is ultimately responsible for curtailing
the influence of the Sharì≠a movement.
Besides being the locus of a heated debate over
Sharì≠a law, Canada is also the home and base of a
highly provocative Muslim woman speaker and
writer, Irshad Manji. A television journalist and
author of the bestselling book, The Trouble with
Islam: A Wake-Up Call for Honesty and Change,
Manji has garnered international attention, includ-
ing death threats. In the first weeks after its publi-
cation, her book made front-page news across
Canada and received immediate attention in Europe
and the United States.
A native of Uganda, Manji emigrated to Van-
couver, British Columbia with her family at the age
of four, and joined the growing Islamic immigrant
community there. Throughout her life and career,
Manji has continued to question what she consid-
ers to be the inflexibilities of dominant Islam. Her
message centers on the revivification of ijtihàd
(interpretation of religious texts), and she urges all
Muslims to engage in critical reflection about their
religion. Among her most controversial views are
her questioning of the infallibility of the Qur±àn, her
sympathy with both Arabs and Jews in Palestine,
and her privileging of the West as the most suitable
site from which to initiate Islamic reform.