Understanding Islamic Leadership - Irshad Manji September 15, 2008

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Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2008/07/01/Irshad_Manji_and_Dalia_Mogahed_-_Who_Speaks_for_Islam

Muslim-Canadian author and commentator Irshad Manji explains clerical authority in Islam, and how the religion's lack of a unified organizational system could open the door to reform.

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Irshad Manji and Dalia Mogahed discuss issues surrounding contemporary Islam at the 2008 Aspen Ideas Festival, including the nature of the religion in relation to peace and conflict and the interpretation of the Koran.

Irshad Manji is director of the Moral Courage Project at New York University, which aims to develop leaders who will challenge political correctness, intellectual conformity, and self-censorship. She is also the internationally best-selling author of The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslim's Call for Reform in Her Faith. She created the acclaimed PBS documentary "Faith Without Fear" which chronicles her journey to reconcile Islam with human rights and freedom.

She also founded Project Ijtihad, which won the Youth Global Leader award from the World Economic Forum for its global campaign to popularize Islams own tradition of critical thinking. Irshads columns appear frequently in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Times of London.

Jeffrey Goldberg is the staff writer and Middle East correspondent for the New Yorker Goldberg, based in Washington, D.C.. He joined the staff of the New Yorker in 2000.Previously, he was a writer for the New York Times Magazine, covering the Middle East and Africa. He has also covered the mafia for New York Magazine, served as the New York bureau chief of the Forward, and been a columnist for the Jerusalem Post. He began his career as a police reporter for the Washington Post.