alternarrative

In the comments section of a recent post by Yasir Qadhi at Muslim Matters, there’s a brief debate about “Asra Nomani, Irshad Manji etc.” and the “reason for why they behave the way they do.” One commenter said: “I wonder if it doesn’t simply have to do with arrogance, deliberate ignorance, and a liking for the spotlight.” This is, no doubt, a familiar argument (and I have myself alluded to the spotlight effect in a previous post on Irshad Manji here). But what struck me now is the realization that we never quite ask the same question about, say, the Sheikh. What are the reasons for why he behaves the way he does? In fact, to the extent that I know (of) them, I am more interested in the similarities between the three above-mentioned figures, whose respective worldviews reflect the decisive influence of their subjective personal experiences. In some ways, I am echoing here Mona Eltahawy’s musings on the remarkable fact that even with respect to their immense differences, both she and the Sheikh are the way they are because of their Saudi-influenced background. My point is not to suggest that regardless of their actual stances (‘liberal,’ ‘conservative,’ etc), the concerns of all of these people must therefore be illegitimate, but rather that a person(ality) is far too complex to merely explain away using arrogance or desire for fame. In other words, there’s got to be a better way to critique somebody than just arguing that s/he is not sincere.