Last weekend, an essay in the New York Times looked at two women who were working to reform rigid Muslim societies in different ways. Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born in Somalia and raised in strict fundamentalist countries. At age 22, she fled to the Netherlands to avoid and arranged marriage, and is a vocal atheist. Irshad Manji was born in Uganda, but raised in Canada. Due to her natural curiosity and desire to learn, she was kicked out of her religious school as a child for asking too many questions. However, Manji remains committed to her religion and openly embraces her identity as a lesbian.

Hirsi Ali is the author of The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam and Infidel. As the target of frequent threats to her life by those who use terror to enforce their beliefs, Hirsi Ali founded that The Foundation for the Freedom of Expression to not only provide a venue for the dissemination of ideas for reform in Muslim countries, but as a way to provide security to and protect the safety of those who might otherwise be unable to speak out. Although I think Ms. Hirsi Ali is a brave, intelligent, and fascinating woman who is playing an important role in making the world a better, more equal place for people of all religious beliefs, I am a bit weary of her affiliation with the conservative American Enterprise Institute. I realize that politics frequently makes strange bedfellows, but it is important to remember not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Freedom is an essential goal, but so is social welfare, and I can't trust any organization who bestows the Irving Kristol Award as a high honor. (Kristol is a founder of the neoconservative moment, and opposes the very values of justice and equality that Hirsi Ali is seeking.)

Irshad Manji is also an author of a memoir/polemic, The Trouble with Islam: A Muslim Woman's Call for Reform in Her Faith. Currently, Manji is in Indonesia for a book tour. Her blog is full of wonderful stories about the embrace she has received from Indonesian Muslims, and has great pictures that document her experiences. Manji encourages her readers and admirers to get involved. Project Itjihad is:

...a charitable initiative to promote the spirit of Ijtihad, Islam’s own tradition of critical thinking, debate and dissent. We support a positive vision of Islam that embraces diversity of choices, expression and spirituality. To achieve this, Project Ijtihad will help build the world’s most inclusive network of reform-minded Muslims and non-Muslim allies.

Reform-minded Muslims already exist in spades. Our goal is to bring them out of the shadows. They need to know that Islam gives them the permission to be thoughtful and faithful at the same time. Because they’re not alone, they can have such faith without fear.

Progressive non-Muslims are crucial partners in our mission. When non-Muslims work with reform-minded Muslims, they're sending notice that moderates and fundamentalists are no longer the only voices that count in Islam. When non-Muslims recognize reform-minded Muslims, they're spurring a healthy competition of ideas and interpretations. Above all, they're affirming that reform-minded Muslims are as authentic as the mainstream, and quite possibly more constructive.

Some worry that involving non-Muslims is a recipe for "illegitimacy." We respectfully disagree. If reform is to mean anything, it must involve transcending the petty tribalism that has calcified all religions in God’s expansive name.

Manji named her Moral Courage Project, housed at New York University's Wagner School of Public Service, after a quote from Robert F. Kennedy:

Few are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change. And I believe that in this generation those with the courage to enter the moral conflict will find themselves with companions in every corner of the globe.

Just reading these words sends shivers down my spine. (I've long maintained that if RFK were not assassinated, the United States would be a much better place today. I believe that his death is one of the biggest tragedies in modern history, and it robbed millions of people of a better future, but I digress.) Through the institute, Manji conducts courses on moral courage, as well as panel discussions that are open to the public. She encourages people to send her stories about individuals who have manifested moral courage so that she can honor them in her class, in her writings, and on her website.

Obviously, I admire both of these women for standing up for what they believe in. Dogtanian at Jezebel asks which you would rather have a beer with, and like me, is a bit partial to Manji. The Arabist thinks they are both utterly irrelevant and full of crap. I can't agree at all with The Arabist on this one. Today is Holocaust Rememberance Day, and as such, Hirsi Ali and Manji's fight against intolerance is particularly resonant. The us-against-them fundamentalist attitude must stop, no matter who it is perpetrated by (and Western religions certainly bears enormous responsibility for its own propaganda), or we all lose together.

Suzanne also blogs about life at Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS) & Other Rants, about yogurt and pudding at Live Active Cultures, and about feminism and gender as a contributing editor at BlogHer.