In her next book, the bestselling author of “The Trouble with Islam Today”, translated in 30 language and made into an Emmy-nominated PBS film, looks at the tribalism and walled-off mentality that has been running rampant in recent years. A unique conversation about diversity, bigotry, and our common humanity

DON’T LABEL ME:
A Conversation for Divided Times
by Irshad Manji
St. Martin’s Press, February 2019

America and the world have never been more fractured. But how do we move forward?  What can decent people do to heal the chasms without compromising our personal convictions? How do we stand our ground yet seek common ground? DON’T LABEL ME will be a guide to drawing unity from the politics of identity. It will equip us to engage the “other” in a way that’s at once effective and ethical. In DON’T LABEL ME Irshad Manji holds a scrappy yet tender conversation with her Other: a senior dog named Lily. Raised in a culture that deemed dogs evil, Manji learns from her fur elder the transformative power of moving beyond labels, be they racial, sexual, religious, partisan, or species-supremacist. Together, she and Lily show that diversity, when practiced honestly, encourages conflicting points of view while revealing that we’re all so much more than the assumptions we make about each other. Infused with scholarly insights and punctuated with stories about Manji’s experiences as a refugee from Africa, a Muslim immigrant to the U.S., and a professor of moral courage, DON’T LABEL ME offers a gift to every global citizen: concrete tips on how to start and sustain the toughest, most taboo conversations. With a unique hook—structured as a conversation with her dog—we think this book offers an appealing way to breach difficult topics and it is a book that is much needed in this divisive time.

Irshad Manji is founder of the award-winning Moral Courage Project at the University of Southern California and The New York Times bestselling author of “The Trouble With Islam Today”, translated into more than thirty languages and later adapted into the Emmy-nominated PBS film “Faith Without Fear”. Oprah Winfrey selected her as the first winner of the “Chutzpah” prize for boldness. Manji has lived and taught in Toronto, Vancouver, New York, and Los Angeles.