Don't Label Me: An Unusual Conversation for Divided Times

Description

Freedom of speech versus "freedom of screech." Uncivil showdowns over Civil War symbols. From Trump's wall to the walls we erect against those we disagree with and even hate, both online and off. America and the world have never been more fractured. Now what? What can decent people do to heal the caustic chasms without compromising our personal convictions? How do we stand our ground yet seek common ground? Where's the guide to drawing unity from the politics of identity? It has arrived. Don't Label Me will equip us to engage the "other" in a way that's at once effective and ethical. 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.

Irshad Manji is the 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 over thirty languages, and later adapted into the Emmy-nominated PBS film Faith Without Fear. She has been named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, received the Tom Lantos Award for Human Rights and Justice, and was the first "Chutzpah" award winner selected by Oprah Winfrey.

"Don't Label Me should be labeled as genius. It's an amazing book. Right now, I'd like to say something biting and controversial but I'm way too scared of the backlash it could create. That's why we need this book. Because nobody should be afraid to speak their mind, not even stupid people like me." - Chris Rock "Why do diversity initiatives so often fail or backfire? Because we've been doing diversity wrong. Irshad Manji shows us a different way to think about identity; one that is humble, loving, humane, and therefore likely to work for many more people. In a time of rising national polarization and distrust, Don't Label Me is among the most important books for Americans to read now." - Jonathan Haidt, New York University Stern School of Business, co-author of The Coddling of the American Mind "When I publicly challenged Donald Trump to read the U.S. Constitution, it was in part because of the moral courage that Irshad Manji inspired in me. With this book, she takes boldness to another level. After heeding Irshad's call to examine my own prejudices about Trump voters, I have a new understanding of bravery, and of humanity." - Gold Star father Khizr Khan "Don't let the format fool you. Cast as a dialogue with her dog Lily, Manji's book is a surprising, challenging, and deeply original approach to confronting our divided times, arguing for the moral courage to confront not only people across the political divide, but our own tribal preconceptions and prejudices as well." - Charles J. Sykes, author of How the Right Lost Its Mind "Charming and disarming, a story like this heals the divides that threaten to destroy America. Don't Label Me speaks for all of us who are more than the boxes that others put us into." - Marianne Williamson "Manji ponders deeply divisive subjects such as Black Lives Matter and homophobia...in the hope that society can evolve to bridge its divides and abandon its labels." - Booklist "Profound and nuanced...[A] jubilantly intelligent and quintessentially human and optimistic book, one that is fundamentally important in a dangerously polarized and divided time." - The Toronto Star