This woman showed up on my LinkedIn page. I had forgotten about her.
But Irshad Manji is still very much around.
And she got "married"!
Does Islam allow lesbian coupling (let alone marriage)?
Apparently so, on both counts. Manji though, is not a Muslim but "believes" in the "Divine."
She tell us on her "wedding" Facebook page:
On Irshad’s left arm is her devoutly Muslim uncle, Massum. On Irshad’s right arm is her secular Jewish friend (and the guy who introduced her to Laura), Jim. In case you’re wondering, Laura grew up atheist, still takes issue with organized religion, but has come to believe in a higher power. Their shared love of the Divine is a core bond between Irshad and Laura.Manji introduces us to the man in the photo below as: "The robed dude officiating this wedding is a judge from Los Angeles." The other two are her mother and her now "wife" Laura J. Albano.
Manji's mother reading from the Koran
And who is Laura J. Albano?
Well she started off as a "cosmetic tattoo artist" and acquaintance with a medical doctor led her to their conversations that "...my skills might benefit reconstructive patients. That is how it all began in 2003 when Dr. asked me to join his staff." [Source: Her Tattoos Mae a Psyche Difference]
Above is Manji's mother reading a verse from the Koran during Manji's and Albano's "coupling ceremony."
Says Manji of her suffering mother (who nonetheless broke from Islamic theology and "blessed" the "wedding":
"Although my faithfully Muslim mother still cringes at the thought of what ‘other people’ will say about her daughter being formally married to a woman, Mumtaz is first and last a mum.There's that word again: bliss.
Which means she wants only happiness for her children. And that’s precisely what I have with Laura - utter bliss" [Source].