Islam in crisis, part ONE
First of two parts on threats to Islam, from within and without
In light of the increasing examples of Islamist brutality, it is easy to wonder if there ARE any moderate Muslims, and if so, where might they be found? Wouldn’t this be a pretty good time for them to speak up, before the whole world descends into a conflagration resulting in millions dead? (Hint: the majority of the dead will be from poor countries no matter how many are killed in America.)
The Muslim religion has a serious problem, and it can only be fixed from within. Some prominent Muslims are trying to do just that, starting with a Manifesto Against Islamic Totalitarianism, which I have copied below the fold…
After having overcome fascism, Nazism, and Stalinism, the world now faces a new totalitarian global threat: Islamism.
We, writers, journalists, intellectuals, call for resistance to religious totalitarianism and for the promotion of freedom, equal opportunity and secular values for all.
The recent events, which occurred after the publication of drawings of Muhammed in European newspapers, have revealed the necessity of the struggle for these universal values. This struggle will not be won by arms, but in the ideological field. It is not a clash of civilisations nor an antagonism of West and East that we are witnessing, but a global struggle that confronts democrats and theocrats.
Like all totalitarianisms, Islamism is nurtured by fears and frustrations. The hate preachers bet on these feelings in order to form battalions destined to impose a liberticidal and unegalitarian world. But we clearly and firmly state: nothing, not even despair, justifies the choice of obscurantism, totalitarianism and hatred. Islamism is a reactionary ideology which kills equality, freedom and secularism wherever it is present. Its success can only lead to a world of domination: man’s domination of woman, the Islamists’ domination of all the others. To counter this, we must assure universal rights to oppressed or discriminated people.
We reject “cultural relativism”, which consists in accepting that men and women of Muslim culture should be deprived of the right to equality, freedom and secular values in the name of respect for cultures and traditions. We refuse to renounce our critical spirit out of fear of being accused of “Islamophobia”, an unfortunate concept which confuses criticism of Islam as a religion with stigmatisation of its believers.
We plead for the universality of freedom of expression, so that a critical spirit may be exercised on all continents, against all abuses and all dogmas.
We appeal to democrats and free spirits of all countries that our century should be one of Enlightenment, not of obscurantism.
12 signatures Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Chahla Chafiq
Caroline Fourest
Bernard-Henri Lévy
Irshad Manji
Mehdi MozaffariMaryam Namazie
Taslima Nasreen
Salman Rushdie
Antoine Sfeir
Philippe Val
Ibn Warraq
This manifesto was published, appropriately enough, in the same newspaper that published the cartoons that served as a wake-up call to both the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds. I found it in Dispatches along with good commentary by Ed Brayton. He defines ‘Islamism’ as ‘the desire to have Islam (more specifically, their particularly barbaric interpretations of Islam) imposed through force of arms or force of law’.
The Islamists are a pretty scary bunch, and are a threat to moderate Muslims and everyone else. Another, perhaps larger danger to moderate Muslims is the indiscriminate fear of all Muslims from the non-Muslim community. This latter group is rapidly encompassing a very large part of the most heavily-armed Western nations. The choice is between reforming Islam from within or - something I don’t even want to think about. I will post about that on Friday evening.
Islam is a religion based on conversion by the sword. It has survived by rigid adherence to its rules and no variations are tolerated. Christianity also went through this stage but due to secular forces, primarily those of the USA, has managed to overcome the fundamentalists and most Christians today are tolerant of free speech as well as other religious beliefs. The problem now with Islam is that it will not tolerate those such as Rushdie who are willing to speak out against Islam.
Are there moderate Muslims? Maybe. I spent several years in Turkey and counted some Muslim Turks among my friends. But I also know that when it came to their friendship with me or their religious beliefs the religion would have the priority.
I have always been one who lived by the creed of “When in Rome do as the Romans” and although I did not convert to Islam when I was in Turkey I abided by the Islamic law when I was in the Turkish communities and respected their religion and culture. I would do the same today.
But I cannot stand by with my hands in my pockets when millions of Muslims riot in the street and swear to kill me and destroy my country simply because I am not a muslim.
If the Muslims want to believe in a angry and bigoted religion that is not compatable with personal freedom than I figure that is their right. But it is my right to fight them at every turn when they try to force that religion on me. And I will do so with the only way I have available to me now—and that is with words and posting the cartoons that show that they are the intolerant ######## that they are.
Posted by GUYK on 03/03/06 at 09:41 AM“show that they are the intolerant ######## that they are.“
I tried really hard to stay out of this one, but I can’t let this slur pass. (Sorry, DOF.) I have many Islamic friends, male and female, and have found among them more compassion and human generosity than among most Christians I know. My friends come from Jordan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Egypt (as well as my daughter’s roommate from Pakistan), so you can’t atribute their virtues to a national override. In all the years I’ve known them, I have never once seen religion trump decency and loyalty.
What you’re attributing to Islam, in my humble opinion, is mob mentality. It works just as well in this country as in any other.
Posted by Terry on 03/03/06 at 02:48 PMNo need to apologize, Terry - I am glad to have both these comments. As a pair, they make a pretty good lead-in to Islam In Crisis, part TWO
Guyk talked about Muslims he met in Turkey. All the Muslims I know - also from different countries - are those who made the effort to come here. This group, I assume, may be different in crucial ways from those overseas, where there will be still more variation. When you’re talking about a billion people, almost anything you can say is going to be true of some of them.
Posted by george.w on 03/03/06 at 11:47 PM
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