Author: Wafa Sultan
Publication: Islam-Watch
Date: September 4, 2009
URL: http://www.islam-watch.org/iw-new/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=157:obstacles-in-liberating-islam&catid=102:wafa&Itemid=58
How see-no-evil, hear-no-evil, Western liberals
undermine the battle against Islam, and subvert the liberation of Muslims,
particularly Muslim women, from the repression of Islam...
This article appeared in "Hudson Institute"
Website.
As an Arab woman who suffered for three decades
living under Islamic Sharia, it is clear to me that Islam's political ideology
and Sharia must be fought relentlessly by Western civilization to prevent
its application in a free society.
However, I have found myself fighting on two
fronts. The first front is against Islamists, a daunting fight indeed. But
the other front is one shaped by too many uninformed individuals who like
to view themselves as open minded "progressives". They seem to somehow
claim superiority on compassion, on peace, on open-mindedness and on appreciation
of other cultures. Regarding themselves as tolerant, free thinking individuals,
they avoid questioning Muslims' harmful intentions. They restrict themselves
to self-criticism, and make politically-correct excuses for Islamism. Regrettably,
they show their indisputable acceptance of 'others' at the expense of the
public's responsibility to learn the truth about Islam's detrimental tenets.
It is crucial for these so called "progressives"
to realize that Islam is indeed based on an anti-liberal system. They need
to awaken to the inhumane policies and practices of Islamists around the world.
They need to realize that Islamism oppose the liberal values they cherish.
And equally important, they must not take for granted the respect for human
rights and dignity that we experience in America, and in the West, today.
For me, confronting those who adhere to multicultural
relativism is a most painful battle. Their standpoint makes the efforts of
Muslim reformers more challenging. When Westerners make politically-correct
excuses for Islamism, it actually suppresses and weakens my voice and that
of others who are in this fight.
Simply put, too many individuals, and institutions
stand in the way of overcoming Islamic political ideology. With their appeasing
approach they obstruct the pressing effort to modernize Islam.
When I first immigrated to the US, I learned
to my dismay that Islam has been labeled by many as "a religion of peace."
But for me, as a Syrian who grew up in Islamic country, a set of beliefs that
insists that women are wicked is an evil set of belief. A pious ideology ---
that obliges non Muslims to live as subjects under it as unequal --- is an
immoral pious ideology.
Regrettably, we frequently experience politically
correct harsh responses to criticism of Islam by those who admonish liberated
Muslims or Arabs. They often use clichés such as, "There are violent
stories in all religions texts," or "How can we bulk all Muslims
into one group?" Or, "Among Christians and Jews there are also zealots
who have done horrible things to others." All of these excuses are made
without considering critical Islamic doctrines which play detrimental role
in Islam's march towards Western decline.
Two years ago Rabbi Stephen Julius Stein published
an article in the Los Angeles Times criticizing me in an unjust manner. Recently
Rabbi's Stein article came back to life when an Arab man who happens to follow
my writings translated the Rabbi's article into Arabic and published it in
an Arabic website under the title "A Jewish Rabbi scandalizes Wafa Sultan".
Among other claims, Mr. Stein mentioned that
he could not imagine a "Jewish woman standing among a group of Muslims
and criticizing Judaism the same way Wafa Sultan criticizes Islam".
Is Mr. Stein lacking basic knowledge about
Islam and demonstrating duplicity in regard to his own Jewish religion?
Here are few hypothetical scenarios:
If a group of fanatic Jews beheaded an innocent
Muslim, justifying their gruesome act as permissible according to Jewish texts,
is there any doubt that countless of Jewish women would publicly criticize
the tenets of Judaism that permit these outrageous creeds?
Had Jewish women been relegated to the status
of animals as a result of their religious teachings, would one doubt Rabbi
Stein's obvious support for Jewish women rebelling against their own traditions?
[Recently, a well-known Egyptian female lawyer
called on national Arabic TV to incite young Palestinian men to harass and
rape Israeli women as part of their war against Israel (you can view her clip
on MEMRI.org).]
Had an Israeli lawyer declared publicly on
a National Israeli TV the same type of incitement against Arabs, would Rabbi
Stein object to Jewish women's unequivocal rejection of this hateful provocation?
Also, I am quite amazed at Rabbi Stein's ignorance
of the intrinsic nature of Islamic anti-Semitism. One would assume that his
obligation as a teacher and a leader of his Jewish community is to educate
and protect his people. Unfortunately, his criticism only weakens Jews, and
further strengthens Muslim anti-Semitism. (Please read Dr. Andrew Bostom new
book, "The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism".)
One Islamic concept in particular is called
in Arabic "Al Taqyya." It allows and encourages Muslims to lie and
deceive others in order to reach their ultimate objective which is submitting
the world to Islam under Sharia Law. To be sure, Islamists who follow the
political ideology of subverting non Muslims under Islam do use the concept
of Al Taqyyaa.
Hence, a destructive relationship is created:
on one hand, Islamists lie to the gullible non-Muslims and on the other hand,
many non Muslims, in particular proponents of interfaith dialogue accept their
lies and avoid asking harsh and necessary questions to expose their dangerous
intentions. In that context, the Muslims' Al Taqyyaa and the West's naiveté
and ignorance about the true intentions of Islamists are both harmful models
of engagement.
Further, they both violate our right to know
the truth, regardless of how evil or unintentional each side's objective is.
Thus, Al Taqyyaa and political correctness are recipes for irreversible damage
to the values of freedom and liberty, which are the foundation of our US constitution
and other Western liberal democracies.
Rabbi Stein is one in a group of countless
others who practice political correctness to avoid hurting those he claimed
to be "his Muslim friends", as he mentions in his article.
People who avoid facing the gloomy facts regarding
Islam, have no moral authority to admonish liberated Arabs like me. Those
who cannot confront Islamic doctrine boldly and will not allow themselves
to question openly dreadful components of Islam are on the wrong side of this
conflict.
I have often been asked to soften and compromise
my message. I refuse to do so. I believe the way to solve this Islamic predicament
is to highlight and confront it in a most truthful and subsequently painful
manner. As we all would agree, at times, an acute disease must be treated
aggressively rather than with a benign medicine like Aspirin.
Lastly, I will carry on my mission because
I love Muslims. I dream of a future when all Muslims, especially from the
Middle East, who yearn for better life outside their suppressive environment,
can savor the taste of the freedom we all experience here in the US. This
is not just Dr. King's dream; this is a dream that should be granted to all
humanity, including those in the Muslim world.
- Dr. Wafa Sultan is a Syrian-born former
Muslim. She is a certified psychiatrist, human rights activist, and author
of the forthcoming book "A God That Hates".
