Asra Nomani Quotes

The journalist and author, one of the most influential Italian journalists and intellectuals, was then dying of cancer and came out of retirement to warn about the great threat that she believed that Islam was for the West. See {587753} for her earlier warning. While at the surface, she appears to be a very bigoted individual, her main concern about Islam in general and for European immigration in particular had an intellectual and sophisticated base. Specificly, was 1) Islam is the ONLY religion that teaches and demands the transcendence of nationalism in a world that is organized around nations. It demands a concept of Muslim land as opposed to Egyptian land or Pakistani land. 2) It is overtly sexist and requires sexism of its adherents as opposed to other religions where sexism is traditional and cultural and not as theological. 3) It is anti democratic and requires adherents to conflate religion and government. However, what Fallaci was unaware of was the reform and modernist movement within Islam who argued for a modern, democrative evolution of the religion much as what has occurred with Christianity and Judiasm and other religions.

In 2005 Rose published a number of cartoons some of which depicted the Muslim Prophet, Muhammad which offended many fundamentalist Muslims who had a tradition who had a tradition of never depicting the visage of the Prophet. A delegation of clerics demanded an apology from Rose and the country of Denmark, claiming that they and Islam, like other religions, were entitled to respect.

Islam is a religion, like many Christian sects, where conversion of non-believers is a religious duty. When many of the European day-to-day customs, conflict with Islamic custom or prescription, decadence and the desire to change it becomes a very predictable result.

In September of 2005 a Danish Newspaper published some political cartoons showing the hypocrisy of some Muslims who use Islam to justify murder of innocents and terrorism. Months later, in January of 2006 many in the Middle East protested vehemently and Muslim riots broke out because the Prophet Muhammad's visage was depicted against Islamic tradition. Many Muslim nations started a boycott against Denmark. Many Muslim leaders claimed that insulting religion was an “abuse” of freedom of speech including those from nations which regularly publish material that is virulent against Christians and Jews.

In September of 2005 a Danish Newspaper published some political cartoons showing the hypocrisy of some Muslims who use Islam to justify murder of innocents and terrorism. Many in the Middle East protested vehemently because the Prophet Muhammad's visage was depicted against Islamic tradition. Many Muslim leaders claimed that insulting religion was an “abuse” of freedom of speech including those from nations which regularly publish material that is virulent against Christians and Jews. Momani reprinted the cartoons and wrote this editorial arguing that the cartoons insulted Islam far less than the terrorism and murder—especially a recent murder of Muslims in Amman attending an Islamic wedding ceremony, He was fired by the newspaper owners and then actually arrested by the Jordanian authorities for “Insulting Religion.”

One remarkable aspect of this quote is that most Western nations have the exact same perception he claims the Islamic word does of what the West is doing. While the Western nations think the defense is necessary and desirable, the Muslim nations fundamentally believe that Christianity and Judaism should and will be supplanted by Islam. To the Islamic fundamentalist religion is a zero sum game. Every person in the world who is not a Muslim is an attack on Islam in that God wants all to follow Islam and wants the faithful to make it so.

Bashir advocates adapting Sharia—Islamic Law—for all people in Indonesia—regardless of their religion or their preference for separation of church and state. This is diametrically opposite to an Islamic Syrian poet of 1000 years ago—see {624477}. Many Muslims have become more intolerant than some of their earlier scholars. Bashir also differs from most Indonesian Muslims who have historically not shared his bigotry and intolerance.

The reason he claimed that Governor Taseer was a blasphemer was that the governor opposed death penalty for saying or writing anything that was heresy or blasphemy as interpreted be fundamentalist Muslims. The Governor knew he was taking a risk. See {620970} .

This quotation is important because it emphasizes an aspect of freedom of religion that is not usually discussed—the freedom to LEAVE a religion. As an Islamic reformer born in Iran, this notion is extremely important. Under Sharia—Islamic Law—capital punishment is required for anyone who converts from Islam to any other religion. This has been made a part of the civil law of many Islamic nations from Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia as well as Iran where Sharia IS the civil law. There is no other religion in the world which makes conversion away from the religion a capital crime requiring execution. Executing people who leave a religion is a major violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

This was one of the sagest pieces advice regarding Islam given in the early 20th century.

In the last centuries, Egypt has been intellectually more advanced than the other Arab countries. It has a significant number of modernists who oppose religious influences on Government. During the Arab Spring when the old regime was ousted, the modernists had hopes that a modern democracy would be formed that was not controlled of even significantly influences by religious leaders and where women would have equal rights. However, the first election the Muslim Brotherhood, a religious party won, and then tried to institute Islamic law—Sharia. A coup ousted the Muslim Brotherhood, and then many dreamed again of a modern, non-sexist, secular democracy. Professor Ajami tried to give them a more realistic view.