Ibn Warraq Islam 101 Islam and Philosophy Islam In Europe Phyllis Chesler Uncategorized

PHYLLIS CHESLER INTERVIEWS IBN WARRAQ…….

 

The Tundra Tabloids asks the following question to all of its readers, and please do dare to weigh in:

I see a great dilemma in this call for an Islamic “enlightenment”. Outside of the fact that there is no alternative, how can we hope for an “enlightenment” within Islam when they (the leaders and true followers of Islam) already have the hindsight of seeing the fruits of the Christian enlightenment, meaning liberalism in all its forms, and are appalled by it, and therefore, IMHO, will reject such an enlightenment from ever happening within Islam and to themselves?

Who knows, Islam might of had a chance (however debatable that might be) if they were the first to embark upon that path, due to being completely blindsided of where it would exactly lead (as were the Christians at the time). Now we enjoy in the West what we rightly believe as the positive fruits of that enlightenment, and they shun it completely, throughout the ME and within the West.

So are we saying that we should nonetheless promote this enlightenment project, and get secular muslims on board, just because that’s all we’ve got? Just how realistic and genuine is that anyways? KGS

NOTE: He’s absolutely right, the West is indeed the best.

Why the West Is Best: A Muslim Apostate’s Defense of Liberal Democracy

[…] Ibn Warraq has written a bracing, definitive, scholarly, masterful, unapologetic, and possibly redemptive defense of Western values. It is a rallying cry for an Islamic “Enlightenment,” not merely a “Reformation,” but one which will never happen unless Westerners engage in the most spirited defense of Western freedoms.

In Why the West is Best, Ibn Warraq urges us to “defend these rights without compromise and without fear of hurting the feelings” of potentially friendly Muslim countries or of angry Islamic terrorists. Westerners must not self-censor or censor and must not allow “barbaric laws from 7th century Arabia” to supersede Western freedom. We must end our failed policies of multicultural relativism, anti-Americanism, and anti-Westernism which have led to the most profound, possibly suicidal crisis. Indeed, this is the best way we can strengthen our  like-minded allies who are trapped in theologically fundamentalist Muslim countries.

Read it all here.

 

7 Responses

  1. Well, let’s see how long he lasts. If CAIR et. al. ignores him, that means they don’t feel threatened or it’s another feint. My apologies to him if he is sincere. He should understand if our guard is up.

  2. Absolutely correct. Islam needs their own John Knox as we did in Scotland in the 16th century, this man led us out of the darkness of the practices of the Catholic church and subsequently brought us to the Scottish Enlightement .

    1. Hi Carlung, the question I presented still remains unanswered.

  3. “Ibn Warraq” (a pseudonym) is a longtime apostate. His excellent book “Why I Am Not a Muslim” was published in 1995. It is not about his personal story, but an encompassing review of what is wrong with Islam (pretty much everything).

  4. The Enlightenment itself was a product of the Reformation, and both byproducts Christianity. The post-modern era has though cut enlightenment values from its Christian roots.

    Chesterton puts it succinctly, “When a religious scheme is shattered it is not merely the vices that are let loose. The vices are, indeed, let loose, and they wander and do damage. But the virtues are let loose also; and the virtues wander more wildly, and the virtues do more terrible damage. The modern world is full of the old Christian virtues gone mad. The virtues have gone mad because they have been isolated from each other and are wandering alone. Thus some scientists care for truth; and their truth is pitiless. Thus some humanitarians only care for pity; and their pity (I am sorry to say) is often untruthful.”

  5. In order to fix a something you must identify the problem.

    I have a theory that core problem with Islam is this: Islam trains a small percentage of its most devout religious young males that it is OK to commit violence in the name of Islam.

    All the problems within Islam stem from this training of these young males.

    For those of you who have not read my article “Islam is Fear”, (https://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2011/11/islam-is-fear-part-i.html)
    In this article, I describe how Islam’s most devout believers become a phantom army that holds Islam from changing.

    It is my belief that in order to change/fix/reform Islam; (1) The core ideological teachings of Islam need to be changed – in order to stop the continuous training of additional unseen religious killers. (2) We need to find ways to de-program the existing “phantom army”.

    Both of these approaches require significant reformation of Islamic theology.

    So what can be done? As I say in “Islam is Fear”, no attempts to deal with Islamic violence will ever succeed unless they address the cause of this violence/fear cycle.

    Because of the very nature of Islam, don’t expect an Islamic reformation to happen from within Islam. The unseen killers are too numerous. They will succeed in killing anyone within Islam who tries to bring forth a reformation.

    Islam is the way it is today, because the unseen killers have been successfully killing off change for 1,400 years. Without a push from the outside, reformation will not happen.

    So here is a realistic way to start the reformation from the outside.

    1. The intellectual tsunami. There needs to be a loud and continuous outcry from numerous sources proclaiming the fallacy of Islamic theology. (The religious thugs need to quit believing they have a God given right to kill). Imaging what could happen if the President of the US were to make a speech telling the Muslim world that Islam was in bad need of reformation – the Koran was not the perfect word of God – it is not OK to kill in the name of God. – It is not the perfect religion. – People should be able to be free from Islam. (And the list could go on…) The intellectual shock wave would be enormous. Imagine if other world leaders said the same thing. (What an irony, we can bomb them, but can’t tell them the truth.) Just look at the shock wave caused by Geert Wilders – and he is only a single member of the Dutch parliament.

    Even without the president or other heads of state, those of us in the “counter jihad” movement need to press these issues of Islamic theological fallibility. The more it is said, and the louder it is said, the better. The internet can play a significant role in this process.

    2. Women’s liberation within Islam. Islam as it exists today cannot survive with liberated women. Islam is essentially a system that enslaves both male and female Muslims to specific roles within a 1,400 year old ideological doctrine. Females clearly get relegated to a second class status. If half of the slaves (women) revolt, others within Islam will revolt also. Women’s liberation within Islam would change Islam dramatically.

    This area of women’s liberation within Islam may be the most effective way to start the reformation process. Women’s freedom is enhanced when facts and logic are properly applied to outdated social norms. Islamic doctrine does not stand a chance when confronted with facts and logic.

    3. Divide and conquer. In reality, Islam is Arab colonialism under the disguise of religion. The non-Arab Muslim world needs to hear that they are victims of the Arab religious colonialism. (Here is an example.) Why do Pakistanis’ think killing their own people, while praying in Arabic, and bowing towards Mecca, is what God wants? Why do the Pakistanis allow their Arab masters to come to Pakistan and tell them what God wants? What about the Persians? The Malaysians? The Thais? The Philippines? And others?

    Islamic colonialism is for all practical purposes ignored or unnoticed. The forces of anti-colonialism need to be directed towards Islamic colonialism.

    4. Let Islam’s sexual cat out of the bag (especially for the Mullahs). Islam is so sexually repressed that the sexual frustration manifests itself in a distorted society. You can be sure that sexual deviancy within Islam is widespread (child brides, incest, rape, animal sex, child sex, child homosexual rape, and others). Just look at the issue of rape alone within Muslim society. Raped women are routinely jailed and even stoned to death. What kind of perverted society allows this type of behavior? Actual rape and sexual harassment numbers and within Islam must be horrific.

    5. Discredit and embarrass the Mullahs. The mullahs whip the devout believers into their killing frenzy. When the Mullahs look bad, a portion of the killers will take the day off. While doing research I’ve read many stories of mullahs using their position of power for their own personal advantage. You can be sure that includes sex, and other issues the mullahs don’t want known.

    What do you think? If you have other ideas, I’d like to hear them.

    What you can do.

    If you are a woman – pressure the media and women’s group to drop the PC blinders about Islam. Force these organizations to look closely at how Islam treats women. When non-Muslim women demand equal rights for Muslim women, the women of Islam will benefit immensely. A small spark of feminism within Islam could go a long way towards true Islamic reformation.

    If you have internet or other skills, put them to use helping the counter-jihad movement. Spread the word about the realities of Islam and Sharia law.

    Bob Smith
    Bob311w9@yahoo.com

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