The clash of civilisation comes from Bin Laden and Islam
Doha (AsiaNews) In the Saudi capital of Riyadh, some Muslim religious leaders announced that an international conference will be held "to defend the prophet and give the Western world the true image of Islam". At the same time, a mullah in Peshawar (Pakistan) announced that he will give a million dollars and a brand new car to anyone who kills the authors of the Muhammad cartoons. For Wafa Sultan, a Syrian psychologist who is a refugee in the United States, both examples reflect what Islam is. In a debate on al-Jazeera, she said "only Muslims defend their beliefs burning churches, killing people and destroying embassies".
"The clash we are witnessing around the world is not a clash of religions, and is not a clash of civilizations," Ms Sultan said. "It is a clash between two opposites, between two eras. It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another mentality that belongs to the 21st century. It is a clash between civilization and backwardness, between the civilized and the primitive, between barbarity and rationality. It is a clash between freedom and oppression, between democracy and dictatorship. It is a clash between human rights, on the one hand, and the violation of these rights, on other hand. It is a clash between those who treat women like beasts (bahîmah), and those who treat them like human beings. What we see today is not a clash of civilizations. Civilizations do not clash, but compete".
It is clear from the above that the waves provoked by the Muhammad cartoons and the counter waves fomented by some governments and Islamist organisations are still washing over the Muslim world.
The conference announced in Saudi Arabia is expected to draw some 300 Muslim dignitaries to Bahrain on March 22-23. It is not yet confirmed, but Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an influential Egyptian-born preacher from who says he is against hatred and violence, should attend.
Of a different ilk is Mohammad Yusef Qureshi, mullah at the Mohabat mosque, in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province on the border with Afghanistan, where Taleban influence remains strong. He offered a million dollar reward (in gold à la Bin Laden) for anyone who killed the Danish Muhammad cartoonists, 8,000 of which (500,000 rupees) out of his own pocket. The rest of money is expected to come from pledges made by local merchants and craftsmen.
It is because of such attitudes that Wafa Sultan spoke out against Islam on al-Jazeera in a debate with Ibrahim al-Khouli, a well-known Islamist scholar at al-Azhar university and imam at Cairo's main Helwan mosque (on the outskirts of the city). AsiaNews is publishing here a few excerpts of that debate, kindly translated by Fr Samir Khalil Samir, an Islam expert.
In response to the moderator's question about who first introduced the concept of clash of civilisation"Was it not Samuel Huntington? It was not Bin Laden, as they pretend!" Ms Sultan disagreed:
Wafa Sultan: "The Muslims are the ones who began using this expression. The Muslims are the ones who began the clash of civilizations. The Prophet of Islam said: 'I was ordered to fight the people [till they are killed or) until they believe in Allah and His Messenger' (hadith). When the Muslims divided the people into Muslims and non-Muslims, and called to fight the others until they believe in what they themselves believe, it is they who started this clash, it is they who began this war. In order to stop this war, they must re-examine the Islamic books they are using and the school curricula they are following, which are full of calls for declaring people infidel (takfir) and fighting (qitâl) the infidels (kâfir)."
"My colleague (Ibrahim al-Khouli) has said that he never offends other people's beliefs. What civilization on the face of this earth allows him to call other people by names that they did not choose for themselves?"
"Once, he calls them 'People of the protection' (Ahl al-Dhimma); another time he calls them the 'People of the Book'; and yet another time he compares them to apes and pigs, or calls them Nazarenes (Nasāra), and another time he calls the Christians 'those who incur Allah's wrath' (Qu'ran, Fātiha 7)."
"Who told you that they are 'People of the Book'? They are not the 'People of the Book', they are people of [many] books. All the useful scientific books that you have today are theirs, the fruit of their free and creative thinking."
"What gives you the right to call them 'those who incur Allah's wrath' or 'those who have gone astray' (Qu'ran, Fātiha 7)? And then you come here and say that your religion commands you to refrain from offending the beliefs of others?"
"I am not a Christian; I am not a Muslim, nor a Jew. I am a secular human being. I do not believe in the supernatural."
Ibrahim al-Khouli: "So you are an atheist?"
Wafa Sultan: "But I respect others' right to believe in it."
Ibrahim al-Khouli: "So you are an atheist? Are you an atheist?"
Wafa Sultan: "You can say whatever you like."
Ibrahim al-Khouli: "I am asking you. Are you atheist?"
Wafa Sultan: "I am a secular human being who does not believe in the supernatural . . . ."
Ibrahim al-Khouli: "If you are an atheist, there is no point in rebuking you, since you have blasphemed against Islam, against the Prophet of Islam, and against the Qu'ran of Islam."
Wafa Sultan: "These are personal matters that do not concern you. [. . .] Brother, you can believe in stones, as long as you don't throw them at me. You are free to worship whoever you want, but other people's beliefs are not your concern, whether they believe that the Messiah is God, son of Mary, or that Satan is God, son of Mary. Let people have their beliefs! [. . .]
"The Jews came from the tragedy (of the Holocaust), and forced the world to respect them, with their knowledge, not with their terror, with their work, not their crying and yelling. Humanity owes most of the discoveries and science of the 19th and 20th centuries to Jewish scientists. 15 million people, scattered throughout the world, united, and won their rights through work and knowledge."
"We have not seen a single Jew blow himself up in a German restaurant. We have not seen a single Jew destroy a church. We have not seen a single Jew protest against this (the Holocaust) by killing people."
"Muslims have turned three Buddha statues into rubble. We have not seen a single Buddhist burn down a Mosque, kill a Muslim, or burn down an embassy."
"Only Muslims defend their beliefs by burning down churches, killing people, and destroying embassies. This path will not yield any results. The Muslims must ask themselves what they can do for humankind, before they demand that humankind respect them."
islam clash of civilisations wafa sultan ibrahim al-khouli
ISLAM
The clash of civilisation comes from Bin Laden and Islam
An international conference on the Muhammad cartoons is scheduled to take place in Bahrain, but from Pakistan comes a million dollar prize for anyone who kills the cartoonists. A Syrian psychologist speaking on al-Jazeera says: "It is a clash between freedom and oppression, between democracy and dictatorship. It is a clash between human rights, on the one hand, and the violation of these rights, on other hand."
Doha (AsiaNews) In the Saudi capital of Riyadh, some Muslim religious leaders announced that an international conference will be held "to defend the prophet and give the Western world the true image of Islam". At the same time, a mullah in Peshawar (Pakistan) announced that he will give a million dollars and a brand new car to anyone who kills the authors of the Muhammad cartoons. For Wafa Sultan, a Syrian psychologist who is a refugee in the United States, both examples reflect what Islam is. In a debate on al-Jazeera, she said "only Muslims defend their beliefs burning churches, killing people and destroying embassies".
"The clash we are witnessing around the world is not a clash of religions, and is not a clash of civilizations," Ms Sultan said. "It is a clash between two opposites, between two eras. It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another mentality that belongs to the 21st century. It is a clash between civilization and backwardness, between the civilized and the primitive, between barbarity and rationality. It is a clash between freedom and oppression, between democracy and dictatorship. It is a clash between human rights, on the one hand, and the violation of these rights, on other hand. It is a clash between those who treat women like beasts (bahîmah), and those who treat them like human beings. What we see today is not a clash of civilizations. Civilizations do not clash, but compete".
It is clear from the above that the waves provoked by the Muhammad cartoons and the counter waves fomented by some governments and Islamist organisations are still washing over the Muslim world.
The conference announced in Saudi Arabia is expected to draw some 300 Muslim dignitaries to Bahrain on March 22-23. It is not yet confirmed, but Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an influential Egyptian-born preacher from who says he is against hatred and violence, should attend.
Of a different ilk is Mohammad Yusef Qureshi, mullah at the Mohabat mosque, in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province on the border with Afghanistan, where Taleban influence remains strong. He offered a million dollar reward (in gold à la Bin Laden) for anyone who killed the Danish Muhammad cartoonists, 8,000 of which (500,000 rupees) out of his own pocket. The rest of money is expected to come from pledges made by local merchants and craftsmen.
It is because of such attitudes that Wafa Sultan spoke out against Islam on al-Jazeera in a debate with Ibrahim al-Khouli, a well-known Islamist scholar at al-Azhar university and imam at Cairo's main Helwan mosque (on the outskirts of the city). AsiaNews is publishing here a few excerpts of that debate, kindly translated by Fr Samir Khalil Samir, an Islam expert.
In response to the moderator's question about who first introduced the concept of clash of civilisation"Was it not Samuel Huntington? It was not Bin Laden, as they pretend!" Ms Sultan disagreed:
Wafa Sultan: "The Muslims are the ones who began using this expression. The Muslims are the ones who began the clash of civilizations. The Prophet of Islam said: 'I was ordered to fight the people [till they are killed or) until they believe in Allah and His Messenger' (hadith). When the Muslims divided the people into Muslims and non-Muslims, and called to fight the others until they believe in what they themselves believe, it is they who started this clash, it is they who began this war. In order to stop this war, they must re-examine the Islamic books they are using and the school curricula they are following, which are full of calls for declaring people infidel (takfir) and fighting (qitâl) the infidels (kâfir)."
"My colleague (Ibrahim al-Khouli) has said that he never offends other people's beliefs. What civilization on the face of this earth allows him to call other people by names that they did not choose for themselves?"
"Once, he calls them 'People of the protection' (Ahl al-Dhimma); another time he calls them the 'People of the Book'; and yet another time he compares them to apes and pigs, or calls them Nazarenes (Nasāra), and another time he calls the Christians 'those who incur Allah's wrath' (Qu'ran, Fātiha 7)."
"Who told you that they are 'People of the Book'? They are not the 'People of the Book', they are people of [many] books. All the useful scientific books that you have today are theirs, the fruit of their free and creative thinking."
"What gives you the right to call them 'those who incur Allah's wrath' or 'those who have gone astray' (Qu'ran, Fātiha 7)? And then you come here and say that your religion commands you to refrain from offending the beliefs of others?"
"I am not a Christian; I am not a Muslim, nor a Jew. I am a secular human being. I do not believe in the supernatural."
Ibrahim al-Khouli: "So you are an atheist?"
Wafa Sultan: "But I respect others' right to believe in it."
Ibrahim al-Khouli: "So you are an atheist? Are you an atheist?"
Wafa Sultan: "You can say whatever you like."
Ibrahim al-Khouli: "I am asking you. Are you atheist?"
Wafa Sultan: "I am a secular human being who does not believe in the supernatural . . . ."
Ibrahim al-Khouli: "If you are an atheist, there is no point in rebuking you, since you have blasphemed against Islam, against the Prophet of Islam, and against the Qu'ran of Islam."
Wafa Sultan: "These are personal matters that do not concern you. [. . .] Brother, you can believe in stones, as long as you don't throw them at me. You are free to worship whoever you want, but other people's beliefs are not your concern, whether they believe that the Messiah is God, son of Mary, or that Satan is God, son of Mary. Let people have their beliefs! [. . .]
"The Jews came from the tragedy (of the Holocaust), and forced the world to respect them, with their knowledge, not with their terror, with their work, not their crying and yelling. Humanity owes most of the discoveries and science of the 19th and 20th centuries to Jewish scientists. 15 million people, scattered throughout the world, united, and won their rights through work and knowledge."
"We have not seen a single Jew blow himself up in a German restaurant. We have not seen a single Jew destroy a church. We have not seen a single Jew protest against this (the Holocaust) by killing people."
"Muslims have turned three Buddha statues into rubble. We have not seen a single Buddhist burn down a Mosque, kill a Muslim, or burn down an embassy."
"Only Muslims defend their beliefs by burning down churches, killing people, and destroying embassies. This path will not yield any results. The Muslims must ask themselves what they can do for humankind, before they demand that humankind respect them."
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22/03/2024 16:27
