1 Purpose of this document This document contains excerpts, quotes and summaries from various websites. It allows readers who are open to learning about the underlying problems with orthodox Islam to print out a single comprehensive document, or read it on a computer screen, without having to click on hundreds of hyperlinks. It also makes it easier to forward a single file via email to other interested readers, which we'd like to ask you to do. The document offers a good overview of Islam and why it matters to all of us, but we also encourage you to check out additional material online using the provided website addresses. Our sources include WikiIslam, Human Rights Watch, Faithfreedom International, Islam Watch, Jihad Watch, Charter for Compassion and others. We explore the question of how to best safeguard human rights and freedom in our democracies. For a list of our online sources, see chapter 4. Some of the original text was slightly modified to ensure the consistent use of terminology and better readability. In order to protect the identities of contributors who are critical of Islam, we avoid mentioning (full) names in this document. After the heinous attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center in 2001, most people were still under the impression that militant Muslims are a tiny minority and that we are able to keep them in check. Especially liberals remain extra careful not to offend anyone in the Muslim community, pointing out that they are criticizing terrorism, not Islam. Many of us know really nice, friendly and peace-loving Muslims. Therefore it is very difficult to challenge the assumption that Islamist extremists misunderstand the peaceful religion of Islam. They don't and that's hard for us to accept. The Danish cartoon incident in 2005 opened the eyes of many people in the West. For weeks, numerous demonstrations and other protests against the cartoons took place worldwide. Innocent people got killed because of some drawings. Many conservatives began looking for in-depth material about Islam, hoping to find some explanation why millions of Muslims are getting so upset, some waving placards that demand the beheading of journalists. Concerned conservatives even read English translations of the Qur'an. Yet only a tiny minority of liberals seem to be willing to make a similar effort. This is unfortunate, because most peo- ple left of the center reject totalitarian ideologies. Most liberals still fail to recognize the connection to orthodox Islam, which is the standard Islam as defined 1,400 hundred years ago and still applicable today. Muslims are a problem for us exactly to the degree to which they understand their religion and take it seri- ously. The peace-loving Muslims are no problem, because they don't take Islam seriously. But there is in- creasing peer pressure. More and more Muslims are asked to take Islam seriously and support its doctrines. Let's take the situation in Germany as an example. Most Germans have noticed that far more women of Turkish origin wear veils compared to 20 years ago. They have also noticed that many Muslim immigrants and their children no longer seek German friends. Children often enter elementary school without being able to speak German. Many of the boys don't respect female teachers, let alone their arrogant fathers who support them. The girls are forbidden to go on field trips with the rest of their classes. Some are even told not to befriend unclean German girls. It seems like 1933 all over again. It's happening in a country that suc- cessfully got rid of Nazism's evil ideology. Only this time devout Muslim men think they are the super-race and all the others are inferior and unworthy. Islam, when taken seriously, is a totalitarian ideology. In May 2012, the German police, while protecting anti-Islam demonstrators, were attacked by militant Salafists. They claimed that the Prophet had been insulted by the demonstrators. Twenty-nine police officers were wounded. Two of them were stabbed with a knife. This document attempts to explain why this happened. 2 Table of contents: 1. Manifesto against totalitarianism ………………………………………………………………………………. 4 2. Islam, orthodox Islam and Islamism …………………………………………………………………………… 4 3. Getting a better understanding of Islam …………………………………………………………………….. 9 3.1 A conversation with Phil and Stan 3.2 Twelve good reasons why you should learn more about Islam 3.3 Rational fear and the Islamophobia misnomer 3.4 The inability of devout Muslims to counter valid criticism 3.5 Liberté, égalité, fraternité 3.6 Why the majority of Muslims are peaceful citizens 4. Online resources used in this document …………………………………………………………………….. 17 5. The incompatibility of Islamic doctrines with fundamental Western values ……………….. 24 5.1 Apostasy in Islam 5.2 Intolerance and incitement to hatred 5.3 Second-class citizens in Islamic societies 5.4 Islamic anti-Semitism 5.5 Islam and freedom of expression 5.6 The rights of women 5.7 Barbaric punishments 5.8 Homosexuality 5.9 Pedophilia 6. Major concerns related to the indoctrination pandemic ………………………………….…………. 37 6.1 The intentional use of religious deception 6.2 Widespread support for violence and terror 6.3 Violence in the Bible versus the Qur'an 6.4 Islam and the silent majority 6.5 Why some don't consider Islam to be a religion 6.6 The adverse effects of Ramadan fasting 6.7 Islam and modern science 6.8 The steady decline of the Islamic world and spread of Islamic fundamentalism 6.9 The social, political and intellectual state of contemporary Arab countries 7. The unrestricted export of Islamic doctrine to the free world …………………………………….. 53 8. Why conservative Islam critics need to welcome liberals into the movement…………….. 56 3 9. Developing strategies to counter Islamic indoctrination and protect human rights ……. 59 9.1 The main challenges to developing successful strategies 9.2 Educating yourself and educating others 9.3 Multiculturalism based on tolerance and mutual respect 9.4 Energy independence and boycotts 9.5 Seeking alliances and building good relations with truly moderate Muslims 9.6 A double-agent strategy stealth anti-Jihadist Muslims can use 9.7 The importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 9.8 Getting people to sign the Charter for Compassion 9.9 Final note Appendix A - An overview of Islam and why it has been so successful …………………………………………….. 71 B - The difference between the 7 th century and 21 st century mindset ……………………………… 78 C - Excerpts from the book 'The Crisis of Islam' by Bernard Lewis……………………………………… 79 D - Spiegel interview with the Islamic reformer Bassam Tibi……………………………………………… 82 E - Excerpts from a Spiegel interview with German feminist Alice Schwarzer……………………. 84 F - An interview with Zeyno Baran, editor of 'The Other Muslims: Moderate and Secular'… 86 G - Excerpts from 'The Muslim Community is Hemorrhaging' article ……………….……………….. 90 H - Excerpts from the 'Human Rights Watch 2012 World Report' ……………………………………... 92 I - The World after 9/11 - An interview with Ibn Warraq …………………………………………………… 96 J - An interview with Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd about reforming Islam………………………….……….. 100 K - Excerpts from the Declaration Toward a Global Ethic ………………………………………………….. 103 L - The Anti-Jihadist Glossary of Terms………………………………………………………………………………. 106 4 Chapter 1: Manifesto against totalitarianism In the year 2006, a group of 12 writers have put their names to a statement in the French weekly news- paper Charlie Hebdo warning against Islamic totalitarianism. Here is the text in full: 'After having overcome fascism, Nazism, and Stalinism, the world now faces a new global totalitarian 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. Recent events, prompted by the publi- cation of drawings of Muhammad 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 neither a clash of civilizations nor an antagonism between West and East that we are witnessing, but a global struggle that confronts democrats and theocrats. Like all totalitarian ideologies, Islamism is nurtured by fear and frustra- tion. Preachers of hatred play on these feelings to build the forces with which they can impose a world where liberty is crushed and inequality reigns. But we say this, loud and clear: nothing, not even despair, justifies choosing darkness, totalitarianism and hatred. Islamism is a reactionary ideology that kills equality, freedom and secularism wherever it is present. Its victory can only lead to a world of injustice and domination: men over women, fundamentalists over others. On the contrary, we must ensure access to universal rights for the oppressed or those discriminated against. We reject the cultural relativism which implies an acceptance that men and women of Muslim culture are deprived of the right to equality, freedom and secularism in the name of the respect for certain cultures and traditions. We refuse to renounce our critical spirit out of fear of being accused of 'Islamophobia', a wretched concept that confuses criticism of Islam as a religion and stigmatization of those who believe in it. We defend the universality of the freedom of expression, so that a critical spirit can exist in every continent, toward each and every maltreatment and dogma. We appeal to democrats and free spirits in every country that our century may be one of light and not dark.' Signed by Ayaan A., Chahla C., Caroline F., Bernard L., Irshad M., Mehdi M., Maryam N., Taslima N., Salman R., Antoine S., Philippe V. and Ibn W. Chapter 2: Islam, orthodox Islam and Islamism Islam is a cultural, religious and political system, which creates durable, self-stabilizing social structures. Orthodox Islam (sometimes called dogmatic Islam or pure Islam) is based on the Qur'an (instructions from God) and the Sunnah (way of Muhammad).