Egyptian Doctor- Palestinian Suffering A Result Of Palestinian Leadership

Egyptian Islamic thinker and reformer Dr Tawfik Hamid claims Palestinian suffering is a result of Palestinian leadership- most notably Hamas, not Israel.  And it's up to Palestinians to change that.

BDS (Boycott Israel) toads, take note,

He also happens to be a former jihadist.

YouTube video here.

Muslim Woman's Open Letter Responding To Ben Affleck Calling Criticism Of Islam "Gross and Racist"

As we all know liberal actor Ben Affleck called criticism of Islam "gross and racist" during an episode of the Bill Maher show, with Maher- a liberal who gets the radical Islam problem.  Well, it appears there are Muslims who believe Ben's argument, though well intentioned, was actually harmful.

Eiynah, a Canadian/Pakistani blogger, has written an open letter to Affleck discussing just how harmful it was.  The op-ed was published on Pakistan Today.

Dear Ben,

I am writing to you today as a woman who was born and raised in Islam. I saw your discussion with Bill Maher and Sam Harris, and I must say you did me a great disservice that day. Your heart was in the right place, of course, and it was lovely of you to step up and defend ‘my people’.

What you really did though, perhaps inadvertently, was silence a conversation that never gets started. Two people attempted to begin a dialogue and you wouldn’t even listen. Why should any set of ideas be above criticism, Ben?

Why are Muslims being ‘preserved’ in some time capsule of centuries gone by? Why is it okay that we continue to live in a world where our women are compared to candy waiting to be consumed? Why is it okay for women of the rest of the world to fight for freedom and equality while we are told to cover our shameful bodies? Can’t you see that we are being held back from joining this elite club known as the 21st century?

Noble liberals like yourself always stand up for the misrepresented Muslims and stand against the Islamophobes, which is great but who stands in my corner and for the others who feel oppressed by the religion? Every time we raise our voices, one of us is killed or threatened. I am a blogger and illustrator, no threat to anyone, Ben, except for those afraid of words and drawings. I want the freedom to express myself without the very real fear that I might be killed for it. Is that too much to ask?

[snip]

What you did by screaming ‘racist!’ was shut down a conversation that many of us have been waiting to have. You helped those who wish to deny there are issues, deny them. You became an instant hero, a defender of Islam. It’s kind, it really is. I understand because I too am plagued and affected by the issues brought about by actual Islamophobia. I have a Muslim name and brown skin, my peaceful relatives have been pushed in the subway and called ‘terrorist’ for no reason.

[snip]

Can we talk about the blatant double standards and violation of human rights, for a second? Mosques are built throughout western countries, usually without much issue. But in the hub of Islam, the heart of Islam, Saudi Arabia, no one but Muslims are allowed to officially practice their faith. There are no churches, temples or synagogues because Saudi Arabia will not permit any non-Muslim place of worship to exist. Who will hold them accountable for such injustice if we hush everyone who speaks out against Islam?

The whole letter here.

Brave woman, since she's already received death threats for an anti-homophobia children's book she wrote titled: My Chacha (uncle) is Gay.  

Good luck Eiynah.

Somali Muslim Clerics Balk At Anti-Apostasy Booklet By Somali Muslim Scholar

There are Muslims trying to reform Islam. Not many, since those who do try are often targeted by the more radical elements in the religion. But there are some. Take Saudi educated Somali scholar Abdisaid Ismail who recently published a small booklet tackling the subject of punishment (which is usually death) for apostasy in Islam.  The book Xadka Riddada Maxaa ka Run Ah? (Is There Punishment for Apostasy in Islam?) was published in Nairobi, and discusses whether punishment is dictated by Islam, as well as touching on women's equality issues.

The book, which is little more than 130 pages, is unsettling the Somali militants as it challenges their misuse of Islam as a political tool.

Xadka Riddada, as it is commonly known, seems to be more dangerous for Islamist militants in Somalia than the thousands of troops sent by the African Union to the Horn of Africa nation, or the millions of dollars spent every month fighting Islamist terrorists.

The resistance to the book by radical clerics shows the fight against terrorism is essentially one of ideas rather than military might.
[snip]
He has done extensive research on the issue of apostasy in Islam and freedom of religion, and concluded that Islam does not prescribe the death penalty for apostasy, and that freedom of religion is clearly enshrined in Islam.

The booklet is a counter-narrative to the Islamist position that Muslims cannot abandon their religion and if they do, they should be killed -- a doctrine used to justify wanton killings in Somalia.

Ismail's take on Sharia:

Mr Ismail argues that many of the doctrines in Islam are based on the out-dated Arab socio-economic situation of the sixth century, and that much of the Islamic Jurisprudence now used by Islamists is no more than tribal reading of key religious sources.

He advocates the separation of Mosque and State, so to speak, which is contrary to the rallying call by Islamist jihadists and their ideologues for Sharia as the supreme law in Muslim countries. This call is equivalent to the Bible being declared the law in Christian countries, an unthinkable preposition in this day and age.

He also condemns "moderates" for opposing reform and basically siding with the extremists vis-à-vis their violence and brutality.

As expected, it is not being very well received by extremists, who believe apostates should be executed, and that women should remain barefoot and pregnant, and out of sight.  The book was condemned, and radical clerics have called the book "apostasy", and the death threats ensued. He was even thrown out of a Kenyan hotel in Eastleigh, and his booklet has been banned from book stores there. In democratic, liberal Kenya, no less.

So, according to Ismail, 'moderate' Muslims are not any more enlightened than extremists.

How long do you suppose the poor man will survive?

Source: AllAfrica.

Muslim Zuhdi Jasser Condemns Obama's ISIS Is Not Islamic Statement

You might know Dr. Zuhdi Jasser from his stint as the narrator on the Clarion Fund's 2008 documentary film "The Third Jihad"- but he's also a medical doctor, a former US Navy officer, a devout Muslim, and a fierce opponent of political Islam or Islamism.

After so many people including Barack Obama, John Kerry, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest have stated that ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and Levant) aka ISIS aka Islamic State is neither a state nor does it represent Islam, Jasser felt compelled to respond.

In the interview below Jasser tells them all to "stop telling us Muslims what is Islamic."  He claims ISIS is "the byproduct" of the ideology of oppressive Muslim nations like Saudi Arabia, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran.  Obama is "burying the reformers from having a seat at the table" by enabling Islamic theocrats.

Jasser wants to reform Islam, to separate mosque and state, he believes Muslims have a problem and they need to "own" it, people like Obama and Kerry are making that very difficult.

We need more like Jasser speaking up.



Source: Western Free Press