[Changleen]

A group of 12 writers have put their names to a statement in French weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo warning against Islamic "totalitarianism":

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 publication 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 not a clash of civilisations 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 frustration.

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 stigmatisation 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, towards 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.

It was signed by:

Salman Rushdie - Indian-born British writer with fatwa issued ordering his execution for The Satanic Verses

Ayaan Hirsi Ali - Somali-born Dutch MP

Taslima Nasreen - exiled Bangladeshi writer, with fatwa issued ordering her execution

Bernard-Henri Levy - French philosopher

Chahla Chafiq - Iranian writer exiled in France

Caroline Fourest - French writer

Irshad Manji - Ugandan refugee and writer living in Canada

Mehdi Mozaffari - Iranian academic exiled in Denmark

Maryam Namazie - Iranian writer living in Britain

Antoine Sfeir - director of French review examining Middle East

Ibn Warraq - US academic of Indian/Pakistani origin

Philippe Val - director of Charlie Hebdo

Cool.

 

[blue]

Link?

 

[Changleen]

Oh, Sorry:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4763520.stm

 

[MudGrrl]

like blue said....


cool

 

[Old Man G Funk]

How long until all of them have fatwas issued against them?

 

[Andyman_1970]

I wonder if Islamism will be the undoing of Islam?

 

[N8 v2.0]

I wonder if Islamism will be the undoing of Islam?

Looks like they are about 300 years behind the christian religion...

maybe they will catch up at an accelerated rate.

 

[Tenchiro]

Very cool, it is about time people started standing up to the intolerant fvxkwits of the world.

 

[Ciaran]

I wonder if Islamism will be the undoing of Islam?

One can only hope.

I never thought I would have to take a stand against a religion but these muslim/islam people seem to be very very dangerous. On many levels.

 

[Andyman_1970]

Looks like they are about 300 years behind the christian religion...

I don't think Christianity is endanger of being "undone".........some sects have rendered themselves irrelevant but there are some movements within Christianity (the Emergent movement for instance) that are very promising...........hopefully they increase while fundamentalism (in Christianity) decreases..........

 

[DirtyDog]

Looks like they are about 300 years behind the christian religion...

maybe they will catch up at an accelerated rate.

Catching up with the Christian religion is definately NOT the point here. The point is that they need to start acting like civilized humans, not like disciples of your flavor of religion. Once we straighten out these maniacs, maybe we can issue similar statements about Christianity.

 

[Old Man G Funk]

Methinks Andyman and BeerDemon missed the point of N8's post.

I'm probably missing it too, since I actually think N8 had a point.

 

[N8 v2.0]

Methinks Andyman and BeerDemon missed the point of N8's post.

I'm probably missing it too, since I actually think N8 had a point.

All I am saying is the modern day islam is roughly 300 years behind the west in being diluted and relagated to a sideline issue. Christanity was quite a bloody religion for non believers...

 

[Andyman_1970]

I'd say more like 500+ years behind the west.................

 

[Old Man G Funk]

I'd say more like 500+ years behind the west.................

Certainly they are about 300 yrs. or more behind this country in figuring out that church and state should not be mixed.

 

[Ciaran]

Christanity was quite a bloody religion for non believers...

Indeed it was. Don't forget that throughout the years it has also been a bloody religion for believers too.

 

[Tenchiro]

Certainly they are about 300 yrs. or more behind this country in figuring out that church and state should not be mixed.

But only about 40-100 years behind the treatment of women and minorites.

 

[Old Man G Funk]

But only about 40-100 years behind the treatment of women and minorites.

True dat.

 

[DirtyDog]

But only about 40-100 years behind the treatment of women and minorites.

We veiled our women in public, stoned them for being raped etc just 40 to 100 years ago? Wow that sucks, I didn't hear about that!

 

[Old Man G Funk]

We veiled our women in public, stoned them for being raped etc just 40 to 100 years ago? Wow that sucks, I didn't hear about that!

Women certainly lived as second class citizens.

 

[DirtyDog]

Women certainly lived as second class citizens.

That is true, but I'd rather be a second class citizen than stoned to death.

 

[Tenchiro]

We veiled our women in public, stoned them for being raped etc just 40 to 100 years ago? Wow that sucks, I didn't hear about that!

While black people were subjected to far worse than that on a regular basis as little as 40 years ago. Women were second class citizens, they had no right to higher education, to vote or to own land.

 

[Ciaran]

While black people were subjected to far worse than that on a regular basis as little as 40 years ago. Women were second class citizens, they had no right to higher education, to vote or to own land.

And it was not long ago that a woman had no recourse if her husband beat her. And how many women are/were afraid to report a rape because of the treatment they recieved? They may not have been stoned but they weren't too far removed from it. IMO

 

[jaydee]

Certainly they are about 300 yrs. or more behind this country in figuring out that church and state should not be mixed.

Then by my calculations, GWB and the theopublicans are about 300 years behind their country.

 

[Andyman_1970]

Theopublicans...............I like that.............

 

[N8 v2.0]

Then by my calculations, GWB and the theopublicans are about 300 years behind their country.

I wouldn't put too much stock into your calculations, BTW...

u are obviously a product of the canadian school system....

 

[jaydee]

ya, 300 metric years is only about 299 US years, and 600 dog years.

 

[jaydee]

I wouldn't put too much stock into your calculations, BTW...

u are obviously a product of the canadian school system....

And we have a very good school system here in Canada. You just have to wear wooly longjohns and stay close to the cows, because the barn is very cold in the winter.

 

[DaveW]

Interesting interview on Al-Jazeera on the subject.

 

[ohio]

Certainly they are about 300 yrs. or more behind this country in figuring out that church and state should not be mixed.

Or about 301 yrs behind this country in changing their minds and re-integrating church and state.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

How long until all of them have fatwas issued against them?

In 5....4....3...2....