Is Islam a Religion of Peace? | 5 Minute Video

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Is Islam a religion of peace? Is it compatible with Western liberalism? Or does Islam need a reformation, just as Christianity had the Protestant Reformation? Somali-born author and activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali explains.

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Script:

I was raised a practicing Muslim and remained one for almost half my life. I attended madrassas, that is, Islamic schools, and memorized large parts of the Quran. As a child, I lived in Mecca for a time and frequently visited the Grand Mosque. As a teenager, I sympathized with the Muslim Brotherhood.

At 22 while my family was living in Kenya, my father arranged my marriage to a member of our family clan, a man that I had never met. I ran away, made my way to Holland, studied there and eventually was elected a member of the Dutch parliament. Now I live in the United States.

In short, I have seen Islam from the inside and the outside.

I believe that a reform of Islam is necessary and possible. And only Muslims can make that reform a reality. But we in the West cannot remain on the sidelines as though the outcome of this struggle has nothing to do with us. If the jihadists win and the hope for a reformed Islam dies, the rest of the world will pay a terrible price. The terror attacks in New York, London, Madrid, Paris and many other places are only a preview for what is to come.

For this reason, I believe that it’s foolish to insist, as Western leaders habitually do, that the violent acts committed in the name of Islam can somehow be divorced from the religion itself. For more than a decade, my message has been simple: Islam is not a religion of peace.

When I assert this, I do not mean that Islamic belief makes all Muslims violent. This is manifestly not the case: There are many millions of peaceful Muslims in the world. What I do say is that the call to violence and the justification for it are explicitly stated in the sacred texts of Islam. Moreover, this theologically sanctioned violence is there to be activated by any number of offenses, including but not limited to adultery, blasphemy, homosexuality and apostasy—that is, to leave Islam.

Those who tolerate this intolerance do so at their peril.

As someone who has known what it is to live without freedom, I watch in amazement as those who call themselves liberals and progressives—people who claim to believe so fervently in individual liberty and minority rights—make common cause with the forces in the world that manifestly pose the greatest threats to that very freedom and those very minorities.

In 2014 I was invited to accept an honorary degree from Brandeis University for the work I have done on behalf of women's rights in the Muslim world. That invitation was withdrawn after professors and students protested my criticism of Islam. My subsequent "disinvitation," as it came to be called, was no favor to Muslims—just the opposite. By labeling critical examination of Islam as inherently "racist," we make the chances of reformation far less likely. There are no limits on criticism of Christianity at American universities…or anywhere else for that matter. Why should there be of Islam?

Instead of contorting Western intellectual traditions so as not to offend our Muslim fellow citizens, we need to defend both those traditions and the Muslim dissidents who take great risks to promote them. We should support these brave men and women in every way possible.

Imagine a platform for Muslim dissidents that communicated their message through YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. These are the Muslims we should be supporting—for our sake as much for the sake of Islam.

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“There is no limit to criticism of Christianity in universities and colleges today but Islam is off limits - why ?

articusam
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She was labeled a Racist and lost an achievement for questioning HER own culture. How? Why?

WZRD
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A religion of peace does not need to constantly remind people that it is a religion of peace, It only needs to show it.

James-hcmm
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Remember: if you think opposition to jihad violence and Sharia oppression of women and others is “Islamophobia, ” you’re enabling that violence and oppression. While you preen about having the moral high ground, you’re on the side of innocent people having their lives destroyed.

ayonp
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Criticising a religion CAN'T be racist RELIGION IS NOT A RACE

mrobserver
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Lol, I was gonna share this video, but then I remembered I'm half Iranian and live in the Middle East, hence within my country, this is considered critical discussion of Islam, which is illegal and would end up getting my family and I deported and fined, potentially sentenced to juvi and or jail first 😂😂😂😂

KSham-hryg
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Islam is the religion of peace because anyone who criticize or leave this religion gonna rest in Peace.

khantsal
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She lives with bodyguards around the clock. She gave up her “freedom”, safety, her family, and her entire culture to bring this message to the West. She lives under a constant death threat. That is courage.

StealthyNomadica
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why I haven’t heard Buddhism or Taoism called “religion of peace” when they literally done no harm?

vilx
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i love to see controversial topics just to look at the comments

kurostyx
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Imagine watching this and being one out of 46, 000 people to dislike this. What she says about the taboo of criticizing Islam is true—you can see it plainly in the dislike ratio. Thanks to PragerU for keeping this videos up and public.

seraphicsmiles
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I have never once had a problem with another person's religious preferences, but I do have a BIG issue with another person's religious preference that is built around hurting anyone who doesn't believe in that preference.

cflowers
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So she's basically saying that the Muslim extremists are doing exactly what the religion teaches?

josephjackson
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If Islam were really peaceful, you would not have to tell how peaceful Islam is.

_aidid
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Love or hate PragerU, you gotta respect them for being pretty much one of the few political channels that don't disable comments even under videos about sensitive topics.

thecitizenoftheinternet
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But if she was criticizing Christianity.. no one would've cared ..

dianabarsom
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Note: don’t declare a religion peaceful when the religion itself doesn’t claim or has never claimed to be peaceful

coldblue
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Slightly unrelated, but SHE is someone we can actually call a strong and independent woman.

Hats off to her.

amj.composer
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This is one brave woman. I wish her well and hope for her continued safety.

Peace-lrmt
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Put her in Ilhan Omar's place!!! She makes more sense. I like her!!!

johntapp
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