Taslima Nasrin's Blog, page 34

Sufi Music

Perhaps you know about Sufism. And how Sufism was replaced by Islamic fanaticism in the Indian subcontinent.

Listen to a Sufi song. My favourite.

This song is about Bulleh Shah, the Sufi poet who was asking to demolish temples and mosques. He was against all religious rituals. And very fond of alcohol. Once upon a time he was respected by people of different faiths.

If Bulleh Shah were alive today, he would have been killed by radical Islamists.

They Deserve Buraqs

Allah sent Muhammad buraq, the winged horse, so that Muhammad,the prophet could travel to heaven. He went to heaven on buraq and met Moses, Jesus, a few more bearded guys and finally Allah the almighty.

Now look at the condition of Bangladesh today. They don’t have enough vehicles to travel. Millions of people are travelling to home to celebrate Eid, the biggest Muslim religious festival with their family and friends tomorrow. They are desperate to get some space on the public transports. Train roofs and doors are crowded with people. Boats will sink. Many people would die. Allah should have sent Buraqs the winged horses to take these poor people home safely and quickly so that they can celebrate eid that Allah asked them to celebrate.

People are sitting on the roof of an already packed train while others are waiting in a Dhaka station.

The same crowd previous year.

I feel so sorry and I am so worried for these people. It happens every year. The same tragedy. What does Allah feel? Why doesn’t he make a miracle happen once for these people? Some winged things to fly home!

Not long ago….

Once upon a time but not long ago, women didn’t have the voting right. Most people were against women’s voting right and their right to education. In some parts of the word, women had the right to education, even hey had the right to work, but they did not have the right to vote. American women are telling us their stories.

Throughout history, there were people who did not want women to vote. Women would work, they would pay taxes, they would technically be considered citizens… but voting was for men. In America, when the right to vote was extended to include all races, all social positions, and all incomes, women were still not included. It didn’t matter if a man was illiterate, had been to jail, or if he was the town drunk. He could vote, and a woman, no matter who she was, could not.

Women suffragists (suffragettes) began campaigning in democratic countries all over the world to change this, starting in the mid-19th century. Their campaigns were largely peaceful and dignified… at least by 21st century standards. But by 19th century standards, these women were abhorrent and indecent, making fools of themselves by demanding to be treated like men.

One of the most notable things about the arguments put forth by the anti-suffragette movement was how weak its position was. Anti-suffragette arguments relied heavily on emotional manipulation and downright hateful nastiness. Humor was a much-used weapon against suffragettes. They were easy to depict as embittered old maids, brutal scolds, and cigar-smoking transvestites.

Ophelia tells us how 20th century London was.

You can see what kinds of hatred misogynists expressed in their cartoons against women’s voting rights.

Men could not tolerate that women left home to join suffrage movement in the beginning of 20th century. They were so scared of taking care of their children! They feared that if women could get their rights, men would lose their’s. They still have this fear.

Women got the right to vote. They got the right to access to politics and to education. They go outside to work. They spend money they earn for their family. But still men don’t share chores and child care at home.

The feminists today suffer from the same misogyny the feminists yesterday suffered from. They are humiliated, hated, insulted, abused the way their feminist sisters were humiliated, hated, insulted and abused.

People get shocked today when they learn women were not allowed to get the right to vote and the right to education in the 20th century. People would get shocked tomorrow when they would learn that women were not allowed to get equality in the 21st century.

Lunatics are fighting over the lunar cycle.

Believe it or not, lunatics are fighting over the lunar cycle. They do not think that scientists can ‘set the date’ for the next moon. The scientists announced that the new moon would appear during the night of August 6-7 at 2:52am. But according to Hijri calendar, the new moon should be seen at the end of Ramadan. The announcement provoked a storm of criticism, with some Muslim clergy arguing that the observatory data could not be true. Haji Fuad Nurullah, deputy chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Office, said, “It is known to Allah alone. If Allah does not renew the moon, how can people know about it in advance? How can they guess? “

I like some comments–

‘Oh my…it’s like I’m reading the Onion.’

‘Science versus fossilized mythology?’

‘Religion has created every obstacle to the progress of science. When will we say enough is enough.’

Many Muslims still do not believe that men walked on the moon.

Scientophobes are more dangerous than ignorant religionists. But if you are both scientophobes and religionists, your brains should be kept in the lab for the future generation to study. I am afraid to know what they really are.

Religion goes well with cartoons

How true this even today!

”A really complicated and illogical way of saying ‘ I am scared of death’. ”

We know now why dinosaurs were not on Noah’s Ark.

I know about it so well.

Yep. You can’t go against anyone’s religious right.

That’s cool. Don’t eat.

Punished for love

Hate is alright.

Assault is almost alright.

Rape is not so alright in some cases, but alright in many cases.

Killing is alright in many cases too. For example, the state can kill in the name of capital punishment, you can kill people as much as you want during the war, you can kill a passerby if you feel you would get attacked by him.

But

Love is not alright.

You can be jailed for love in a country called Bangladesh.

Here is the news.

A 22-year-old Muslim woman in Bangladesh has been arrested and charged with kidnapping after she eloped with and married a Hindu teenage girl in what could be the first reported same-sex marriage in the conservative country that bans homosexuality.

Police arrested Sanjida Akter and her 16-year-old girlfriend in Dhaka on July 23 after the minor’s father registered a complaint, saying his daughter had been abducted.

Abduction charge? Then the girl who abducted the other girl should be arrested, why the girl who was abducted was arrested? Old men forcefully marry girl children everyday in the rural areas. I have never heard any man gets arrested for their crimes to marry minors. Now, a couple who love each other and start living together arrested. I doubt whether the younger girl is really 16. It can be a made up age to make the arrest easier. We live in a violent world, where love and love making are often considered crimes.

“We detained them in a house they rented and were stunned to discover this is a lesbian case,” Lieutenant Sazzad Raihan, an officer.

“Both told us that they love each other. They fled their homes in Pirojpur district to start a family in Dhaka. (The younger girl) told us that they were married under Hindu traditions at their home the previous night.”

Homosexuality and same-sex marriages are illegal in the majority Muslim south Asian nation and people who are open about their sexuality often face discrimination and violence. This may be the first known case of a same-sex marriage in Bangladesh, although the wedding was not performed by a cleric, priest or magistrate.

Homosexuality is illegal in Muslim countries. But homosexuality is legal in Muslim heaven. Beautiful young boys are kept in heaven to serve men wine and sex. Muslim countries are terribly hypocrite to ban alcohol and homosexual Love. Alcohol is not really banned in Bangladesh. People drink alcohol as much as they want. Male homosexuals are roaming around the cities, they don’t get often punished for being homosexuals. But girls get punished for being homosexuals only because they are girls, I don’t think they are punished because one of the married girls is a minor. The court would not recognize their marriage anyway. They only exchanged the garlands of flowers to be married.

Why so much anger against girls? Is it because they have denied to marry men and denied to be humiliated, abused and raped by men and denied to be treated like child bearing machines and slaves by men? The loving girls did not kill or harm anyone. Their only crime is they kick the ass of male dominated patriarchal system. Right, officers?

“A jinn (evil spirit) has possessed her since she was a student in class four [9 years old] and we tried many ways to free her from it. This is what’s provoking her into this behaviour,” Abdus Sobhan, Sanjida’s father said.

“No one will ever lodge any complaint against me. Not even [this girl] as I did not abduct her. She went with me willingly,” she told the newspaper before going to jail.

Finally! Women love women, so women must be possessed by evil spirits. Now beat her up until jinns leave her body. What a wonderful solution for the same-sex-love!

Patriarchy, religion, misogyny, ignorance, barbarism all walk hand in hand to destroy women whoever dare to enjoy the rights they deserve.

Deal With It.

I hope you know about the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. a light-hearted ‘faith’ whose members call themselves Pastafarians because their ‘only dogma… is the rejection of dogma’. Pastafarians believe that an invisible alien made of spaghetti and meatballs created the universe after ‘drinking heavily.’

Lukas Novy, a man from Czech Republic, has been allowed to wear a sieve on his head for religious reason on his official identity card. He says that his Pastafarian faith means he has to wear the sieve at all times. Officials ruled that turning down Novy’s request would be a breach of the country’s religious equality laws.

Now look at Novy’s driving license.

It is so cool. I am laughing out loud. Really. Nothing is better than mocking religion.

You know what he is wearing on his head!

Novy learned from Niko Alm, his fellow Pastafarian. Niko had the idea when he read that headdress was allowed in official pictures only for ‘confessional’ reasons. Mr Alm sent his application for a new driver’s licence in 2008 along with a picture of himself with a colander on his head. A colander is a bowl-shaped kitchen utensil with holes in it used for draining food such as pasta or rice. Niko won a case when officials objected to the sieve on his head for his driving licence photograph. It took Alm three years to get the license, after arguing that the sieve was a requirement of Pastafarianism. Having received his driving licence, Niko Alm now wants to get Pastafarianism officially recognised as an official faith in Austria.

People who believe in religious freedom, must acknowledge the rights of Pastafarians to be recognized not only in Austria and Czech Republic, but all over the world. I am very much pro-Pasta.

Finally!

Finally someone from a hostile country has written an article which is not against me. All I heard about me for the last 20 years, is lies, lies and lies. All I got so far was hatred, hatred and hatred. Once upon a time, I was a best selling author and unbelievably popular among intellectuals and young men and women for my prose and poetry, for my ideas and thoughts. But everything changed since the religious fundamentalists and the governments started burning and banning my books and started issuing fatwas and arrest warrants against me. Religious misogynists continued using media, madrasas and mosques to spread lies about me to destroy my popularity. They got success. I was labelled as anti Islam, anti Muslim, bad writer, 3rd grade writer, vulgar writer, porn writer, slut, whore overnight. Slowly I lost all my interests in the country full of ignorant piece of shit, dickheads, faithheads, and filthy misogynists.

But when I see someone tries to read and understand what I write, it gives me back my good old days. I appreciate their efforts.

Taslima Nasrin thinks the Indian government gets nervous when it comes to thinking of providing shelter to the American whistleblower Edward Snowden. For that matter, she thinks that nearly every government or country around the world is frightened of the United States. Why else would Snowden remain trapped at Russian airport, unable walk free of it and into a country of his choice? She has a point.

Not very long ago, some irate Muslim lawmakers attacked Taslima Nasrin in Hyderabad. Earlier, somewhere in India, a Muslim bigot decreed that Taslima Nasrin be beheaded. The one who can accomplish the deed, or misdeed, would be rewarded with nothing less than a tidy sum of five hundred thousand rupees. When you sit back and reflect on the edict, disturbing as it is, you cannot but wonder at the temerity with which the so-called defenders of the faith have regularly taken it upon themselves to define the course of life for people who happen to think of temporal existence in terms of the literary and the philosophical. It is quite another point whether or not you agree with a writer. But it becomes a positive threat to decency and human dignity when an individual thinks nothing is remiss when he lets the world know that a writer who has aroused his ire must be dispatched with swiftness to the grave. Such a threat was held out back in 1989 to Salman Rushdie when Ayatollah Khomeini, convinced he was the new guardian of Islamic religious thought, ordered a bounty on the writer’s head. It was a bad move. It went against the principle of liberal thinking. It made Muslims everywhere shudder in unease.

History is of course replete with instances of individuals and groups and governments persuading themselves that they ought to be arbiters of the moral parameters which underpin, or should underpin, life. There is the story of Leni Riefenstahl, the German film-maker and admirer of Hitler (until the Third Reich collapsed in a heap), for whom life after 1945 was essentially a tale of vilification. There has been nothing to suggest that she collaborated with the Fuhrer in the latter’s nefarious attempts to reshape German society according to Aryan specifications. Not a shred of evidence has been found to implicate Riefenstahl in any of the crimes the Nazis committed in their twelve-year dominance of their country. But the film-maker continued to be reviled in her lifetime. In our times, the Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk, whose Nobel certainly ought to have come later, is a man whose running battles with the state convince us that the historical image of the writer being at the receiving end of persecution is a reality that has acquired permanence of a definite kind. Naguib Mahfouz was never in the good books of the regime, any regime, in his native Egypt. And if you remember the trauma that Boris Pasternak went through once the Nobel for literature came to him in 1960, you will have cause to comprehend anew the many shades of darkness courageous writers live under from day to day.

It is these shades of darkness Taslima Nasrin has been living through for the past thirteen years. There has been no official decree formalizing her exile abroad; and yet no government in Bangladesh since 1994 has felt any compulsion of bringing her back home. There are the bigots who man the ramparts, here in Bangladesh, intent on ensuring that Nasrin does not make her way back to her country. In the mid-1990s, with the Awami League holding political authority in Bangladesh, the natural expectation arose that conditions would be facilitated for the writer to end her exile abroad and come home. The expectation turned out to have been misplaced, for the ruling classes were afraid of the consequences should Nasrin return to Bangladesh. The BNP-wallahs, of course, were never expected to warm to Nasrin. And they never did. Today it is our collective reputation as a nation proud of its democratic sensibilities that stands threatened through the hypocrisy defining our attitude to Taslima Nasrin. By every measure, Nasrin is a good writer. In terms of social commitment, she remains one of the foremost defenders of courage as a weapon in the war against obscurantism. Yes, to be sure, there are times when something of the worryingly judgmental comes into her analyses of conditions around her. But judgement ought never to be challenged through a brazen display of ignorance. You do not finish off the idea that is Federico Garcia Lorca by pumping bullets into his head. You may find Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s views on the faith she has deserted repugnant to the core, but when you decide that she should die for her heresy, it is your attitude which threatens to become a good deal more reprehensible than hers.

Taslima Nasrin’s thoughts have never been repugnant. Writers, in the true spirit of a formulation and dissemination of ideas, are careful to state the truth. Any writer who believes that treading a fine line between truth and the lack of it is what the calling of writing should be is making a dreadful mistake. You are not a writer if you cannot or will not write in all the boldness your heart can call forth. That is where the difference between politicians and writers lies. A politician, with his sights on gaining power over the state, will hedge his arguments, will compromise to reach the top of the mountain. A writer has no such compulsions, for it is not the peaks he aspires to. He is content with the open valley before him, for in that valley he spots beauty he sings praises of and notes cacti he thinks ought to be out of the way. There is Ahmad Faraz in Pakistan. Courage in the face of adversity has been his forte. In Bangladesh, Ahmad Sharif and Shaukat Osman, all these years after their passing, remain emblematic of the principles that once underlined, and continue to denote, writing. Araj Ali Matubbor was an iconoclast all his life. In death, he remains an inspiration from whom men and women given to thoughts of life and nothingness draw a certain strength of will.

The bizarre spectacle of the severed head of Taslima Nasrin on a platter is an image that should bring men and women of conscience everywhere together. The man who issued that threat is a grave danger to decency, to civilised life everywhere and ought to be dealt with as such. For us, here in Bangladesh, it is time to ask that the state move to reinstate the rights of a woman who has been wronged for the past thirteen years, through opening the door for her re-entry into a country she was born in and to which her devotion has been as well pronounced as ours.

And much of the shame our impotence puts us to can be scratched away when, and only when, those who dominate Bangladesh’s literary ambiance in these times come together in a defence of Taslima Nasrin’s unquestioned right to be back where she belongs. And she belongs here, whether or not you like it.

Correction: I was forced to leave my country 20 years ago. I have been living in exile and prevented by the authorities of Bangladesh to return home since then.

‘Religion Is The Biggest Bane For Any Democracy’

Religion is the biggest bane for any democracy. – Taslima Nasreen

Bangladesh’s biggest right-wing party Jamaat-e-Islami has been banned from contesting future polls by the Bangladesh High Court in Dhaka, which cancelled its registration in a landmark ruling on 1 August, leaving the once powerful fundamentalist party with an uncertain future. Author Taslima Nasreen who has been living in exile for over two decades in India tells Agnivo Niyogi that taking a cue from the verdict, parties in India should also shun religion-based politics.

What are your initial reactions to the court’s decision to debar Jamaat from fighting elections?

It is indeed great news for all secularists that a religious organisation that doubled up as a political party, has been finally banned from fighting elections. Although Jamaat is called a right-wing political organisation, it is no less than a terrorist outfit. Dissent had no place in the reign of terror unleashed by Jamaat.

The religious fundamentalists have left the Bangladesh society bleeding. Allowing them to engage in political activism is thus an insult to the principles on which Bangladesh was founded. Jamaat used foreign funds in brainwashing innocent kids at madrasas, gave them military training and unleashed their brute force on their own countrymen who refused to toe their line. A ban on such an organisation is a welcome step indeed.

Do you think the Awami League government will now reinstate the 1972 Constitution and establish Bangladesh as a secular nation?

I do not think so. Although this court verdict is a step in the right direction, the society at large is not secular in Bangladesh. If the government suddenly decides to do away with Islam as state religion, the masses might go against them. Sheikh Haseena wouldn’t want to make such a gamble with her poll fortunes. Awami League wouldn’t want to be painted as anti-Islam in the election year.

What do you think will be the possible repercussions of the ban on Jamaat?

The Jamaat was a banned organisation at the birth-hour of Bangladesh. After the 1971 Liberation War, when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman came to power, he banned the organisation that sided with Pakistan against their own brothers and sisters, raped thousands and killed even more. But after the death of Mujib, they were given a new lease of life by a few military men, solely for political motives. Thus began the process of Islamisation of a secular nation, which is on till now. To return to the Constitution of 1972, we need a societal change, for which this ban was necessary.

Do you hope this verdict will pave the way for your return to your motherland?

Several parties have come to power since I was exiled. Faces change, but the nature of the ruler doesn’t. Be it Awami League, or the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, everyone needs the support of Islamists to stay in power. The state machinery in Bangladesh is afraid to stand up for freedom of expression; they lack the conviction to take on the fundamentalist forces in the country. We cannot expect the society to change overnight. The Islamisation that has happened for decades in the country cannot be undone by just one verdict.

The Awami League government may be more secular than other parties, but we must not forget that the same government arrested atheist bloggers during the Shahbag protests. Hence, I don’t see any hopes for my return to my homeland anytime soon.



The Jamaat-e-Islami may hit the streets to protest against the court decision. Do you feel that the secular masses will rise again, like in Shahbag, to facilitate the process of formation of a secular state?

When Hefazat-e-Islami had unleashed terror on the streets with over five lakh people taking law into their hands during an anti-government demonstration, the administration had dealt with them with an iron hand. If the government is ready to take the Islamic fundamentalists head-on, there is no need for the people to take to the streets. I have faith that the government will once again assume an unbiased role, for the cause of the nation.

Do you think the ripples of the Bangladesh verdict will be felt in India too?

Bangladesh is too small a nation for the Indian government to take note of. India is more concerned about the daily happenings in Pakistan. However, I feel that India must give Bangladesh the credit it deserves for showing the resolve to fight religious fundamentalism. Islamist organisations based in India should take a cue from this verdict and mend their ways. Moreover, parties in India should shun religion-based politics. Parties cry foul in the name of democracy when their religious intents are exposed. However, according to me, religion is the biggest bane for any democracy.

Unfortunately a large number of Muslims support terrorism,9/11,women’s oppression,sharia laws,honor killings

Muslim opinion polls.

Quite shocking!

Terrorism

ICM Poll: 20% of British Muslims sympathize with 7/7 bombers

NOP Research: 1 in 4 British Muslims say 7/7 bombings were justified

People-Press: 31% of Turks support suicide attacks against Westerners in Iraq.

YNet: One third of Palestinians (32%) supported the slaughter of a Jewish family, including the children:

World Public Opinion: 61% of Egyptians approve of attacks on Americans

32% of Indonesians approve of attacks on Americans

41% of Pakistanis approve of attacks on Americans

38% of Moroccans approve of attacks on Americans

83% of Palestinians approve of some or most groups that attack Americans (only 14% oppose)

62% of Jordanians approve of some or most groups that attack Americans (21% oppose)

42% of Turks approve of some or most groups that attack Americans (45% oppose)

A minority of Muslims disagreed entirely with terror attacks on Americans:

(Egypt 34%; Indonesia 45%; Pakistan 33%)

About half of those opposed to attacking Americans were sympathetic with al-Qaeda’s attitude toward the U.S.

Pew Research (2010): 55% of Jordanians have a positive view of Hezbollah

30% of Egyptians have a positive view of Hezbollah

45% of Nigerian Muslims have a positive view of Hezbollah (26% negative)

43% of Indonesians have a positive view of Hezbollah (30% negative)

Pew Research (2010): 60% of Jordanians have a positive view of Hamas (34% negative).

49% of Egyptians have a positive view of Hamas (48% negative)

49% of Nigerian Muslims have a positive view of Hamas (25% negative)

39% of Indonesians have a positive view of Hamas (33% negative)

Pew Research (2010): 15% of Indonesians believe suicide bombings are often or sometimes justified.

34% of Nigerian Muslims believe suicide bombings are often or sometimes justified.

16% of young Muslims in Belgium state terrorism is “acceptable”.

Populus Poll (2006): 12% of young Muslims in Britain (and 12% overall) believe that suicide attacks against civilians in Britain can be justified. 1 in 4 support suicide attacks against British troops.

Pew Research (2007): 26% of younger Muslims in America believe suicide bombings are justified.

35% of young Muslims in Britain believe suicide bombings are justified (24% overall).

42% of young Muslims in France believe suicide bombings are justified (35% overall).

22% of young Muslims in Germany believe suicide bombings are justified.(13% overall).

29% of young Muslims in Spain believe suicide bombings are justified.(25% overall).

Pew Research (2011): 8% of Muslims in America believe suicide bombings are often or sometimes justified (81% never).

28% of Egyptian Muslims believe suicide bombings are often or sometimes justified (38% never).

Pew Research (2007): Muslim-Americans who identify more strongly with their religion are three times more likely to feel that suicide bombings are justified

ICM: 5% of Muslims in Britain tell pollsters they would not report a planned Islamic terror attack to authorities.

27% do not support the deportation of Islamic extremists preaching violence and hate.

Federation of Student Islamic Societies: About 1 in 5 Muslim students in Britain (18%) would not report a fellow Muslim planning a terror attack.

ICM Poll: 25% of British Muslims disagree that a Muslim has an obligation to report terrorists to police.

Populus Poll (2006): 16% of British Muslims believe suicide attacks against Israelis are justified.

37% believe Jews in Britain are a “legitimate target”.

Pew Research (2013): At least 1 in 4 Muslims do not reject violence against civilians (study did not distinguish between those who believe it is partially justified and never justified).

Pew Research (2013): 15% of Muslims in Turkey support suicide bombings (also 11% in Kosovo, 26% in Malaysia and 26% in Bangladesh).

al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden

Pew Research (2007): 5% of American Muslims have a favorable view of al-Qaeda (27% can’t make up their minds). Only 58% reject al-Qaeda outright.

Pew Research (2011): 5% of American Muslims have a favorable view of al-Qaeda (14% can’t make up their minds).

Pew Research (2011): 1 in 10 native-born Muslim-Americans have a favorable view of al-Qaeda.

al-Jazeera (2006): 49.9% of Muslims polled support Osama bin Laden

Pew Research: 59% of Indonesians support Osama bin Laden in 2003

41% of Indonesians support Osama bin Laden in 2007

56% of Jordanians support Osama bin Laden in 2003

Pew Global: 51% of Palestinians support Osama bin Laden

54% of Muslim Nigerians Support Osama bin Laden

MacDonald Laurier Institute: 35% of Canadian Muslims would not repudiate al-Qaeda

World Public Opinion: Muslim majorities agree with the al-Qaeda goal of Islamic law.

Muslim majorities agree with al-Qaeda goal of keeping Western values out of Islamic countries;

(Egypt: 88%; Indonesia 76%; Pakistan 60%; Morocco 64%)

ICM Poll: 13% of Muslim in Britain support al-Qaeda attacks on America.

World Public Opinion: Attitude toward Osama bin Laden:

Egypt: 44% positive, 17% negative, and 25% mixed feelings

Indonesia: 14% positive, 26% negative, 21% mixed feelings (39% did not answer)

Pakistan: 25% positive, 15% negative, 26% mixed feelings (34% did not answer)

Morocco: 27% positive, 21% negative, 26% mixed feelings

Jordanians, Palestinians, Turks and Azerbaijanis. Jordanians combined for: 27% positive, 20 percent negative, and 27 percent mixed feelings. (Palestinians 56% positive, 20% negative, 22 percent mixed feelings).

Pew Research (2010): 49% of Nigerian Muslims have favorable view of al-Qaeda (34% unfavorable)

23% of Indonesians have favorable view of al-Qaeda (56% unfavorable)

34% of Jordanians have favorable view of al-Qaeda

25% of Indonesians have “confidence” in Osama bin Laden (59% had confidence in 2003)

1 in 5 Egyptians have “confidence” in Osama bin Laden

Pew Research (2011): 22% of Indonesians have a favorable view of al-Qaeda (21% unfavorable)

Gallup: 51% of Pakistanis grieve Osama bin Laden (only 11% happy over death)

44% of Pakistanis viewed Osama bin Laden as a martyr (only 28% as an oulaw)

Zogby International 2011: “Majorities in all six countries said they viewed the United States less favorably following the killing of the Al-Qaeda head [Osama bin Laden] in Pakistan”

Populus Survey: 18% of British Muslims would be proud or indifferent if a family member joined al-Qaeda.

Policy Exchange (2006): 7% Muslims in Britain admire al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups.

9/11 Attacks

al-Arabiya: 36% of Arabs polled said the 9/11 attacks were morally justified; 38% disagreed; 26% Unsure

http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/201...

Gallup: 38.6% of Muslims believe 9/11 attacks were justified (7% “fully”, 6.5% “mostly”, 23.1% “partially”)

Pew Research (2011): Large majorities of Muslims believe in 9/11 conspiracy

Violence in Defense of Islam

40% of Indonesians approve of violence in defense of Islam.

Pew Global: 68% of Palestinian Muslims say suicide attacks against civilians in defense of Islam are justified.

43% of Nigerian Muslims say suicide attacks against civilians in defense of Islam are justified.

38% of Lebanese Muslims say suicide attacks against civilians in defense of Islam are justified.

15% of Egyptian Muslims say suicide attacks against civilians in defense of Islam are justified.

13% of Indonesian Muslims say suicide attacks against civilians in defense of Islam are justified.

12% of Jordanian Muslims say suicide attacks against civilians in defense of Islam are justified.

7% of Muslim Israelis say suicide attacks against civilians in defense of Islam are justified.

Center for Social Cohesion: One Third of British Muslim students support killing for Islam

Policy Exchange: One third of British Muslims believe anyone who leaves Islam should be killed

NOP Research: 78% of British Muslims support punishing the publishers of Muhammad cartoons;

NOP Research: Hardcore Islamists comprise 9% of Britain’s Muslim population;

Another 29% would “aggressively defend” Islam;

Pew Research (2010): 84% of Egyptian Muslims support the death penalty for leaving Islam

86% of Jordanian Muslims support the death penalty for leaving Islam

30% of Indonesian Muslims support the death penalty for leaving Islam

76% of Pakistanis support death the penalty for leaving Islam

51% of Nigerian Muslims support the death penalty for leaving Islam

ICM Poll: 11% of British Muslims find violence for religious or political ends acceptable.

Terrorism Research Institute Study: 51% of mosques in the U.S. have texts on site rated as severely advocating violence; 30% have texts rated as moderately advocating violence; and 19% have no violent texts at all.

Pew Research (2013): 76% of South Asian Muslims and 56% of Egyptians advocate killing anyone who leaves the Islamic religion.

Pew Research (2013): 19% of Muslim Americans believe suicide bombings in defense of Islam are at least partially justified (global average is 28% in countries surveyed).

Sharia (Islamic Law)

83% of Pakistanis support stoning adulterers

78% of Pakistanis support killing apostates

Center for Social Cohesion: 40% of British Muslim students want Sharia

ICM Poll: 40% of British Muslims want Sharia in the UK

GfK NOP: 28% of British Muslims want Britain to be an Islamic state

NOP Research: 68% of British Muslims support the arrest and prosecution of anyone who insults Islam;

MacDonald Laurier Institute: 62% of Muslims want Sharia in Canada (15% say make it mandatory)

World Public Opinion: 81% of Egyptians want strict Sharia imposed in every Islamic country

76% of Pakistanis want strict Sharia imposed in every Islamic country

49% (plurality) of Indonesians want strict Sharia imposed in every Islamic country

76% of Moroccans want strict Sharia imposed in every Islamic country

World Public Opinion: 64% of Egyptians said it was “very important for the government” to “apply traditional punishments for crimes such as stoning adulterers.”

Pew Research (2010): 77% of Egyptian Muslims favor floggings and amputation

58% of Jordanian Muslims favor floggings and amputation

36% of Indonesian Muslims favor floggings and amputation

82% of Pakistanis favor floggings and amputation

65% of Nigerian Muslims favor floggings and amputation

Pew Research (2010): 82% of Egyptian Muslims favor stoning adulterers

70% of Jordanian Muslims favor stoning adulterers

42% of Indonesian Muslims favor stoning adulterers

82% of Pakistanis favor stoning adulterers

56% of Nigerian Muslims favor stoning adulterers

Pew Research (2013): 72% of Indonesians want Sharia to be law of the land

Pew Research (2013): 81% of South Asian Muslims and 57% of Egyptians suport amputating limbs for theft.

Honor Killings

Turkish Ministry of Education: 1 in 4 Turks Support Honor Killings

Civitas: 1 in 3 Muslims in the UK strongly agree that a wife should be forced to obey her husband’s bidding

BBC Poll: 1 in 10 British Muslims support killing a family member over “dishonor”.

Middle East Quarterly: 91 percent of honor killings are committed by Muslims worldwide.

95% of honor killings in the West are perpetrated by Muslim fathers and brothers or their proxies.

A survey of Muslim women in Paris suburbs found that three-quarters of them wear their masks out of fear – including fear of violence.

Two-thirds of young British Muslims agree that ‘honor’ violence is acceptable.

Pew Research (2013): Large majorities of Muslims favor Sharia. Among those who do, stoning women for adultery is favored by 89% in Pakistanis, 85% in Afghanistan, 81% in Egypt, 67% in Jordan, ~50% in ‘moderate’ Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, 58% in Iraq, 44% in Tunisia, 29% in Turkey, and 26% in Russia.

Pew Research (2013): Honor killing the woman for sex outside of marriage is favored over honor killing the man in almost every Islamic country. Over half of Muslims surveyed believed that honor killings over sex were at least partially justified.

Assimilation

Muslims have highest claimed disability rates in the UK (24% of men, 21% of women)

2011: 16% of UK prisoners in 2010 are Muslim (Muslims comprise about 3% of the total population)

Pakistani Muslims in the UK are three times more likely to be unemployed than Hindus. Indian Muslims are twice as likely to be unemployed as Indian Hindus.

Policy Exchange: 1 in 4 Muslims in the UK have never heard of the Holocaust;

Only 34% of British Muslims believe the Holocaust ever happened.

Policy Exchange: 51% of British Muslims believe a woman cannot marry a non-Muslim

Only 51% believe a Muslim woman may marry without a guardian’s consent

Policy Exchange: Up to 52% of British Muslims believe a Muslim man is entitled to up to four wives

Policy Exchange: 61% of British Muslims want homosexuality punished

NOP Research: 62% of British Muslims do not believe in the protection of free speech;

Only 3% adopt a “consistently pro-freedom of speech line”

ICM Poll: 58% of British Muslims believe insulting Islam should result in criminal prosecution

Pew Global (2006): Only 7% of British Muslims think of themselves as British first (81% say ‘Muslim’ rather than ‘Briton’)

Policy Exchange (2006): 31% Muslims in Britain identify more with Muslims in other countries than with non-Muslim Brits.

Die Welt (2012): 46% of Muslims in Germany hope there will eventually be more Muslims than Christians in Germany.

Ipsos MORI: Muslims are 3 times as likely as Christians to believe that their religion is the only way.

Pew Research (2011): Muslim-Americans four times more likely to say that women should not work outside the home.

Pew Research (2007): 26% of Muslim-Americans want to be distinct (43% support assimilation)

Pew Research (2011): 20% of Muslim-Americans want to be distinct (56% support assimilation)

Pew Research (2011): 49% of Muslim-Americans say they are “Muslim first” (26% American first)

Pew Research (2011): 21% of Muslim-Americans say there is a fair to great amount of support for Islamic extremism in their community.

ICM Poll: 11% of British Muslims find violence for political ends acceptable

Wenzel Strategies (2012): 58% of Muslim-Americans believe criticism of Islam or Muhammad is not protected free speech under the First Amendment.

45% believe mockers of Islam should face criminal charges (38% said they should not).

12% of Muslim-Americans believe blaspheming Islam should be punishable by death.

43% of Muslim-Americans believe people of other faiths have no right to evangelize Muslims.

32% of Muslims in America believe that Sharia should be the supreme law of the land.

Pew Research (2013): “At least half’ of Muslims surveyed believed polygamy is morally acceptable.

“Muslims in most countries surveyed say that a wife should always obey her husband.” (including 93% in Indonesia and 65% in Turkey).

Only 32% of Muslims in Indonesia say a woman should have the right to divorce her husband (22% in Egypt, 26% in Pakistan and 60% in Russia).

The polls show that most Muslims are not peaceful. They may not involve themselves in terrorist acts, but a large number of Muslims support violence and women’s oppression. Whatever the polls say, I still believe Muslims will be better people if they get secular scientific education, if they live in secular state, under secular laws, and since their childhood if they learn about democracy, women’s rights and free speech.