Has Ayaan Hirsi Ali Changed Her Tune on What Constitutes “True” Extremism Since 2007?

It appears that almost a decade after her interview with Reason, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, perhaps the most prominent and sought after demagogue of Islam, and darling of EXMNA co-founder Sarah Haider, has changed her tune on what constitutes “true” extremism in the face of having her track record questioned by the Southern Poverty Law Center.  In a recent article titled “Why Is the Southern Poverty Law Center Targeting Liberals?”, Ali writes [1]:

Yet the S.P.L.C. has the audacity to label me an “extremist,” including my name in a “Field Guide to Anti-Muslim Extremists” that it published on its website last October.

In that guide, the S.P.L.C. claims that I am a “propagandist far outside the political mainstream” and warns journalists to avoid my “damaging misinformation.” These groundless smears are deeply offensive, as I have dedicated much of my adult life to calling out the true extremists: organizations such as Al Qaeda and ISIS. Yet you will look in vain for the S.P.L.C.’s “Field Guide to Muslim Extremists.” No such list exists.

It’s a well known fact that Ali once emphatically remarked that fringe elements of Islam were not the only cause of concern, but the entire Muslim populace itself, an allegation which makes her a suitable candidate for being an extremist. A part of the 2007 interview with Reason in which she expresses these sentiments is reproduced below [2]:

Reason: Should we acknowledge that organized religion has sometimes sparked precisely the kinds of emancipation movements that could lift Islam into modern times? Slavery in the United States ended in part because of opposition by prominent church members and the communities they galvanized. The Polish Catholic Church helped defeat the Jaruzelski puppet regime. Do you think Islam could bring about similar social and political changes?

Hirsi Ali: Only if Islam is defeated. Because right now, the political side of Islam, the power-hungry expansionist side of Islam, has become superior to the Sufis and the Ismailis and the peace-seeking Muslims.

Reason: Don’t you mean defeating radical Islam?

Hirsi Ali: No. Islam, period. Once it’s defeated, it can mutate into something peaceful. It’s very difficult to even talk about peace now. They’re not interested in peace [emphasis is solely the author’s].

The SPLC makes an apt point about Ali being a propagandist “far outside the political mainstream”, as one will rarely find anyone from the political majority promulgating that their Muslim citizens are “not interested in peace” and pose an imminent danger to society at large. Ali’s fear- and war-mongering has certainly waned over the years, but the essential question remains: why? Until Ali offers an adequate definition of an extremist, the SPLC has done an important service for humanity and Muslims by labeling her as what she truly is, that is, an anti-Muslim extremist.

References

1. Why Is the Southern Poverty Law Center Targeting Liberals? (2017, August 24). Retrieved August 27, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/24/opinion/southern-poverty-law-center-liberals-islam.html?ref=opinion&_r=0

2. R. (2007, October 10). ‘The Trouble Is the West’. Retrieved August 02, 2017, from http://reason.com/archives/2007/10/10/the-trouble-is-the-west/1

“Muslim” Tarek Fatah Donated $250 to Ex-Muslim of North America (EXMNA)

Many people have tried to understand Tarek Fatah’s motivations over the years, which have been so contradictory and dissonant that it has forced Muslims and non-Muslims alike to reconsider his professed identity. Known for regularly belittling women who choose to wear the hijab and burqa, and mocking various aspects of the religion, let alone the individuals who are fervent believers, Fatah is acknowledged as a fraud in the Muslim community who has played on the fears and ignorance of well-meaning Canadians.

A Google search of “Tarek Fatah” and “Ex-Muslim of North America” (EXMNA) found that the individual in question donated $250 to EXMNA, an organization known for offering public support to Islamophobes like Maajid Nawaz, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and Asra Nomani, two of whom appear on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Field Guide to Anti-Muslim Extremists“. Evidence of Fatah’s donation is provided below, though no cache of the website seems to have survived a recent update:

Even members of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB) have expressed confusion over where Fatah’s loyalties lie; for example, user “Ward_End” noticed that Fatah

“still calls himself a Muslim but he’s a huge critic on Islamism and Muslims in general who he thinks don’t subscribe to liberal secular values”

Furthermore,

“he seems to align himself with a lot of right wing figures in Canada and the US. Muslims are the problem as well as the Quran and Hadiths. Yet he still calls himself a Muslim. I find him a confusing figure.”

Another user by the name of “atheiststani” concurs with his observation:

“Yeah, it’s a bit weird he still calls himself Muslim as he only seems to have bad things to say about it.”

Fatah’s position may be bewildering to some, but to the average Muslim it’s clear that like his contemporaries, Fatah has made a lucrative career out of  maligning the Muslim community and offering armchair expertise when none was ever needed.

References:

[1] W. (n.d.). Topic: What to make of Tarek Fatah? Retrieved August 13, 2017, from https://www.councilofexmuslims.com/index.php?topic=30790.0

“Progressive Muslim” Asra Nomani Outed as an Atheist by Professor Christine Fair

For as long as anyone can remember, Asra Nomani has been a vicious peddler of lies that has hurt and continues to hurt the North American Muslim community. Like most, if not all “progressive Muslims”, Nomani arose out of obscurity in 2004; at the time she was a totally unknown figure to the world, let alone the Muslim community [1][2]. Throughout her sordid career, Asra has received recognition from multiple organizations and individuals for her rank activism, including the likes of Maajid Nawaz, Sarah Haider, and the notorious anti-Muslim Robert Spencer, who at one point even remarked:

“Now, why are voices like this so rare among Muslims in the West [3]?”

It is for these prime reasons Muslims have long suspected Nomani of being a charlatan, using her faux credentials as a reformer to enhance her reach to a wider audience, particularly to the right wing community. It was, therefore, unsurprising to Muslims when Christine Fair, associate professor at the Center for Peace and Security Studies, Georgetown University, outed Nomani as an atheist in a tweet in December 2016 [4]:

While we don’t condone Dr. Fair’s behavior, her admission of Nomani’s true beliefs does lend additional support as to why Muslims have always found her positions suspect, which clearly wells from a source of hostility rather than one of reconciliation. This story is in many ways similar to Maajid Nawaz’s, who was recently supposed as an atheist by Richard Dawkins [5].

References

1. Washington, S. S. (2004, July 26). World | South Asia | US Muslim woman defies hardliners. Retrieved August 04, 2017, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3926461.stm

2. Self-Hating Loon Asra Nomani Calls for Profiling Muslims. (2016, August 20). Retrieved August 03, 2017, from http://www.loonwatch.com/2010/12/self-hating-loon-asra-nomani-calls-for-profiling-of-muslims/

3. (n.d.). Retrieved August 04, 2017, from https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/09/we-as-muslims-need-to-tear-a-few-pages-out-of-the-quran

4. Frates, K. (2016, December 27). ‘F**K YOU. GO TO HELL’: Georgetown Prof Loses It On Muslim Trump Voter. Retrieved August 04, 2017, from http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/27/fk-you-go-to-hell-georgetown-prof-loses-it-on-muslim-trump-voter/

5. Nomadicsaracen, ~. (2017, August 04). Richard Dawkins Supposes Maajid Nawaz as Possible Atheist on Free Expression Panel. Retrieved August 04, 2017, from https://newatheistsprogressivemuslimsandthelike.wordpress.com/2017/07/30/first-blog-post/

Sarah Haider’s Doublespeak & Harmful Associations

In 2013, Sarah Haider emerged from relative obscurity when she co-founded Ex-Muslims of North America, which is described by some as a support group or an oasis of comfort and refuge for ex-Muslims. The EXMNA website itself states that Haider “advocates for the acceptance of religious dissent and works to create local support communities for those who have left Islam [1].” In spite of her affiliation, Haider’s warmth and appreciation also extends to Muslims:

“One thing we can do, which I don’t think we’re doing adequately enough, is to protect the civil liberties of Muslims whenever it calls for it [2].”

While her motives for EXMNA are natural and springs from a place of well-meaning and empathy, Haider has consistently shown a blatant disregard of what she passionately stands for, primarily through her associations and the individuals she promotes. For example, Haider proudly stands behind a slew of well-known anti-Muslim bigots — Ayaan Hirsi Ali being one of many.  In 2007, Ali was asked to clarify if Islam would need to be defeated “militarily”, to which she responded in no uncertain terms that it needs to be crushed…

“in all its forms and if you don’t do that, then you have to live with the consequence of being crushed [3].”

Of course, one may argue that there are good reasons to suspect that Ali was simply referring to “Radical Islam”. However, when she was pressed on whether her views only applied to extremists she went on to state emphatically:

“No. Islam, period. Once it’s defeated, it can mutate into something peaceful. It’s very difficult to even talk about peace now. They’re not interested in peace [3].”

It’s quite possible that over the last few years Haider may have distanced herself from Ali — a benefit of a doubt that we’re willing to give her — except there is growing evidence that she remains committed to this particular individual in her fervent activism. A quick Google search found that Haider was interviewed by the the Ayaan Hirsi Ali (AHA) Foundation in 2016 [4]. Furthermore, Haider’s fascination with this individual continues to be brought up at lectures as she tours the US [5].

What remains to be seen is whether Haider and the EXMNA will immediately relinquish associations with this obvious anti-Muslim bigot, or will they continue to stand behind her despite her horrid views of all Muslims?

References

1. Sarah Haider. (2015, October 04). Retrieved August 02, 2017, from https://www.exmna.org/team/sarah-haider/

2. B. (2017, July 27). Blasphemy, Islamophobia, Free Expression Panel. Retrieved August 02, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seJkIGV8urc

3. R. (2007, October 10). ‘The Trouble Is the West’. Retrieved August 02, 2017, from http://reason.com/archives/2007/10/10/the-trouble-is-the-west/1

4. Sarah Haider, Co-Founder of Ex-Muslims in North America, Shares Her Transition to Atheism and the Need to Look Up to Fathers who Champion Women’s Rights. (2017, February 07). Retrieved August 02, 2017, from https://www.theahafoundation.org/sarah-haider-co-founder-of-ex-muslims-in-north-america-shares-her-transition-to-atheism-and-the-need-to-look-up-to-fathers-who-champion-womens-rights/

 5. On Betrayal by the Left – Talking with Ex-Muslim Sarah Haider. (2017, March 24). Retrieved August 02, 2017, from http://quillette.com/2017/03/16/on-betrayal-by-the-left-talking-with-ex-muslim-sarah-haider/

Why Maajid Nawaz’s Lawsuit Against SPLC is Doomed to Fail

As discussed previously, Maajid Nawaz has been repeatedly called out by the Muslim community, by and large, for deliberately misleading the public under the pretense that he is a Muslim [1]. While most Muslims do not recognize Nawaz as anything beyond a simple conman, other communities, such as the New Atheist one, have also come to understand the duplicitous role he plays in everyday politics, except they view it as something favorable, something which helps them meet their own ends. It is not surprising, therefore, that the The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an American nonprofit legal advocacy organization that specializes in civil rights, published a brief exposé of Nawaz’s activities in late 2016 that qualifies him as an Islamophobe among the likes of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Robert Spencer, and others. According to the SPLC:

“…Nawaz says he grew up being attacked by neo-Nazi skinheads in the United Kingdom, spent almost four years in an Egyptian prison after joining a supposedly nonviolent Islamist group, but had a change of heart while imprisoned and then returned to England to work against the radicalization of Muslims. But major elements of his story have been disputed by former friends, members of his family, fellow jihadists and journalists, and the evidence suggests that Nawaz is far more interested in self-promotion and money than in any particular ideological dispute [2].”

All that has been mentioned is enough to show that Nawaz is more than likely to lose the lawsuit he intends to file in the coming weeks. As indicated by his latest tweet, the pleading challenge phase — Phase 2 — is currently underway :

Thanks to you all, phase 1 of suing @splcenter is complete! Help me reach phase 2. Go here to support & read update https://t.co/LfGHat4Ry6 pic.twitter.com/ucOEcMpcfA

— Maajid (@MaajidNawaz) July 26, 2017

If you’re planning to donate to Nawaz’s cause, take our advice: $125,000 is better spent elsewhere than on someone’s losing battle with a well-known bastion of civil rights in the United States of America.

References

[1] Maajid Nawaz, the BBC and the UK Muslim Community (part 1). (2014, June 18). Retrieved July 31, 2017, from https://thedebateinitiative.com/2014/04/15/maajid-nawaz-the-bbc-and-the-uk-muslim-community-part-1/

[2] A Journalist’s Manual: Field Guide to Anti-Muslim Extremists. (n.d.). Retrieved July 31, 2017, from https://www.splcenter.org/20161025/journalists-manual-field-guide-anti-muslim-extremists#nawaz