Heretic
Book
Review by Kam Williams
Heretic
Why
Islam Needs a Reformation Now
by
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Harper
Collins Publishers
Paperback,
$15.99
288
pages
ISBN:
978-0-06-233394-0
“Ayaan Hirsi Ali argues
that... Islamic extremists... are driven by a political ideology
embedded in Islam... She makes a powerful case that a religious
reformation is the only way to end the terrorism, sectarian warfare,
and repression of women and minorities that each year claim thousands
of lives throughout the Muslim world...
Hirsi Ali shows there is
no denying that some of Islam's key teachings--not least the duty to
wage holy war--inspire violence not just in the Muslim world but in
the West as well. [She] believes that a Muslim Reformation--a
revision of Islamic doctrine aimed at reconciling the religion with
modernity--is [necessary] to bring the religion out of the 7th
Century and into the 21st.”
-- Excerpted from the
Bookjacket
Ayaan
Hirsi Ali is a Somali native who settled in Holland where she was
eventually elected to the Dutch Parliament. Disenchanted with the
state of Islam, she wrote the script for Submission, a movie
chronicling the religion's misogyny and culture of violence against
women.
Instead
of stimulating a healthy debate of the issue, the picture's release
only enraged radical Islamists who issued a fatwa leading to the 2004
assassination of the film's director, Theo Van Gogh. A mullah also
issued a fatwa against Ayaan, marking her as deserving death for
participating in the blasphemous project.
Over
the intervening years, jihadists the world over have become even more
emboldened, evidenced by beheading of Christians just for being
Christian and murdering cartoonists for making fun of the prophet
Muhammad. To her credit, the fearless Ayaan has remained an outspoken
critic of a primitive faith seemingly stuck in the Middle Ages which
has failed to keep up with the times.
In
Heretic, she asserts that "Islam is not a religion of peace,"
before calling for some "fundamental alterations" to its
core concepts. She fervently believes that a modernization of its
tenets is necessary to avert the holy war with the West looming over
the horizon.
Ayaan
specifically indicts President Obama for repeatedly downplaying the
ISIS threat while promoting Islam as a "peaceful religion."
She vehemently disagrees and says his denial has only served to
embolden the terrorists determined to hijack the religion.
However,
according to the author, it is not Obama's job alone to turn the
tide. "The fundamental problem," she insists, is the
deafening silence of "the majority of otherwise peaceful and
law-abiding Muslims."
The solution? Ayaan proposes five amendments to the religion, starting with reexamining belief in the Quran as the immutable word of God. She also wants her fellow Muslims to drop their obsession with the afterlife which makes them so easy to recruit as suicide bombers. And she calls for a rejection of Sharia law, a code she claims keeps Muslims stuck in the 7th Century.
It's
anybody's guess whether these controversial suggestions will be
received as a viable blueprint for a kindlier, friendlier Islam or as
the polarizing ravings of a disaffected turncoat. Regardless, at
least Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a breath of fresh air as a brave, moderate
Muslim with the gumption to kickstart a conversation most would
prefer to avoid at all costs.
To
order a copy of Heretic, visit:
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