Before I transferred to Duke, I attended NYU and lived a short distance from Ground Zero. That's probably why I wrote this column-even the aftermath of one "9/11" was one too much to witness.
For a long time, I was afraid to criticize Islam, but I didn't know why. Students like us often go to great lengths to accept Muslim traditions and avoid cultural relativism. Unfortunately, this tendency has translated into our government's fear of offending Muslim ideologues and put freedom itself in jeopardy.
Tolerance should not extend to tolerating evil. Why are we afraid to say what we all know is true? Ex-Muslim Ali Sina aptly reminds us, "Muslims are victims of a huge lie. This lie is the cause of terrorism, upheavals, barbarity, much bloodshed, dictatorship, misogyny, discrimination, human rights violations, poverty, backwardness and misery of a billion people and fear and terror for the rest."
Afghanis almost killed a man last week for being Christian. Why wouldn't this provoke the outcry school prayer does in America? Because local pastors don't order executions, as clerics have done for Abdul Rahman? The abuses Islam perpetuates against Middle Easterners demand we challenge religious rule wherever it occurs.
In another context, most Americans would agree that policies like circumcizing females, assassinating political dissidents and promising to destroy Israel are wrong, but thanks to the predominance of multiculturalism, we excuse them. We ignore the suffering Islamic despotism has inflicted on us and Middle Easterners to both our perils.
I respect a person's right to practice any religion, but a critical eye on Islam is necessary to fight for women's rights and the rights of non-Muslims in many parts of the world.
A manifesto signed by Salman Rushdie and others stated, "We reject 'cultural relativism,' which consists in accepting that men and women of Muslim culture should be deprived of the right to equality, freedom and secular values in the name of respect for cultures and traditions."
We should do the same.
I hate to say it, but I think the problem with achieving equal rights and freedom in the Middle East is the culture. The Koran is clear about the need to slay nonbelievers (2:191), beat women (4:34) and practice Jihad (8:65). The crimes alleged by Sina are, in fact, encouraged in Islamic liturgy.
Moreover, Islam leaves no room for vacillation, as evidenced by Iraq's "new" constitution, which states that "No law can be passed that contradicts the undisputed rules of Islam." "Democratic" Afghanistan reminds us apostasy can still earn the death penalty.
Our leaders work diligently to appease Islamic governments by donating aid and paying lip service to their faith, in the hopes they will renounce violence. Such a policy is not only inept, but immoral for condemning millions to live in near servitude and accept unequal rights.
Moreover, more than 4,600 terrorist attacks carried out since 9/11 share ties to Islam. We cannot ignore the fact that Islam unites and fuels our enemies, whether it negates their fear of death or inspires them to attack in the first place. Democrats want to lose now, and Republicans want to lose in a few years. Does anybody actually want to win the War on Terror? For the sake of our own freedom and safety, and the hopes of moderate Middle Easterners, we cannot afford to lose.
Yet we are on our way.
We must do two things differently. Firstly, we should give our military a free hand to destroy insurgents. Religious zealots will continue to impose harsh Islamic law wherever they hold sway, and they will never renounce their goal of killing Americans. The suffering they have inflicted on their own people and the United States demands swift retribution. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a Democrat, fought the Germans mercilessly, even though they never even attacked American soil.
Secondly, we should be proud of America, a place where all faiths can be practiced openly and safely. I haven't forgotten the good relations between New York Jews and Arabs, either. Liberty and freedom remain strong in this country.
It's time the morality of the war be returned to the United States and not doled out sympathetically to "freedom-fighters" in Iraq, not when their goal is religious tyranny. Our troops' morale will improve, their objectives will become clear and we might have a shot at victory.
Now isn't the time for remorse and lip service, especially when Iran will soon join the nuclear club. We must not fear challenging cruel, capricious, religious dogma. Our fates, and the fates of billions more, rest on our courage.
Jeremy Marshall is a Trinity sophomore. His column runs every other Wednesday.
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