From CDHR
December 18, 2007
Is it Islam That Non-Muslims Resent?
By Ali Alyami
Praising Queen Rania of Jordan’s noble stand on dispelling the myths about the Hijab, or women’s face covering, in an interview on Oprah, author Ezrinal Azis quoted her majesty the Queen of Jordan as having said, “The Hijab is a choice — a woman wears the Hijab because she believes in it and she has the right to wear it, not because she is forced to.” This may be true in Jordan, but in Saudi Arabia it is far from the truth. If a woman does not wear the Hijab in Saudi Arabia (the birthplace of Islam and the home to its two holiest shrines), she incurs humiliation, interrogation, stigmatization and sometimes even severe lashings and prison sentences.
In addition, Westerners and non-Muslims do not reject Islam simply because it is Islam. They resent the faith because of what is being done in its name and its Shariah laws, such as stonings, the oppression of women and religious minorities, incitement and fatwas against non-Muslims, the endless supply of suicide bombers, violent criminal punishments, and intolerance of non-Muslims.
In reality, Christian churches, Jewish synagogues, and non-Muslim shrines and statues are not allowed in many Muslim societies. If they do exist, they may be attacked and demolished. Instead of being defensive of what is obviously wrong, we must focus on revisiting the interpretation of the Qurán, the Shariah law and the Hadith. We must strive to find out whether Islam has been hijacked by extremists and dictators, or if it is an inherently violent and intolerant faith, as many non-Muslims and even a small number of Muslims say and think. This is our challenge, and the sooner we can accomplish it, the better.