A Muslim female psychologist, Wafa Sultan from Los Angeles interviewed in Al Jazeera TV on 21 February 2006.
“The crash we are witnessing around the world is not a clash of religions, or a clash of civilizations. It is a clash between two opposites, between two eras. It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another mentality that belong to the 21st century. It is a clash between civilization and backwardness; between the civilized and the primitive; between barbarity and rationality. It is a crash between freedom and oppression; between democracy and dictatorship. It is a clash between human right on the one hand, and the violation of those rights, on the other hand. It is a clash between those who treated women like beasts, and those who treat them like human beings.”
“What we see today is not a clash between civilizations. Civilisations do not clash but compete.”
A commentator asked, “I understand from your words that what is happening today is a clash between the culture of the West, and the backwardness and ignorance of the Muslims.”
She replied. “Yes, that is what I mean”.
Commentator: “Who come up with the concept of a clash of civilizations? Was it not Samuel Huntington? It was not Bin Laden. I would like to discuss this issue, if you do not mind….”
She replied, “The Muslims are the ones that began using this expression. The Muslims are the ones that began the clash of civilizations. The Prophet of Islam said, “I was ordered to fight the people until they believe in Allah and his Messenger.” When the Muslims divided the people into Muslims and Non-Muslims, and called to fight the others until they believe in what they themselves believe. They started this clash and began this war. In order to stop this war, they must re-examine their Islamic books and curricula, which are full of calls for takfir and fighting the infidels. My colleague had said that he never offends of other people’s beliefs, what civilization on the face of this earth allows him to call others by names they did not choose for themselves. Once he calls them Ahl Al-Dhimma. Another time he calls them “the people of the Book”. And yet another time he compares them to apes and pigs. Or he calls the Christians “those who incur Allah’s wrath. Who told you they are “people of the Book”? They are not “people of the Book”, they are people of many books. All the useful scientific books today are theirs, the fruits of their free and creative thinking. What gives you the right to call them “those who incur Allah/s Wrath,” or “those who have gone astray,” and then come here to say that your religion commands you to refrain from offending the beliefs of others?
I am not a Christian, a Muslim or a Jew. I am a secular human being. I do not believe in the supernatural, but I respect others” right to believe in it.
Another commentator asked, “Are you a heretic?”
She replied, “You can say whatever you like. I am a secular human being that does not believe in the supernatural.”
The commentator said: If you are a heretic, there is no point in rebuking you, since you have blasphemed against Islam, the Prophet, and the Koran…
She interjected: “These are personal matters that do not concern you. Brother, you can believe in stone, as long as you do not throw them at me. You are free to worship whomever you want, but others’ belief is not your concern, whether they believe the Messiah is God, son of Mary, or that Satan is the son of God or Mary. Let people have their beliefs. The Jews have come from the tragedy (of the Holocaust), and force the world to respect them, with their work, not their crying and yelling, Humanity owes most of the discoveries and science of the 19th and 20th centuries to Jewish scientists. 15 millions people, scattered throughout the world, united and won the right through work and knowledge. You have not seen a Jew blow himself in a German restaurant. We have seen a single Jew destroy a church. We have not seen a single Jew who protests by killing people. The Muslims have turned three Buddha statues into rubble. We have not seen a Buddhist burn down a Mosque, kill a Muslim or burn down an embassy. Only the Muslims defend their belief by burning down churches, killing people and destroy embassies. This path will not yield any results. The Muslims must ask themselves what they can do for humankind, before they demand that the humankind to respect them.”
