Salman Rushdie did not stay in Iran, the country that put a price on his head. I have lived in Bangladesh and India, two countries where a bounty has been placed on my head time and time again. It is in these two countries that I have been threatened with death, physically assaulted, that processions have been organized against me, that my books have been banned and that my television series have been suppressed. If Rushdie is not safe under police protection in the Western world, there is little left to imagine as to my personal safety. But I’m not in favor of trading for a safe and placid life for fear of ranting and personal safety. I choose to express my opinions despite the threat to my life, even if no one subscribes to my opinions. I defend my opinions against religious brutality, for humanism, rationalism and equal rights for women.
The same Iran that issued a fatwa against Rushdie in 1989 sentenced Jafar Panahi, the world-renowned filmmaker, to six years in prison for criticizing the government just weeks ago. There is no trace of human rights in Iran after the Islamic revolution. Anyone who dared to speak uncomfortable truths – criticized the government, sought to end fundamentalism, demanded equal rights for women – was ruthlessly tortured, imprisoned and executed. Minority communities, gay people, transgender people and socially conscious people in the arts and sciences are routinely tortured.
The most important requirement to strangle democracy, women’s equal rights and the right to speak is to distance the state from secularism and make it believe in a religion, leading it to follow the doctrines of this religion. Any religion will almost inevitably end up marching against democracy, enacting against equal rights for women and violating the right to speak. These problems are more evident in declared Islamic countries.
Things have gotten to such a point that minority Islamic groups are able to produce indoctrinated religious terrorists even in traditionally secular countries that uphold the right to speak. The person who tried to kill Rushdie is one of them. Whether they are in the minority or in the majority, Muslim fundamentalists are active everywhere. If young people are brought up systematically in religion, it does not take long for them to become religious fanatics. The path from fanaticism to terrorism is then easy to follow.
Religion has given nothing to humans and society except bigotry, ignorance, communal hatred and terrorism.
Islamic terrorists don’t care about the law of the land; they only follow the laws of Allah. Critics of Islam were killed in the 7th century, and they are still being killed today in the 21st century. His soldiers always carry out the orders of Allah, who is famous for being the Almighty, the Omniscient, the Most Beneficent, the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful. They will continue to do so until Islam is reformed, freedom of speech is allowed, violence is denounced, the breeding ground for extremism is demolished.
Other religions have evolved, but that is hardly what can be said of Islam. Islam was exempted from the critical scrutiny that applies to other religions. Islam did not go through a process of enlightenment through which the barbaric, inhuman, unequal and unscientific aspects of religion were challenged. Other religions could rectify their errors and faults; prohibit barbarism and violence against women. This was possible because these religions were subject to critical examination. On the other hand, all forms of discrimination against women continue to exist in Islam.
Islam must be very weak and fragile, that’s why Islamists need blood to keep it alive. In this desperate situation, if moderate Muslims do not break their silence and protest against the jihadists, one would have to think that there are no moderate Muslims.
No religious scripture is sacred. All religious texts were created by human beings. The same goes for the Quran. The days of considering a book holy or a commandment from the Almighty are long gone. Human beings are not far from observing and experiencing the beginning of the creation of the universe, the explosion of the “Big Bang”. To this day, we have not been able to obtain any proof of anything that we can call “God”. Scientific discoveries have time and again proven that religions are just fairy tales. By believing in such fairy tales, enough humans have killed other humans, enough people have harmed others. They must stop now. May the retrograde thoughts of these barbarians who are anti-democracy, anti-individual freedom and anti-freedom of expression be identified, branded and denounced.
May the world, the progress of the world, the future of the world and above all humanity be saved from it.
An Area of Darkness by VS Naipaul is banned in India. The government considered its portrayal of the country to be negative.
Most declared religious countries in the world are Islamic states. Non-Islamic states are, on the whole, secular in nature. Socially conscious artists and writers are denied human rights in almost all Islamic states. Those who are unscathed have inevitably become compromised. India has its own share of myriad problems. It is said that Hindutva is currently at its peak and Muslims in the country are cornered. Not that there is any truth in what is being said, but despite all this, two Muslim men from Udaipur dared to break into Kanhaiya Lal’s shop and shoot him in broad daylight. If I were to imagine a Hindu in a similar state of rage against a Muslim in Bangladesh, I cannot imagine him in a similar act of murder. Murders are only possible by those who don’t care or who deeply believe that the Almighty above has given them the right to kill.
What happened in the lavish setting of the newly opened Lulu Shopping Center in Lucknow was truly fantastic. A few Muslims without any provocation set up to offer namaaz inside the mall. Some Muslims regard the whole world as their personal mosque. Nothing prevents them from starting their namaaz anywhere and anywhere. Seeing Muslims offering namaaz in the mall, a few Hindus rushed together and started reading Hanuman Chalisa at the same place. The police, dying to react, sprang into action and arrested some of the Hanuman Chalisa readers. Chaos and turmoil ensued. Troubled Lulu Mall officials posted a notice saying: ‘Any form of religious prayer is prohibited in this mall.’
That such notices stating “Any form of religious prayer is prohibited here” be posted in all malls, markets, museums, roads, schools, colleges, offices, courts, boats, speedboats, buses, trains, ships and planes. The time to remove religion from all public places is long overdue. In fact, there is no need for religious institutions, prayer rooms and denominational schools. Religion has given society nothing but bigotry, ignorance, communal hatred and terrorism. If it is a grave mistake not to separate religion from the state, it is equally grave to let religion interfere with politics. The Islam that brandishes its swords and kills free thinkers and progressives is political Islam. As long as political Islam is alive, every free thinker will live with a constant threat to his life.
Religion has given nothing to humans and society except bigotry, ignorance, communal hatred and terrorism.
We are left with no other way but to free the world from terror and make the world a better place to live. We are left with no choice but to guarantee the right to expression of every human being and to protect the security of every life. If we don’t do this even today, we will all sink into the darkness of an uncertain future. Governments of all nations must stop using religion for their political interests. Religion should move away from public places for the sake of humanity. Strict separation between state and religion is an urgent necessity. Humans have no choice but to be scientific in their outlook. Fairy tales do not save human beings, unlike rationalism and humanism.
Religion has given nothing to humans and society except bigotry, ignorance, communal hatred and terrorism. If it is a grave mistake not to separate religion from the state, it is equally grave to allow religion to meddle in state politics. The Islam that wields its metals and kills free thinkers and progressives is political Islam. As long as political Islam is alive, every free thinker will live with a constant threat to his life.
(This appeared in the print edition as “Barbarism in the Name of Religion”)
(The opinions expressed are personal)
Taslima Nasrin is an award-winning feminist poet, novelist and public intellectual
