Dear Ms. Darwish,
After the incident at Princeton University, I decided to buy and read your book “Now, They Call Me Infidel” to find out just what was so “offensive” that the Muslim student body didn’t want to hear. Apparently, Princeton University doesn’t want to risk offending its Muslim students but doesn’t mind offending visiting Christian speakers; something they should be deeply ashamed of!In any case, I found your book extremely informative along with giving insight into what living in an Islamic society is really like, not what we are told. The book also carries with it a very powerful message; namely your journey from hate and jihad into love and compassion. Most of the facts that you stated in your book, I have verified by many other sources so I know that they are absolutely correct.I quite agree with your conclusion that Islam must be reformed by moderate Muslims if Islam is to become a respectable and acceptable religion here in America and elsewhere. As you stated, it must: (1) renounce and condemn terrorism in any form officially and publicaly either through a “fatwa” or some other means, (2) the penalty of death for apostasy as stated in both the Koran (I have read this also) and Sharia law must be removed. I know of no other religion that officially prescribes such a harsh judgment merely for leaving it.However, my biggest concern is the proliferation of mosques in our country apparently bankrolled by Saudi Arabia. Since westerners are not allowed into any of these mosques (assuming that we understood Arabic which most of us don’t), we have no way of knowing what messages are being given to each local Muslim population; are they of peace and reconciliation or are they merely a repeat of messages of hate and jihad that you experienced in Egypt? Your experience in California strongly suggests the latter and, if so, this is a very scary prospect and will have serious repercussions for us as a country somewhere down the road unless something is done about it.In any event, both my wife and I wish you well in your efforts to educate the rest of us as to the nature of both “Islam” and “Radical Islam” and the important difference between the two. May God Bless you, your family and your work.
Dick Wetherald
Hopewell, New Jersey USA
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The most strikig things about Muslims (my personal opinion and i might be wrong) that they don't got sense of humor, can you tell a religious joke not be executed or marked as infidel?
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me dark days of USSR when jokes about Stalin or Communism could send you to Sibiria or prison.
Nonie: if you need just one thing that describes Muslims as a collective is their lack self humor and knee jerk self cencerships (USSR style).
Amen. Go Dick. Go Nonie!
ReplyDeleteMrs. Darwish,
ReplyDeleteI am a white Christian. I have read both your books. I live in a very ethnically diverse city with the third largest Consular Corps in the US. I see Mosques springing up like weeds. I was very unaware of what this ment until I had to interacted with Muslim women. I was suprised and scared to death of how they thought and acted. This helped me to start reading and learning. Leading me to your books as well as others. I like your books because it is writen so us "infidels" can understand the culture of Islam. I thank you for that. I do not wish to remain silent as Muslims do. What can I do?
This book should be on school curriculums. At last a Muslim woman brave enough to speak out against all this hate especially towards our Jewish friends.
ReplyDeleteI happen to believe indoctrinating children to hate other people from different countries or religions constitutes child abuse.
Jackie Westwood
England
I liked Anonymous' remark (above) about Arab's missing a sense of humour. This contrasts with the jews well known-brand of public self mockery, itself a variation on their national obsession with uninterrupted self criticism.
ReplyDeleteNonie said in an interview that Arabs regard self criticism as evidence of weakness. Can the opposite be true? Again the comparison with jews is appropriate: What happens when you make self criticism your national sport? It's true that many jews end up neurotic, but they are also over-represented among elite cultural icons by a factor of 100000 or so. Perhaps there is a connection..
I'll close and in keeping with the opening call for Arab levi(ty), by inviting representatives of Arabs to Israel to the annual joint dinner of Jews for Jesus and Gush Shalom where, after an opening talk by Noam Chomsky, participants will be given the opportunity for satisfying round of self flagellation.
How do you reform a religion which states that the Koran is the word of God? How do you modify the message of the book of God?
ReplyDeleteThanks Nonie.
ReplyDeleteI just found your website and it is a welcome relief.
Nonie, I am grateful to you, my son is wanting to Join the right religion and he is already LDS. He has been talking to people from the middle east who have become his friends and are convincing him they are right that the bible is corrupt. I to as a mother have been asking him how can a god only love part of his children we all belong to him. You are right about being educated. It will unite us.
ReplyDeleteTo: Nonie Darwish,
ReplyDeleteI am a Jew and an Egyptian-born national, if you want peace between Arabs/Moslem and Israel, please do not criticize just the first ones above-mentioned, specially the Egyptians. The Egyptians are by large the most modern, progressive and sensitive people, they do not want extremism,at least most of them, never wanted extremism and are a very correct and decent people, we know that because we have dealt with them everyday, the men/women in the streets, the average ones, they do not much care about divisionist and anagonist politics.
There are blames around for all involved in the Middle East crisis including Western nations and the USA.
About the Palestine partition etc... please imagine for one instant what would the USA do if the international community of nations through the United Nations were to require them to give but one small piece of land, the smallest state, Rhode Island to the native American tribes as their own independent state/national country?
Are the French and spaniards willing to give indepence to the Basques that request it?
Would the British want to return Northern Island to Dublin?
would the USA willing to return Hawaii mto Japan; the southwest of their territories to Mexico; Florida, Puerto Rico and others to Spain or for independence?
What would the residents of all the above lands would say and do? So please give a break to all of us nationals (Jews, Christians, Moslems and others) of the countries of the Middle East. We were all displaced and otherwise inconvenienced by this political creation of this new state without consideration for our welfare too.
Egypt as I can remember was a very diversified country, all communities could live their own ways,it a sort of "democracy" eastern style. The Ottoman "empire" was thus too, each community governing themselves under the authority of Turkey.
As Jews and nationals of Egypt and these other states we were not zionist in this modern and political sense. We Egyptians of Jewish religions just as in the USA there are Americans of Jewish and other religions, as they care about their country of residency we cared about ours too, we cared about ours too/Egypt first.
Today with the crisis in Egypt we can be proud of the ways our countrypeople are asking for the right all and the ways its armend forces support them.