criticism of Islam

Criticism of Islam has existed since Islam's formative stages on philosophical, scientific, ethical, political and theological grounds. Some critics oppose Islamic scriptures and teachings with arguments fundamental to criticism of religion in general,^[1][2] while other criticism is specific to Islam only, and raises doubts about the moral ideals of Islam and how they are put into practice.^[3]

Early written criticism came from Christians, prior to 1000 AD.^[4] After 1000 AD there appeared criticism from the Muslim world itself, and also from Jewish writers and from ecclesiastical Christians.^[5][6][7][8] In the modern era, criticism has come from people both inside and outside Islam, on a wide variety of topics.

One such topic is Islam's tolerance (or intolerance) of criticism, and the treatment accorded apostates in Islamic law.^[9] Another area focuses on the morality of the life of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, both in his public and personal life.^[8][10] Issues relating to the authenticity and morality of the Qu'ran, the Islamic holy book, are also discussed by critics.^[11][12] Other criticisms focus on the question of human rights in modern Islamic nations, and the treatment of women in Islamic law and practice.^[13][14] Recently, Islam's influence on the ability of Muslim immigrants in the West to assimilate has been criticized.^[15]

Notable contemporary critics include Robert Spencer,^[16] Daniel Pipes,^[17] Ibn Warraq,^[18], Bat Ye'or,^[19] and Brigitte Gabriel, atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens as well as evangelical Christians like Pat Robertson. Critics who are former Muslims include Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Wafa Sultan, Ali Sina and Ibn Warraq. Responses to critics have come from non-Muslim scholars like William Montgomery Watt and John Esposito, and from Muslims like Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Fazlur Rahman,^[20] Syed Ameer Ali,^[21] Ahmed Deedat,^[22] and Yusuf Estes.^[23]

History of criticism of Islam

Early Islam

The earliest records of criticism of Islam are found in early Islamic writings about criticism from pagan, Jewish and Christian inhabitants of Arabia.

The earliest surviving written criticisms of Islam are to be found in the writings of Christians, who came under the early dominion of the Islamic empire. One such Christian was John of Damascus (born c. 676), who was familiar with Islam and Arabic. The second chapter of his book, The Fount of Wisdom, titled 'Concerning Heresies' presents a series of discussions between Christians and Muslims. John claimed a Nestorian monk influenced Muhammad.^[24][4]

Medieval Islamic world

Over the years there have been several famous Muslim critics and skeptics of Islam from within the Islamic world itself. In tenth and eleventh-century Syria there lived a blind poet called Al-Ma'arri. According to Ibn Warraq, he became well-known for a poetry that was affected by a "pervasive pessimism." He labeled religions in general as "noxious weeds," and said that Islam does not have a monopoly on truth. He had particular contempt for the ulema, writing that:

In 1280, the Jewish philosopher Ibn Kammuna criticized Islam in his book Examination of the Three Faiths. He reasoned that incompatibility of sharia with the principles of justice undercuts Muhammad's claims of being a perfect man: "there is no proof that Muhammad attained perfection and the ability to perfect others as claimed."^[25] The philosopher thus concluded that people usually convert to Islam from ulterior motives:

That is why, to this day we never see anyone converting to Islam unless in terror, or in quest of power, or to avoid heavy taxation, or to escape humiliation, or if taken prisoner, or because of infatuation with a Muslim woman, or for some similar reason. Nor do we see a respected, wealthy, and pious non-Muslim well versed in both his faith and that of Islam, going over to the Islamic faith without some of the aforementioned or similar motives.^[6]

Maimonides, one of the foremost 12th century rabbinical arbiters and philosophers, sees the relation of Islam to Judaism as primarily theoretical. Maimonides has no quarrel with the strict monotheism of Islam, but finds fault with the practical politics of Muslim regimes. He also considered Islamic ethics and politics to be inferior to their Jewish counterparts. Maimonides criticised what he perceived as the lack of virtue in the way Muslims rule their societies and relate to one another.^[7]

Medieval Christendom

Main article: Medieval Christian view of Muhammad

Some medieval ecclesiastical writers portrayed Muhammad as possessed by Satan, a "precursor of the Antichrist" or the Antichrist himself.^[8]

Denis the Carthusian wrote two treatises to refute Islam at the request of Nicholas of Cusa, Contra perfidiam Mahometi, et contra multa dicta Sarracenorum libri quatuor and Dialogus disutationis inter Christianum et Sarracenum de lege Christi et contra perfidiam Mahometi.^[26]

Contemporary criticism of Islam

Modern criticism of Islam comes in many varieties and from various corners. Winston Churchill stated that Islam instills "a fatalistic apathy" and "a degraded sensualism that deprives this life of its grace and refinement." He said that "the fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property - either as a child, a wife, or a concubine - must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men." He further believed that "the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world," and that only superior scientific capabilities in Europe prevented the Muslim world from destroying the civilization of modern Europe as Rome had been destroyed.^[27]

Many critics are non-Muslim scholars or authors who are outspoken in their views. The members of this group include Oriana Fallaci, Daniel Pipes, Robert Spencer and Bat Ye'or. Robert Spencer is especially vocal, having written many books, one titled The Myth of Islamic Tolerance: How Islamic Law Treats Non-Muslims.^[28] Bat Ye'or has studied the phenomenon of dhimma in detail, and stresses "the incompatibility between the concept of tolerance as expressed by the jihad-dhimmitude ideology, and the concept of human rights based on the equality of all human beings and the inalienability of their rights."^[29] Sam Harris, author of the bestseller The End of Faith, is skeptical that moderate Islam is even possible, arguing that Muslim extremism is a consequence simply of taking the Qur'an literally.^[1] Nobel prize winner V. S. Naipaul, a Trinidadian-born British novelist of Hindu heritage, has sowed controversy with his criticism of Islam. He claims it has had a "calamitous effect on converted peoples", destroying their ancestral culture and history.^[30] The Italian journalist and novelist Oriana Fallaci wrote three short books after the events of September the 11th advancing the argument that the "Western world is in danger of being engulfed by radical Islam". Two of them, The Rage and The Pride and The Force of Reason have been translated into English by Fallaci.^[31]

Notable evangelical leaders from the United States have also weighed in against Islam. They include Pat Robertson, who expresses the view that "Islam wants to take over the world and is not a religion of peace", and that radical Muslims are "satanic", and that Osama Bin Laden was a "true follower of Muhammad".^[32][33] Jerry Falwell, another American conservative Baptist minister, characterized the prophet Muhammad as being a 'terrorist'.^[34] Franklin Graham described Islam as an 'evil and wicked religion' and suggested that those who believed Islam to be "wonderful" should "go and live under the Taliban somewhere".^[35]

There are also outspoken former Muslims who believe that Islam is the primary cause for what they see as the mistreatment of minority groups in Muslim countries and communities. Almost all of them now live in the West, many under assumed names because of a legitimate danger to themselves and many have had death threats made against them by Islamic groups including the very public fatwa calling for the murder of novelist Salman Rushdie by the Ayatollah Khomeini of the Government of Iran. Such people include Dutch politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and Ibn Warraq. Ayaan Hirsi Ali has focused on the plight of Muslim women, saying that "they aspire to live by their faith as best they can, but their faith robs them of their rights."^[36] Arab-American psychologist Wafa Sultan has pointed out that the prophet of Islam said: "I was ordered to fight the people until they believe in Allah and his Messenger." Sultan has called on Islamic teachers to review their writings and teachings and remove every call to fight people who do not believe as Muslims.^[37] Dr. Sultan is now in hiding, fearing for her life and the safety of her family after appearing on the al-Jazeera TV show.^[38]

Several scholars do not self-identify as critics of Islam but are not afraid to criticise some of its aspects. Bernard Lewis is perhaps the most well-known member of this group. He holds that unbelievers, slaves, and women are considered fundamentally inferior to other groups of people under Islamic law. He does write that even the equality of free adult male Muslims represented a very considerable advance on the practice of both the Greco-Roman and the ancient Iranian world.^[39][40]

There is also criticism of Islam by people who consider themselves still to be Muslim. Irshad Manji, Canadian journalist and author of The Trouble with Islam, falls into this category.^[41]

There is Criticism by ^[42] Ahmed H. al-Rahim that the Mosques in America are teaching values of hate and not peace.

Responses to criticisms

Responses come from both Muslim and some non-Muslim scholars and writers.

Responses from contemporary non-Muslim scholars

Such non-Muslim scholars include William Montgomery Watt, John Esposito and Karen Armstrong and Edward Said, who sharply criticized Western scholarship of the East. Watt, for example, in his book Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman addresses Muhammad’s alleged moral failures. He claims that “Of all the world's great men none has been so much maligned as Muhammad.” Watt argues on a basis of moral relativism that Muhammad should be judged by the standards of his own time and country rather than "by those of the most enlightened opinion in the West today."^[43]

Karen Armstrong, tracing what she believes to be the West's long history of hostility toward Islam, finds in Muhammad’s teachings a theology of peace and tolerance. Armstrong holds that the "holy war" urged by the Qur'an alludes to each Muslim's duty to fight for a just, decent society.^[44]

John Esposito has written many introductory texts on Islam and the Islamic world. For example, he has addressed issues like the rise of militant Islam, the veiling of women, and democracy.^[45][46] Esposito emphatically argues against what he calls the "pan-Islamic myth". He thinks that "too often coverage of Islam and the Muslim world assumes the existence of a monolithic Islam in which all Muslims are the same." To him, such a view is naive and unjustifiably obscures important divisions and differences in the Muslim world.^[47]

Responses from contemporary Muslim scholars

Responses from Muslims have come from many Muslim writers, scholars and comparative religionists such as Ahmad Deedat, Dr. Zakir Naik, Osama Abdallah, Yusuf al-Qaradawi and Gary Miller. Within the academia, responses have come from scholars such as Michael Sells, Muqtedar Khan. Muhammad Mohar Ali says that the Qur'an records the earliest criticisms (and responses), examples of which are Muhammad being called a madman (e.g. 15:6), a poet (21:5), a kahin soothsayer (69:42), and so on. He writes that nothing of importance has been added by later critics.^[48]

Imam Wahid Pedersen, quoted in the New York Times, said "It has become politically correct to attack Islam, and this is making it hard for moderates on both sides to remain reasonable."^{[citation needed]}

Responses from Other Sources

Cathy Young of Reason Magazine claimed that the growing trend of anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim sentiment stemmed from an atmosphere where such criticism is popular. While stating that the terms "Islamophobia" and "anti-Muslim bigotry" are often used in response to legitimate criticism of fundamentalist Islam and problems within Muslim culture, she claimed "the real thing does exist, and it frequently takes the cover of anti-jihadism."^[49]

Objections to the methods used by critics

Edward Said, in his essay Islam Through Western Eyes, stated that the general basis of Orientalist thought forms a study structure in which Islam is placed in an inferior position as an object of study. He claims the existence of a very considerable bias in Orientalist writings as a consequence of the scholars' cultural make-up. He claims Islam has been looked at with a particular hostility and fear due to many obvious religious, psychological and political reasons, all deriving from a sense "that so far as the West is concerned, Islam represents not only a formidable competitor but also a late-coming challenge to Christianity."^[50] Montgomery Watt agrees with West's historical denigration of Islam but states that the situation has become much better during the last two centuries though many of the old prejudices still linger on. Watt encourages both Muslims and Europeans to reach to an objective view of Muhammad and his religion.^[51]

Intolerance of Islam to criticism

Islam is frequently criticised as being intolerant of and suppressive of criticism, and especially of apostasy. Ibn Warraq has collected and published stories of the reported mistreatment of Muslim apostates at the hands of Islamic authorities.^[9]

Decision of a Fatwa committee on the case of a convert to Christianity: "Since he left Islam, he will be invited to express his regret. If he does not regret, he will be killed pertaining to rights and obligations of the Islamic law."

Apostasy in Islamic law

Main article: Apostasy in Islam

Bernard Lewis summarizes:

However, the question of the correct penalties to be imposed under Islamic law for apostasy is a highly controversial topic that has been passionately debated.^{[citation needed]} There are widely-held exceptions to the death penalty punishment, and a minority of Islamic scholars advocate a lesser penalty altogether.^{[citation needed]} In general, though, the four Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence, as well as Shi'a scholars, agree that a sane adult male apostate must be executed. A female apostate may be put to death, according to the majority view, or imprisoned until she repents, according to others.^[53]

The Qur'an threatens apostate with punishment in the next world only, the historian W. Heffening states, the traditions however contain the element of death penalty. Muslim scholar Shafi'i interprets verse ^{[Qur'an 2:217]} as adducing the main evidence for the death penalty in Qur'an.^[54] The historian Wael Hallaq states the later addition of death penalty was "reflects a later reality and does not stand in accord with the deeds of the Prophet." He further states that "nothing in the law governing apostate and apostasy derives from the letter of the holy text."^[55]

William Montgomery Watt, in an interview in response to a question about westerns view of the Islamic Law as being cruel, states that "In Islamic teaching, such penalties may have been suitable for the age in which Muhammad lived. However, as societies have since progressed and become more peaceful and ordered, they are not suitable any longer."^[56]

Some contemporary Islamic jurists from both the Sunni and Shi'a denominations together with Qur'an only Muslims have argued or issued fatwas that state that either the changing of religion is not punishable or is only punishable under restricted circumstances.^{[57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64]} For example, Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri argues that no Qur'anic verse prescribes an earthly penalty for apostasy and adds that it is not improbable that the punishment was prescribed by Muhammad at early Islam due to political conspiracies against Islam and Muslims and not only because of changing the belief or expressing it. Montazeri defines different types of apostasy. He does not hold that a reversion of belief because of investigation and research is punishable by death but prescribes capital punishment for a desertion of Islam out of malice and enmity towards the Muslim.^[65] However, these minority opinions regarding punishment for apostasy have not found broad acceptance among their peers in the ulema. ^{[citation needed]}

Contemporary treatment of accused apostates

Today, out of 57 mostly Islamic countries in OIC, five make apostasy from Islam a crime punishable by death, including Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sudan, and Yemen. However, according the US State Department, there have been no reports of such executions by the government of Saudi Arabia for several years.^[66] On the other hand, in Pakistan, vigilante attacks against alleged apostates are common.^[67]

The recent case of Afghan Abdul Rahman has achieved particular notoriety. In early 2006 , Rahman was arrested and held by Afghan authorities on charges that he converted from Islam to Christianity, a capital offense in Afghanistan. Many Muslim clerics in the country pushed for a death sentence, but after international pressure (including a public statement by U.S. Secretary of State at the time Condoleezza Rice) he was released and secretly given asylum in Italy.^[68][69]

In 1993, an Egyptian professor named Nasr Abu Zayd was divorced from his wife by an Egyptian court run by Islamic radicals on the grounds that his controversial writings about the Qur'an demonstrated his apostasy. He subsequently fled to Europe with his wife.^[70] Another Egyptian professor, Farag Fuda, was killed in 1992 by masked men after criticizing Muslim fundamentalists and announcing plans to form a new movement for Egyptians of all religions.^[71]

Contemporary treatment of critics

German professor Christoph Luxenberg feels compelled to work under a pseudonym to protect himself because of fears that a new book on the origins of the Qur'an may make him a target for violence.^[72] Hashem Aghajari, an Iranian university professor, was initially sentenced to death because of a speech that criticized some of the present Islamic practices in Iran being in contradiction with the original practices and ideology of Islam, and particularly for stating that Muslims were not "monkeys" and "should not blindly follow" the clerics. The sentence was later commuted to three years in jail, and he was released in 2004 after serving two years of that sentence.^[73][74][75]

In recent times fatwas calling for execution have been issued against author Salman Rushdie and activist Taslima Nasreen.^[76]

On November 2 2004, Dutch Filmmaker Theo van Gogh was assassinated by Dutch born Mohammed Bouyeri for producing the 10 minute film Submission critical of the abusive treatment of women within Islam. The author of the screenplay, Ayaan Hirsi Ali entered into hiding immediately following the assassination.^[77]

On September 30 2005, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published editorial cartoons, many of which depicted the Islamic prophet Mohammed. The publication was intended to contribute to the debate regarding criticism of Islam and self-censorship - objectives which manifested themselves in the public outcry from Muslim communities within Denmark and the subsequent apology by the paper. However, the controversy deepened when further examples of the cartoons were reprinted in newspapers in more than fifty other countries. This led to protests across the Muslim world, some of which escalated into violence, including setting fire to the Norwegian and Danish Embassies in Syria, and the storming of European buildings and desecration of the Danish and German flags in Gaza City.^[78]

On September 19 2006 French writer and philosophy teacher Robert Redeker wrote an editorial for Le Figaro, a French conservative newspaper, in which he attacked Islam and Muhammad, writing: "Pitiless war leader, pillager, butcher of Jews and polygamous, this is how Mohammed is revealed by the Qur'an"; he received death threats and went into hiding.^[79]

See also Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy

Muhammad

Main article: Criticism of Muhammad

Muslims consider Muhammad to be the final and greatest prophet, the messenger of the final revelation that he called the Qur’an. Muslims believe that Muhammad is righteous and holy. However, some scholars such as Koelle and Ibn Warraq, as well as some other non-Muslims, see some of his actions as immoral.^[8][10] Islamic scholars, such as William Montgomery Watt disagree, especially when a comparison is made between Muhammad and Biblical prophets. Watt, for example, argues that Muhammad should be judged by the standards of his own time and country rather than "by those of the most enlightened opinion in the West today." Muslims have also questioned the historical evidence for some of Muhammad's alleged immoral acts^{[citation needed]}.

Criticism of the Qur'an

Main article: Criticism of the Qur'an

Muslims believe that the Qur'an is the literal word of God as recited to Muhammad through the Angel Gabriel. Criticism of the Qur'an generally consists of questioning traditional claims about the Qur'an's composition and content.

It is a central tenet of Islam that the Qur'an is perfect, so criticism of the Qur'an is considered criticism of Islam.

This is a list of critical arguments:

• Critics argue the Qur'an has scientific errors,^[80][81] though Muslims have claimed that the Qur'an is perfectly compatible with science.^{[citation needed]}
• Satanic Verses were two verses allegedly argued to have been added by Mohammad when he was tricked by Satan.^[82][43]
• Critics argue that the Quranic verse ^{[Qur'an 4:34]} allows Muslim men to beat their wives^[83][84]
• Some critics claim that because violence is implicit in the Qur'anic text, Islam itself, not just Islamism, promotes terrorism.
• The Quran is criticized for advocating the death penalty^[85][86] or other harsh punishments for acts like homosexuality,^[87] adultery,^[88] and theft.^[89]
• There is much criticism of the Qur'an on its position on slavery, since it specifically allows the practice.^[90]
• Some critics argue that the Qur'an is incompatible with other religious scriptures, attacks and advocates hate against people of other religions.^{[11][91][92][93][94]}
• Critics claim that the Qur'an contains numerous verses which contradict each other.^[95][96]

Human rights issues

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page.

Discrepancy between Islam and the UN Declaration of Human Rights

Predominantly Muslim countries, like Sudan, Pakistan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, frequently criticized the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for its perceived failure to take into account the cultural and religious context of non-Western countries. In 1981, the Iranian representative to the United Nations, Said Rajaie-Khorassani, articulated the position of his country regarding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, by saying that the UDHR was "a secular understanding of the Judeo-Christian tradition", which could not be implemented by Muslims without trespassing the Islamic law.^[97]

In 1990 the Organization of Islamic Conference published a separate Cairo Declaration of Human Rights compliant with Shari'ah.^[98] A group called Article 11 is protesting for religious rights in Malaysia and has been attacked by mobs of Muslim counter-demonstrators.^[13]

Ayatollah Sanei believes that the Islamic and the UN Declaration of Human Rights are approximately close to each other. The discrepancy is their sources. The source of one is divine revelation and the source of the other is the God-given human conscience.^[99]

Discrimination against women

Main article: Women and Islam#Liberal Islam, Islamic feminism, and other progressive criticism

Many have asserted that "women are not treated as equal members" of Muslim societies ^[100] and have criticized Islam for condoning this treatment.^[14]

Discrimination against non-Muslims

Non-Muslims are called non-believers or Kaffirs or Infidels in the Qu'ran. The Qu'ran has been interpreted by Muslim rulers for justifying atrocities committed against non-Muslims. The Jizya or poll-tax was levied on non-Muslims in Islamic kingdoms. Non-Muslims were also prevented from practicing their faith openly. Even now it is a crime in Saudi Arabia to openly display or practice any religion other than Islam.

Many places of worship, such as temples and churches, were destroyed by Muslim armies. Notable examples are the Somnath Temple in Gujarat destroyed by Mahmoud Ghauri. Christian places of worship were often confiscated by Islamic rulers and converted into mosques, with Hagia Sophia in Istanbul being a notable example.

The gigantic Bamiyan Buddha statues were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 on the pretext that they were no longer worshiped by anyone and hence not needed.

Islamic terrorists interpret the Qu'ran and Islamic teachings to justify acts of terror directed against non-Muslims and their collaborators.

The terms "Islamic apartheid" and "Muslim apartheid" have been used to highlight alleged discrimination by religion as well as by gender.^{[101][102][103][104]}

Other issues

Reliability of hadith

Main article: Hadith

Hadith are Muslim traditions relating to the Sunna (words and deeds) of Muhammad. In general, for Muslims the hadith are second only to the Qur'an in importance,^[105] although some scholars put more emphasis on the perpetual adherence of Muslim nation to the traditions to give them credibility, and not solely on hadith.^[106] However, there are groups and individuals both inside and outside Islam who criticize the reliability of hadith or its use in general.

John Esposito notes that "Modern Western scholarship has seriously questioned the historicity and authenticity of the hadith, maintaining that the bulk of traditions attributed to the Prophet Muhammad were actually written much later." He mentions Joseph Schacht as one scholar who argues this, claiming that Schacht "found no evidence of legal traditions before 722," from which Schacht concluded that "the Sunna of the Prophet is not the words and deeds of the Prophet, but apocryphal material" dating from later.^[107]

Other Western scholars, like Wilferd Madelung, are more confident in the reliability of Islamic traditions, rejecting the stance of some historians who show an "extreme distrust" for "Muslim literary sources for the early age of Islam". Madelung wrote in the preface of his book The Succession to Muhammad:

Within Islam, different schools and sects have different opinions on the proper selection and use of hadith. The four schools of Sunni Islam all consider hadith second only to the Qur'an, although they differ on how much freedom of interpretation should be allowed to legal scholars.^[109] Shi'i scholars disagree with Sunni scholars as to which hadith should be considered reliable. The Shi'as accept the Sunna of Ali and the Imams as authoritative in addition to the Sunna of Muhammad, and as a consequence they maintain their own, different, collections of hadith.^[110]

On the extreme end, there have been Muslims who deny the authority of the hadith completely or almost completely (manifestations of which have sometimes been termed the Quran-only movement). Early in Islamic history there was a school of thought that adhered to this view, but it receded in importance after coming under criticism by al-Shafi'i. Daniel Brown describes a modern anti-hadith movement that reached its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but is now in decline.^[111] The Submitters movement today holds to a Quran-only view,^[112] although they are considered heretical by more traditionalist Muslims.^[113]

Rise of fatwas

Many critics ^{[citation needed]} are concerned about the rise in fatwas from Islamic leaders. Some fatwas are simple declarations about lifestyle choices and others, such as Osama bin Laden's declaration of war against America, are a call to violence or assassination. Some critics of fatwas are shocked by a recent call to destroy ancient Egyptian statues and artifacts. [13]

Multiculturalism

The immigration of Muslims to European countries has increased greatly in recent decades, and frictions have developed between these new neighbors. Conservative Muslim social attitudes on modern issues have caused much controversy in Europe and elsewhere, and scholars argue about how much of these attitudes are a result of Islamic beliefs.^[114] The 24-rule was introduced in Denmark, whereby you must be over 24 years old to marry a foreign born individual. This law came into place to prevent Muslim arranged marriages.

Some critics say that Islam is incompatible with secular society,^[15] and their criticism has been influenced by a stance against multiculturalism advocated by recent philosophers, closely linked to the heritage of New Philosophers. Fiery polemic on the subject by proponents like Pascal Bruckner,^[115] and Paul Cliteur has kindled international debate.^[116] They hold multiculturalism to be an invention of an enlightened elite who deny the benefits of democratic rights to the rest of humanity by chaining people to their roots. They claim this allows Islam free rein to propagate abuses such as the mistreatment of women and homosexuals, and in some countries slavery. They also claim multiculturalism allows freedom of religion^[117] to exceed the realms of personal religious experience^[118] and to organize towards mundane ambitions seeking moral and political influence that opposes European secular or Christian values. This tendency to focus criticism of Islam on politics and the non-European identity of its traditions triggered a new debate on Islamophobia.^[114]

War

Paul Sperry has written that, although it has not gone explicitly public, The Pentagon has also criticized Islam at least on one occasion. He states that after a detailed project undertaken to study Islam, Quran and Hadiths, The Pentagon has concluded that "Islam is an ideological engine of war (Jihad)."^[119][120]

See also Islamist terrorism

See also

Topics regarding Islam and controversy

Criticism of other beliefs

Notes