On Sunday, May 3rd, at noon, in Times Square, in New York City, a gathering of eagles and of angels will take place. Come rain or come shine, the Human Rights Coalition Against Radical Islam is holding a rally. Please join us. The coalition is composed of Muslim, ex-Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, atheist, and human rights leaders who are “calling for the defeat of radical Islam.”
Note: I have not written that the coalition opposes “Islam” (although some may—they view it as a totalitarian, imperialistic, and apartheid political force, not as a “religion of peace”). Nor have I written that the coalition opposes “Muslims” (no one does).
The groups who are sponsoring this rally include, but are not limited to: Hindu Human Rights Watch, Indian American Intellectual Forum, 911 Families for A Secure America, American Coptic Union, Americans for a Safe Israel, Damanga (Darfur Muslim Council), R.E.A.L. (Responsible for Equality and Liberty), AMCHA, Chinese Community Relations Council, Muslims Against Sharia, Namdhari Sikh Foundation, Women United, Sudan Freedom Walk, Center for Security Policy, International Foundation of Bangladeshi Hindus, ACT for America, Foundation of Nepalese, Alliance for Interfaith Resistance, Stand With Us, etc. There will be many speakers, myself included.
This amazing coalition makes sense: Radical Islam is a global phenomenon and we must oppose it globally as well. Radical Islam is a global phenomenon. What happens in Israel or India does not stay there; if the world refuses to defeat localized jihad, radical Islamists go global very quickly. If the Pakistani government cedes control of the Swat Valley to the Taliban—it is only a matter of days before the emboldened Taliban marches on Islamabad
Radical Islam’s greatest crimes are Muslim-on-Muslim crimes and include the cruel subordination and persecution of Muslim women, Muslim apostates, and Muslim independent thinkers. Islam is the world’s largest and only practitioner of both gender and religious apartheid. Such apartheid and barbarism is indigenous to Islam. It was not imported by western colonial powers. Now, Islamic gender and religious apartheid have penetrated the West and have grown even harsher, more barbaric in Muslim lands. Children, as young as five years-old are used to blowing themselves and others up. Women are raped, then forced into becoming human bombs to “cleanse” their shame. Both Palestinians and Al-Qaeda are doing this.
Radical Islam is an obvious threat to human rights all over the world.
In India, in 1991, Kashmir was ethnically cleansed of all Hindus when the Mujahadeen fighters from Afghanistan were sent to India; overnight, the entire Hindu population of Kashmir fled. The world remained silent. By the way: Hindus have endured more than ten centuries of Islamic jihad, centuries in which they were slaughtered, forced to flee, forced to convert to Islam, persecuted, taxed, impoverished. The recent terrorist attack in Mumbai is only one among thousands of such Islamic jihadic attacks in India.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is a country which is threatening to genocidally exterminate Jews and Israel, and which tortures and murders Iranian Muslim women for imagined crimes and gays for the “crime” of being gay. Iran is holding 35,000 Iranian Jews hostage and will not let them leave. They are infamous for their persecution of Iranian Zoroastrians and Iranian Ba’haii. The United Nations and the President of Switzerland recently honored President Amadinejad of Iran who was the only world leader invited to speak at Durban II, the conference that was supposed to counter “racism.”
Europe also finds itself on the frontline. Islamic/Islamist bombings, assassinations, riots, an attempt to impose Muslim religious law is going on in every major European country. Hate propaganda against Jews and against the Jewish state, so well funded by the Saudi Lobby, is rampant in Europe, as it is all over the Islamic world. North America has seen its campuses “occupied” by pro-Palestinian propaganda; diverse views, especially any criticism of radical Islam, is met with heckling, shouting, and physical menace which requires speakers to have serious security. I am talking about western students and professors, about American and Canadian citizens.
Today, hate speech against infidels and women is being defined and protected as “free speech.” Truth speech is being censored and defined as “Islamophobic.” The battle of ideas and of propaganda is as hot as all the other explosions combined.
Here’s one reason, among many, that I will be speaking on Sunday.
Today in Kabul, when women march for women’s rights and for women’s lives, they risk being beaten, arrested, and murdered—by the mob that stalks them, by the police, by the Taliban. Still, they have marched twice now in the last month.
They could not be here to join us today. Although I lack their bravery, I am here to speak for them.
For those of you who do not know this:
In December of 1961, I escaped from captivity in Afghanistan. (That’s another whole story. What’s a nice Jewish girl doing in Kabul anyway? Having a grand and dangerous adventure, that’s what!) Anyway, at the time, few westerners understood what living in a Muslim society was like for a woman, an infidel, a Jew, or a budding intellectual, nor did they view Third World countries as inherently dangerous, barbaric, or misogynistic.
What I learned in Kabul rendered me immune to the romanticization of the Third World or to the glamorization of tyrants and terrorists that defined my generation of 1960s and 1970s radicals and activists.
When I was there, many poor women were shrouded, they moved like ghosts in the bazaar, and they were forced to sit, quite literally, at the back of the public buses. Poor women always lost their place in line in the bazaar when a male servant pushed them to the back of that line too. This is all pre-Soviet and pre-Taliban, a time when Afghanistan made great strides in terms of modernization.
Still, most Afghan women, including foreign wives, did not socialize with men other than with their immediate male relatives. Polygamy was the custom for men who could afford it, and the custom caused havoc among the children of different wives, all of whom longed for their father’s attention, approval, and inheritance. Male homosexual pederasty was rampant although tabooed and hotly denied. Fathers treated their children as if they were their servants, which they were.
To my horror, Afghanistan has followed me back to America in many ways. It is always in the news: The Taliban, al-Qaeda, American boots on the ground, child suicide killers. Here, in America, in New York City, and in other cities around America, Canada, and all over Europe, one can see an increasing number of shrouded, face-veiled women in public. Honor killings, (which are not like western-style domestic violence), have taken place all over America and Canada and are even more epidemic in Europe where there are many more Muslim immigrants.
I have often said that my feminism was, perhaps, forged in Afghanistan because when I came home to America I was a very different person. I had seen and experienced Islamic gender apartheid up close and personal. I had nearly died there. Despite their relative powerlessness, some Afghan women were exceptionally kind to me. I think my abiding concern with women’s rights in the Muslim world is an expression of my gratitude and everlasting sense of kinship with them.
Please join us on Sunday. It will be a defining moment in history, the day civilians began to fight back.
PJM Home
Woman's Inhumanity to Woman
The Death of Feminism: What’s Next in the Struggle for Women’s Freedom
Women and Madness
The New Anti-Semitism: The Current Crisis and What We Must Do About It
Women of the Wall: Claiming Sacred Ground at Judaism’s Holy Site
Letters to a Young Feminist
With Child: A Diary of Motherhood
Feminist Foremothers in Women’s Studies, Psychology, and Mental Health
Patriarchy: Notes of an Expert Witness
Sacred Bond: The Legacy of Baby M
Mothers on Trial: The Battle for Children and Custody
About Men
Women, Money & Power
Pajamas Media appreciates your comments that abide by the following guidelines:
1. Avoid profanities or foul language unless it is contained in a necessary quote or is relevant to the comment.
2. Stay on topic.
3. Disagree, but avoid ad hominem attacks.
4. Threats are treated seriously and reported to law enforcement.
5. Spam and advertising are not permitted in the comments area.
The clause regarding "hate speech" has been deleted because readers criticized it as being too loosely defined. We agreed.
These guidelines are very general and cannot cover every possible situation. Please don't assume that Pajamas Media management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment. We reserve the right to filter or delete comments or to deny posting privileges entirely at our discretion. If you feel your comment was filtered inappropriately, please email us at story@pajamasmedia.com.
17 Comments
1. Delia:Excellent article, Ms. Chesler! I truly hope that someone, anyone from the MSM will cover this event!
Thank you for sharing your own personal experiences and keeping us updated about current events.
God bless you!
(((HUGS))),
Delia
May 1, 2009 - 3:03 pm 2. Norman Simms:You are brave and effective in your words and deeds, Phyllis.
I wish I could be there to join the rally.
Norman
May 1, 2009 - 3:52 pm 3. Louis Santacroce:I’m truly sorry I can’t be there.
May 1, 2009 - 4:13 pm 4. Chris:Thank you for this article. Living in Europe I can’t be on this rally on sunday.
We have to stand up now. Everywhere.
To Delia (”God bless you”):
May 2, 2009 - 1:24 am 5. Lynn B.:I want a God who stays dead, not plays dead.
(Dandy Warhols)
I’m determined to be there. Thanks for the heads up. I’ll be making arrangements today. NOW says they stand for “equality and justice”, I don’t believe them anymore. I’ve dropped my membership in the deluded hags club.
May 2, 2009 - 6:31 am 6. Debbie:Hi Phyllis,
I wish I could be there! I’ll be there with you in spirit! I’ve moved back to Charleston, SC. Please tell Allan from ACT Long Island I said hi!
May 2, 2009 - 8:46 am 7. Laura:If the msm does cover this event, they will probably treat these people in the same condescending and contempible manner they treated the tea party protesters. They will probably describe these people as “right wing” extremists and islamophobes, even though they are the ones actually protesting against extremism and hate.
May 2, 2009 - 7:54 pm 8. Tina Trent:“[T]he romanticization of the Third World or to the glamorization of tyrants and terrorists that defined my generation of 1960s and 1970s radicals and activists.”
Isn’t this the heart of it all? Every “uprising” follows the same path — sexual assault of women valorized/weaponized — think Norman Mailer, Patty Hearst, the militant celebration of street criminals, the punitive sexual mores of the radical Left — illegitimate power is crudely celebrated as the antidote to legitimate power; personality cults (aka identity politics) are promoted in the place of universal values.
The roadmap for these behaviors can be checked out from any campus library, under Alinsky or Fanon — I used to think these things were historical documents, interesting only to those who studied the Sixties, from an increasing generational divide. I am more shocked than anyone that they have been transferred to the White House.
Chesler is fighting fire with fire — her voice needs to be heard on campuses, for this is where such blind and dangerous nostalgia is nurtured.
May 3, 2009 - 2:54 am 9. Phyliss Chesler to speak about radical Islam at NYC demonstration today « Refugee Resettlement Watch:[...] Read her story. [...]
May 3, 2009 - 4:20 am 10. Pritam:DId u hear the plight of sikhs under Taliban who are being forced to pay Jajiya. Jajiya is a inhuman tax which Innocent Dhimmis(Non -muslims) are forced to pay in a islamic state.It is a lie from Muslims scholars when they try to equate Zakat to Jajiya. Zakat is a religious charity and non-muslims also give charity to their institutions. Jajiya is a inhuman tax which Innocent Dhimmis(Non -muslims) are forced to pay in a islamic state.
A life of a Dhimmi is worst than any slave. It is a life of constant fear and persucation. If you are unfortunate ever to be Dhimmi in any Islamic state then you are not allowed to practice your religion publicly (Definition of what is public is not given). Religious police can knock your doors, break your religious symbols according to their whims ( It happens in countries like Saudi Arabia). No Dhimmi is allowed to build his religious place, His existing religious places are not allowed to be repaired….welll the list of slavery goes on and on…
No Islamic Scholar will tell you this Truth..Let me not go into Taquiya…search yourself
May 3, 2009 - 11:30 am 11. John Miller:I hope your rally was successful. Women have the most to lose under the rule of mullahs. Keep up the good work!
May 4, 2009 - 8:16 pm 12. WILL GRIFFITH:I salute your efforts and I am encouraged by your willingness to stand against those who pose a threat to global security. Your courage is a beacon for others to follow this direction.
Will Griffith, Chairman/CEO
May 5, 2009 - 9:00 am 13. The Infidel Alliance:THE GRIFFITH CORPORATION
We must thank Mrs. Chesler for her significant contributions to the fight against the Islamic World War.
This is indeed a turning point for civilization. Let’s hope the movements roots grow deep, and it grows strong enough to defeat the Islamist scourge with only the power of the truth.
But if TRUTH is our weapon of choice, we must not do as the brilliant Ms. Chesler unfortunately does, and separate “Islam” from “Radical Islam”.
The truth is that Islam is radical by its very nature. Thus, there can be no sub-category called “radical-Islam”.
There are good, kind, tolerant Muslims, whom we all know, but there is no “moderate” Islam. The virtues exercised by “the good Muslims” stand in opposition to the mandates of Islam, Islamic Sharia law, and the examples set by the “prophet” Muhammed as “al-insan al-kamil” (the perfect man, whose life is to be emulated).
The truth is that Muhammed was little more than a successful Charles Manson. Muhammed was a sadistic sociopath, a murderer, a decapitator, a mutilator, a slaver, a liar, a looter & a thief, a sexual deviant, a mysogynist, a paedophile, a rapist, a genocidist.
These are not just some prejudicial biased opinions, but FACTS that can be found in Islam’s “holy” books, recorded in black & white for all the world to discover.
Contrary to being a “holy man”, Muhammed was perhaps one of the most vile examples of humanity in recorded history. Yet this is the man Muslims are required to revere and model their lives after?
In facing down the Islamist threat, we must attack it at its Achilles heel, by exposing the truth about Muhammed.
As the sun shines on the barbaric life of Muhammed, and the Islamic “prophet” is exposed, the foundation of Islam collapses.
If the foundation of Islam collapses, the civilized world survives.
Think about it.
~ The Infidel Alliance
May 6, 2009 - 5:58 am 14. HA:Jewess using “human rights” as a pretext for messing with Israel’s enemies.
May 7, 2009 - 4:22 am 15. BL:HA,
Pioneering feminist defending women’s rights globally, not ignoring the gender, religious, and human rights violations under all regimes, unfortnately, radical Islamic regimes top the list, but Dr. Chesler doesn’t turn a blind eye to the violations that occur in the United States and Israel. There is no pretext of “messing” with Israel’s enemies. Dr. Chesler, in her thousands of articles, is a champion of human rights (male and female, sexual orientation, victims of poverty, etc.). Your comment represents exactly the kind of “blind” thinking, she has made a career of exposing.
May 7, 2009 - 6:12 am 16. MiamaMan:Thanks to “The Infidel Alliance” for the information above.
I have written something similar in this blog, another topic, on May 4, before your post, copying:
“One more comment for clarity, if I may. Even though people find convenient (and I also do it by mistake) to talk, write, about radical Islam, there is not such a thing, Islam by itself is totally radical. What you find, though, are many moderate and good Muslims. In India, for example, there are many moderate Muslims, and in the last Kargil war or conflict between India and Pakistan in 1999, India proved that Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslim Indians would fight together against the common enemy. This is what must be encouraged, this moderate Muslim element, that must bring a new interpretation of the Koran that provides space to leave peacefully with others without trying to convert or enslave them. As for current Islam interpretation, there is no moderate Islam, thus no radical either, for, as Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan said: Islam is Islam, and Sharia Law goes with it.”
As per the “great” Muhammed, I often quote the real great Swami Vivekananda, his 1897 book “Raja Yoga”, page 81, on how Muhammed opened himself to hallucinations while in the cave retreat, and the nefarious consequences to the world.
Even though I do not pretend to speak for Dr. Chesler, this “radical Islam” approach is used as an convenient term to differentiate from what any common-sense person would expect a “normal Islam” to be, but you are right, as the latter term does not apply to reality.
May 7, 2009 - 7:29 am 17. Christopher:He has recently been exposed on several sites and all one has to do is read his comments here to see his true hateful nature. Why don’t you ask him for evidence of him speaking at Moques or universities? Ask him what Mosques in America support him? There is no movement.
Muslims Against Sharia~Exposed!
http://islaminaction08.blogspot.com/2009/05/muslims-against-shariaexposed_18.html
May 19, 2009 - 11:20 am