Everything about Criticism Of Islam totally explained

(Arguments critical to religion in general, or specific to monotheism, such as the existence of God, are not dealt with here. This page describes criticism specific to Islam only, looking at either its historical nature or that of its beliefs and practices.) Critics of Islam have existed since Islam's formative stages. Early written criticism came from Christians, prior to 1000 CE, many of whom viewed Islam as a radical Christian heresy. Later there appeared criticism from the Muslim world itself, and also from Jewish writers and from ecclesiastical Christians. Other criticisms focus on the question of human rights in modern Islamic nations, and the treatment of women in Islamic law and practice. Recently, Islam's influence on the ability of Muslim immigrants in the West to assimilate has been criticized.

History of criticism of Islam

Early Islam

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 Caliphate. 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 an Arian monk influenced Muhammad and viewed the Islamic doctrines as nothing more than a hotchpotch culled from the Bible. Writing on the Islam's claim of Abrahamic ancestry, John explained that the Arabs were called "Saracens" because they were "empty of Sarah". They were called "Hagarenes" because they were "the bastard descendants of the slave-girl Hagar". According to John V. Tolan, a Professor of Medieval History, John's biography of Muhammad is based on deliberate distortions of Muslim traditions.
The Hadith (written between 844 and 874) contain accounts of criticism of Islam at the time of Muhammad from the pagan, Jewish and Christian inhabitants of Arabia.

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 doesn't 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." The philosopher thus concluded that people usually convert to Islam from ulterior motives:
According to Bernard Lewis, just as it's natural for a Muslim to assume that the converts to his religion are attracted by its truth, it's equally natural for the convert's former coreligionists to look for baser motives and Ibn Kammuna's list seems to cover most of such nonreligious motives. 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.

Medieval Christendom

In Dante's Inferno, Muhammad is portrayed as split in half, representing his status as a heresiarch (one who split from the Christian church).

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

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 quattuor and Dialogus disputationis inter Christianum et Sarracenum de lege Christi et contra perfidiam Mahometi.

The Tultusceptru de libro domni Metobii, an Andalusian manuscript with unknown dating, shows how Muhammad (called Ozim, from Hashim) was tricked by Satan into adulterating an originally pure divine revelation. The story argues God was concerned about the spiritual fate of the Arabs and wanted to correct their derivation from the faith. He then sends an angel to the monk Osius who orders him to preach to the Arabs. Osius however is in ill-health and orders a young monk, Ozim, to carry out the angel's orders instead. Ozim sets out to follow his orders, but gets stopped by an evil angel on the way. The ignorant Ozim believes him to be the same angel that spoke to Osius before. The evil angel modifies and corrupts the original message given to Ozim by Osius, and renames Ozim Muhammad. From this followed the erroneous teachings of Islam, according to the tultusceptrum.

According to many Christians, the coming of Muhammad was foretold in the Holy Bible. According to the monk Bede this is in Genesis 16:12, which describes Ishmael as "a wild man" whose "hand will be against every man". Bede says about Muhammad: "Now how great is his hand against all and all hands against him; as they impose his authority upon the whole length of Africa and hold both the greater part of Asia and some of Europe, hating and opposing all."

In 1391 a dialog was believed to have occurred between Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos and a Persian scholar in which the Emperor stated:
The first sentence of this quotation, when repeated by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006, lead to a series of riots, firebombing of churches and a Fatwa against the life of the Pope (see Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy).

Late 19th and Early 20th Century Critics of Islam

During the late 19th and early 20th century, the new methods of Higher criticism were applied to the Qu'ran, claiming that it had a non-divine origin. Ignaz Goldziher and Henri Corbin wrote about the influence of Zoroastrianism, and others wrote on the influence of Judaism, Christianity and Sabianism Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister through most of World War 2, was a strong critic of the effects Islam had on its believers. He stated in his 1899 book "The River War" :

Contemporary critics of Islam

Notable contemporary critics include:

Robert Spencer an American writer on Islam. He is the author of six books, including two bestsellers, on topics related to Islam and terrorism. He is the founder and director of the Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch websites that focus on Islamist terrorism-related events and various Jihad-activity worldwide.

Daniel Pipes an American historian and analyst who specializes in the Middle East. He has written or co-written 18 books, maintains a blog, and lectures around the world presenting his analysis of world trends.

Bat Ye'or an Egyptian-born British historian and scholar specialising in the history of non-Muslims in the Middle East, and in particular the history of Christian and Jewish dhimmis living under Islamic governments.

V. S. Naipaul, a Nobel prize winning, Trinidadian-born British novelist of Hindu heritage, who 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.

Brigitte Gabriel, founder of American Congress For Truth and author of Because They Hate.

Oriana Fallaci, an Italian journalist and novelist who has written 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.

Right-wing European and American politicians such as Tom Tancredo, Nick Griffin, Philippe de Villiers, Geert Wilders and Susanne Winter

Bloggers including Hugh Fitzgerald, Lawrence Auster, Fjordman Several scholars don't self-identify as critics of Islam but criticize some of its aspects:

Bernard Lewis 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.

John Esposito has written many introductory texts on Islam and the Islamic world. For example, he's addressed issues like the rise of militant Islam, the veiling of women, and democracy. 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.

Patricia Crone, is a scholar, author and historian of early Islamic history working at the Institute for Advanced Study. She co-authored the controversial, a book that researched the early history of Islam, coming to conclusions at variance with the traditional view.

Geert Wilders, a Dutch politician that wants to ban the Koran in the Netherlands, because he believes it conflicts with the Dutch laws and calls for violence in general.

Atheists

Michel Onfray, a French philosopher and ardent supporter of atheism. Onfray attacks Islam along with other monotheistic religions, speaks of "muslim fascism" that had risen with the Islamic Revolution in Iran and considers Islamic teachings to be "structurally archaic". However, he considers Western consumerist culture to be flawed as well.

Richard Dawkins an outspoken antireligionist, atheist, secular humanist, and sceptic, and he's a supporter of the Brights movement.. Dawkins' impassioned advocacy of evolution has earned him the appellation "Darwin's rottweiler".

Sam Harris, author of the bestseller The End of Faith, who is skeptical that moderate Islam is even possible, arguing that Muslim extremism is a consequence simply of taking the Qur'an literally. This book has a chapter entitled "The problem with Islam" where puts forward arguments specific to Islam saying "There are good beliefs and there are bad ones and it should now be obvious to everyone that Muslims have more than their fair share of the latter".

Christopher Hitchens a vociferous critic of what he describes as "fascism with an Islamic face"

Richard Carrier a philosopher and ancient historian, frequently criticises Islam in his writings on the Secular Web.

Jerry Falwell, another American conservative Baptist minister, characterized the prophet Muhammad as being a 'terrorist'.

Franklin Graham who 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".

Former Muslims

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. Many have had death threats made against them by Islamic groups and individuals.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who 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."

Magdi Allam, an outspoken Egyptian-born Italian journalist who describes Islam as intrinsically violent and characterised by “hate and intolerance”. He converted to Catholicism and was baptised by Pope Benedict XVI during an Easter Vigil service on March 23, 2008.

Nonie Darwish, who founded the pro-Israel web site Arabs for Israel and stated that "Islam is more than a religion, it's a totalitarian state" She is also the author of Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad for America, Israel, and the War on Terror.

Nyamko Sabuni, who is the Minister of Integration and Gender Equality in Sweden and advocates banning the veil and instituting compulsory gynecological examinations for schoolgirls to guard against female genital mutilation, stating, "I will never accept that women and girls are oppressed in the name of religion" and declaring it not her intent to reform Islam but only to denounce "unacceptable" practices. She has received death threats, requiring 24-hour police protection, for her views.

Zachariah Anani, a former Sunni Muslim Lebanese militia fighter. Anani said that Islamic doctrine teaches nothing less than the "ambushing, seizing and slaying" of non-believers -- especially Jews and Christians.

Khalid Duran, a specialist in the history, sociology and politics of the Islamic world who coined the term "Islamofascism" to describe the push by some Islamist clerics to "impose religious orthodoxy on the state and the citizenry".

Ehsan Jami, a Dutch politician who criticized Islamic prophet Muhammad, describing him as a "criminal".

Maryam Namazie, a Communist activist and the leader of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain.

Salman Rushdie author of The Satanic Verses.

Walid Shoebat a former member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation who took part in terrorist attacks against Israeli targets. He stated that "Secular dogma like Nazism is less dangerous than Islamofascism that we see today ... because Islamofascism has a religious twist to it; it says 'God the Almighty ordered you to do this. It is trying to grow itself in fifty-five Muslim states. So potentially, you could have a success rate of several Nazi Germanys, if these people get their way."".

Ibn Warraq a secularist author, intellectual, scholar and founder of the Institute for the Secularisation of Islamic Society and a senior research fellow at the Center for Inquiry specializing in Koranic criticism.

Wafa Sultan, who 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 don't believe as Muslims. Dr. Sultan is now in hiding, fearing for her life and the safety of her family after appearing on the al-Jazeera TV show.

Muslims

Irshad Manji, a Canadian journalist and author of The Trouble with Islam.

Ahmed H. al-Rahim, founder of American Islamic Congress, who says that the Mosques in America are teaching values of hate and not peace.

Responses to criticism of Islam

Responses from contemporary non-Muslim scholars

Some responses to criticism of Islam have come from non-Muslim scholars such as:

William Montgomery Watt who 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."

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.

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."

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."

Responses from contemporary Muslim scholars

The following Muslim Scholars have written responses to criticism of Islam:

Yusuf Estes an American convert to Islam and Chairman of "the Muslim Foundation International".

Dr. Zakir Naik founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF)

Yusuf al-Qaradawi an Egyptian Muslim scholar and preacher best known for his popular al Jazeera program, ash-Shariah wal-Hayat ("Shariah and Life"), and IslamOnline (a website that he helped to found in 1997), where he offers opinions and religious edicts ("fatwa") based on his interpretation of the Qur'an. He has also published some fifty books, including The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam and Islam: The Future Civilization.

Michael Sells the John Henry Barrows Professor of Islamic History and Literature at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago.(External Link

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Muqtedar Khan a Muslim intellectual, whose articles and columns are widely published. He is a proponent of social change regarding treatment of women in some Islamic societies, but identifies himself as both traditional as well as liberal.

Muhammad Mohar Ali says that the Qur'an records the earliest criticisms (and responses), examples of which are Muhammad being called a madman (for example 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.

Criticism of the truthfulness of Islam and Islamic Scriptures

Reliability of the Qur'an

-- historical authenticity of the Qur'an
Muslims believe the Qur'an to be the perfect word of Allah, and as such it can't contain any errors or contradictions, and must be perfectly compatible with science. It is so perfect that readers must conclude it's of divine, rather than human, origin. Critics argue that:

the Qur'an has scientific errors.

the Qur'an contains numerous verses which contradict each other.

the Qur'an contains incorrect cosmological explanations.

the Qur'an isn't original, but rather shows the influence of Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Sabianism, and Samaritanism in its origins. American missionary S Zwemer claimed the Qur'an }}

The traditional account of the history of Islam says there were two verses in the Qur'an (known as the Satanic Verses) that were allegedly added by Muhammad when he was tricked by Satan. These verses referred to "daughters of Allah". These verses were later removed from the Qur'an. Allah is said to guarantee that any errors will eventually be corrected.

Reliability of hadith

Hadith are Muslim traditions relating to the Sunna (words and deeds) of Muhammad. They are drawn from the writings of scholars writing between 844 and 874 CE, more than 200 years after the death of Mohammed in 632 CE. In general, for Muslims the hadith are second only to the Qur'an in importance, 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.. Most of our knowledge about the life of Muhammad comes from the hadith, many of which were biographies of Mohammed. Many Islamic practices (such as the Pillars of Islam) are drawn from the hadith.
   However, there's criticism of the historical reliability of hadith. 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 isn't the words and deeds of the Prophet, but apocryphal material" dating from later.
   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:
   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. The Submitters movement today holds to a Quran-only view, although they're considered heretical by more traditionalist Muslims.

Lack of secondary evidence

The traditional view of Islam has also been criticised for the lack of supporting evidence consistent with that view, such as the lack of archaeological evidence, and discrepancies with non-Muslim literary sources. (see Hagarism)

Criticism of the morality of Islam

Criticism of the morality of Muhammad

Muslims consider Muhammad to be the final prophet, the messenger of the final revelation that he called the Qur’an. Muslims believe that Muhammad is righteous, holy, no more than a messenger, a warner and seal of Prophets. However, critics such as Koelle and Ibn Warraq, as well as some other non-Muslims, see some of his actions as immoral. 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."

Criticism of the morality 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 that the Quranic verse allows Muslim men to beat their wives. "Men are the managers of the affairs of women for that God has preferred in bounty one of them over another, and for that they've expended of their property. Righteous women are therefore obedient, guarding the secret for God's guarding. And those you fear may be rebellious admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them. If they then obey you, look not for any way against them; God is All high, All great." (Koran, Quran, 4:34)

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.

Some critics argue that the Qur'an is incompatible with other religious scriptures, attacks and advocates hate against people of other religions.

Human Rights: Apostasy

Apostasy in Islamic law Bernard Lewis summarizes:
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.
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 as adducing the main evidence for the death penalty in Qur'an. The historian Wael Hallaq states the later addition of death penalty "reflects a later reality and doesn't 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." William Montgomery Watt, in response to a question about Western views 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're not suitable any longer."
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 isn't punishable or is only punishable under restricted circumstances. For example, Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri argues that no Qur'anic verse prescribes an earthly penalty for apostasy and adds that it isn't 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 doesn't 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.

Contemporary treatment of accused apostates

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

Abdul Rahman 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.

Nasr Abu Zayd 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. 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.

Apostasy and Human Rights Conventions

Some widely held interpretations of Islam are inconsistent with Human Rights conventions that recognize the right to change religion. states:
To implement this, Article 18 (2) of the ICCPR states:
The right for Muslims to change their religion isn't afforded by the Iranian Shari'ah law, which specifically forbids it
   Muslim countries such as Sudan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, have the death penalty for apostasy from Islam..
   These countries have 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 1990, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference published a separate Cairo Declaration of Human Rights compliant with Shari'ah.. Although granting many of the rights in the UN declaration, it doesn't grant Muslims the right to convert to other religions, and restricts freedom of speech to those expressions of it that are not in contravention of the Islamic law. Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami, wrote a book called Human Rights in Islam, in which he argues that respect for human rights has always been enshrined in Sharia law (indeed that the roots of these rights are to be found in Islamic doctrine) and criticizes Western notions that there's an inherent contradiction between the two.. Western scholars have, for the most part, rejected Maududi's analysis.

Women

Many have asserted that "women are not treated as equal members" of Muslim societies and have criticized Islam for condoning this treatment. The term "Muslim apartheid" has been used to highlight religious isolation in France as well as gender segregation practices.
The Catholic Church has warned christian women about marrying Muslim men because of the "inferior" status of women in Muslim countries and the nonexistence of maternal rights to children. (External Link

)Homosexuals Critics such as Muslim lesbian activist Irshad Manji, former muslim Ehsan Jami and the Dutch Muslim-born politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali have criticized Islam's attitudes towards homosexuals. Most international human rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, condemn Islamic laws that make homosexual relations between consenting adults a crime. Since 1994 the United Nations Human Rights Committee has also ruled that such laws violated the right to privacy guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rightsand the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. However (except for nations such as Turkey that were required to change their laws to be eligible to join the European Union) most Muslim nations insist that such laws are neccesary to preserve Islamic morality and virtue.

Violence towards critics of Islam

Despite the claims that Islam is a "religion of peace", it has been criticised as being intolerant and violent towards its critics.

Ibn Warraq has collected and published stories of the reported mistreatment of Muslim apostates at the hands of Islamic authorities.

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.

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.

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

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. A letter threatening the author of the screenplay, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, was pinned to his body by a knife. Hirsi Ali entered into hiding immediately following the assassination.

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.

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.

On 4 August 2007, Ehsan Jami was attacked in his hometown Voorburg, in The Netherlands, by three men. The attack is widely believed to be linked to his activities for the Central Committee for Ex-Muslims. The national anti-terrorism coordinator's office, the public prosecution department and the police decided during a meeting on 6 August that "additional measures" were necessary for the protection of Jami who has subsequently received extra security.

Islam's influence on the ability of Muslim immigrants in the West to assimilate

The immigration of Muslims to European countries has increased greatly in recent decades, and frictions have developed between these new neighbours. 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. The 24-year-rule was introduced in Denmark, whereby a person must be over 24 years old to marry a foreign born individual. This law came into place to prevent arranged marriages, not uncommon among Muslim immigrants to Denmark.
Some critics say that Islam is incompatible with secular society, 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, and Paul Cliteur has kindled international debate. 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 to exceed the realms of personal religious experience 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.

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