CriticizingIslam May BeHazardous to Your Health
in We st er n co un tr ie s wi ll in g to se t as id e
Islamic strict ures on questi oning, critici zing,
and leaving Islam?
Aft er van Gog h was kil led , tho usa nds of
people took to the streets of Amsterdam to pay
hi m ho ma ge. Am on g th em wa s a Mu sl im
woman who stated, "I didn't really agree with
van Gogh but he was a person who used his
freedom of expression." She held up a sign
reading "Muslims Against Violence," explain-
ing. "I decided that as a Muslim and aMoroc-
ca n I sh ou ld ta ke up my re sp on si bi li ty to
show that we do not support this act."'
But the trad itio nal Musl im view is, unfo rtun atel y, aliv e and well;it
was firmly restated several years ago by Pakistan's Federal Sharia Court:-
The pen alt y for con tem pt of the Hol y Proph et is dea th and not hin g
else .' No one know s how many Mus lims in Euro pe and Amer ica hold
the views of the Moroccan woman at the rally, and how many would side
with Pakistan's Sharia Court—and the killer of Theo van Gogh.
If Western countries continue, out of ignorance, fear, or narrow self-
interest, to refuse to find out, there will be many more incidents like the
bloody scene in Amsterdam in November2004.
Liv ing in fea r of bei ng a
Chr ist ian—Falls Church,
VirginiaThat couldn't happen in America, right?Wrong. At a conference held in
September2004,securit y was tight becaus e of death threats from people
holding the same ideology as the killer of Theo van Gogh. The conference
was held not in Qom or Karac hi, but just outsi de Washi ngton , D.C., in
FallsChurch, Virginia.
Mu ha mm ad
vs. Jesus"Andifanyonewill
not receive youor lis-
tento your words, shake off the dust from
your feet as you leave that house or town,'
Jesus (Matthew 10:14)
"WhoeverchangedhisIslamicreligion,
then kill him"