A 21st Century Manifesto For Freedom

Via Michelle Malkin:

MANIFESTO: Together facing the new totalitarianism

After having overcome fascism, Nazism, and Stalinism, the world now faces a new totalitarian global threat: Islamism.

We, writers, journalists, intellectuals, call for resistance to religious totalitarianism and for the promotion of freedom, equal opportunity and secular values for all.

The recent events, which occurred after the publication of drawings of Muhammed in European newspapers, have revealed the necessity of the struggle for these universal values. This struggle will not be won by arms, but in the ideological field. It is not a clash of civilisations nor an antagonism of West and East that we are witnessing, but a global struggle that confronts democrats and theocrats.

Like all totalitarianisms, Islamism is nurtured by fears and frustrations. The hate preachers bet on these feelings in order to form battalions destined to impose a liberticidal and unegalitarian world. But we clearly and firmly state: nothing, not even despair, justifies the choice of obscurantism, totalitarianism and hatred. Islamism is a reactionary ideology which kills equality, freedom and secularism wherever it is present. Its success can only lead to a world of domination: man's domination of woman, the Islamists' domination of all the others. To counter this, we must assure universal rights to oppressed or discriminated people.

We reject "cultural relativism", which consists in accepting that men and women of Muslim culture should be deprived of the right to equality, freedom and secular values in the name of respect for cultures and traditions. We refuse to renounce our critical spirit out of fear of being accused of "Islamophobia", an unfortunate concept which confuses criticism of Islam as a religion with stigmatisation of its believers.

We plead for the universality of freedom of expression, so that a critical spirit may be exercised on all continents, against all abuses and all dogmas.

We appeal to democrats and free spirits of all countries that our century should be one of Enlightenment, not of obscurantism.

12 signatures

Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Chahla Chafiq
Caroline Fourest
Bernard-Henri Lévy
Irshad Manji
Mehdi Mozaffari
Maryam Namazie
Taslima Nasreen
Salman Rushdie
Antoine Sfeir
Philippe Val
Ibn Warraq

The first intellectual salvo against the newest threat to freedom. . .

Rather than torch property, issue theats of and execute violent acts, and place blame elsewhere, these extremely brave people have issued a warning to nascent Islamo-fascists, that intolerance for others' beliefs are not acceptable and that excuses, rationalizations, and blackmail will not be tolerated as counter-arguments in order to exploit the liberties allowed by Western democracies. Playing on fear, fomenting violence, and preaching hatred in the name of religious doctrine is simply not compatible with the 21st century global community and the ever-expanding growth of freedom. Intolerance and barbarism, which should have been left behind centuries ago and which resurfaced with such negative force in the 20th century in the form of totalitarianism and ideologically-oriented and state-sanctioned murder--not to mention the innumerable and extremely violent wars exacerbated by the explosion in technology--have once again started to appear. Let us bury them now, or face conflagrations potentially more desctructive and costly.

Also posted at Freedom's Zone

Stop The ACLU A Manifesto Against Islamism