In all of my six years on this forum, I haven't read any thread delving into details of the left wing in any Muslim-majority country. Even when I talk about liberalism and conservatism on RF, I do so while keeping in mind that what I'm talking about is primarily in the context of American (and, less often, European) politics.
This thread, however, is to go into some details as to how the the left in a specific Muslim-majority country—especially the far left—is very different in a lot of regards from its American counterpart. I'm going to focus on Egypt, since it's the country I'm most familiar with in terms of political climate.
Please keep in mind that these are only a few examples that represent a considerable portion of Egyptian secularists who hold similar views to these people. Also, a lot of what I'm going to quote is, rather unfortunately, only available in Arabic (be it on YouTube or in written articles), so the most I can do is translate it without providing citations in English unless I can find any.
With the above in mind, these are the examples:
• Nawal as-Saadawi: Outspoken Egyptian feminist, writer, secularist, physician, and psychiatrist. Throughout her life, she has been jailed, had fatwas issued against her for "blasphemy," and faced widespread condemnation and disdain from her many critics. She has explicitly criticized the hijab and also criticized elements of the Hajj.
In different situations, she has criticized mainstream Islamic teachings, such as by saying that "Hajj is a ritual, and I don't believe in rituals" and saying that "all religions persecute women."
She has said similar things over the years and in so many situations and contexts that the above is but a mere drop in the ocean. There's a reason she has been the subject of so much controversy and fatwas against her in her country.
• Sayyid al-Qemany: Egyptian writer and thinker who also criticizes Islamic fundamentalism. In one of his lectures, he said that "any Muslim who believes that his religion is suited to all times and all places is a terrorist by definition." Furthermore, he has said that Islam in its present form is a "threat to the world":
He has faced a lawsuit for "contempt of religions" following one of his lectures. He has also referred to the Arab conquest of Egypt as the "nomadic invasion of Egypt."
• Islam Behery: Egyptian Muslim writer and TV show host. He has vocally criticized books of hadith and Islamic traditions, going so far as to call some of their content "filth" and say, "The days of the Caliphate were all dark times, from day one to the Ottoman Caliphate":
Egyptian Islamic Researcher and TV Host Islam Behery: The Days of the Caliphate Were Dark Bloody Times
He was sentenced to one year in jail for "contempt of religion," but he later had a presidential pardon.
• Fatima Naoot: Egyptian writer and poet. She is a critic of the "Arab invasion of Egypt" and has stated on different occasions that Egypt is not an Arab country. She was sentenced to three years in jail for a Facebook post in which she "described the Prophet Abraham's dream - in which, according to Islamic belief, God tells him to sacrifice his son as a test of his faith - as a 'nightmare'":
Egyptian poet goes on trial accused of contempt of Islam
The sentence was later reduced to a six-month suspended sentence after an appeal.
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One of the things I find most interesting about these secularists is that some of them are Muslims, yet the views they express would more than likely be labeled "Islamophobic," "racist," "hateful," etc., if they were stated by a Western person in a Western country. Imagine if, say, an American politician gave a lecture in which he called the Arab conquest of Egypt a "nomadic invasion," or that Islam in its present form is a "threat to the world."
Personally, I'm almost sure that a lot of people, especially on the far left, would use labels like the aforementioned ones to describe those people, regardless of whether or not the latter were Muslims—after all, Maajid Nawaz and Ayaan Hirsi Ali are listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as "anti-Muslim extremists," for example.
I don't think it's a stretch to say that the secular political camp in Egypt, especially the Egyptian far left, bears a considerable amount of similarity in terms of their opinions to American critics of religion such as Sam Harris. While that might sound like an outlandish statement at first glance, let's consider this: what significant difference is there between Sayyid al-Qemany's statements quoted above and a lot of what, say, Sam Harris or Richard Dawkins has had to say about Islam and the perceived threat that present-day Islam poses to the world?
It seems to me that the world might be entering a phase where secularists in Muslim-majority countries could very well start leaning against religion, while the left wing in countries like the U.S. will very possibly continue to be "softer" on religion, or at least Islam, in terms of criticism in general.
Discuss.
This thread, however, is to go into some details as to how the the left in a specific Muslim-majority country—especially the far left—is very different in a lot of regards from its American counterpart. I'm going to focus on Egypt, since it's the country I'm most familiar with in terms of political climate.
Please keep in mind that these are only a few examples that represent a considerable portion of Egyptian secularists who hold similar views to these people. Also, a lot of what I'm going to quote is, rather unfortunately, only available in Arabic (be it on YouTube or in written articles), so the most I can do is translate it without providing citations in English unless I can find any.
With the above in mind, these are the examples:
• Nawal as-Saadawi: Outspoken Egyptian feminist, writer, secularist, physician, and psychiatrist. Throughout her life, she has been jailed, had fatwas issued against her for "blasphemy," and faced widespread condemnation and disdain from her many critics. She has explicitly criticized the hijab and also criticized elements of the Hajj.
In different situations, she has criticized mainstream Islamic teachings, such as by saying that "Hajj is a ritual, and I don't believe in rituals" and saying that "all religions persecute women."
She has said similar things over the years and in so many situations and contexts that the above is but a mere drop in the ocean. There's a reason she has been the subject of so much controversy and fatwas against her in her country.
• Sayyid al-Qemany: Egyptian writer and thinker who also criticizes Islamic fundamentalism. In one of his lectures, he said that "any Muslim who believes that his religion is suited to all times and all places is a terrorist by definition." Furthermore, he has said that Islam in its present form is a "threat to the world":
He has faced a lawsuit for "contempt of religions" following one of his lectures. He has also referred to the Arab conquest of Egypt as the "nomadic invasion of Egypt."
• Islam Behery: Egyptian Muslim writer and TV show host. He has vocally criticized books of hadith and Islamic traditions, going so far as to call some of their content "filth" and say, "The days of the Caliphate were all dark times, from day one to the Ottoman Caliphate":
Egyptian Islamic Researcher and TV Host Islam Behery: The Days of the Caliphate Were Dark Bloody Times
He was sentenced to one year in jail for "contempt of religion," but he later had a presidential pardon.
• Fatima Naoot: Egyptian writer and poet. She is a critic of the "Arab invasion of Egypt" and has stated on different occasions that Egypt is not an Arab country. She was sentenced to three years in jail for a Facebook post in which she "described the Prophet Abraham's dream - in which, according to Islamic belief, God tells him to sacrifice his son as a test of his faith - as a 'nightmare'":
Egyptian poet goes on trial accused of contempt of Islam
The sentence was later reduced to a six-month suspended sentence after an appeal.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the things I find most interesting about these secularists is that some of them are Muslims, yet the views they express would more than likely be labeled "Islamophobic," "racist," "hateful," etc., if they were stated by a Western person in a Western country. Imagine if, say, an American politician gave a lecture in which he called the Arab conquest of Egypt a "nomadic invasion," or that Islam in its present form is a "threat to the world."
Personally, I'm almost sure that a lot of people, especially on the far left, would use labels like the aforementioned ones to describe those people, regardless of whether or not the latter were Muslims—after all, Maajid Nawaz and Ayaan Hirsi Ali are listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as "anti-Muslim extremists," for example.
I don't think it's a stretch to say that the secular political camp in Egypt, especially the Egyptian far left, bears a considerable amount of similarity in terms of their opinions to American critics of religion such as Sam Harris. While that might sound like an outlandish statement at first glance, let's consider this: what significant difference is there between Sayyid al-Qemany's statements quoted above and a lot of what, say, Sam Harris or Richard Dawkins has had to say about Islam and the perceived threat that present-day Islam poses to the world?
It seems to me that the world might be entering a phase where secularists in Muslim-majority countries could very well start leaning against religion, while the left wing in countries like the U.S. will very possibly continue to be "softer" on religion, or at least Islam, in terms of criticism in general.
Discuss.
