Brigit interviews Ali Sina

Aug, 30, 2002

1- Could you elaborate a bit on your background, e.g. were you in Iran at the time of the Revolution? Can you talk about society under the Shah and why fundamentalism triumphed?  

I was already living outside Iran when the revolution took place. I actually see the late Shah with his repressive regime as the main culprit of this whole mess. He was a weak man, a paranoid and a despot. On one hand he wanted to modernize the country but on the other, he had no regards for the opinions of the people. Democracy had no meaning for him. He created a secret force called Savak that terrorized the Iranians and acted above the law. Iranians did not want fundamentalism. They did not start the revolution to create an Islamic state. All they wanted was to get rid of the Shah and his despotic rule. They rallied around Khomeini because he was an obstinate man who stood against the Shah and to them he was just a name who could unite them against their oppressor. But later the revolution was hijacked by Khomeini and the fundamentalists. When Khomeini came to power he started eliminating one by one all his opponents. In reality this group that is now running the country represents a very small fraction of the Iranians. Not even 5% of the Iranians support them. They are there by killing anyone who criticizes them. An armed man can take a thousand unarmed people as hostage and this is what has kept the regime of the Mullahs alive so far. They have people as hostage.

2. What made you leave Islam on coming to the West? What has been the reaction of family/friends to this apostasy?

You have to realize that many Muslims or in fact the majority of them have strong humanistic values. Unfortunately you do not see these values coming to fruition in Islamic countries. They are nipped in the bud because the laws of Sharia and the teachings of the Quran are against them. Unfortunately Muslims blame this on the “fundamentalists”. Only when you read the Quran you realize that the culprit is not fundamentalism but Islam itself. Islam is fundamentalism. Quran is full of violent and bloody instructions. If you have a conscience, no matter how strong your faith, you cannot remain untouched after you read the Quran. This is what happened to me. I read the Quran and I was enlightened. :)  

As for my family and friends, although at first there were some negative reactions now most of them agree with me. Muslims, especially the Iranians are going through a metamorphosical phase of soul searching and are questioning their beliefs.   

3. How big of a culture shock is coming to the West for a devout Muslim?

It is a big shock. Some of them overcome this shock and integrate in the society but some do not and instead seclude themselves in their own shells. They start criticizing everything in the West and even grow hostile to their host countries. They search for their own identity with their coreligionists and often they become more fanatical than when they first arrived. I believe if this problem is not addressed soon, eventually it will become a major problem that could cause civil wars in many Western countries and we may even see the resurgence of Islamic separatist movements in Europe and America. I believe that the Western countries must place more emphasis on integrating the Muslims and reshaping their values. Muslims come from a different world with completely different values—values that my even seem inhumane and shocking to a westerner. Take the example of honor killings taking place in Scandinavian countries. 

4. How afraid are you of attacks from believers? What kind of threats have you had?  

Well if you read the Muslim’s comments in my site you see that there have been numerous death threats. I will be a fool not to take them seriously. You have to realize that assassinating the opponents was a an example set by the holy Prophet. He used to sent assassins to eliminate his critics very treacherously in the middle of the night. Among the dozen of his victims are Asma, a poetess and a mother of 5 small children and Abu Afak, a 120-year-old man. Their crime was to compose poetries criticizing the messenger of Allah. This sunnah (tradition) of the Prophet has continued since those days. Only the Iranian Islamic regime has assassinated hundreds of their opponents outside the country in recent years. Shapour Bakhtiar, the last PM of the Shah was the most famous one of them.   

5. Why did you make it your mission to challenge the beliefs of Muslims? 

Because this belief is killing people! Because it is a danger to the peace of the world! If 70 years ago enough people had risen to expose the Nazism this evil would not have grown so strong and 60 million lives would not have been lost because of it. Today Islam is a danger to human civilization far greater than Nazism was in its time. This time billions of lives could be sacrificed. We can avoid that if we stop Islam. I do not see any mission worthier than this to live for. If I am successful, no one will ever know me, and no one will remember me. But if I fail the disaster would be incalculable.  

 

6. What kind of success have you had – are you just preaching to the converted, ie, other ex-Muslims?  

The response has been tremendous. But I do not see that as “my success”. This is an idea that its time has come. A new movement is taking momentum within Islamic intellectuals. I am not the leader of this movement. I am just part of it. This is the beginning of a renascence in Islamic world. And yes you can say that I am preaching to the converted. A Great number of Muslim intellectuals have already come to the same conclusions independently.  All I have done is to set up a site and a forum where we can come together, exchange ideas and experiences. Of course there are many honest Muslims who still believe Islam is a religion of peace and it could be salvaged. We help them dissipate this false belief.  

7. How responsible was Islam for 9/11? Do you think that date was strategically chosen because on 9 September 1683 the Muslims were stopped in their conquest of Europe at the gates of Vienna?    

Whether 9/11 was strategically chosen or not does not change the fact that Islam is responsible for this dastardly act. Only Islam can generate this much hate and this much senseless devastation. As Pascal said “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction." This applies to no one better than to Muslims who believe in an evil religion. . 

8. How much of a turning point do you think 9/11 will be historically? Is it the beginning of the end of Islamic extremism or it is the beginning of a great ‘clash of civilisations’? 

9/11 is the beginning of the end of the Islam itself. Islamic extremism is a redundancy. And for clash of civilizations you need to have another civilization to clash with. This is going to be the clash of the civilized world with barbarity. And perhaps the major impact of this clash would take place in Islamic countries where good will rebel against evil and humanity will eventually overcome savagery.

9. Is Bin Laden simply following his faith more strictly and honestly than most Muslims dare to? How well do most Muslims know the Koran?  

Yes that is true. Bin Laden and Khomeini are the real Muslims. I challenge the Islamic apologists and those who claim Islam is a religion of peace to tell us what did these men do that was contrary to the Quran? They can’t. But I can tell you that those Islamic countries that are not planning to invade other nations and claim them as Dar al Islam, that allow women the right to vote, that elect women as their Prime Ministers, that do not impose extortion tax on the Jews and the Christians, do not subdue them, humiliate them or make them wear distinctive badges, are breaking the laws of the Sharia. The reason you see some humanity, some tolerance, some goodness in Islamic countries is because Muslims do not read the Quran. They project their own goodness and assume that because it is good that is what Allah wants from them.

10. Are Bin Laden and his extremist views more popular among Muslims than they would have you believe?  

If you paid attention to the reaction of the populace in Palestine, Pakistan, Egypt and many other Islamic countries to the 9/11 tragedy you can fairly assume that unfortunately the answer is “yes”. Even the Islamic intellectuals and apologists who on the surface condemned the 9/11, did it with reservation and added a big BUT to their comments blaming America for a myriad of things such as support for Israel, causing poverty in Islamic countries, backing up dictatorial regimes, etc, etc. They shifted the responsibility of the attack on America and somehow found it deserving for what happened. 

11. Are civil liberties in the West under threat as a result of largely Muslim immigration there?  

If Muslim immigrants do not integrate in the West and fail to adopt Western values, all our liberties will be in danger. I see the spread of Islam in the West whether through immigration; high birthrate or proselytism as a real threat to the peace and stability of western societies. It is no secret that Westerners after they convert to Islam become ready, willing and able to kill their own people and loyalty to Islam becomes far more significant to them than loyalty to their own country. A man who is so brainwashed that he would kill himself in order to kill a bunch of other people, would easily kill his own mother and father. We celebrate life; they celebrate death! We have different values. 

12. Do people in the West take Enlightenment values too lightly? Is multiculturalism now a more popular ideology?  

I do not think multiculturalism works. Muslims have different values that are diametrically opposed to secular humanistic values. But the problem is that Muslims believe that it is their duty to impose those values on others. You can tolerate Islam but Islam does not tolerate you. Muslims are not allowed to take friends from amongst the non-Muslims (Q.3:28, Q.66:9). We would be fooling ourselves if we believed that the true Muslims would ever make good citizens in the West. How can you be a good citizen and obey the laws made by Kafirs when your holy scripture tells you: “So obey not the disbelievers, but strive against them herewith with a great endeavor”? (Q.25:52) 

13. Is Islam a ‘Religion of Peace’ as we have been told by Blair, Bush and others?  

Blair and Bush are politicians. They are expected to be politically correct and say this. But I doubt either one of them has read the Bible let along the Quran. Even Gandhi said some good things about Islam and Muhammad. Prince Charles also said Islam is a misunderstood religion. These are all political talks. These guys are not scholars. Even if they knew the truth it would have been unwise to tell it publicly. Islam is not a religion of peace. This is clear to anyone who reads the Quran or reads the history of the expansion of Islam. But a lie repeated often becomes true. So Muslims bank on this cliché hoping that the uneducated westerners who do not like a religion of hate would buy into this lie if they keep repeating it.  

14. Why has there been no Reformation in Islam? Were there any Martin Luther types and why did they fail to have much impact? Do you see your website as akin to Luther’s nailing a list of 95 objections on the church door in 1517?  

There have been many reformatory movements in Islam. Mo’tazalis were the first group of Iranian thinkers who gave precedence to reason when it came in collision with faith. Sufism is another reformist attempt to reduce the violence of the verses of the Quran by attributing to them  “inner” and “allegorical” meanings. Throughout the history there have been many individuals who tried to reform the Islam. But they all failed because Quran’s teachings of hate are very clear. There is no way to reform Islam unless one scraps the Quran.  

The group behind Faith Freedom International does not see itself as a reformist group. We simply do not believe that reforming Islam is possible. And of course we do not see any point to preserve the name of Islam and the belief in a mass murderer, pedophile, rapist, plunderer, and assassin prophet. Christ could be a mythological personage but he is a saintly personage.  There is nothing saintly about Muhammad. If anyone behaves like Muhammad today, he would have to expend the rest of his life in Jail.  What is the point believing in a pervert man when you do not want to follow him? It is like trying to reform Nazism and make it a doctrine of love. What is the point?  

15. How much impact do you think Salman Rushdie or Ibn Warraq do or can have on Western Muslims?

A lot! The problem is to convince the Muslims to read their books. Unfortunately Muslims refuse reading any book that can shake them up and jolt them to reality. If you read the Muslim’s comments on Ibn Warraq’s book “Why I Am Not a Muslim” in Amazon.com, you can see that none of those who attacked him read any of his books. That is why I opted for a website. Considering the amount of the time I expend on faithfreedom.org it is, financially speaking, a foolish investment of my time. But I hope some Muslims will read one or two articles because it is free and readily available and hopefully this triggers in them the desire to learn more. In that sense the site has been very successful.  

16. How big an impact does the internet have in changing peoples’ views? Does it have revolutionary potential?  

Revolutionary is the right word. Without the Internet there is no way to reach the Muslims. Books that criticize Islam are banned, writers and publishers are assassinated and a slight opinion that someone else may consider offensive could hand you death sentence. Today we have two men waiting for their executions. One is an Iranian journalist Mr. Aghajari who said; “people are not monkeys and should not imitate Mullahs in matters of religion”. The other is Dr. Yunus Sheikh a Pakistani professor who said; “Muhammad’s parents were not Muslims because they died prior to the Prophet receiving his revelation”. Both of these individuals are Muslims and what they said is logical. Yet Muslims interpret their comments  blasphemous and call for their heads. Now imagine how can you reach the masses of Muslims and say things so openly like what we say if not through the Internet? Islam has survived by suffocating any voice of criticism. But the Internet has taken away that power from Islamic clerics and therefore the end of Islam is very near.  

However my site is banned in most Islamic countries. But if I get enough support I will start a radio to reach them in their own language. Well, I keep buying the lotteries and you keep praying Allah, may be one day this dream will become a reality.    

17. Why do you think faithfreedom.com was set up? Is it a confirmation that your views are getting through to people?  

What else it could be? The very existence of faithfreedom.com is proof that Muslims are scared of us. They chose our name with dot com extension just to focus on us and refute us. Yet just after a few months they removed all the links to our site. Yes we are making a difference and they are concerned.

18. How much do Muslims view their faith as an identity? Is that part of the reason they feel an attack on Islam is the same as racism?

Very much! Islam is being inculcated in the psyche of the Muslims from the childhood. Muslims are asked to love and obey Muhammad more than their own parents. All loyalties are to him and to his imaginary god who was an alter ego of him. But that will change. Once they see the truth, many of them will wake up and those very Muslims who hate us now will join us in our sacred cause to eradicate hate and the religion of hate.   

19. How much of their Persian identity was lost by Iranians after the Islamic Revolution? Do you see Islam amongst non-Arabs as a form of colonialism?

Historically the Persians lost a lot to Islam. We lost our history, our libraries, our culture and the purity of our language. But more importantly we lost our humanistic values. Did you know that the first charter of Human rights was written in Iran 2500 years ago? But today the Islamic Iran is the main violator of human rights. There is yet another loss that is not Iran’s only but the loss to humanity. One thousand years ago, Iranian rulers were tolerant and they allowed free thought to flourish. The great luminaries of the so-called “Golden Age of Islam” are all products of that era. Men like Ar Razi were so audacious that they called the prophets “charlatans” and praised Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Rationalism and freethinking became the vogue. But Islamic fundamentalism cut the life of this Golden Age of rationalism short because the fundamentalists had the Quran on their side and they put a halt on freethinking, science and knowledge.  I cannot but imagine what would have been of science today if Islam was not a factor and freethinking had continued to flourish in Iran 1000 years ago. What would be of the world today if centuries prior to Europe Iranians had reached the Renascence? When you study the works of Ibn Sina, Ar Razi, Khayyam, Al Farabi and others of that era you see that they were so close to Renascence. But Islam slammed that door and the advancement of science was hold back for centuries. This I believe is the biggest loss to humanity. But this is all speculation, you say. Yes it is, I say, but there is no reason to dismiss it.  

But as for your question is concerned, amazingly the Islamic revolution and its failure ignited a strong patriotism among Iranians. Iranian kids born after the revolution and even those of the second and third generation living outside the country have developed an insatiable interest to find about their roots. Iranian festivities like norooz, charshanbe soori, and yalda have gained amazing popularity and they are celebrated like never before. Very few Iranians put Arabic names on their kids although more than 80% of the names prior to revolution were Arabic (Islamic). If you talk to jewelers they will tell you that it is rare that someone order Allah, Muhammad or Ali necklaces. Today Iranians want purely Iranian emblems such as Persepolice, Cyrus’s charter of human rights, etc. Iranians today are rebelling against Islamization by clinging fast to their Iranian identity. So although many Iranians lost their lives and their wealth after the revolution, they never let their identity to be taken away from them. The Islamic revolution in Iran should be marked as the beginning of the end of Islam in Iran and eventually the rest of the world. 

20. Most Muslims reportedly saw the war on terror in Afghanistan as a war against Islam. Is that because the Taliban were seen as strict Muslims with every right to run their country as they did?

The truth is that Muslims do not care about each other. If you let them they will exterminate each other. But they cannot accept a Kafir attacking a Muslim, “subduing and humiliating” him. That makes them go crazy. Muslims believe that Allah has given THEM the right to invade non-Muslims, subdue them, humiliate them, enslave them, rape their wives and loot their belongings. It is not acceptable to them that a non-Muslim country attack and humiliate a Muslim country. Even if that Muslim country is their enemy she is still their Muslim sister country. It is not that there is much brotherly love among the Muslims; it is because the hatred of the non-Muslims is much stronger. 

21. Do you think most Muslims have a victim mentality vis-à-vis the West? (ie there were numerous conspiracy theories re 9/11 including one that held Mossad to be responsible).

That is the root of the problem. Muslims are in denial of their own evil deeds and they justify all their violence against others by thinking of themselves as victims. They are genuinely oblivious of the pain that they cause to others with their terrorist activities. But as soon as one of their victims retaliates, they cry foul and play victim. This will justify more acts of terrorism and fuel their frenzy. They even blame the West for their own illiteracy, ignorance and poverty. But they are unable to see that in reality the main cause of their misery is Islam.  

 

22. Does their belief that Islam is the one true faith mean that their suffering (and the stagnation that generally affects the Muslim world) can only be due to Western wrong-doing? (eg Zionist plots)  

Of course, as I explained above it is always the fault of somebody else. Even when they fight among each other, they blame the Western powers for instigating the other party. But in all due fairness, even if this is not entirely true one has to acknowledge that in many cases the western powers have fueled the ethnic fights in the third world countries. Unfortunately the United Kingdom still believes in the divide-and-rule policy. And human rights have never had much weight for UK. The Brits are born exploiters. They love and support dictatorial puppet regimes such as the Islamic Republic of Iran because it is much easier for them to deal with a a few dictators than with a democratically elected government answerable to people. It is a shame that a country with a history of democracy so old act so inhumanely in her foreign policies. I can say with certainty that Iran never had an more formidable enemy than Britain.  One day we will reclaim our country and will  remember who were our enemies and who were out friends.    

23. If the Ayatollahs are overthrown in Iran and democracy reinstated will it force other Muslim countries to re-evaluate their commitment to Islamic values? How long do you think it will take for this overthrow to happen given the discontent that young people there seem to be expressing?  

Iran has always been the trendsetter in the Middle East. Islamic Rationalism, Islamic Mysticism, the Golden Age of Islam, all have their roots in Iran, Rumi was an Iranian and even Ghazali the father of Islamic fundamentalism was Iranian. The founders of the four Sunni schools of thought, Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali were also Iranians. The collectors of the Hadithes were Iranians. The rise of Islamic fundamentalism in our days is also originated from Iran. Bin Laden admitted that he was inspired by Khomeini when the latter mobilized huge masses using their religious sentiments to overthrow the Shah. Without Iran and Iranian contribution, Islam would not be considered a religion but a cult of a bunch of marauding desert dwellers. Islam is bereft of philosophy, mysticism and otherworldliness. Even the "Islamic" architecture and art are Iranian. It is all thanks to Iranian genius that Islam is what it is.   

But today Iranians have seen the real face of Islam and have come to their senses. More than half of the Iranians do not call themselves Muslims anymore. There is no doubt that when the present repressive regime is removed, Islam will become extinct in Iran in no time. Iranians are learning about the real Islam and what it did to their country, from sources that are not liked by the Mullahs. I am confident that even in this time Iran will maintain its historic role as the trendsetter and the fall of Islam in Iran would put in motion a domino effect that would lead to total eradication of Islam from the face of the planet.  

The fall of the Islamic Republic of Iran is imminent, and the fall of Islam will also take place in our own lifetime. Many of us shall see Islam’s sudden end just as we saw the end of communism unexpectedly.  

24. How much harm do you think the use of suicide-bombing (sanctioned as ‘martyrdom’ in the Koran) does to the Palestinian cause?  

A lot! Palestinians are depicting themselves as terrorists. In fact they have put themselves in a no win situation. The only way that Palestinians could win is through non-violence struggle. They need to attract the sympathy of the world opinion and the Israelis themselves. Fortunately their “enemy” is civilized. The Palestinians have to learn to speak in a civilized language to be heard. If Palestinians renounce violence, if they accept the Israel’s right to exist, if they stop sowing the seeds of hate in their children and even toddlers, if they mobilize the public opinion, they will find many allies and sympathizers even among the Israelis. But alas the language of peace is an alien language to Muslims. Honestly, I am not optimistic about the future of the Palestinian/Israeli affair. There is so much hatred against the Jews, inspired by the Quran and inherited directly from Muhammad that I see no hope of any lasting peace. How can you have peace with the Jews when all you dream of is to finish what Hitler didn’t? Again the problem here is Islam and the solution is the eradication of Islam.

25. How well do Muslims know the teachings contained in the Koran? I’ve found that even when confronted with some dubious quotes, there is always a justification or ‘context’ for them. Why the willingness to condone behaviour that could get you arrested today in the West?  

The majority of Muslims know very little about Islam. They hardly read the Quran and when they read it, they do not understand it and those who understand it, do not ponder upon it. Muslims live in denial. It is less painful for them to live in denial than accept the bitter fact that they have been following a mentally sick man bereft of any humanity for 1400 years. That is truly a painful revelation and most Muslims are not ready to even read the facts to refute it, let alone accept it. But truth is obstinate and eventually they will have to face it.  They cannot live cocooned in lies forever.

26. Is it possible to ‘reform’ Islam or would you prefer if it were eradicated? 

Islam cannot be reformed. All those who tried, failed. In fact Iranians would not have accepted Khomeini if it were not for believing the lies of a misguided individual called Ali Shariati who concocted a “reformed” version of Islam embellished it with some Marxist Socialism, added a dash of Humanism and a pinch of Aristotelism. He convinced the young generation that Islam can be reformed. But actually what he did was to embellish an aged and ugly woman masquerading her, covering her face in veils and making her look attractive to the youth who foolishly fell in love with her. This gullible folk took that old bitch to bed with stars in their eyes. But the next day when the Sun came out and they laid their gaze on her repugnant face, they realized that they were duped. Now they are trapped. Ali Shariati might have had good intentions, but he paved the road to hell with his good intentions.    

I do not think Islam can be reformed or rejuvenated. It is time to put her to sleep and bury her in the tomb of history. But we are not the ones who will eradicate Islam. How can you eradicate a belief, which is in the minds of people? Islam will be eradicated by Muslims themselves. After they see the truth and realize how evil this Muhammad was no Muslim would want to be called with that name. When the Christians leave Christianity, they do not hate Jesus. But that is different with Muslims leaving Islam. Muhammad was no Jesus. He was the embodiment of all what is abhorrent and evil   

27. Will the forthcoming (we’re told) attack on Iraq be perceived as another attack on Islam? Do you support this proposed war?  

It will be perceived as attack on Islam but I support it. I wrote to President Bush, the father, and told him it is a mistake to leave Saddam in power after the Desert Storm. I told him to kill that snake now that he had wounded him. But he did not read my message or did not care to answer. Instead he chose to punish the most vulnerable and the most innocent, i.e. the children by boycotting Iraq. Hundreds of thousand more Iraqi lives were lost and who knows how many more will be lost now because of that error. The more you wait, the bigger threat Saddam becomes.

28. The internet can be used to promote Islam too – what do you think of Islamic websites in general?  

They rehash the same junk. These sites are eloquent testimony to the fact that there is no intelligent life in Islam. The more they write, the more they incriminate themselves. Give them all the rope they need and they will hang themselves with it.

29. Do you think any religion benefits humanity and are they all religions equally bad?

Religion is a personal thing. I do not need a religion to tell me the right from the wrong. I follow the Golden Rule and I can find answers to all my questions in this simple teaching. “Do not do to others what you do not want to be done to you.” This is my religion. I love humanity, I strive for peace, I fight against prejudices and hate, I seek to establish unity, I am a peacemaker by nature. I believe in a higher reality that I call the Single Principle, which is not the same as the God of the religions. I rely on my own judgment and do not want to be a follower.  

However many people need a religion. They need to believe in something and they need an authority to tell them what to do. I am not going to decry what people hold dear to their hearts. I do not care if you worship  gods,  cows,  snakes, rats, stones or phalli (as some people in India do).  But if you try to impose your religion on me, and violently force it on me, if you think I should believe in what you believe or die, that is no more your personal religion. You have declared a war on me. It is my duty to defend myself and defend my loved ones. In this case all humanity are my loved ones. It is my duty to stop this aggression and that is why I fight against Islam. I am not against Islam because it is false and foolish, but because it is dangerous.   

Read these two sites and see that Muslims are not abashed to declare the “Supremacy of Islam at the global level” http://www.geocities.com/mahazislami/ And “establishing the ascendancy of Islam over all (what they call) man-made systems of life.” http://www.tanzeem.org/intro/mission/index.htm 

As for your question whether all religions are equally bad, my answer is no. Not all religions are equally bad. Some are worse. 

30. Are there any other points you would like to make?  

Well you wanted to write an article not more than 1500 words. But just your questions are over 730 words. This article now contains 5000 words. I suppose it is enough. I thank you for your questions.