- Manifesto: Together Facing the New Totalitarianism
-
MANIFESTO: Together facing the new totalitarianism is a political statement made in response to the violence surrounding the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. The signatories said they issued the letter to demonstrate that there is a need to fight for secular values and personal freedom.[1][2][3] One of the main points that it focuses on is "its comparison of the Islamist ideology to Nazism and Stalinism and its passionate defense of Western values (particularly free expression)."[4] The letter was published in the French weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo and warns against Islamic totalitarianism.[5][6]
The Charlie Hebdo magazine was one of several European papers to reprint the caricatures. Its right to publish these was contested by the French Muslim Council, who tried, but failed, to get a court to ban the publication.[7]
A second manifesto was created in response to a threat issued from Ummah.com. This manifesto asked for online users to put down their names as a signature, instead of it being signed by the original signatories.[8]
Contents
Statement signatories
- Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali Dutch author and film maker;[9]
- Chahla Chafiq, an Iranian author (exiled in France);
- Caroline Fourest, a French journalist and editor;
- Bernard-Henri Lévy, a French intellectual;[10]
- Irshad Manji, a Canadian author, journalist, and activist;
- Mehdi Mozaffari, an Iranian academic (exiled in Denmark);
- Maryam Namazie, an Iranian Communist human rights activist;
- Taslima Nasreen, a Bengali Bangladeshi physician, author and human rights activist;
- Salman Rushdie, a British-Indian essayist and bestselling author of fiction;[11]
- Antoine Sfeir, Lebanese French writer, political economist and journalist;
- Philippe Val, a French journalist and editor;
- Ibn Warraq (pen name), a bestselling historian and social critic (exiled in the United States).
Critical Reception
Paul Belien of the Canada Free Press criticized the manifesto by pointing out that the "three scourges of the 20th century were secular ideologies" while Islamism "can be considered the perversion of religion".[12] In his book Islamophobia/Islamophilia: Beyond the Politics of Enemy and Friend, Andrew Shryock called the manifesto "simplistic and alarmist", saying that the use of the term "Islamophobia" in the text is "the most perplexing" of the terms used.[13] David Perusek commented "How ironic" in his scholarly article on cultural relativism, which was in response to the subject matter of the manifesto and who the signatories were.[14]
See also
- Criticism of Islamism
- Stop the Islamification of Europe - Political group
- Neither Whores Nor Submissives
References
- ^ BBC News: Writers issue cartoon row warning
- ^ Aljazeera.net - Writers slam Islamic 'totalitarianism'
- ^ William Kilpatrick (June 8, 2010). "When Secularism Is Not Enough". Assyrian International News Agency. http://www.aina.org/news/20100608112907.htm. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
- ^ "Rioting over the Danish cartoons has spawned two "manifestos" against Islamic extremism". National Review. March 27, 2006. http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-5520881/Rioting-over-the-Danish-cartoons.html. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
- ^ BBC News: Full text: Writers' statement on cartoons
- ^ A. Tiryakian, Edward (2009). For Durkheim: essays in historical and cultural sociology. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. p. 241. http://books.google.com/books?id=Z61mk-BEEQ0C&pg=PA241&dq=%22Together+Facing+the+New+Totalitarianism%22&hl=en&ei=_gbqTPGON4X6lwe5kuHLCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Together%20Facing%20the%20New%20Totalitarianism%22&f=false. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
- ^ French Satirical Newspaper 'Charlie Hebdo' Wins Over Controversial Cartoon Ban Request
- ^ "Facing Down the Bullies". The Atlantic. March 15, 2006. http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2006/03/facing_down_the.html. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
- ^ Sohail Choudhury (May 20, 2006). "Controversial Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Muslim turned atheist, to resign from Dutch Parliament". Asian Tribune. http://www.asiantribune.com/node/175. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
- ^ Stefan Steinberg (March 3, 2007). "Prominent French intellectuals rally to presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy". World Socialist Web Site. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/mar2007/fran-m03.shtml. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
- ^ Meenakshi Sinha (January 25, 2010). "Living under fatwa for speaking her mind". The Times of India. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Living-under-fatwa-for-speaking-her-mind/articleshow/5496461.cms. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
- ^ Paul Belien (March 1, 2006). "Anti-Jihad Manifesto Misses the Point". Canada Free Press. http://www.canadafreepress.com/2006/brussels030106.htm. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
- ^ Shryock, Andrew (2010). Islamophobia/Islamophilia: Beyond the Politics of Enemy and Friend. Indiana University Press. p. 5. http://books.google.com/books?id=QdamRHJ3dxUC&pg=PA5&dq=%22Together+Facing+the+New+Totalitarianism%22&hl=en&ei=_gbqTPGON4X6lwe5kuHLCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%22Together%20Facing%20the%20New%20Totalitarianism%22&f=false. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
- ^ David Perusek (2007). "Grounding Cultural Relativism". Anthropological Quarterly (George Washington University) 80 (3): 821–836. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/anthropological_quarterly/v080/80.3perusek.html#REF3.
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