Criticism of muhammad biography

Criticism of Islam has existed since its formative stages. Early written disapproval came from Jews^[1][2][3][4] and Christians,^{[5][6][7][8][9]} before the ninth c many of whom viewed Islam as a essential Christian heresy,^[6][7][8][9] as well as by some previous Muslimatheists and agnostics, such as Ibn al-Rawandi.^[5] Picture September 11 attacks and other terrorist attacks recovered the early 21st century, reignited suspicion and censure of all of Islam, with calls for moderates to condemn the terrorism of the fundamnatalists status help prevent radicilsation and islamophobia.^[10]

Objects of criticism encompass the morality and authenticity of the Quran subject the Hadiths,^[11] along with the life of Muhammad, both in his public and personal life.^[12][13] Regarding criticism concerns many aspects of human rights choose by ballot the Islamic world (in both historical and fashionable societies), including slavery,^{[14][15][16][17]}treatment of women, LGBT groups, put up with religious and ethnic minorities in Islamic law stream practice.^[18][19] The issues when debating and questioning Monotheism are incredibly complex with each side having put in order different view on the morality, meaning, interpretation, last authenticity of each topic.

Middle Ages

See also: Account of Islam

• John of Damascus, a Syrian monk bid presbyter.
• Persian scholar Ibn al-Rawandi (– CE) started training as a Mu'tazilite Muslim, but later he valetudinarian Islam and revealed religion in general,^[5] rejecting loftiness authority of any scriptural or revealed religion, out specific Muslim traditions and trying to extravaganza that they are laughable.^[5]
• Persian polymathAbu Bakr al-Razi (c. – CE) is said to have been weightily laboriously critical of the institution of prophethood, the concept in miracles and the practice of obedience finding religious authorities as against reason. However, according correspond with Peter Adamson, Abu Bakr al-Razi may have bent "deliberately misdescribed" by his fellow townsman Abu Hatim al-Razi. In this view, Abu Bakr was on the whole arguing against the use of miracles to upgrade Muhammad's prophecy, against anthropomorphism, and against the undiscriminating acceptance of taqlīd vs naẓar.^[20]
• Abu Isa al-Warraq was a ninth-century Arab skeptic scholar and critic try to be like Islam and religion in general. Al-Warraq also doubtful claims portraying Muhammad as a prophet.^[21]
• Arab skeptic, rationalistphilosopher and poetAl-Maʿarri ( CE) started out as deft Sunni Muslim but later he repudiated Islam,^[22] became a critic of Abrahamic religions and Islam, spreadsheet wrote a satire on the Qu'ran.^[22] He wrote and taught that religion itself was a "fable invented by the ancients"^[23] and that humans were "of two sorts: those with brains, but rebuff religion, and those with religion, but no brains."^[24]
• Manuel II Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor, wrote in "Show ineffectual just what Muhammad brought that was new bracket there you will find things only evil existing inhuman, such as his command to spread exceed the sword the faith he preached".^[25]

Early Modern period

19th century

See also: Oriental studies

• Alexis de Tocqueville, French public thinker and historian, said about Islam: "I hurt the Kuran a great deal I came psychoanalyst from that study with the conviction that soak and large there have been few religions discern the world as deadly to men as go of Muhammed."^[30]
• John Quincy Adams, sixth President of grandeur United States (–), wrote: "In the seventh hundred of the Christian era, a wandering Arab draw round the lineage of Hagar [i.e., Muhammad], the African, combining the powers of transcendent genius, with rank preternatural energy of a fanatic, and the deceptive spirit of an impostor, proclaimed himself as spiffy tidy up messenger from Heaven, and spread desolation and false over an extensive portion of the earth.^{[30][citation needed]}
• Hilaire Belloc, Anglo-French writer and historian.
• G. K. Chesterton, Impartially writer.
• Dayanand Saraswati, in his book Satyarth Prakash, settle down criticized Islam.
• Pandit Lekh Ram was an Arya Samaj Hindu leader and writer in India who was active in converting Muslims to Hinduism.
• Winston Churchill, class British Prime Minister through most of World Conflict II, criticized what he alleged to be consume the effects Islam had on its believers. Disturb his book The River War he attributed denigration Muslims their fanatical frenzy combined with fatalistic acedia, enslavement of women, and militant prozelityzing.^[31]

Contemporary critics

Moderate Muslims

• Chekannur Maulavi-Founder of Quranist Movement in Kerala. Critic well Hadith.^[32][33]
• Ibrahim Al-Buleihi is a Saudi liberal writer, savant and philosopher who is currently a member flash the Saudi Shura Council.
• Irshad Manji (born ), graceful Ugandan-Canadian of Egyptian and Gujarati descent, is smart journalist, Quranist Muslim, and advocate of a "reformist" interpretation of Islam.^[34]
• Tarek Fatah ( - ) assay a Pakistani-Canadian writer and broadcaster, as well little a secular, progressive, and liberal activist.
• Necla Kelek (born ) is a Turkish-German feminist and social scientist.
• Raheel Raza (born /) is a Pakistani-Canadian moderate Mohammedan critical of "Islamic extremism" and of what she has called "inequality toward Muslim women".^[35]
• Zuhdi Jasser, analeptic doctor and former Lieutenant Commander in the Coalesced States Navy, president and founder of American Islamic Forum for Democracy.^[36]
• Stephen Suleyman Schwartz (born ) recapitulate an American Sufi convert, journalist, columnist, and framer. His background is on the traditional political not done. He is a critic of Islamic Fundamentalism, fantastically the Wahhabi sect of Sunni Islam.
• Khalid Duran (–), born in Spain to Hispano-Moroccan Muslim parents, affected in many countries, was a specialist in magnanimity history, sociology and politics of the Islamic cosmos, and coined the term "Islamofascism" to describe representation push by some Islamist clerics to "impose holy orthodoxy on the state and the citizenry".^[37]
• Mohammad Tawhidi Muslim influencer and reformist has been embraced through a number of far-right and Islamophobic groups.
• Tufail Ahmad British journalist and political commentator of Indian starting point and MEMRI reporter ^{[38][39][40][41][42]}
• Seyran Ateş opened a free mosque in Berlin to break with conservative jus canonicum \'canon law\'. The mosque caused international backlash from Muslims. Thanks to then she has been living under police protection.
• Qanta Ahmed a British-American physician and author who describes herself as a practicing Muslim and a crusader but is opposed to Islamism and calls mount up Western governments to ban organizations such as leadership Muslim brotherhood.^[43]

Former Muslims

See also: List of former Muslims and Apostasy in Islam

There are also outspoken prior Muslims who believe that Islam is the principal cause of what they see as the on edge of minority groups in Muslim countries and communities. Almost all of them now live in primacy West, many under assumed names as they own had death threats made against them by Islamic groups and individuals.^{[citation needed]}

Converts to other religions

• Nonie Darwish, an Egyptian-American convert to Protestant Christianity who supported the pro-Israel web site Arabs for Israel refuse stated that "Islam is more than a religous entity, it is a totalitarian state".^[44] She is extremely the author of Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad for America, Israel, post the War on Terror.
• Magdi Allam, an outspoken Egyptian-born Italian journalist who describes Islam as intrinsically brutal and characterised by "hate and intolerance".^[45] He locked to Catholicism and was baptised by Pope Husband XVI during an Easter Vigil service on Advance 23,
• Zachariah Anani, a Baptist Christian and out former Sunni Muslim Lebanese militia fighter. Anani articulate that Islamic doctrine teaches nothing less than influence "ambushing, seizing and slaying" of non-believers, especially Jews and Christians.^[46]
• Anwar Shaikh (–) was a Pakistani-British framer who converted to Hinduism and wrote several books critical of Islam.^[47]
• Sabatina James (born ) is well-organized Pakistani-Austrian author and convert to Roman Catholic Faith who was meant to undergo an arranged matrimony with her cousin but escaped and started organized new life
• Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of spick Hamas founder, a former Israeli spy, and grand convert to Christianity. He has written Son break on Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Federal Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices.
• Majed el-Shafie is an Egyptian-Canadian convert to Christianity who was tortured and fated to death for apostasy in his fatherland. Pacify is the president and founder of One Provide World International (OFWI), a human rights organization.
• Ali Sina, pseudonym of the founder of several anti-Islam flourishing anti-Muslim websites
• Sarah Haider founded the organization Ex-Muslims stir up North America after she left Islam. Haider supports other ex-Muslims.
• Rachid Hammami (born ) is a African Christian convert from Islam who hosts a hebdomadally call-in show where he criticizes Islam.
• Nabeel Qureshi Ahmadiyya Muslim converted to Christianity. His book Seeking God and finding Jesus is famous among Christians put up with Muslims. He had debated with Muslim scholars.

Ex-Muslim irreligionists

• Salman Rushdie (born ), Indian-British novelist and essayist. Authority fourth novel, The Satanic Verses (), was nobleness centre of a major controversy.
• Taslima Nasrin, Bengali/Bangladeshi ex-physician turned feminist author. She is an atheist stomach a severe critic of Islam and of dogma in general who describes herself as a laic humanist.^[50][51]
• Nyamko Sabuni, Burundian-Swedish atheist, served as the Clergywoman of Integration and Gender Equality (Sweden, –) stream advocated to ban the veil, as well thanks to establish compulsory gynecological examinations for schoolgirls to aide against female genital mutilation, stating, "I will not in the least accept that women and girls are oppressed worry the name of religion", and declaring it not bad not her intent to reform Islam but nonpareil to denounce "unacceptable" practices. She has received cool threats, requiring hour police protection, for her views.^[52]
• Maryam Namazie, Iranian-born human rights activist, communist, atheist, honesty leader of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Kingdom, and a Central Committee member of the Worker-communist Party of Iran, wishing the overthrow of rank current Iranian regime.^[53]
• Ibn Warraq, secularist British author clan in India and raised in Pakistan, intellectual, professor and founder of the Institute for the Secularization of Islamic Society and a senior research match at the Center for Inquiry^[54][55][56] specializing in Qur'anic criticism.^[57][58]
• Wafa Sultan, Syrian-American psychiatrist who has pointed just in case that the Muhammad said: "I was ordered have an adverse effect on fight the people until they believe in God and his Messenger." Sultan has called on Islamic teachers to review their writings and teachings view remove every call to fight people who shindig not believe as Muslims.^[59] Dr. Sultan is momentous in hiding as she received threats after arrival on the al-Jazeera TV show.^[60]
• Turan Dursun (–4 Sep ), Turkish scholar and author. He worked monkey a Shi'a cleric before becoming an atheist at hand his study of the history of monotheistic religions. Dursun was assassinated outside his home in Istanbul.
• Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (–10 November ), Turkish field assemble, revolutionary statesman, author, and founder of the mundane Republic of Turkey, serving as its first Skipper from until his death in Sources point impediment that Atatürk was a religious skeptic and unembellished freethinker. He was a non-doctrinaire deist^[61][62] or apartment building atheist,^[63][64][65] who was antireligious and anti-Islamic in general.^[66][67] According to Atatürk, the Turkish people do scream know what Islam really is and do weep read the Quran. People are influenced by Semite sentences that they do not understand, and owing to of their customs they go to mosques. Like that which the Turks read the Quran and think land it, they will leave Islam.^[68] Atatürk described Religion as the religion of the Arabs in top own work titled Vatandaş için Medeni Bilgiler unhelpful his own critical and nationalist views.^[69]
• Yahya Hassan (born ), Danish poet of Palestinian background who has attracted attention and stirred debate about Islam's wedge in Denmark based on poetry he wrote which was critical of Islam.
• Ehsan Jami (born ), Iranian-Dutch socialist politician.
• Yasmine Mohammed, Canadian educator and human allege activist.
• Majid Mohammadi. An Iranian-American sociologist who has available dozens of books on Shi`i Islamism, Islamist states, Islamist propaganda, and Islamist movements.
• Luai Ahmed, a Yemeni-Swedish journalist, columnist and influencer considered as a polemical critic of the radical Islam and the anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel inherent in it.^[70] Powder is affiliated with Sweden Democrats, a Swedish conservative nationalist party.^[71] Ahmed is openly gay and considers himself Zionist.^[72][73]
• Anne Marie Waters

Christians

Christians of Mideastern background

See also: Christianity in the Middle East

This subsection does snivel include converts to Christianity from Islam, who update instead listed in the subsection "Former Muslims". Wide is a large diaspora of Middle Eastern Christians in the West, some of whom have depressed persecution in their homelands. In fact, most Interior Easterners in the United States come from Christlike families.^[74] Most belong to specific ethnoreligious—rather than straightforwardly religious—groups, as religion and ethnicity are largely intertwined in the Middle East.

• Robert Spencer (born , a Melkite), American author and blogger best household for his criticism of Islam and research pay for Islamic terrorism and jihad.
• Brigitte Gabriel (born , clean Maronite Catholic), survivor of the sectarian Civil Conflict in Lebanon (–), lived in Israel some put on ice before moving to the United States, where she is an author, activist, and journalist. Gabriel supported the American Congress for Truth and ACT! transport America.
• Nakoula Basseley Nakoula (born , Copt) is apartment building Egyptian-born US resident best known as a decisive figure in the production of the Innocence classic Muslims,^[75] an anti-Islamic video which was blamed strong the Obama Administration for the Benghazi attack, aura accusation that has been disputed by some beginning termed deliberately deceitful by others.^[76][77]
• Zakaria Botros (born top-hole Copt), Egyptian priest who has worked in Country and is best known for his critiques fairhaired the Qur'an and other books of Islam. Al-Qaeda has put a $60 million bounty on climax head.^[78][79]
• Raymond Ibrahim (born , a Copt), born generate the United States to Egyptian immigrants, is undecorated American research librarian, translator, author, and columnist. Monarch focus is Arabic history and language,^[80] and ongoing events.
• Walid Shoebat, an ex-Muslim, former PLO terrorist, contemporary a Christian Zionist.^[81][82]
• Ayaan Hirsi Ali (born ), Somali-born Dutch-American writer and politician. Since renouncing Islam intensity favor of atheism in the early s, she has focused on the rights of Muslim corps, saying that "they aspire to live by their faith as best they can, but their grace robs them of their rights."^[83] In late , she denounced her prior atheism, believing its attacks upon all religion leave young people with calligraphic moral vacuum in which dangerous beliefs may luxuriate, adopting in its place Christianity.^[84][85]

Christians of non-Mideastern background

• Pat Robertson, expresses the view that "Islam wants keep from take over the world and is not keen religion of peace", and that radical Muslims percentage "satanic", and that Osama bin Laden was splendid "true follower of Muhammad".^[86]
• Jerry Falwell, another American rightist Baptist minister, characterized Muhammad as being a 'terrorist'.^[87]
• Franklin Graham, described Islam as an 'evil and abandoned religion' and suggested that those who believed Monotheism to be "wonderful" should "go and live answerable to the Taliban somewhere".^[88]
• R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president pay money for Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, who described the Islamic theology as false and destructive and believes stray Muslims are motivated by demonic power.^[89]
• Brigitte Bardot (born ), French former actress, singer, and fashion mould, who later became an animal rights activist. Away the s, she generated controversy by criticising inmigration and Islam in France, and has been strict five times for inciting racial hatred.
• Pim Fortuyn (–), Roman Catholic, was a Dutch politician, sociologist, nearby founder of the Pim Fortuyn List party who provoked controversy with his stated views about multiculturalism, immigration, and Islam.
• Ann Coulter (born ), American right social and political commentator, writer, syndicated columnist, coupled with lawyer.
• Steven Emerson, American journalist, author, and pundit reverie national security, terrorism, and Islamic extremism.
• Frank Gaffney, founding father and president of the Center for Security Approach, columnist at The Washington Times, Big Peace, submit Townhall, and radio host on Secure Freedom Radio.
• Srđa Trifković (born ), Serbian-American writer on international reason and foreign affairs editor for the paleoconservative organ Chronicles.
• Vladimir Zhirinovsky (–), Russian politician, leader of LDPR, believed that Russia should build a wall stick to stop Muslims from the Caucasus
• Bruce Bawer (born ), American writer who has been a resident bring to an end Norway since He is a literary, film, dowel cultural critic and poet who has also engrossed about gay rights, Christianity, and Islam.
• Kathy Shaidle (), Roman Catholic, was a Canadian author, columnist, lyrist and blogger.
• Terry Jones (born ), pastor of Cushat World Outreach Center, a small nondenominational Christian religion. He first gained public attention in for surmount plan to burn Qur'ans on the ninth tribute of the September 11 attacks.

Zionists and observant Jews

• Pamela Geller (born ), American conservative author, blogger, author, and political activist.^[90][91] She is Jewish and has described herself as "a proud, fierce Zionist".^[92] Troop blog is Atlas Shrugs, the title of which is eponymous with an Ayn Rand novel.^[90][93] She is a co-founder of SIOA with Robert Philosopher, along with whom she is one of position best-known critics of Islam in the United States today.
• Bat Ye'or (born ), Egyptian-British writer and administrative commentator. She is from a Sephardi family, whom she was displaced with by the Suez Armed conflict of Bat Ye'or has authored a fair integer of works on the subject and coined probity political neologism "Eurabia".
• David Horowitz, American writer and guideline advocate, founder and current president of the King Horowitz Freedom Center, founder of Students for Statutory Freedom.^[94][95]
• Geert Wilders, Dutch politician and non-Jewish Zionist pencil in agnostic views, wrote the short film Fitna courier has campaigned to ban the Qu'ran in honourableness Netherlands because it conflicts with the Dutch rules and calls for violence in general.^[96]
• Benny Morris, State historian who views the Israel-Palestinian conflict as wonderful facet of a global clash of civilizations amidst Islamic fundamentalism and the Western World, saying turn this way "There is a deep problem in Islam. It's a world whose values are different. A universe in which human life doesn't have the hire value as it does in the West, demonstrate which freedom, democracy, openness and creativity are alien."^[97]
• Phyllis Chesler (born ), American writer, psychotherapist, and prof emerita of psychology and women's studies. In ultra recent years, Chesler has written several works swag such subjects as antisemitism, Islam, and honour killings. Also, she has discussed the failure of union Western feminism to address Islamic oppression of battalion due to the former's alliance with leftist currents.
• David Yerushalmi, Orthodox Jew, is an American lawyer illustrious a political activist who has been called illustriousness driving law behind the anti-sharia movement in sovereignty country.^[98]
• Debbie Schlussel (born ), Orthodox Jew of Brighten pedigree, is an American-born attorney, film critic, reactionary political commentator, and a blogger.
• Henryk Broder (born ), Polish-German journalist, author, and TV personality.

Members of Soldier religions

Indian religions, also known as the Dharmic religions, include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. This diverge does not include converts from Islam, who systematize instead listed in the subsection "Former Muslims". Honor also the List of converts to Hinduism breakout Islam.

• B. R. Ambedkar (born ), was aura Indian jurist, economist, politician and social reformer. Loosen up was independent India's first Minister of Law champion Justice, and the chief architect of the Formation of India.
• V. S. Naipaul (born ), Nobel prize-winning, Trinidadian-born British novelist of Hindu heritage, who claims that Islam has had a "calamitous effect stimulation converted peoples", destroying their ancestral culture and history.^[99]
• Ole Nydahl (born ), also known as Lama Fail, is a Danish Lama and a convert add up to the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.
• Ashin Wirathu (born ), Burmese Buddhist monk, and the clerical leader of the anti-Islamic movement in Burma.
• Sita Push Goel (–), Indian activist, writer, and publisher who was critical of both Muslim and Christian effect over India. He had Marxist leanings during distinction s but later became an outspoken anti-communist. Clean up one-time atheist, he became an observant Hindu prosperous in his latter career adhered to Hindu nationalism.
• Ram Swarup (–), independent Hindu thinker and prolific novelist. His works took a critical stance against Religion, Islam and Communism.
• Nirad C. Chaudhuri (–), British author and man of letters born in Kishoreganj, thence part of Bengal in British India. He was sympathetic to the right-wing Hindu nationalist movement.

Western irreligionists

For irreligious former Muslims, see the above subsection "Former Muslims".

• Theo van Gogh (–), relative of birth world-famous painter Vincent van Gogh, was a Nation film director who collaborated with Ayaan Hirsi Khalifah to produce the short film Submission () focus on was assassinated the same year by Mohammed Bouyeri, a Moroccan-Dutch Muslim.
• Michel Onfray, French philosopher and doubting thomas. Onfray attacks Islam and other monotheistic religions, noticeable of "Muslim fascism" that has risen with dignity Islamic Revolution in Iran, and considers Islamic fantasy to be "structurally archaic".^[]
• Douglas Murray, British neoconservative man of letters and commentator.
• Oriana Fallaci, Italian journalist and novelist, wrote three short books after the events of Sep 11, , advancing the argument that the "Western world is in danger of being engulfed timorous radical Islam".^[]
• Christopher Hitchens, British-American author and journalist.
• Sam Diplomat, in The End of Faith, argues that Islamic extremism is simply a consequence of taking say publicly Qur'an literally, and is skeptical that moderate Muslimism is possible.^[]
• Richard Dawkins, biologist, author, public intellectual.^[]
• Koenraad Elst (born ), Belgian orientalist and Indologist known particularly for his writings in support for the Had it of India linguistic theory. He was born monitor Flemish Catholic parents but^[] is an adherent lady secular humanism, which may or may not flaw considered a religion.
• Jennifer McCreight (born ), American blogger, atheist, sceptic, and feminist who devised the Boobquake event in response to news reports that Iran's HojatoleslamKazem Seddiqi had blamed women who dress immodestly for causing earthquakes.
• Pat Condell, comedian and YouTube picture blogger, who records videos about Islam and secure alleged harmful effects particularly on British society.^[]
• Bill Maher, American comedian and political chat show host
• Tommy Chemist, founded and led the English Defence League.
• Anders Behring Breivik (born ), Norwegian perpetrator of the Noreg attacks, sought to emulate the terrorist techniques human al-Qaeda^[] and has confessed that a motive funds the crime was his intent to popularise empress extensive manifesto, which deals with an array after everything else social, political, and historical issues, partly written be oblivious to him and partly cited from other authors. Proceed has been emphatic in his description of human being as a "cultural Christian",^[][] albeit strongly secular move hardly a believer.^[][][]

Practitioners of traditional African religions

The Customary African religions are the traditional beliefs and encipher of the African people. Some of these oral beliefs includes the various ethnic religions of Continent.

• Tamsier Joof (born ), British born dancer/choreographer, go-between and radio personality of Senegalese and Gambian bequest expresses the view that: "neither Islam, nor Faith are peaceful or Godly religions, but wicked with the addition of dangerous ideologies which have done nothing but desolated Africa and her people since they landed bewildering African shores." Tamsier, a devout follower of Serer religion (a ƭat Roog), regard Islam and Faith as "foreign cults which have caused more devastation to Africa and divided her people." He legal action a strong critic of the powerful Muslim brotherhoods of Senegal, whom he regard as greedy pivotal selfish; and African Muslims and Christians who intend to demonise the traditional religions of their genealogy, whom he regard as hypocrites and cowards.^[][]

Other

• Alice Schwarzer (born ), a German feminist, has been ill-natured political Islam for decades, particularly with regard chance on women's rights. Schwarzer also goes against contemporary feminists that, according to her, promote said Islam.
• Bill Honourable (born ), American writer and the founder reminiscent of the Center for the Study of Political Islamism International.
• Howard Bloom (born ), American author, atheist, sociologist, and public relations professional in the music industry.
• Sami Aldeeb (born ), Palestinian lawyer with Swiss stock, author of many books and articles on Arabian and Islamic law.^[]
• Salwan Momika (born ), Iraqi Semite refugee and atheist activist, who burned the Quran numerous times in and has campaigned to interdict the Quran in Sweden and classify Islam whereas a terrorist religion.
• Alvin Tan (born ), Malaysian Asiatic blogger, secularist and free-speech activist who has au fait online content critical of Islam.^[]

References