WASHINGTON – Prominent Islam critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali has warned that the current
Arab uprisings may pose new threats for Islamic extremism to extend its
influence not only through overt violence, but also through nonviolent political
means.
The first of five Speaker of Truth award honorees at the
pro-Israel Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET)’s annual Rays of Light in the
Darkness Dinner in Washington on Wednesday night, the Somali-born Ali argued in
a live video speech that “The threat of radical Islam to all of us, particularly
Israel and America, is not just a military threat. It’s more insidious than
that.”
RELATED:Opinion: The benefits of the 'Arab Spring'Israel must beware of Arab Spring’s economic consequencesAli, a former Dutch politician currently serving as a fellow at
the American Enterprise Institute, made specific mention of the dangers posed by
the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. “The leadership of radical Islam
has a radical agenda that gets most of attention, but [there is] also a
nonviolent agenda,” Ali said. “The Muslim Brotherhood and other radical Islamist
organizations are right there in our midst.”
Ali’s comments come as Egypt
prepares for its most democratic election in decades, in which the Muslim
Brotherhood is projected to take a substantial proportion of the
vote.
Ali touched on her personal encounter with Islamic extremism
through her family and upbringing, warning about its impact on individuals’
development.
Ultimately, Ali argued, success in countering extremism must
arise from countering the narrative of violence she charged is pervasive in
radical Islamic culture so that new generations of Muslims would not be lured
into extremism.
Ali said she would use the award as a new platform to
help persuade others of the need to “not only understand where the threats come
from, but to develop a counter-narrative. Just because you are a Muslim, it does
not mean you are doomed to become an Islamist.”
“I think we can win that
battle,” she declared.
EMET Founding Director Sarah Stern opened the
dinner with a cry for US action in light of the current “Arab
hurricane.”
Ms. Stern called on US President Barack Obama to cease
military shipments to an increasingly bellicose Egypt, and to stop funding of
the Palestinian Authority, which recently agreed to form a unity government with
Hamas.
Stern also urged the current administration to openly call for the
ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad, saying that since Obama’s May 19 speech
in which he called for Assad to either lead Syria to democracy or step aside,
“[the United States] has done nothing over the past month to help the
Syrians.”
In not taking these steps, Stern argued, the “only nation
empowered... is Iran.”
EMET, whose acronym means “truth” in Hebrew,
awarded the Speaker of Truth awards at its annual dinner Wednesday
night.
Other awardees included Rep. Trent Franks (R-Arizona), who gave an
impassioned speech on his commitment as an Evangelical Christian to the Jewish
state, as well as Palestinian Media Watch founder Itamar Marcus and Iranian
human rights activist Manda Zand Ervin. Sen.
Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) was
also honored but was unable to attend the ceremony.