Wafa Sultan: The Bravest Woman On Earth

Speaking out against Islam can be risky at best, or even fatal. Consider the case of Theo Van Gogh, the Dutch filmmaker who outraged Muslims with his film "Submission" and was subsequently murdered by a Muslim jihadist. With this in mind, consider the mind-boggling courage of Syrian-born psychologist Wafa Sultan. She didn't just take Islam to task for it's medieval mind-set, she did so in Arabic on Al-Jazeera, before an Arabic audience.

Wafa Sultan: The clash we are witnessing around the world is not a clash of religions, or a clash of civilizations. It is a clash between two opposites, between two eras. It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another mentality that belongs to the 21st century. It is a clash between civilization and backwardness, between the civilized and the primitive, between barbarity and rationality. It is a clash between freedom and oppression, between democracy and dictatorship. It is a clash between human rights, on the one hand, and the violation of these rights, on other hand. It is a clash between those who treat women like beasts, and those who treat them like human beings. What we see today is not a clash of civilizations. Civilizations do not clash, but compete.

Host: I understand from your words that what is happening today is a clash between the culture of the West, and the backwardness and ignorance of the Muslims?

Wafa Sultan: Yes, that is what I mean.

The other participant in the segment was an Islamic scholar who, shocked by her bold statements, asked if she was a heretic. Her response was, "You can say whatever you like."

Wafa Sultan's message is nothing less than one of the most relevant and important of our time. I hope that she lives long enough to spread it far and wide.

Read excerpts of the english translation of her interview here. And keep her in your prayers.