Heretic

Why Islam Needs a Reformation Now

By: Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Narrated by: Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Continuing her journey from a deeply religious Islamic upbringing to a post at Harvard, the brilliant, charismatic and controversial New York Times and Globe and Mail #1 bestselling author of Infidel and Nomad makes a powerful plea for a Muslim Reformation as the only way to end the horrors of terrorism, sectarian warfare and the repression of women and minorities.

Today, she argues, the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims can be divided into a minority of extremists, a majority of observant but peaceable Muslims and a few dissidents who risk their lives by questioning their own religion. But there is only one Islam and, as Hirsi Ali shows, there is no denying that some of its key teachings—not least the duty to wage holy war—are incompatible with the values of a free society.

For centuries it has seemed as if Islam is immune to change. But Hirsi Ali has come to believe that a Muslim Reformation—a revision of Islamic doctrine aimed at reconciling the religion with modernity—is now at hand, and may even have begun. The Arab Spring may now seem like a political failure. But its challenge to traditional authority revealed a new readiness—not least by Muslim women—to think freely and to speak out.

Courageously challenging the jihadists, she identifies five key amendments to Islamic doctrine that Muslims have to make to bring their religion out of the seventh century and into the twenty-first. And she calls on the Western world to end its appeasement of the Islamists. “Islam is not a religion of peace,” she writes. It is the Muslim reformers who need our backing, not the opponents of free speech.

Interweaving her own experiences, historical analogies and powerful examples from contemporary Muslim societies and cultures, Heretic is not a call to arms, but a passionate plea for peaceful change and a new era of global toleration. In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo murders, with jihadists killing thousands from Nigeria to Syria to Pakistan, this book offers an answer to what is fast becoming the world’s number one problem.

Bold

It saddens me deeply that to criticize Islam is considered bold, but coming from someone who grew up in it and has seen first hand the consequences of speaking out, that is the reality today.

This book aims to change that.

Excellent Insiders View

Ayaan Hirsi Ali does an excellent job summarizing the need for reform in Islam. I've read several of her books and this is one of the best.

A Needed Voice of Reason

Excellent work by Ms Ali in exposing the devastating crisis & carnage in Islam while presenting the path to reform. Any Muslim who opposes the evil perpetrated by ISIS, Al Queda, Boko etc. should support Ms Ali and reform. However, support seems very minimal & quite. This Medina Muslim "radical " movement seems parallel to the gathering storm of Adolf Hitler & Nazi Germany. Hopefully the voice of reason Ms Ali proposes in Muslim communities can stop this inevitable clash of civilizations if not.

A necessary Perspective,

Where does Heretic rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is a first hand perspective, that spells out in detail how religiosity effects cutler, and how it effected Ayaan Hirsi Ali personally. The mix is well thought out, and is vary compelling intellectually an emotion making it standout as one of the best books I have listen to in the past year.

A must read 4 evry1

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