Atheists condemn SPLC for labeling ex-Muslim critics of radical Islam as "anti-Muslim extremists"
Sam Harris and other members of the atheist community criticized the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for including atheist and ex-Muslim critics of radical Islam in its list of "anti-Muslim extremists."
Among those in the list are Somali-born activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali and former radical Maajid Nawaz.
"The Southern Poverty Law Center labels @Ayaan and @MaajidNawaz 'anti-Muslim extremists.' Unbelievable!" Harris wrote on Twitter.
Ali has been vocal in her criticism of radical Islam. She has denounced the practice of genital mutilation as well as the repression of women and other minorities in Muslim countries.
Ali has stated that she fled from the civil wars in Africa and was forced to go through an arranged marriage but the SPLC report claimed that her stories were false. It went on to say that Ali's "anti-Muslim rhetoric is remarkably toxic."
Nawaz currently runs the Quilliam Foundation, which considers itself as "the world's first counter-extremism think tank." The SPLC report questioned Nawaz's motivations as a former radical Islamist and said that his story was disputed by his friends, family members and fellow jihadists.
"The evidence suggests that Nawaz is far more interested in self-promotion and money than in any particular ideological dispute," the report stated.
Hemant Mehta of the Friendly Atheist blog is concerned that other atheists and others who criticize radical Islam might also be included in the SPLC's list.
"The SPLC is making the mistake of equating fair criticism of Islam with unfair bigotry against Muslims. No one has to agree with what Hirsi Ali and Nawaz say about Islam, but it's absurd to claim that they hate Muslims to the point of being extremists," Mehta wrote.
Nawaz fears that he might be targeted because of the inclusion of his name on the list. He accused SPLC of "McCarthyism" for creating the list.
"Even if someone was an anti-Muslim bigot, there shouldn't be lists of names of individuals," he told The Atlantic.
The other names that appear in the list include Pamela Geller of the American Freedom Defense Initiative, Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch, Daniel Pipes of Middle East Forum, David Horowitz of FrontPage Magazine and Walid Shoebat of the Shoebat Foundation.
