Islam as a religion must go through a reformation much as Christianity did in the 16th century, says a former Muslim and best-selling author who believes that the religion she's rejected is completely corrupted.
"The assumption is that, in Islam, there are a few rotten apples, not the entire basket," author and activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali told
The New York Post. "I’m saying it’s the entire basket."
Ali, who is now an atheist, argues in her new book, "Heretic," that there must be a new way for the world's 1.6 billion Muslims to save their religion. In her book she says there are three kinds of Muslim: The violent, the reformers, and those who want to practice as they see fit but without challenging the Koran and its teaching or terrorist attacks that are committed in the name of the religion.
The writer told
ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos" program on Sunday, that the dangers of religion-based extremism can also stretch to other faiths.
"There are Christians today who are forming movements like the Islamic State," said Ali Sunday. "[They] want to introduce law and apply it. And look what happens when Sharia law is applied."
But she denied Sunday that she is attacking Muslims.
"I'm here to say we need that courageous step, and that is to reform the religion from within," said Ali.
Meanwhile, Ali explains in her book that there are five parts of Islam that are harmful and should be nullified, including Sharia law, the infallibility of the Prophet Muhammad and the interpretation of the Koran, the belief that life after death is more important than life on earth, allowing Muslims to enforce ideas of right and wrong on each other, and Jihad.
"In no other modern religion," Ali writes, "is dissent still a crime, punishable by death."
She also believes the Obama administration has failed by acknowledging Islamophobia, "which is the worst thing you can do for Muslims who are trying to turn things around."
Whether it's organized groups like the Islamic State or "lone wolf" attackers such as the attackers behind the Charlie Hebdo massacres, Ali said it is important to believe them when they say they are killing in the name of true Islam.
She appreciates that Obama is attempting to strike a delicate balance, but more should be done.
"Obama is saying, ‘Listen, Muslims, I’m on your side. I respect your beliefs, and I’d like you to help me fight these attacks committed in the name of your religion,’ " Ali says. "He’s delivering, and they’re not."
Instead, the West, and especially the United States, should learn from the lessons of the Cold War that the battle with Islam is a battle of ideas.
"We did not say the Soviet system was morally equivalent to ours; nor did we proclaim that Soviet communism was an ideology of peace," she said. "In much the same way, we need to recognize that this is an ideological conflict that will not be won until the concept of jihad itself has been decommissioned."
But the greatest obstacle is the nature of the religion itself, because unlike in other religions, there are no declared leaders or hierarchy, and any man can declare himself an iman.
In her book, Ali calls on Muslims who reject jihad and the subjugation of women and infidels to organize and challenge the religion.
"There is a transformation of the West as we know it," she said. "We’re at the beginning, and what we do right now is going to be consequential."
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