Malala Yousafzai knows religious extremism, up close and very, very personal. You know her story. If you don’t, read her book ‘I Am Malala.’
Eminently qualified with personal experience on Islam, not the exaggerated lies, obfuscations and anecdotes of the current discourse, Malala was interviewed by British media outlet Channel 4 News. She spoke eloquently about her decision to identify as a feminist and the importance of women’s rights:
“When I listened to Emma Watson's speech at the UN, that was a really inspiring speech. Because that confusion you have in your mind, whether you should call yourself a feminist or not, even though you are. You believe in equality, you believe in equal rights for both men and women, but you just can't say that single word, that you are a feminist. And then I said I should not hesitate and I should say that I am a feminist."
Channel 4’s Jon Snow (not that Jon Snow) asked Malala, “Is it hard for a young woman, a young Muslim woman, to say, ‘I am a feminist,’ or does it create problems with adults that you meet?”
"I think in terms of religion, there is not a very clear-cut answer to these issues. For example, women's rights, in terms of politics, everything is interpreted in different ways by different people. But to me, Islam is about equality and calling myself feminist would have no position from the religion."
…
“I think there are some people who just do not believe in women’s rights and women having a voice at all. I don’t really know how to convince them because they have taken it as just part of their faith, but what we can do is educate the next generation to tell them about equality and equal rights.”
Toward the end of the interview, with an eye to Donald Trump and his remarks about Islam and banning all Muslims from the U.S., Snow asked how she felt about all the "wild things being said about Islam and Muslims," and she was very clear in her response:
"I can just highlight one thing. The more you speak about Islam and against all Muslims, the more terrorists we create. So it's important that whatever politicians say, whatever the media say, they should be really, really careful about it. If your intention is to stop terrorism, do not try to blame the whole population of Muslims for it because it cannot stop terrorism. It will radicalize more terrorists."
Donald could take some lessons from Malala.
Story with video: Malala Yousafzai: 'I'm a feminist and a Muslim'
Video only: http://bcove.me/8s6x0ldf