Tue, May. 04 2010 By Michelle A. Vu Christian Post Reporter
 
Sabatina James spoke to The Christian Post last week using a temporary cell phone that she had to discard afterward. The bestselling author of My Fight for Faith and Freedom and the founder of the relief organization, Sabatina EV, spoke candidly about her Christian faith, her passion for women’s rights and how she thinks President Obama is handling relations with Islamic countries.

The following are excerpts from the interview.

CP: How old are you?

James: I’m 27 now.

CP: You talk a lot in your book about Islam’s view of women and how Muslim men treat women based on the teachings of the Quran. So is it true what critics of Islam say – that the religion teaches that you can beat your wife, women have no value, and martyrs are promised to go to heaven where virgins await them?

James: Yes, well the Quran says in the fourth Surah (chapter) in verse 34 that if your wife is not obedient you are allowed to beat her. That is what the Quran says, you know. In Islamic countries, like Pakistan, Afghanistan, there is sharia law. And sharia law takes the Quran and that is how they judge. They take verses from the Quran and say it is written in the Quran that is why the women has to be obedient and if she is not you are allowed to beat her. That is the way it is.

Sabatina EV is my organization and there are a lot of Muslim women who come to us. We have girls who were married when they were 13 years old. In Hamburg, for example, there is one, a girl who is from Afghanistan who was married when she was 13 years old. But people do not talk about it because if you say something that is critical about Islam people would immediately say you are racist. And what they do not understand is that this is not about racism but about human rights. If you are living in a democracy you have to protect the human rights and it does not matter if your religion says you are allowed to beat your wife.

When I was a small child it was my wish to die for Allah one day – you asked about the suicide bombers. I didn’t know what to expect in heaven but I was sure this is the only way to get to heaven because there is no guarantee for Muslims to know whether Allah will forgive him his sins or not. But if you die for Allah then you are guaranteed that you and your family will go to heaven; that is what you are taught in the Quran schools. And I was ten years old when I read the Quran and my grandfather, who just died, was a mullah and I learned the Quran from him in Arabic. For me it was normal.

When I was ten years old I went to Austria and I definitely didn’t want to die then. But still I have that desire in my heart that one day Allah will give me the strength to do something like that; that I will kill some non-Muslims and go to heaven. Something quite normal.

CP: So even if a child doesn’t go to a radical Quran school but just living in society a child has these suicide bomber thoughts?

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