Anne-Marie Waters gives her argument against Islam being a peaceful religion.
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Anne-Marie Waters, council member of the National Secular Society, begins the case for the opposition by denying that she and her fellow opposition speakers cause fear of Islam and blames instead "the actions of Islam itself".

She lists "9/11, 7/7, Mali, Somalia, gender discrimination, forced marriages, polygamy, amputation", and many more. To the opposition's claim that these acts belong to an "extreme fringe" which has misunderstood the words of the Qur'an, she described the executions for blasphemy and apostasy in Saudi Arabia, and asks "has there ever been a more spectacular misunderstanding?"

Waters concludes by arguing that it is the moderate Muslims who must "dance around meanings" and "stretch interpretations" when confronted with the fundamentally violent ideology of the Qur'an.

MOTION: THIS HOUSE BELIEVES ISLAM IS A RELIGION OF PEACE.
Yes's: 286
No's: 168
Filmed on 28/02/2013

ABOUT ANNE-MARIE WATERS:
ANNE-MARIE WATERS is a council member of the National Secular Society and a spokesperson for the One Law For All campaign, which argues Sharia law is incompatible with Western liberalism. She is a prominent journalist and campaigner, and is a member of the Labour Party.

ABOUT THE OXFORD UNION SOCIETY:
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