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Hello! Dear friends all over the world!

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Welcome to this presentation[br]about my project.

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My and my wife's project.

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It is the struggle for an end[br]to female genital mutilation;

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in my eyes the greatest crime of humanity,

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since it has been raging for 5,000 years.

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This society against women[br]still claims 6,000 victims a day.

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First of all, I would like[br]to introduce myself.

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My name is Rüdiger and[br]I'm from Hamburg,

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where I ran a confectionery[br]for 25 years.

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As you can imagine,[br]it wasn't enough for me.

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I did not feel challenged[br]and that's why I was glad

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that I was familiar[br]with the theme of "survival"

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and could bring off exciting campaigns.

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For example this one, over the Atlantic

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from Africa to Brazil[br]with a massive tree trunk.

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The sail was an appeal[br]to the President of Brazil

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to prevent the impending genocide

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of the last of the isolated tribes,[br]the Yanomami.

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On that trip, I was[br]more of a submarine than an up boat.

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More submerged than on the surface.

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However, such campaigns were perfect[br]for generating media interest,

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and even a small person like myself

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could raise his concerns[br]to the whole world.

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In 1977, I crossed the Danakil desert[br]in Ethiopia

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with my own caravan.

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At that time, there was a war going on[br]between Eritrea and Ethiopia

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and we were eyewitnesses[br]to the murders there.

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Despite all the atrocities we saw,

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we, on the other hand, also found

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endless hospitality from the Muslims[br]who accompanied us.

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Bedouin, Arab hospitality.

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Twice it happened that we were attacked,

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and our two bodyguards, whom you see here,

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clawed their way in front of us,

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and, using their bodies as living shields,[br]said to our attackers,

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"These are our guests.

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If you want to kill them,[br]you'll have to shoot them through us."

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I've not found anything of the sort[br]in any other culture.

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So, I learnt then at an early age

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that you cannot equate Islam to terrorism.

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Christians do not wish[br]to be associated with terrorism, either;

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e.g., the Inquisition, the Crusades,[br]the extermination of Native Americans,

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but rather with true values,

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like charity, social responsibility,[br]the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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These are values worth fighting for.

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After many years, I returned[br]to the Danakil desert,

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together with my wife, Annette,

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and that's when we heard about

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this crime of madness,[br]female genital mutilation.

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When I then heard that 90%[br]of the daily victims are Muslim

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-- the rest are Christians[br]and those of other convictions --

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I thought: How can [br]a world religion like Islam,

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along with all the terrorism,[br]allow itself to take the blame for this,

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without putting up any resistance?

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And the idea was born

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to try to persuade the highest[br]decision makers of Islam

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to declare the custom a sin.

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We searched for fellow campaigners[br]among German organizations.

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We didn't find any.

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We were repeatedly told

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that we were probably completely nuts,

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that Islam is not open to dialogue,

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that they'd cut my throat.

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On the advice of Amnesty International,[br]and without further ado,

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we then established our own organization

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independent of cowards and worrywarts.

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Now, in order to stand a chance[br]of winning this fight,

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we needed pictures --[br]something we didn't have.

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That's why Annette and I[br]went back to this desert,

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to take pictures with a hidden camera.

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I won't show you the horrid, bloody images

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but I would like[br]to briefly outline the crime.

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Girls from the age of 4 weeks[br]up till their wedding

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are at some point grabbed[br]by their parents and relatives,

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laid on the ground,[br]and with their limbs pinned down,

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have their clitoris and labia cut away,

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without any anaesthesia,

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and have their vagina sewn up[br]with a blunt needle,

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without anaesthesia,[br]with absurd instruments,

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by people with no knowledge[br]of hygiene or anatomy.

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The vagina is to heal over, closed.

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What they are then left with[br]is an opening the size of a grain of rice.

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Urination now takes a quarter of an hour.

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When they get their period[br]they are in torment for 2 weeks.

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Unimaginably destroyed both spiritually[br]and bodily, deprived of their dignity.

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That's the beginning[br]of the so-called pharaonic mutilation;

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on the wedding night, it goes further.

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The man needs to open her.

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He has never seen a naked woman before.

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His uncles have told him,

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"Oh, Ibrahim, it's no big deal;

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you put some Vaseline on your penis[br]and then you push it through hard.

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If you don't succeed,[br]you don't need to worry,

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you take a knife and cut through."

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That is pharaonic mutilation.

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One-third of the girls die in the process.

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This one was mutilated 3 months ago.

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Shock caused the girl to lose her speech.

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These are the countries where mutilation[br]takes place, there are also some in Asia.

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Most are under Islamic rule.

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Whenever we've asked Muslims,[br]"Why do you do this?",

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the most frequent answer is,

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"Ah, we have to do it,[br]it's in the Qur'an."

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There's nothing in the Qur'an about it.

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Quite the opposite;[br]every believer acknowledges

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five times a day in prayer

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the singular majesty of Allah the creator.

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Allah is perfect, faultless.

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But they don't seem to believe[br]what they are praying.

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They make Allah out to be a fool[br]who created women wrong.

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That's how you make yourself[br]a pathetic excuse of a human being,

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who cuts women about.

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But now we had the pictures.

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Our first fellow campaigner[br]was this sultan.

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He let us get all his clan leaders[br]together for a conference.

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There was hard discussion for two days,

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but we had the Minister of Health[br]on our side,

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the highest sheikhs on our side.

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Then came the great decision:

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"This practice is against all human rights[br]and against our religion.

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We must ban it."

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In the end, the sultan signed[br]this new tribal law.

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If you know Africa[br]and the tribal customs,

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you'll know that only sultan-backed law[br]has meaning for these people.

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The new law was celebrated, and we had[br]similar success in other countries.

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Another quick example: Mauritania.

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There, the highest priest,[br]the Grand Mufti of the country,

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graced us with the message

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that it was a crime

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to be written on banners[br]and taken to the oases.

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We were on the road for weeks[br]with our own camels.

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We had a hundred flags,[br]and wherever we went,

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we found only a sympathetic ear, open arms

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and historic, sacred hospitality.

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When eventually we wanted[br]to leave the country,

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the great scholar and Grand Mufti said,

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"Rüdiger, will you really[br]cover all 35 countries?

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Allah will not give you enough time."

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He was right.

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I'm 80 and action is needed now.

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Above all he had an idea and said,

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"If you could bring[br]the ten highest Muslims of the world

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to a table and have them declare[br]the custom a sin,

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then it will be a sin."

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Annette and I flew to Cairo[br]to the Al-Azhar University and mosque,

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comparable to the Vatican for Catholics.

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We were granted a private audience[br]with the highest authority

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on theological law, the Grand Mufti,[br]His Eminence Prof. Dr. Ali Gomaa.

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He listened to the idea and loved it,[br]especially when we guaranteed him

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that we would fund it,

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which we do with the support of sponsors.

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Then he said,[br]"I will not only moderate the conference,"

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which we had asked him to do,

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"but I'll assume the patronage."

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That he has done.

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At some point in 2006, our banners[br]fluttered over Cairo.

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"The International Conference for

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Preventing the Violation of Women's Bodies

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sponsored by the Grand Mufti of Egypt,[br]Prof. Dr. Ali Gomaa."

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Everyone came; there were 100 bodyguards,[br]the highest-ranking in the world.

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In the middle: the Grand Sheikh of Qatar.

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This man is forbidden entry[br]to Hamburg and the rest of Europe.

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He's at the center of the Danish[br]Muhammad cartoons controversy.

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In other words, these are men[br]who decide between life and death.

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But others came, too.[br]To the left, the Grand Sheikh al-Azhar.

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To the right, the Minister for Religion,[br]my patron.

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The highest in the world,[br]above whom I, a simpleton,

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place no one, except Allah.

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I welcomed them all,[br]and the conference began.

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Under our banner on[br]the representatives' table from the left:

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The Grand Mufti of Egypt,

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the Grand Sheikh al-Azhar,[br]Egypt's Minister for Religion,

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the ambassadress extraordinary[br]of Mrs. Mubarak,

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and Rüdiger, the bakery chain owner[br]from Germany.

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So much for Islam not being[br]open to dialogue.

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We had also invited medics,[br]who, in their way, made clear

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the horrors being done to women[br]with female genital mutilation.

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Then Annette was allowed to show her film.[br]Unprettified. Raw reality.

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The men's eyes were moist,

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they withdrew behind closed doors.

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A decision was reached after only 2 hours,

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and a "fatwa," a legal declaration,[br]was written.

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The Mufti went before the cameras[br]and announced what had been decided.

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The most important sentence was this one:

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"Female genital mutilation[br]is a punishable crime

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that breaches[br]the highest values of Islam."

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He signed the fatwa[br]and we thought the job was done --

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but there was something[br]we hadn't reckoned with.

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Because the shame of speaking[br]about women's genitalia

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has remained stronger than any reason.

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That's why we followed up.

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We documented the conference

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in this so-called Golden Book.

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A preacher's guide[br]for the imams of this world.

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Because Ali Gomaa, the patron,[br]liked the book so much,

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he blessed it with a preface.

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People couldn't wait[br]to get their hands on a copy.

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We went to many countries,[br]where we held conferences

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with the highest clerics.

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They read the book with interest.

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Some were so enthralled[br]that they kissed it.

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Unfortunately, most did not[br]have the courage

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to spread the word.

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"One may not speak of women's genitalia[br]in the mosque."

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Only a few managed to gather[br]the courage to speak out.

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But they did at least go[br]to the universities,

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to the market places, and sometimes

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we even found some brave imams

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who preached about it[br]in the mosque, as you see here,

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where it's broadcast[br]over the loudspeakers

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to where the women are segregated.

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They are the affected ones.[br]They will spread the message.

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But I'm running out of time.

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It's all a drop in the bucket.

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That's why I work[br]on many other strategies,

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to get the message through,[br]to abolish this custom.

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My ultimate vision would be this:

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That this message be proclaimed

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by the world's highest religious figures,[br]and in the birthplace of Islam,

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that is, here at the Kaaba in Mecca.

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Not on any old dreary pilgrim day,[br]but during the main pilgrimage period

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when 4 million people come together here.

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Men and women, hostile Islamic movements.

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Then, with all those and the Saudi king,

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I'd like to stretch my banner up there[br]between the minarets

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just as you see in my trial run[br]in the photo montage.

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Unfortunately, I lack the support[br]of the last remaining collaborator,

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the Saudi King, but I'm sure

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if he found out about it,[br]he would join in.

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For one thing, to help these women;

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for another, to show the world

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what the true values of Islam are,

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instead of being constantly being made

0:13:26.489,0:13:29.936
to look like a criminal organization,[br]thanks to terrorists.

0:13:29.936,0:13:32.931
If I can't do that,[br]then perhaps I can do this,

0:13:32.931,0:13:35.327
something already started in Hamburg,

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which at least many imams in mosques[br]around the world might follow in doing,

0:13:39.833,0:13:44.374
and we can stretch out our banners there.

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Maybe I'll live to see the day [br]when this little girl grows up

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and doesn't have to maim her daughters.

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Then my life will really[br]have been worthwhile.

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I would like to appeal to anyone[br]who has now heard

0:13:56.939,0:13:59.587
or seen this talk, to take part.

0:13:59.587,0:14:02.916
Not taking part is itself complicity.

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I will not step down from the stage

0:14:06.245,0:14:09.575
until we eliminate this practice.

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Now, I would like finally

0:14:12.163,0:14:15.663
to show the design for my banner.

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This is Annette, my co-campaigner.

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And this is...

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(Applause)

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In the main languages of the world,[br]with Arabic at the top.

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[Arabic][br]In the name of Allah.

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Most gracious and most merciful.

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That one has to be on top.

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Down below we also have it[br]in German:

0:14:44.394,0:14:48.153
Female genital mutilation[br]is incompatible with the Qur'an

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and the ethics of Islam.

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It is a usurpation of God[br]and discrimination of Islam.

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Thank you very much.

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(Applause)

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Thank you very much.

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(Applause)