Caravan of Hope | Rüdiger Nehberg | TEDxTUHHSalon

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences.

Rüdiger Nehberg and his human rights organization, Target, fight the crime of female genital mutilation (FGM). He seeks to put an end to a terrible tradition that kills thousands of girls and women every year. In his talk, he shares his incredible journey through the deserts and boardrooms of Arab countries, and shows how he successfully promotes his ideas within the Islamic world, and in close cooperation with Islam.

Rüdiger Nehberg, also known as “Sir Vival”, is a famous German survival expert and human rights activist. His organization, Target (www.target-nehberg.de), serves as an interface between critics and supporters.

Hello! Dear friends all over the world!

Welcome to this presentation
about my project.

My and my wife's project.

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

in my eyes the greatest crime of humanity,

since it has been raging for 5,000 years.

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

First of all, I would like
to introduce myself.

My name is Rüdiger and
I'm from Hamburg,

where I ran a confectionery
for 25 years.

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

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

that I was familiar
with the theme of "survival"

and could bring off exciting campaigns.

For example this one, over the Atlantic

from Africa to Brazil
with a massive tree trunk.

The sail was an appeal
to the President of Brazil

to prevent the impending genocide

of the last of the isolated tribes,
the Yanomami.

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

More submerged than on the surface.

However, such campaigns were perfect
for generating media interest,

and even a small person like myself

could raise his concerns
to the whole world.

In 1977, I crossed the Danakil desert
in Ethiopia

with my own caravan.

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

and we were eyewitnesses
to the murders there.

Despite all the atrocities we saw,

we, on the other hand, also found

endless hospitality from the Muslims
who accompanied us.

Bedouin, Arab hospitality.

Twice it happened that we were attacked,

and our two bodyguards, whom you see here,

clawed their way in front of us,

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

"These are our guests.

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

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

So, I learnt then at an early age

that you cannot equate Islam to terrorism.

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

e.g., the Inquisition, the Crusades,
the extermination of Native Americans,

but rather with true values,

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

These are values worth fighting for.

After many years, I returned
to the Danakil desert,

together with my wife, Annette,

and that's when we heard about

this crime of madness,
female genital mutilation.

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

-- the rest are Christians
and those of other convictions --

I thought: How can
a world religion like Islam,

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

without putting up any resistance?

And the idea was born

to try to persuade the highest
decision makers of Islam

to declare the custom a sin.

We searched for fellow campaigners
among German organizations.

We didn't find any.

We were repeatedly told

that we were probably completely nuts,

that Islam is not open to dialogue,

that they'd cut my throat.

On the advice of Amnesty International,
and without further ado,

we then established our own organization

independent of cowards and worrywarts.

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

we needed pictures --
something we didn't have.

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

to take pictures with a hidden camera.

I won't show you the horrid, bloody images

but I would like
to briefly outline the crime.

Girls from the age of 4 weeks
up till their wedding

are at some point grabbed
by their parents and relatives,

laid on the ground,
and with their limbs pinned down,

have their clitoris and labia cut away,

without any anaesthesia,

and have their vagina sewn up
with a blunt needle,

without anaesthesia,
with absurd instruments,

by people with no knowledge
of hygiene or anatomy.

The vagina is to heal over, closed.

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

Urination now takes a quarter of an hour.

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

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

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

on the wedding night, it goes further.

The man needs to open her.

He has never seen a naked woman before.

His uncles have told him,

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

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

If you don't succeed,
you don't need to worry,

you take a knife and cut through."

That is pharaonic mutilation.

One-third of the girls die in the process.

This one was mutilated 3 months ago.

Shock caused the girl to lose her speech.

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

Most are under Islamic rule.

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

the most frequent answer is,

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

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

Quite the opposite;
every believer acknowledges

five times a day in prayer

the singular majesty of Allah the creator.

Allah is perfect, faultless.

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

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

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

who cuts women about.

But now we had the pictures.

Our first fellow campaigner
was this sultan.

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

There was hard discussion for two days,

but we had the Minister of Health
on our side,

the highest sheikhs on our side.

Then came the great decision:

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

We must ban it."

In the end, the sultan signed
this new tribal law.

If you know Africa
and the tribal customs,

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

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

Another quick example: Mauritania.

There, the highest priest,
the Grand Mufti of the country,

graced us with the message

that it was a crime

to be written on banners
and taken to the oases.

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

We had a hundred flags,
and wherever we went,

we found only a sympathetic ear, open arms

and historic, sacred hospitality.

When eventually we wanted
to leave the country,

the great scholar and Grand Mufti said,

"Rüdiger, will you really
cover all 35 countries?

Allah will not give you enough time."

He was right.

I'm 80 and action is needed now.

Above all he had an idea and said,

"If you could bring
the ten highest Muslims of the world

to a table and have them declare
the custom a sin,

then it will be a sin."

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

comparable to the Vatican for Catholics.

We were granted a private audience
with the highest authority

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

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

that we would fund it,

which we do with the support of sponsors.

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

which we had asked him to do,

"but I'll assume the patronage."

That he has done.

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

"The International Conference for

Preventing the Violation of Women's Bodies

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

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

In the middle: the Grand Sheikh of Qatar.

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

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

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

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

To the right, the Minister for Religion,
my patron.

The highest in the world,
above whom I, a simpleton,

place no one, except Allah.

I welcomed them all,
and the conference began.

Under our banner on
the representatives' table from the left:

The Grand Mufti of Egypt,

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

the ambassadress extraordinary
of Mrs. Mubarak,

and Rüdiger, the bakery chain owner
from Germany.

So much for Islam not being
open to dialogue.

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

the horrors being done to women
with female genital mutilation.

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

The men's eyes were moist,

they withdrew behind closed doors.

A decision was reached after only 2 hours,

and a "fatwa," a legal declaration,
was written.

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

The most important sentence was this one:

"Female genital mutilation
is a punishable crime

that breaches
the highest values of Islam."

He signed the fatwa
and we thought the job was done --

but there was something
we hadn't reckoned with.

Because the shame of speaking
about women's genitalia

has remained stronger than any reason.

That's why we followed up.

We documented the conference

in this so-called Golden Book.

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

Because Ali Gomaa, the patron,
liked the book so much,

he blessed it with a preface.

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

We went to many countries,
where we held conferences

with the highest clerics.

They read the book with interest.

Some were so enthralled
that they kissed it.

Unfortunately, most did not
have the courage

to spread the word.

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

Only a few managed to gather
the courage to speak out.

But they did at least go
to the universities,

to the market places, and sometimes

we even found some brave imams

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

where it's broadcast
over the loudspeakers

to where the women are segregated.

They are the affected ones.
They will spread the message.

But I'm running out of time.

It's all a drop in the bucket.

That's why I work
on many other strategies,

to get the message through,
to abolish this custom.

My ultimate vision would be this:

That this message be proclaimed

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

that is, here at the Kaaba in Mecca.

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

when 4 million people come together here.

Men and women, hostile Islamic movements.

Then, with all those and the Saudi king,

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

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

Unfortunately, I lack the support
of the last remaining collaborator,

the Saudi King, but I'm sure

if he found out about it,
he would join in.

For one thing, to help these women;

for another, to show the world

what the true values of Islam are,

instead of being constantly being made

to look like a criminal organization,
thanks to terrorists.

If I can't do that,
then perhaps I can do this,

something already started in Hamburg,

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

and we can stretch out our banners there.

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

and doesn't have to maim her daughters.

Then my life will really
have been worthwhile.

I would like to appeal to anyone
who has now heard

or seen this talk, to take part.

Not taking part is itself complicity.

I will not step down from the stage

until we eliminate this practice.

Now, I would like finally

to show the design for my banner.

This is Annette, my co-campaigner.

And this is...

(Applause)

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

[Arabic]
In the name of Allah.

Most gracious and most merciful.

That one has to be on top.

Down below we also have it
in German:

Female genital mutilation
is incompatible with the Qur'an

and the ethics of Islam.

It is a usurpation of God
and discrimination of Islam.

Thank you very much.

(Applause)

Thank you very much.

(Applause)