Fourteen years ago my life changed forever as I arrived in the United States, holding tightly to hope and a promise.

That promise was freedom and a dream of a better life.

I entered this beautiful country as a documented immigrant at the age of 18 in August 2002, almost one year after 9/11. After surviving 15 years of oppression under Sharia in Iran, I felt older than my years. I had seen too much and I knew all too well the suffering of those who were subjected to Islam. What I had witnessed and experienced had left my soul weary. But in America, I felt safe. I was able to breathe, and I could stop looking over my shoulder and living in fear.

I could now believe in miracles. Here I was, the newest member of the greatest country in the world. It was my rebirth into freedom. I was in a new place that viewed me as a human; someone of value to society. Finally, my life mattered. I was a daughter of liberty; a citizen of the U.S.A.

I’ve never forgotten those who I left behind -- and I have dedicated my life to them. How could I turn my back on them, when I know all too well the vicious suffering women endure in Islamic-ruled countries?

At the age of 9, Qur’anic teachings and Islamic traditions forced me into womanhood. My thoughts, my actions and my life were no longer my own. From that moment on, I lost all rights as a person, as my instruction in preparation to marry and bear children became my only purpose in life. No longer would I be allowed in public without my hijab; prayer and submission would dominate my days. The life of a carefree child at play came to an abrupt and sudden end.

For the next 9 years, I would suffer terrible cruelty under Islam. Rape, lashings, arrests and beatings were my life because I was regarded as property to be “handled” rather than a human being to be loved. During those nine years, I was sold into marriage to a much older man who abused me terribly. A bruised body and broken bones became a common reality for me, and there was little I could do to stop it. Divorce was not an option. Islamic law offers women little support in abusive marriages.

I was trapped, like so many other young girls and women around me were. My silent screams of desperation would remain unheard -- until the day I decided I would rather die escaping than continue to live my life as a slave.

Fourteen years have now passed since I gained my freedom and began my mission to help and liberate those still trapped in Islamic countries. I do my best to be a voice for the voiceless who are still living a nightmare under the tyrannical rule of Islam.

I also fight for my fellow Americans. The present danger that Islam poses to this nation is very real, despite what our leftist government and media would have you believe. And because of the willful blindness and corruption within our government and media, America is now in grave danger vis-à-vis Islamic Supremacism and Jihad. I am witness to the hidden war between Islam and the West, and I see clearly, with great sadness and fear, that we are losing.

There are those voices amongst us that argue that Sharia is compatible with American life and can coexist harmoniously alongside the U.S. Constitution. Sorry, but I know Sharia. I know Islam. The coexistence of Sharia with the U.S. Constitution is impossible. And it is crucial to crystallize this fact and to expose exactly what Sharia is because it is now making significant gains on our territory.

Sharia severely limits individual rights, and every country ruled by Sharia forces its citizens to adhere to a strict code of living in accordance with the Qur’an, Hadith and the Supreme leader’s ruling. The concept of free speech, for instance, is anathema to Islam. So is the notion of the individual. In Islam, it is “Allah” who dictates and defines the limits on acceptable and unacceptable actions. In Islam, it is the Qur’an that dictates the lives of the believers, and they have no freedom of choice in regard to anything they do.

Sharia denies its followers basic human dignity. In Islamic countries, women are second-class citizens, mere property, and denied many of the rights Americans take for granted. The right to initiate divorce, travel alone, or own property unless permitted by a man is denied to a woman in Islam.

Submission of the individual is also evident in Islam’s denial of freedom of religion. Under Sharia, you must practice Islam. Anyone born in an Islamic country is, by law, a Muslim, regardless of heritage. Attempting to change your faith is punishable by death.

In my homeland, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Sharia is the law of the land. To speak out against it has dire consequences. Because of Sharia, Iran has one of the highest number of executions in the world. Reports and evidence of crimes against humanity come out of the Islamic Republic daily, many from released prisoners and their families.  Patterns of torture, abuse and death of political prisoners are an undeniable truth.

I am saying all of this because today, as I look at what is happening in America, I see our freedom gravely threatened. Islam is at war with us, and it will stop at nothing in its deliberate and sustained attack on our freedoms. Islamization of the West is occurring at a very fast pace and one of the vehicles Supremacists are using to achieve it is the flooding of Western countries with Muslim refugees. Islamic Obama has opened the floodgates and Hillary intends to escalate the process.

Our leadership and media, meanwhile, perpetrate the lie that accepting these refugees is somehow about tolerance. It is not about tolerance — it is about our values being exploited by our enemies to assist us in cultural suicide and leaving ourselves vulnerable to jihadist attacks. 

The dire danger to America lies in the lies told by our leftist government and media and the ignorance of many Americans about Islam’s true character and purpose. I fear that Americans have become blind to how precious and rare freedom is and how it must be protected and fought for without pause. I can’t help but fear that what is coming to America is what came to my homeland in 1979 -- and I refuse to be silenced again. And because I refuse to be silent today, I know that certain Islamic forces have targeted me. But I will continue to speak out.

I tell you these things not to gain your sympathy, but to help you understand that our freedom is under fire. Our country is headed down a very dangerous path. The Left has succeeded in making resistance to Islamization appear to be racism and hatred. We must fight this malicious lie. We must fight to become well-informed and educated about Islam in order to defeat leftist and Islamist propaganda. By remaining silent, being afraid to be called names and ignoring reality, we will be surrendering our freedoms to the enemy.

Time is short. Every day that passes is one day we cannot spare. My hope for freedom and a better life was realized when I stepped on American soil fourteen years ago. But what frightens me is that the pernicious evil I escaped from is now coming here. I see it with my own eyes – and, catastrophically, this nation is sleepwalking like a zombie into disaster. I will not allow my freedom to be taken away again without fighting till my last breath. I hope my fellow Americans who love their country as much as I do will join me and other freedom fighters in our battle to save it.

Aynaz Anni Cyrus is an Iranian-American human rights activist and founder of Live Up To Freedom. She is the producer of The Glazov Gang and hosts its feature, The Unknown.