Lately I have read many blogs and articles referencing Wafa Sultan, the secular ex-Muslim Syrian-American psychologist now receiving death threats. She recently spoke from Los Angeles on Al Jazeera, where she argued with the host and Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khouli about the Samuel Huntington Clash of Civilizations theory, scolding Muslims for treating non-Muslims differently and for not recognizing the accomplishments of non-Muslim society while using its wealth and technology. If she had incorporated a little history into her psychology doctorate, she may have learned that the Muslim world has given us many innovations that we take for granted in daily life. We know that she already knew this but probably considered its inclusion counter-productive in her attempt to slander Islam. Wafa Sultan's view does not surprise me as she has already stated her apostatasy from Islam,
"I lost my trust in their god and began to question all our teachings. It was the turning point of my life, and it has led me to this present point. I had to leave. I had to look for another god."
Although the Qur’an states,
"Those who reject Allah, and hinder (men) from the Path of Allah, then die rejecting Allah, Allah will not forgive them (Qur'an: 47:34.)"
Therefore this woman is another example of Muslims who have made their fame and fortune through supporting that which is against Islam, such as Salman Rushdie and Ayaan Hirsi Ali. It appears that these are the ones they call moderates. Those that slander Islam are considered heroes, and those that support it are considered extreme. I do not see what makes Wafa Sultan an expert on Islam, particularly when she generalises the entire Muslim community in her speech. With a display of extreme colonial undertones, when referring to the Muslim world she says,
"It is a clash between civilization and backwardness, between the civilized and the primitive, between barbarity and rationality."
I remember learning in history class that the white man invaded Africa to "lead the black man out of the darkness and into the light". Wafa Sultan speaks in a similar fashion, ignoring that barbarity and primitiveness exist in the USA where she lives, a country that executes prisoners, invades other countries to torture and slaughter the inhabitants. This woman who is educated to the doctorate level states, "the Muslims are the ones who began the clash of civilizations," when it is very clear that there has been a continuous series of atrocities throughout history, with their root in the ‘Christian Atonement’ theory.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Aaman
Interesting stuff, Jamal, we'd love to see this on Desicritics, will mail you separately
2 - gazelle
The gulf between jews and muslims is a sad fact of colonial machinations during decolonization. It was not as bad in the earlier part of the last century,
Quite simulataneously the 'islamic' mass movements have come together amid general poverty, exploitaion, during and after colonial rule, and festering unresolved conflicts despite decolonization such as kashmir and palestine.
How reckless.
best
3 - Christopher Rose
It isn't actually possible to bring the unholy trinity of the Judaeo_Cristiano-Islamico-deist theory into disrepute as it manages to do that all by itself.
That the adherents of this creation myth then seek to intimidate or threaten someone who displays the intellectual and spiritual honesty to challenge this warped dogma is more evidence of the gaping hole in their hearts and souls.
4 - Richard Brodie
Wafa Sultan is merely using psychology, her chosen subject, to become accepted amongst non-Muslims and increase her status.
You have no basis or right to make this slanderous assumption and statement. Stick to the facts. You both have agendas. Hers is the noble one of trying to expose Islam for the crock that it is.
At least YOUR answering machine has not "filled with dark threats", as you report with such smug satisfaction, [Edited]
5 - gazelle
#3 CR: I agree with you on your points.
but your statement is also too general - all are not as intolerant, but may be some or even most are.
#4 RB: Oh, and I thought I was more dangerous than alqaida.
best
6 - jamal
"Hers is the noble one of trying to expose Islam for the crock that it is."
There is no nobility in her words. She turned against Islam a long time ago and now she encourages others to do the same. She disguises this as an attempt to highlight those that distort Islam, but instead all she has done is cast doubt on its fundamentals.
She quotes snippets of Quranic verses out of context and in isolation, just as the militants use the very same snippets to justify their actions do " distorting the message of the Quran. How is that going to reform anyone’s mind?
Her speech is so flawed that she said “we have not seen a single Jew protest by killing people”, evidently omitting that Yigal Amir is the JEW that assasinated Yitzhak Rabin after a demonstration!
7 - Richard Brodie
jamal There is no nobility in her words. She turned against Islam a long time ago and now she encourages others to do the same.
You obviously think that it is bad to defect from Islam and good to convert to it. Some people on this planet have the opposite opinion.
The reason you are not outraged, as any civilized person would be, by her answering machine being filled with "dark threats" (is that taquiyya for "death threats"?) is because the dogma you so incorretly characterize as the "Reigion of Peace" establishes the death penalty for apostacy.
Your taquiyya is so very transparent. You really need to get better at this important Koranic skill if you expect to be successful at mesmerizing all the poor, unsuspecting multiculturalist infidel fools into laying down and letting Islam achieve its ultimate goal of overrunning the entire earth.
You slander Ms. Sultan by accusing her of being a dangerous "slandering apostate" from Islam, and sucking up to the "primitive and barbarous" Americans with the sole motivation to "become accepted amongst non-Muslims and increase her status." If THIS is not edited out, then neither should my statement be, that "moderate" Muslims like yourself are ultimately more dangerous than Al Qaida.
8 - Yolanda
It is so humorous to me that Jamal would lack the technology to upload his statement on the Internet had it not been for the ingenuity of the "primitive and barbarous" west.
The primitive and barbarous west that allows anyone to use he internet and have access to information around the world, unlike many Muslim countries that ban blogs and access to information in he west that they do not agree with. I guess because we are "primitive and barbarous"?
The primitive and barbarous west that donates hundreds of millions for Tsunami relief, while fellow Muslim countries barely add to the pot.
Oh yes, and regarding Islam the tolerant... Now in Afghanistan a man will be sentenced to death for converting to Christianity, how awful it would be if here in the west we executed all Christians that converted to Islam, but of course, that idea never crossed our minds... maybe because we are "primitive and barbarous"?
I am sick and tired of Muslim countries insulting everything western. Today the UN (monopolized by Muslim countries) displayed a poster depicting Lego (a Danish company) as racist. So now ALL Danes are racist? Lego had nothing to do with the cartoons. This clearly shows that Muslim countries are so overtly racist (a pro Palestinian Jew from south America is as likely to be targeted for murder just for being Jewish, in the middle east, as and IDF soldier) Iran makes cartoons about Jewish Holocaust victims that died before Israel was created, why? They were dead! How are they at fault for Israel's actions now? They are not. It's only because they are Jewish. Horrible blatant racism! But we are the "primitive and barbarous"? What if we faulted all Muslims for 9/11? As Muslims fault all Jews for Israel, we would definitely be "primitive and barbarous"
And now one (ex) Muslim woman, benefiting from western society has the courage to speak up, and tell her brethren the real reason she believes their countries are "Third world" countries, and Muslim apologists like Jamal cant wait to join the masses cursing her.
Shame on you! You are the "Primitive and Barbarous"
Yolanda, from Caracas, Venezuela.
9 - jamal
It is bad to defect from Islam and good to convert to it, but then this is a matter of free choice. Wafa Sultan is not allowing others to exercise their free choice as she is actively campaigning and encouraging them to leave Islam based upon her distortions. At the same time she panders to the anti-Islamic following which in turn places negative focus upon Islam and poses difficulty for the Muslim to practice in peace. For this, if you think I am "ultimately more dangerous than Al Qaida", then so be it.
The is not dangerousness but intelligence, but then the colonialists considered intelligence a threat also. If intelligence is dangerous, then this is what I would rather be than to be similar to the likes of Yolanda who fails to cmprehend that while both East and West can be "primitive and barbarous", both can also provide technology and internet access.
10 - Yolanda
How is Wafa Sultan not allowing others to exercise their free choice? She is one woman speaking on Al-Jazeera! This is her opinion. She has no power to prevent or force anyone to do anything. People can turn off their TV's when they se her.
The Afghani Judicial system does have power to execute a man for choosing Christianity over Islam. Mrs. Sultan is not allowed to kill anyone.
Sorry, many western websites banned in Pakistan. Maybe even this one.
"It is bad to defect from Islam and good to convert to it"
Thank you. You make my point for me.
11 - Akeel Shah
Wafa Sultan obviously has the right to believe whatever she wants and to express her views. I think this should be the case everywhere, freedom of religious belief, or non-belief, is a fundamental human right. No one should be attacked for being a Muslim apostate, or an apostate of any other religion for that matter.
Wafa raises some interesting points that I think have some validity to them. There is a radical school of Islam, mostly inspired by Saudi Wahhabism, that has merged a violent political agenda with the religion. However this is far from being the only or dominant tradition in Islam. There is a great variety of religious interpretations, some much more 'liberal-minded' than others.
It is true that hardline Wahhabist and some other orthodox schools would argue she is deserving of death for being an apostate. But it's definitely not that case that all Muslims would, particularly those Muslims who do have a 'Western' education and are well versed in the ideas of 'enlightenment'. In the same way her blanket statements about Islam and its people being primitive are a gross generalization. To argue that rationalism is antithetical to Islam is wrong, a good example of this is the Mutazilite school which predates rationality and classicism in the West by centuries. Also, 'liberal' religious interpretations also have roots in Islam.
Given the present hatred that many in the West harbour towards Islam and Muslims, it's not surprising most would react defensively towards Wafa's completely one-sided message.
I wrote a post on my blog about Wafa if anyone is interested in reading it.
12 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
"Evidently, Wafa Sultan distorts the facts in order to fit a politically motivated inaccurate view of Islam. The world is full of good Muslims who understand Islam as a religion of peace, and it is a minority of Muslims, like the members of Al-Qaeda, that have misinterpreted the Qur'an. I am therefore not surprised that in response to Wafa Sultan's distortion of these facts, clerics throughout the Muslim world have condemned her, and her telephone answering machine has filled with dark threats causing her to go into hiding."
Jamal, you are a bit disingenuous here. Whatever Wafa's Sultan's views are, and no matter how accurate or inaccurate she may be, she faces death threats from your religious community for having aired them.
Noam Chomsky, an Israeli linguistics scholar who has turned publicly on his native nation with the venom of a serpent, has no Jewish equivalents of fatwas on his head. The same is true for Uri Avneri, Jeff Halper and many others. It is not that we Jews do not engage in wishing death upon our enemies. Sharon was given a pulsa denura curse a number of months ago. But the pulsa denura is a curse, not an execution order, as is a fatwa. Quite a difference, wouldn't you say?
And if you don't believe in G-d altogether, like some here, a curse is nothing more than an evil wish - worthless words out of the mouths of bearded fools engaging in fantasy.
13 - ergun
i hate oll god allah i calenge them any time
14 - dewey
What is the purpose of religion? Who has the authority to interpret their religion's doctrines?
15 - gazelle
ergun [#13]:
how does one calange god?
and an oll one at a that?
and then ok also allah?
by them you mean all of the oll, god & allah - all of the above.
you'll have your answer in due time due to a back log of complaints, and 'rights are reserved'....
best
16 - jamal
Yolanda, banned websites and an apostate (assumed) execution does not support Wafa Sultan's speech. She seeks to prosper by recruiting apostated 'Muslims' and rallying the anti-Muslims with her far-right cry of "Fear Muslims! Fear Arabs! Fear Islam!" Quoting Islamic scriptures on warfare out of context and in isolation to justify her beliefs, just as do the militants to justify their actions, Wafa Sultan and Al Qaeda are alike in distorting the message of Islam. If your comments suggest you are an advocate of freedom of speech and information, then this should INCLUDE talking against Wafa Sultan.
17 - Yolanda
Jamal
I am not stopping you from being critical. But I do disagree with you!
For example, you compare ALL Jews to “Arial 'The Butcher' Sharon”. I know for a fact this is not true. Many South-American Jews are pro-Palestinian, have never been to the Middle East and greatly contribute to the societies they live in, just as Dr. Sultan said.
Yet I am not going to threaten to kill you for making that comparison.
I am not going to forbid you from making that comparison.
You can not force anyone to believe you, most certainly not me.
The same with Dr. Sultan. She said something you do not like. You disagree with her. She does not force you to believe her, and obviously you don’t. You can ignore her if you wish. All the Muslim world can ignore her if they wish. But freedom of speech means you do not have the right to GAG her.
Personally, I do not interpret anything she says as “Fear Muslims, Fear Arabs, fear Islam” Mainly because she was speaking in ARABIC on AL JAZEERA! So I can safely assume she was directing her speech at Muslims and Arabs.
You want us to not fear Islam? Then try to discourage those people that run rampant burning embassies and KFC’s, burning flags while chanting death threats, decapitating, killing and kidnapping journalist. Those make us fear Islam, not Dr. Wafa Sultan.
Yolanda
from Caracas, Venezuela.
18 - jamal
"you compare ALL Jews to "Arial 'The Butcher' Sharon"
You are mistaken. Nowhere have I compared ALL Jews to Ariel Sharon. As Wafa Sultan has placed ALL Jews on a pedestal compared to Muslims, I have used the example of this ONE Jew to highlight the flaw in her statement.
You have either lied or misquited me in order to further your arguement, just as Wafa Sultan lies and misquotes Islam to further hers.
Therefore I am not surprised that you agree with her, and this influence is an example of how her distorted and inaccrurate speeches will not help Islam or humanity for that matter.
19 - Christopher Rose
Then again, Jamal, as the Torah, the Bible and the Koran were all written by people and there doesn't appear to be any gods at all, how does any of this help humanity?
20 - jamal
If the message of religion is interpreted and understood as one of peace and humanity then can it not help?
21 - Yolanda
Dear Jamal,
In the ENGLISH translation of Dr. Wafa Sultan's speech in Arabic directed at Muslims, She says “THE Jews”, meaning: the general members of the Jewish ethno-religious group. You say She is “out of touch” meaning: wrong, because of one example: Ariel “the Butcher” Sharon.
So I guess when you tell me “Muslims are peaceful” and “The world is full of good Muslims” I only need “to refer to the exploits of [Osama bin Laden] to show how out of touch these points are” (in your own words Jamal)
This is the problem with many Muslims (not all) I read in blogs. They dispel their credibility by falling into their own trap. They say that the West labels all Muslims terrorist, yet they themselves and many Muslims for DECADES have labeled ALL Jews as butchers, or evil or horrible spawn of the devil or blood drinking or octopus occupiers. It would be nice to hear Arabs rightfully rant against the “Israeli Occupiers” or even more specifically “those Israelis that consider Palestinians to be a pastrami sandwich”* and not rant against ALL JEWS . Because not all Jews are against the Palestinians, as not all Muslims are terrorists.
Treat others, as you want to be treated. If you want respect…inspire it!
I thought the Mohammed cartoons were abhorrent and very ill timed, but I didn’t care to complain about them because… Hey! Look at all the horribly insulting, blasphemous, slanderous cartoons many Arab newspapers have been publishing for years about the Jews. So…. now the Muslims know how it feels.
*Ariel Sharon’s 1973 remark to Winston S. Churchill III on how Israel would deal with the Palestinians. "We'll make a pastrami sandwich out of them"
Yolanda,
Caracas, Venezuela.
22 - Christopher Rose
Jamal, it doesn't really matter too much that part of the message of religion is "peace and humanity", nor do you need religion to be in favour of that.
My central point is that our apparent reality is that our species is clinging to life on a little rock surrounded by an awful lot of empty space.
Humanity needs to come together an awful lot more and work for our common good than the horrible mess we see all around the world these days.
I still fail to see how the worship of some being for which there is zero evidence that it exists helps us.
The fact that there are three large deist cults fighting bitterly over subjects like moral purity or which works of fiction are the true one pure source of all that is good in the world frankly makes me despair, sometimes.
23 - jamal
"The Jews have come from the tragedy (of the Holocaust), and forced the world to respect them, with their knowledge, not with their terror, with their work, not their crying and yelling" ... "We have not seen a single Jew blow himself up in a German restaurant. We have not seen a single Jew destroy a church. We have not seen a single Jew protest by killing people."
Yolanda, this is what she says. If we are to take into account the many incidents in Palestine including those by Ariel Sharon, Yigal Amir, Gush Emunim, Lehi, Kach and Kahane Chai, then the above is incorrect.
You have again lied or misquoted me in order to further your arguement, just as Wafa Sultan lies and misquotes Islam to further hers. Along with saying "the world is full of good Muslims who understand Islam as a religion of peace", I also said "it is a minority of Muslims, like the members of Al-Qaeda, that have misinterpreted the Qur'an". Therefore I am not generalising an entire people with a sweeping statement as you have alleged. Instead I acknowledge that there is good and bad in every group.
Therefore it is you that should "treat others, as you want to be treated. If you want respect...inspire it!"
24 - jamal
Chris, I see your point. It is disappointing regarding the level of disunity and disagreement both within religions, nations and groups and between religions, nations and groups. Many will disagree based upon their beliefs and alternativly many will unite by way of their beliefs. I believe that beliefs, whether political, enviromental, spritual or scientific can unite people as a common-denominator. Therefore, where there is despair is also hope.
25 - Yolanda
Are you pretending to not understand me? Maybe you have difficulty with my English. (LOL)
This is what I'm doing. I'm using your own words But I replace all Jewish references with Muslim references so that you, as a Muslim, can see how racist your statement is.
Example, I quote you, the words in brackets are my replacements:
"The world is full of good Muslims who understand Islam as a religion of peace"
"If we are to take into account the many incidents [around the world] including those by [Al-Qaeda, Lashkar I Jhangvi, Jama'at al-Tawhid wal Jihad, Abu Sayyaf, Ansar al-Islam, Ansar al-Sunnah, Jemaah Islamiyah, Shahid Brigade Riadus-Salahina, Asbat al-Ansar, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Gama'a al-Islamiyya, Harakat ul-Mujahidin, Al-Jihad, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Le Groupe Salafiste pour la Predication et le Combat, Tanzim Qa’idat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn, Jamaat ul-Fuqra, Al Ummah, Abu Nidal, bu Hafs al-Masri Brigades] then the above is incorrect."
See? When using your words, but speaking of Muslims, instead of Jews, the statement should seem very racist to you, as a Muslim. If you do not like your own word used against you, maybe you should not have used them against others.
As far as respect. You were the first to make the racist statements in your “On Wafa Sultan's "There Is No Clash of Civilizations" post … I am just reacting.
Oh… and accusing me of lying is a weak debate tool. Be smarter!
Oh yes, I too believe the world would be better off without any religions. They only serve to tell one group of people that they are better than the rest, and all wars stem from them.