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On January 10, 2011, Sultan, opposing [[Ibrahim Ramey]], appeared on the [[Russia|Russian]] television news show CrossTalk with host [[Peter Lavelle]], where she stated: "I'm not against Muslims, I'm against Islam."<ref>RT news: CrossTalk: host Peter Lavelle, at marker number 17.10[http://rt.com/programs/crosstalk/crosstalk-essential-quran/] RT news: CrossTalk: host Peter Lavelle, at marker number 17.10 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBc9EtnZWyg]</ref>
On January 10, 2011, Sultan, opposing [[Ibrahim Ramey]], appeared on the [[Russia|Russian]] television news show CrossTalk with host [[Peter Lavelle]], where she stated: "I'm not against Muslims, I'm against Islam."<ref>RT news: CrossTalk: host Peter Lavelle, at marker number 17.10[http://rt.com/programs/crosstalk/crosstalk-essential-quran/] RT news: CrossTalk: host Peter Lavelle, at marker number 17.10 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBc9EtnZWyg]</ref>

==Political views==
Sultan describes her thesis as witnessing "a battle between [[modernity]] and [[barbarian|barbarism]] which Islam will lose". It has brought her telephone threats,<ref name="nyt"/> but also praise from reformers. Her comments, especially a pointed criticism that "no [[Jew]] has [[Suicide attack#Muslim religious motivation|blown himself up]] in a [[Germany|German]] restaurant", brought her an invitation to [[Jerusalem]] by the [[American Jewish Congress]].

Sultan believes that "The trouble with Islam is deeply rooted in its teachings. Islam is not only a religion. Islam [is] [[Political aspects of Islam|also a political ideology]] that preaches [[violence]] and applies its agenda by force."<ref>{{citeweb|title=A "crack in the wall" - Wafa Sultan on the mohammed cartoons|url=http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Negt6IzxPTo|accessdate=2008-10-14}}</ref> In a discussion with Ahmad bin Muhammad, she said: "It was these teachings that distorted this [[terrorist]] and killed his humanity".<ref>{{citeweb|title=LA Psychologist Wafa Sultan Clashes with Algerian Islamist Ahmad bin Muhammad over Islamic Teachings and Terrorism|url=http://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/783.htm|publisher=''[[Middle East Media Research Institute]]''|accessdate=2008-02-24}}</ref>


==Recognitions==
==Recognitions==

Revision as of 21:26, 8 October 2011

Wafa Sultan
Born
Baniyas, Syria
NationalitySyrian
CitizenshipUnited States of America
EducationMedicine (psychiatry)
Alma materUniversity of Aleppo
OccupationPsychiatrist
Known forCriticism of Islam
TitleDoctor

Wafa Sultan (Arabic: وفاء سلطان; born June 14, 1958, Baniyas, Syria) is a medical doctor who trained as a psychiatrist in Syria, and an American author and critic of Muslim society and Islam[1].

Life and career

Sultan was born into a large traditional Muslim[1] family in Baniyas, Syria.[2][3][4]

Although Sultan wanted to be a writer, and would have preferred to study Arabic literature, she studied at the Medical faculty at the University of Aleppo due to pressure from her family[5], stating that she was shocked into secularism by the 1979 atrocities committed by Islamic extremists of the Muslim Brotherhood against innocent Syrians, including her witnessing while she was a medical student the machine-gun assassination of her professor, Yusef al Yusef,[6] an ophthalmologist from the university who was renowned outside Syria. "They shot hundreds of bullets into him, shouting, 'Allahu Akbar!' " she said. "At that point, 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."[7] She worked for four years as a psychiatrist in a hospital.

She, her teacher husband and children immigrated to the United States in 1989, where she moved to Los Angeles, California and became a naturalized citizen. Initially she had to work as a cashier in a gas station and behind the counter in a pizza parlour, but found her treatment in these jobs better than as a medical professional in Syria.[8] From the time of her arrival she begun to contribute articles to Arabic publications in the United States and published three books in Arabic.

Sultan became notable after the September 11, 2001 attacks for her participation in Middle East political debates, with Arabic essays that were circulated widely, and for television appearances on Al Jazeera and CNN in 2005.[9]

On February 21, 2006, she took part in Al Jazeera's weekly 45-minute discussion program The Opposite Direction. She spoke from Los Angeles, arguing with host Faisal al-Qassem and with Ibrahim Al-Khouli, a professor at Al-Azhar University in Cairo (Egypt), about Samuel P. Huntington's Clash of Civilizations theory. A six minute composite video of her remarks was subtitled and widely circulated by MEMRI on blogs and through e-mail; The New York Times estimated that it has been seen at least one million times.[1] In this video she criticised Muslims for treating non-Muslims differently, and for not recognizing the accomplishments of Jewish and other members of non-Muslim society while using their wealth and technology. The video was the most discussed video of all time with over 260,000 comments on the video-sharing website YouTube.[10] The full transcript of the debate which was made public later, also raised many online discussions.[11]

Following her participation in founding of the Former Muslims United on October 13, 2009, Sultan released her first book in English, A God Who Hates: The Courageous Woman Who Inflamed the Muslim World Speaks Out Against the Evils of Islam.[12]

In October 2010 Sultan was called as an expert witness to give testimony at the Geert Wilders trial. There she confirmed that she had met Wilders several times in 2009, had seen his film Fitna, and in general agreed with his views about Islam.[13]

On January 10, 2011, Sultan, opposing Ibrahim Ramey, appeared on the Russian television news show CrossTalk with host Peter Lavelle, where she stated: "I'm not against Muslims, I'm against Islam."[14]

Political views

Sultan describes her thesis as witnessing "a battle between modernity and barbarism which Islam will lose". It has brought her telephone threats,[1] but also praise from reformers. Her comments, especially a pointed criticism that "no Jew has blown himself up in a German restaurant", brought her an invitation to Jerusalem by the American Jewish Congress.

Sultan believes that "The trouble with Islam is deeply rooted in its teachings. Islam is not only a religion. Islam [is] also a political ideology that preaches violence and applies its agenda by force."[15] In a discussion with Ahmad bin Muhammad, she said: "It was these teachings that distorted this terrorist and killed his humanity".[16]

Recognitions

In 2006 Wafa Sultan was named in Time Magazine in a list of 100 influential people in the world "whose power, talent or moral example is transforming the world."[17][18] Time stated that "Sultan's influence flows from her willingness to express openly critical views on Islamic extremism that are widely shared but rarely aired by other Muslims."[17]

Religious sentiment

In the same Time interview, Sultan described herself as a Muslim who does not adhere to Islam, yet remains associated with the faith through her birth, rather than belief; "I even don't believe in Islam, but I am a Muslim."[17]

Criticism

About the University of Aleppo incident related above, related in an interview with the New York Times, in which Sultan claimed that in 1979, gunmen from the Muslim Brotherhood burst into a classroom at the university and killed her professor before her eyes, Riyad Asfari, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Aleppo, stated in an interview that the assassination took place off campus, and that no one had ever been killed anywhere at the university. Asfari's comment was also supported by Syrian expatriates Adnan Halabi and Ghada Moezzin. Moezzin, who attended the University of Aleppo in 1979, commented "We would’ve known about the killing if it had happened. It would have been big news on campus and I do not recall ever hearing about it." Moezzin added that government security was always present around the university at the time.[19]

Talk of nuclear attack in the Middle East

Wafa Sultan is quoted at a lecture at the Ahavath Torah Synagogue (led by Rabbi Jon Hausman in NYC) as saying: “I believe King Abdullah can change Islam overnight, but you need to put pressure on him to do it, and the same kind of pressure you put on Japan, you might need it” at that moment someone from the audience interjects and asks, “atom bombs?” Wafa Sultan replies, “Yes. At some point the West will need to do it.”[20]

She says: “Islam is infiltrating and you are doing nothing about it.” Someone from the audience then asks Sultan, “How would we stop it from infiltrating?” Sultan replies, “Get involved in politics, you have to know the kind of leaders you are choosing.” The man then says, “If we got involved in politics, what would our platform be, what would we say?” Sultan replies quoting Geert Wilders, “Islam is not religion!” The man interrupts and asks, “what would our platform be, what would A, B and C be?” Sultan replies, “the same you dealt with Nazism. The same way, the same exact way. The same way!” To this she receives a big applause from the audience…”you reversed the Japanese culture, the same, you might need to do it, you might need to do a heavy pressure, I cannot predict the kind of pressure, you understand it, I don’t have to say it.”[21]

References

  1. ^ a b c d John M. Broder (2006-03-11). "For Muslim Who Says Violence Destroys Islam, Violent Threats". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-24. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ Ruthie Blum Leibowitz. "One on One: A woman's work in progress". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2008-03-01. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ Gerard Henderson (2007-08-28). "Welcome to all who pass the test". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2008-03-01. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ womensenews.org
  5. ^ Wendt, Jana, A Matter of Principle: New Meetings with the Good, the Great and the Formidable, Melbourne University Publishing, 2008, p.46
  6. ^ Kerry Howley. "Breaking the Silence: One woman is risking her life to speak the truth about radical Islam". Readers Digest. Retrieved 2008-09-20. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ John M. Broder (2006-03-11). "The Saturday Profile; For Muslim Who Says Violence Destroys Islam, Violent Threats". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-20. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ Wendt, Jana, A Matter of Principle: New Meetings with the Good, the Great and the Formidable, Melbourne University Publishing, 2008, p.46
  9. ^ Wendt, Jana, A Matter of Principle: New Meetings with the Good, the Great and the Formidable, Melbourne University Publishing, 2008, p.46
  10. ^ Heffernan, Virginia (2007-11-04). "God and Man on YouTube". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
  11. ^ Transcript Translation: al-Jazeera - The Opposite Direction 26/02/2006 Translator: Meph www.aqoul.com, March 22, 2006
  12. ^ Elisabeth Eaves (October 27, 2009). "Islam On The Couch - An ex-Muslim psychiatrist is attacked for apostasy". Forbes. Retrieved 2011-10-01. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ Baudet, Thierry (19 January 2011). "Thou Shalt Not Offend Islam". City Journal. Retrieved 2011-06-27. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ RT news: CrossTalk: host Peter Lavelle, at marker number 17.10[1] RT news: CrossTalk: host Peter Lavelle, at marker number 17.10 [2]
  15. ^ "A "crack in the wall" - Wafa Sultan on the mohammed cartoons". Retrieved 2008-10-14.
  16. ^ "LA Psychologist Wafa Sultan Clashes with Algerian Islamist Ahmad bin Muhammad over Islamic Teachings and Terrorism". Middle East Media Research Institute. Retrieved 2008-02-24. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  17. ^ a b c Asra Nomani (2006-04-30). "Wafa Sultan". Time. Retrieved 2008-02-24. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) Cite error: The named reference "Time" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  18. ^ "The People Who Shape Our World". Time. Retrieved 2008-02-24. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ "WAFA SULTAN: Reformist or opportunist?". infocusnews.net. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
  20. ^ Pamela Geller (Atlas Shrugs 2000): Youtube video. Accessed on 5/6/2011, at marker number 0.33 [3]
  21. ^ Pamela Geller (Atlas Shrugs 2000): Youtube video. Accessed on 5/6/2011, at marker number 1.27 [4]

Book

Sultan, Wafa. A God Who Hates, St. Martin's Press, New York (2009)

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