Wafa Sultan

Wafa Sultan

Wafa Sultan in May 2012
Born Baniyas, Syria
Residence Los Angeles, California
Citizenship Syria, United States
Education Medicine (psychiatry)
Alma mater University of Aleppo
Occupation Psychiatrist
Known for Criticism of Islam
Title Doctor

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

Life and career

Sultan was born into a large traditional Alawite Muslim[1][2] family in Baniyas, Syria.[3][4][5]

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.[6] She says that she was shocked into secularism by the 1979 atrocities committed by Islamic extremists of the Muslim Brotherhood against innocent Syrians. She states that while she was a medical student, she witnessed the machine-gun assassination of her professor, Yusef al Yusef,[7] 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."[8] She worked for four years as a psychiatrist in a hospital.

She, her teacher husband, and children emigrated 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 parlor, but she found her treatment in these jobs better than as a medical professional in Syria.[6] From the time of her arrival she began 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 the publication of Arabic essays that were circulated widely and for television appearances on Al Jazeera and CNN in 2005.[6]

On February 21, 2006, she took part in Al Jazeera's weekly forty-five-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 women's situation in Muslim countries, Muslims for treating non-Muslims differently and for not recognizing the accomplishments of Jews and other members of non-Muslim society while still benefiting from using their wealth and technology. The video became YouTube's most discussed video.[9] The full transcript of the debate, which was made public later, also raised many online discussions.[10]

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.[11] In her book Sultan relates her life story and personal relationship with Islam. She attempts to address the history of Islam from a psychological perspective, and examine the political ideology of the religion's modern form.

In October 2010 Sultan was called as an expert witness to give testimony at the Geert Wilders trial. Wilders is a Dutch politician who was charged with hate speech for his anti-Islamic statements and subsequently acquitted. At the trial Sultan confirmed that she had met Wilders several times in 2009, had seen his film Fitna, and in general agreed with his views about Islam.[12]

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."[13]

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."[14] In a discussion with Ahmad bin Muhammad, she said: "It was these teachings that distorted this terrorist and killed his humanity".[15]

Recognitions

In 2006 Wafa Sultan was named in Time Magazine in a list of one hundred influential people in the world "whose power, talent or moral example is transforming the world."[16][17] 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."[16]

Religious sentiment

In the same Time interview, Sultan described herself as a cultural 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."[16][17] Also: "The problem with Christians is they aren't as good as Jesus. But thank God most Muslims are better than Muhammad."

Stop Islamization of Nations

Sultan, is a board member of Stop Islamization of Nations (S.I.O.N.), an organization founded by Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer and Anders Gravers of Stop Islamisation of Europe (S.I.O.E.). Other board members are Iranian former Muslim Ali Sina, former Muslim activist and author; Stefan Herre, of the blog Politically incorrect,[18] Mordechai Kedar, an Israeli author; Babu Suseelan, a Hindu activist; Oskar Freysinger, a Swiss politician; Cliff Kincaid, editor of the Accuracy in Media (A.I.M.) Report; and Ashraf Rameleh the President of Voice of the Copts. Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer are President and Vice President of S.I.O.N.[19]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 John M. Broder (March 11, 2006). "For Muslim Who Says Violence Destroys Islam, Violent Threats". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2014-07-20. Retrieved February 24, 2008. In the interview, which has been viewed on the Internet more than a million times … Dr. Sultan bitterly criticized the Muslim clerics, holy warriors and political leaders who she believes have distorted the teachings of Muhammad and the Koran for 14 centuries. … In response, clerics throughout the Muslim world have condemned her, and her telephone answering machine has filled with dark threats. … Dr. Sultan grew up in a large traditional Muslim family in Banias, Syria,
  2. ↑ Abdussalam Mohamed (March 3, 2007). "Wafa Sultan: Reformist or opportunist?". Southern California InFocus. Archived from the original on 2010-02-01. Retrieved October 29, 2011. Wafa Sultan grew up in a modest middle class Alawite family
  3. ↑ Ruthie Blum Leibowitz (2006-10-26). "One on One: A woman's work in progress". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 2015-01-01. Retrieved 2015-01-01. For no reason other than belonging to the Allawi sect of Islam - that of the president - while the majority in Syria were Sunnis.
  4. ↑ Gerard Henderson (2007-08-28). "Welcome to all who pass the test". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2012-11-06. Retrieved 2008-03-01. The Syrian-born Sunni Muslim Dr Wafa Sultan has recently completed a visit to Australia, … Sultan's message about radical Islamism is important and she is a courageous critic of jihadist terrorism and societies such as Syria.
  5. ↑ Brenda Gazzar (July 16, 2006). "U.S. Muslim Women Weigh Anti-Islam Firebrand". womensenews.org.
  6. 1 2 3 Wendt, Jana, A Matter of Principle: New Meetings with the Good, the Great and the Formidable, Melbourne University Publishing, 2008, p.46
  7. ↑ Kerry Howley. "Breaking the Silence: One woman is risking her life to speak the truth about radical Islam.". Readers Digest. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  8. ↑ John M. Broder (March 11, 2006). "The Saturday Profile; For Muslim Who Says Violence Destroys Islam, Violent Threats". New York Times. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  9. ↑ Heffernan, Virginia (November 4, 2007). "God and Man on YouTube". The New York Times. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  10. ↑ Transcript Translation: al-Jazeera – The Opposite Direction 26/02/2006 Translator: Meph www.aqoul.com, March 22, 2006
  11. ↑ Elisabeth Eaves (October 27, 2009). "Islam On The Couch – An ex-Muslim psychiatrist is attacked for apostasy". Forbes. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  12. ↑ Baudet, Thierry (January 19, 2011). "Thou Shalt Not Offend Islam". City Journal. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  13. ↑ RT news: CrossTalk: host Peter Lavelle, at marker number 17.10 RT news: CrossTalk: host Peter Lavelle, at marker number 17.10
  14. ↑ "A "crack in the wall" – Wafa Sultan on the mohammed cartoons". Retrieved October 14, 2008.
  15. ↑ "LA Psychologist Wafa Sultan Clashes with Algerian Islamist Ahmad bin Muhammad over Islamic Teachings and Terrorism". Middle East Media Research Institute. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
  16. 1 2 3 Asra Nomani (April 30, 2006). "Wafa Sultan". Time. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
  17. 1 2 "The People Who Shape Our World". Time. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
  18. ↑ Reinle, Dominik (17 December 2007). "Angst vor dem Islam – und stolz darauf". WDR (in German). Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  19. ↑ "Stop Islamization of Nations (SION) Calls on UN to Protect Christians of Syria". Press Release from PR Newswire. Reuters. 2012-01-20. Archived from the original on 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2014-12-21.

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