"Atheist Muslim reformer" Wafa Sultan with anti-Muslim loon Pamela Geller
We must begin this profile with a question: Is there a more contemptible poseur than Wafa Sultan who calls herself an atheist but in the same breath also claims to be a Muslim reformer, which would kind of be like Christopher Hitchens calling himself a Christian reformer? It is difficult to answer that question with certainty considering the wide pool of bigots who combine charlatanism with raving and incorrigible insanity. But for sure one thing is certain, she is completely undeserving of the 15 minutes of fame she has succeeded in procuring.
In this sense, Wafa Sultan falls into the same category as Walid Shoebat, Brigitte Gabriel, Nonie Darwish, Kamal Saleem, Zachariah Anani and other self-proclaimed turn coats from their Arab and Muslim identities. As we mentioned before this group attempts to parlay their “otherness,” and so-called “insider knowledge of the Muslim world,” (the “I’ve been there, I know” line) into a cash cow. Meanwhile, we are supposed to be duped into freaking out and running back to them for more “expert” advice brought to us from our loyal friend who ventures into the other side on our behalf.
Sultan is no different, her tale of flight into Islamophobic stardom is a curious and thoroughly modern one. In the beginning of this tale Sultan was invited onto a show hosted by the well known anchorman of AlJazeera’s Opposing Viewpoints (Ittijaah al-Mu’aakas), Faisal Al-Qasim for the purpose of a debate with professor Ibrahim al-Khouly from Al-Azhar on the topic of the Clash of Civilizations and the Clash of Religions. Al-Qasim, brought her onto the show originally after noticing some of her articles on the Arabic website called AnNaqed (The Critic). The New York Times reported that the website was an Islamic reform site, but in actuality it turns out that it is a Christian website,
[T]he web site called Annaqed (www.annaqed.com) she supposedly wrote for before being noticed by Al-Jazeera Television is not an “Islamic reform Web Site” as was reported in the New York Times article, but rather an Arab nationalist blog run by a Syrian Christian who defines it as being “in line with Christian morality and principles.” The site is also replete with anti-Muslim writings.
On the show she supported the thesis of a clash and stated that the conflict between the West and Islam is,
a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another that belongs to the 21st century… a clash between civilization and backwardness, between the civilized and the primitive, between barbarity and rationality.
MEMRI, (Middle East Media Research Institute) which peddles in biased, selective, de-contextualized, error-filled, and misleading translations of news, shows and opinion from Middle East television took the 45 minute show and per its modus operandi chopped up and edited the show into a 5 minute sound bite of Wafa Sultan’s attack on Muslims and Islam. In the process, and without any respect for translational integrity they also attempted to deceptively frame Professor Khouly as proclaiming Sultan a “heretic,” when, as this fully translated transcript shows he did no such thing. Instead Khouly responded to Sultan’s jibes with questions that though we might not agree to the way he frames them are far from irrational or undebatable,
…here we must ask a question, who facilitated the conflict and indeed initiated it; is it the Muslims? Muslims now are in a defensive position fighting off an aggressor… who said Muslims were backward? They may be backward in terms of technological advances, but who said that such are the criteria for humanity?
That is just the beginning of the story, the MEMRI produced video was downloaded to YouTube where it went viral receiving over a million hits and like wild fire the anti-Muslim blogosphere picked it up. Instantly, over night, Sultan was a star. In this consumer age, MEMRI’s rendition of the show gave the public what it wanted to see: a spectacle. It fit in well with the narrative of an oppressed Mooslim woman “finally” standing up for her rights and taking on the world of Islam.
Sultan capitalized on the spotlight she had and with all the ingenuity and creativeness of a con-artist spun a tale which essentially boils down to her “dark days growing up in the barbaric ‘Islamic nation’ of Syria.” A good example of her deception can be gleaned from a recent article she wrote for the neo-conservative website Hudson New York,
As an Arab woman who suffered for three decades living under Islamic Sharia, it is clear to me that Islam’s political ideology and Sharia must be fought relentlessly by Western civilization to prevent its application in a free society. (emphasis added)
This encapsulates the opportunism that motivates Sultan and it also reveals the contempt with which she holds her readers whose intelligence she seeks to insult with such a blatant lie. She attempts to paint her three decades in Syria as a nightmare in which she suffered the brutal force of a Taliban-esque regime that implemented Islamic law on her constantly. The absurdity is only matched by the bravado of her claim, as anyone who cared to check (Wikipidea for instance) could tell you that the regime that ruled Syria had nothing to do with Islam.
The regime in Syria, during much of the time period that Sultan talks about was ruled by the secular, anti-Shariah Ba’athist dictator Hafiz al-Assad who happens to come from the same privileged sect that Sultan was born into: the Alawies. Her allegation is even more obscene considering the fact that Hafiz al-Assad massacred 20,000 villagers in Hama, Syria who were members of the Muslim Brotherhood. One has to ask Sultan, if you were made to suffer for thirty years under Islamic Sharia’, how could you, a woman, have finished your medicine degree at the University of Aleppo? On top of that, would an Islamic Sharia state as horrid as you describe have funded your education for free?
Another good example of her tale of woe is the profile carried by self-described “bad girl of Islam” Asra Nomani in TIME magazine. Asra Nomani, who can’t pen anything without including herself writes,
I connected with her (Sultan’s) anger and pain. She questioned Islam in 1979, when, she says, she witnessed the murder of a professor by men with alleged ties to the ultraconservative Muslim Brotherhood political group.
As to the claim that her professor (thought to be Yusef Al-Yusef) was gunned down before her eyes in a faculty classroom at the University of Aleppo, Halabi said the incident never took place. “There was a professor who was killed around 1979, that is true, but it was off-campus and Sultan was not even around when it happened,” he added.
InFocus contacted the University of Aleppo and spoke to Dr. Riyad Asfari, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, who confirmed Halabi’s account. “Yes, the assassination took place off-campus,” he said. Dr. Asfari was keen to add that no one had ever been killed in a classroom anytime or anywhere at the university.
Syrian expatriate Ghada Moezzin, who attended the University of Aleppo in 1979 as a sophomore, told InFocus that she never heard of the assassination. “We would’ve known about the killing if it had happened,” she said. “It would have been big news on campus and I do not recall ever hearing about it.” Moezzin, who lives in Glendora, Calif., added that government security was always present around the university given the political climate in Syria at the time.
Half-truths and lies corroborate and reveal the true motive behind Sultan’s hate and invective against Islam: money. The article reveals more,
Adnan Halabi*, a Syrian expatriate who met and got to know the Sultans when they first came to the United States, spoke at length about the Wafa Sultan that very few people know.
According to Halabi, Dr. Wafa Ahmad (her maiden name) arrived in California with her husband Moufid (now changed to David) in the late 80s on a tourist visa. Contrary to what she told the New York Times, they came as a couple, leaving their two children back in Syria.
Another source named Nabil Mustafa, also Syrian, told InFocus that he was introduced to Moufid Sultan through a personal friend who knew the family well, and both ended up having tea at the Sultans’ one-bedroom apartment one evening in 1989. It was then that Moufid told Mustafa the story of how he was reunited with his two children. According to Mustafa, Moufid Sultan told him that a short time after they arrived in the country, his wife, Dr. Wafa Sultan, mailed her passport back to her sister Ilham Ahmad in Syria (while the passport still carried a valid U.S. tourist visa). With Ilham bearing a resemblance to her sister Wafa, the plan was to go to the Mexican Embassy in Damascus and obtain a visa to Mexico, making sure that the airline carrier they would book a flight on would have a layover somewhere in the Continental United States.
With an existing U.S. visa on Wafa Sultan’s passport, Ilham Ahmad had no trouble obtaining an entry permit to Mexico. Shortly after, Ilham and Wafa’s two children landed in Houston, Texas. She and the children then allegedly made their way through customs and were picked up by Moufid and brought to California.
Taking advantage of an amnesty law for farmers, the Sultans applied for permanent residency through a Mexican lady who worked as a farm hand. She helped Moufid with the paperwork by claiming he had worked as a farmer for four years. The application went through and the Sultans obtained their green cards.
As incredible as the story sounds, Mustafa told InFocus that to the best of his recollection, this was the exact account he heard from Moufid Sultan. Halabi, who is not acquainted with Mustafa, corroborated the story, which he heard from Dr. Wafa Sultan herself but with fewer details. Dr. Wafa Sultan declined InFocus’ repeated requests to be interviewed or comment on the allegations. InFocus contacted the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to check on the veracity of the story but an official said that they would look into the allegations, which could take months to investigate.
Halabi alleges that Ilham Ahmad lived as illegal resident with her sister Wafa for years until she met an Arab Christian named Khalid Musa Shihadeh whom she ended up marrying (they were married in Nevada on 12/8/1991 and filed for divorce in 2002). It was during that time that Halabi got to know the Sultans well.
Halabi alleges that the Sultans lived in dire poverty. “Their rent was over $1,000 per month and Moufid was only making $800,” he said. Dr. Wafa Sultan was forced to rent out a room in her apartment and work at a pizza parlor in Norwalk, Calif. where a personal friend used to pick her up and drop her off daily. This same friend used to help the Sultans out with groceries and occasionally loaned them money just so they could make it through the month. “It was a serious struggle,” Halabi recalled. “The Sultans lived hand to mouth for years on end.” Further, Halabi said that at no point during the period he knew the family did Sultan ever discuss religion, politics or any topic relevant to her current activities. “She is a smart woman, articulate and forceful, but she never meddled in religion or politics to the extent she is doing now,” Halabi said.
Sultan is not condemned only by Muslims, non-Muslims have come out and strongly condemned her as well.
Sultan’s detractors include not only Muslims but members of the Jewish community as well. In an op-ed piece published in the Los Angeles Times (June 25, 2006) and titled “Islam’s Ann Coulter,” Rabbi Stephen Julius Stein at Wilshire Boulevard Temple, who attended a fundraiser for a local Jewish organization where Sultan was a speaker, wrote, “The more Sultan talked, the more evident it became that progress in the Muslim world was not her interest…. She never alluded to any healthy, peaceful Islamic alternative.”
The rabbi mentioned that Judea Pearl, father of murdered journalist Daniel Pearl, “was one of the few voices of restraint and nuance heard that afternoon. In response to Sultan’s assertion that the Koran contains only verses of evil and domination, Pearl said he understood the book also included ‘verses of peace’ that proponents of Islam uphold as the religion’s true intent. The Koran’s verses on war and brutality, Pearl contended, were ‘cultural baggage,’ as are similar verses in the Torah.”
He added, “Sultan’s over-the-top, indefensible remarks at the fundraiser, along with her failure to mention the important, continuing efforts of the Islamic Center (of Southern California), insulted all Muslims and Jews in L.A. and throughout the nation who are trying to bridge the cultural gap between the two groups. And that’s one reason why I eventually walked out of the event.”
The hope is that more and more people like Rabbi Stephen Stein will see Wafa Sultan for who she is: a hateful, opportunistic poseur. The atheist who calls Islam and Muslims “backward and primitive,” “incapable of reform,” the Qur’an as only filled with “evil,” yet can’t see the self-contradiction in her befuddling statements that growing up in secular Syria she “suffered from Islamic Shariah” and “I even don’t believe in Islam, but I am a Muslim.” Go figure.
UPDATE: In retrospect, our piece on Wafa Sultan seems not to have been harsh enough on her hate. In light of recent comments she has made while on her book tour at synagogues and churches, the poseur can properly be renamed, Wafa Stalin Sultan because the atheism that she believes in is propelled by the same genocidal and insane impulses that led another loon, Joseph Stalin.
Atlas Shrugs (read: Pamela Geller on Drugs) made our jobs easy by posting a video clip of Wafa Stalin Sultan going off the deep end. In the video, Sultan is addressing a group at a synagogue in NYC and says,
“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.” At the end of her speech, she utters something quite strange for an atheist, “God bless you and God bless America.” More charlatanism?
During the question and answer session she divides moderate Muslims into three categories: 1.) a majority, 80% who are unaware of the real teachings of Islam, 2.) huge chunks of them are practicing Taqiyyah, 3.) a very small progressive group who have no effect. All talking points from the far right-wing wing.
The rest of the question and answer session is interesting as well, and pocked full of more and more lies from Wafa Stalin Sultan. Check it out for yourselves.
This disgusting little woman continues with her fascist fearmongering, 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 all too captive 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.” Quite chilling the way she nonchalantly advocates nuking Muslims.
Sultan also says, “You know Geert Wilders has said if he becomes Prime Minister of Holland he will ban the Quran, I admire him for that.” The audiences glibly agrees with her with mutterings of “yes.” If you want to see how fascism takes hold then watch the video. My only question is how much are these synagogues and churches paying her for her speaking appearances?
November 19th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
There are some who are probably more contemptible than Wafa Sultan, she is just out to make a buck but as far as Islamophobes go she sure ranks pretty high in the charts.
Thanks for a great piece.
November 19th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Good piece. I appreciate this site. I never cease to be amazed by the sheer superciliousness with which the Wafa Sultan’s of the world treat their readers.
Maybe they think Americans haven’t lived in the Middle East and so we can feed them anything we want about it. The sad thing is that especially with the right-wing that might be true. I can’t believe she wants us to believe the insane idea that Syria, which no doubt was a dictatorship was some sort of Islamic Sharia Taliban-land. Hafiz al-Assad, was a thug, but he had more in common with Stalin and the like than with Osama. Good try Wafa.
Thanks again.
November 19th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Thanks, I’ve been waiting for you to write on this harpy and paid shill for the right.
Another interesting point you could have wrote about is how she denied America had any responsibility in the genocide of Native Americans.
She said: Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492 America was founded in 1776 approximately 300 years later. You cannot blame America – as a constitution, a regime, and state for killing the Indians.
First, it is a myth that Columbus discovered America. Second, she knows nothing about American history. I think on top of her thinking we are ignorant about the Middle East and who is Shariah or not there, she expects us to be ignorant of American history. Does she even know who Andrew Jackson is? Does she know about the Trail of Tears?
November 19th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Great piece. I can’t stand this woman. What people will do for money!
November 19th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Such a venomous snake this woman is. Apparently she is the female version of Magdi Allam, also known as “The Egyptian Pinocchio”.
November 19th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
there is a “market” for such folks:)
November 19th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Contemptible
Poseur
wide pool of bigots
charlatanism
raving and incorrigible insanity
Islamophobic stardom
ingenuity and creativeness of a con-artist
opportunism that motivates
Sometimes I wonder if this site can show the inaccuracies without such labeling, and bile of their own.
“Hate the sin and not the sinner.” Mahatma Gandhi
November 19th, 2009 at 11:38 pm
Hamza Yusuf once said, and I hope the staff of Loonwatch sees this, he said “The easiest to become a millionaire is to say that your an apostate of Islam” I literally got goose bumps when he said that.
November 20th, 2009 at 3:07 am
Hey, you named TYO,
I left a comment for you in another thread that hasn’t been published yet.
But i see that you’re at it here too. Therefore i’m confronting you here.
Do you expect talkbackers here to have taken a course in diplomacy? Who are you, and why do you leave your “be diplomatic and nice to Islamophobes” droppings at this site? If you’re to hear to sabotage we’ll chew you up. I for one, will be watching out for you.
Why do you stand on a pulpit and preach to us defending our faith, as to how we should kiss butt of Wafa Sultan, Geller, and others?
I think you know us all an explanation about why you expect us to be so insipid in our responses to Islamophobes. Also a bit about your background, and what your motivation for posting here is. I’m a female, Muslim here to combat Islamophobia.
I’d appreciate it if you could:-
1. tell us your religon,
2. why you post here.
Obviously, most of us talkbackers are here to combat Islamophobia.
Anyway, above you said,
“Sometimes I wonder if this site can show the inaccuracies without such labeling, and bile of their own”
Those epithets were accurate descriptions of Wafa Sultan. If you think they are not, please explain why not instead of preaching diplomacy.
I’m ready for a fight if that’s what you’re hoping to provoke.
November 20th, 2009 at 9:32 am
I like this website. I’m beginning to check it daily. It’s wonderful, thanks for the great work in showing Wafa Sultan in her true colours. Also about Atlas Shrug and the other haters here.
I am writing to make you aware of somebody else like Wafa Sultan, only much worse, he has a blog called “Sultan Knish” and there is some mystery surrounding his identity.
I want to ask, does anyone here know who “Sultan Knish” is? I have read on the blogosphere that he is Daniel Pipes, and others say that he is Steven Plaut, who is a right wing Israeli writer. Since these 2 men write under their real names, they have to be restrained in what they say. Sultan Knish however is anonymous. Some say that “Sultan Knish” is the secret identity of a well known columnist.
This man calls himself “Sultan Knish” and says his name is Daniel Green (maybe not real name). He lives in New York or so he says on his blog, is an Orthodox Jew, and churns out garbage after rotten garbage all 95% lies, spewing his bigotry against Moslems, Islam, and like others, he doesn’t let dissenters post comments.
Some of his editorials call for the wholesale slaughter of, and carpet bombing of Islamic countries, killing of all Moslems, the destruction of Islam, and other genocidal fantasies. That is probably why he writes under an pseudonym.
Can anyone shed light on who this guy is or if he is Daniel Pipes or Steven Plaut? Does the Loonwatch editors know? If yes, please enlighten us.
Go and read some of his filth here,
sultanknish dot blogspot dot com
I purposely didn’t put the link, as it increases traffic.
Readers should beware of linking to enemy sites, because it can increase traffic. Rather it’s better to write the address of the website in a format that doesnt put it as a url link.
November 20th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Wafa makes money from books, and sadly Muslims do not invest in books but on holidays to Las Vegas.
November 20th, 2009 at 11:43 am
TYO,
The adjectives and descriptors that I used in regards to Wafa Sultan are accurate and borne out by the facts. I could have gone deeper and reproduced more of her outlandish and bigoted comments but the above suffices for our purposes.
She is “contemptible” for being a liar and the insulting way she treats her readers who she must think are ignorant. She is a “poseur” because she made up her biography whole-cloth, not only did she make it up but in the process she tarnished and slandered others.
An atheist Muslim reformer?
Lived in secular Syria under Hafiz al-Assad and was made to suffer the terror of perpetual sharia upon her person for thirty years?
No professor was murdered in a classroom at her University as she claims?
etc.etc.
That is “charlatanism” and as we reported above it is motivated by the “opportunism” of money that is “Islamophobic stardom.” Before her AlJazeera appearance Sultan was selling pizza’s.
As far as her being a “poseur,” again that is only a fact. She claims to be an atheist, in league with the worst elements of neo-conservative, Likudnik, Christian Zionist, fundamentalist right-wing and then at the same time she calls herself a Muslim, and a Muslim reformer on top of that. She wants her cake and to eat it too, because she knows without being a Muslim she is irrelevant to any reform of Islam and no one will take her seriously.
She is a “raving” lunatic because of all the aforementioned and her comments and beliefs as well as denial of the genocide of Indians by America as pointed out by a commenter above.
-Garibaldi
November 20th, 2009 at 11:46 am
anti-Corporation, AF, Top 5, Ustadh, Schmorgus, Seductive, temporal, hijabiforlife thank you all for you kind comments about the piece.
November 20th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Garibaldi,
Thanks bro, your piece was excellent, and the comments that followed were quite tame and truthful, and quite frankly, it’s my personal opinion that there should be a separate “uncensored site”, where people don’t have to worry about any niceties at all, and be truthful no matter how painful. Trust me i’d be the most prolific poster if there were such a site.
I would be very happy to write articles for an uncenscored one, but i love you guys too, and i love this site too, as i know that to be read by mainstream you have to tame your own opionion and put the facts rather than vent.
This TYO is upto something suspicious, and i’m more than happy to take him on, for all we know this TYO is a “sabatour” (sent by our enemies) who is trying to make you ashamed.
Keep up the good work, you and others writers here, and i’m sure there are others too, who appreciate your work and don’t add comments.
November 20th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Well said. It must be made clear that she was NEVER a Muslim but a member of highly secretive group known as the Alevis. Turns out that Alevis do not teach their women the faith since according to their theology females have no souls, hence knowledge is transmitted to males only.
Considering the massive immigration fraud she committed isn’t it ironic that some of the worst anti-immigrant nuts support her? Nor is it surprising that Judeofascists are the ones who introduced her to the world via MEMRI.
For a full transcript of her being trashed on Al-Jazeera :
http://drmaxtor.blogspot.com/2006/04/full-monty-wafa-sultan-gets-served.html
November 20th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
Hey Dr.M why have you stopped updating your blog?!
November 21st, 2009 at 9:03 am
Seductive, I don’t have to explain anything to you, and I certainly do not owe you a thing. You are a commentor here and so am I. A saboteur? I write something you don’t like so I must be a saboteur. Lame.
It is pretty clear to me speaking up without aggression and belligerence in the method of Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama is beyond you. You see that as a weakness as kissing butt as being nice, and there you are sadly mistaken. Look at your aggression in what you wrote. You think that is strength? You add to the hate and violence. Those men and their followers faced a whole lot worse for much longer with their own lives in peril. Yet they could still see the humanity in their opponents. There is unbelievable strength is seeing your opponent as human when they dehumanize you. Quite frankly if I thought these writers couldn’t be even better and what they said did not have value, I would not have shared my observations.
I for one won’t be watching you because I don’t care about you. YOU are the only one out to provoke a fight. I don’t care about individual commentors. I respond to the comment itself, to the articles themselves.
In this world
Hate never yet dispelled hate.
Only love dispels hate.
This is the law,
Ancient and inexhaustible.
The Dhammapada
The Sayings of the Buddha
November 21st, 2009 at 3:26 pm
“Seductive, I don’t have to explain anything to you, and I certainly do not owe you a thing.”
When you see fit to leave one line droppings moralising and telling me and others how to talk and think, I am certainly entitled to ask you what your qualifications for that are. And yes, do you owe me an explanation for what I asked you above. I asked you explain why you thought Wafa Sultan shouldn’t be described as she was, and you didn’t. Perfectly reasonable request.
“You are a commentor here and so am I. A saboteur? I write something you don’t like so I must be a saboteur. Lame. ”
What is LAME is that half of your posts consist of preachy excrements all over the talkback, (can’t you find a toilet that you have to come here? or stand in front of the mirror and talk to yourself?) and the other half consist of shoving philosophy down our throats. We do not come hear to read LAME comments from someone who has newly discovered the delights of being politically correct and seems unable to express him/herself without obsessively quoting Buddha, Gandhi, King, etc.
“It is pretty clear to me speaking up without aggression and belligerence in the method of Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama is beyond you. You see that as a weakness as kissing butt as being nice,”
What? Don’t you have any original thoughts? How do you know i and others do not follow another moral code and resent being proselytised to?
You have no right to impose your philosophy on us. These are personal choices. You should not be offering unsolicited advice as to whom we should get moral guidance from. I for one find your whole demeanour offensive, irritating and reminiscent of an annoying fly that won’t go away.
“Quite frankly if I thought these writers couldn’t be even better and what they said did not have value, I would not have shared my observations.”
That’s just it, you don’t have any original thoughts. You borrow them from other men, quote others, and then tell us we should be like them. Newsflash, you don’t have the right to tell us how to think.
“I respond to the comment itself, to the articles themselves.”
Now you’re blowing a lot of hot air…Why don’t you PROVE that by answering the simple Q, 1. Why shouldn’t Wafa Sultan be described as the poster above described her? And please respond without getting out your manual of quotes, and shamelessly borrowing other men’s words and then telling me to follow that.
If you cannot, or will not, then kindly fly away to a philosophy club when i’m sure you’ll be welcomed with open arms.
November 21st, 2009 at 6:17 pm
“anti-Corporation, AF, Top 5, Ustadh, Schmorgus, Seductive, temporal, hijabiforlife thank you all for you kind comments about the piece.”
It is a good thing to thank people. But you limit yourself, your growth, if you only appreciate and surround yourself with people whose comments you like. Just because a person isn’t enthralled with every word of your article, that doesn’t mean that person wishes you harm or is your enemy even if he is not your bosom “friend.” It could be that such a person actually has higher expectations for you than those who lavish praise, and thinks you are capable of better. Most of the people in the world are neither your friend nor your enemy, but just are.
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:58 am
TYO,
I appreciate criticism, however the criticism should have substance. I find no blame in thanking those who thanked me.
Seductive,
An uncensored forum is an interesting concept, but for now it is not something feasible for the site, maybe you should start one.
I don’t think TYO is up to something suspicious, he is just posting his opinions.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:48 pm
“An uncensored forum is an interesting concept, but for now it is not something feasible for the site, maybe you should start one.”
I’ll keep that in mind bro, time permitting I will.
“I don’t think TYO is up to something suspicious, he is just posting his opinions.”
Garibaldi, with all due respect I disagree. TYO is NOT posting his opinions, he is borrowing quotes from Buddha and Gandhi etc. and telling us to follow them because he doesn’t like our tough sharp responses. In both his posts above he was merely proselytising philosophy and telling us how we should think regarding those who attack Islam. He did not address the content of your report, nor explain why you should not describe Wafa Sultan as you did or the commentators did. I for one would genuinely like him to explain why he thinks she is not the things he said we shouldn’t say she is. Maybe we’re misinformed or missed something but so far he hasn’t shown us where we’re wrong.
His messages seems to be
“no matter what Islamophboes say, you should follow Buddha, Gandhi…etc.” This is unacceptable, not least because it is unsolicited proselytising and therefore offensive. If someone had asked him to recommend a philiosopher, it wouldn’t be so irritating, but this is third time he has done this, ie. Not addressed the content of the article or commentator, but rather how they responded.
He now attempts to justify his proselytising philosphy by making you feel guilty for thanking those who appreciated your report. Don’t fall for his pshycological trickery. He is hinting that you only thanked us, because we boosted your ego, but in fact that’s not so. The report had valuable information, it’s not a case of agreeing or disagreeing. We are not here to malign Wafa Sultan, merely to show others, where she is wrong. I’m sure you even thank enemies for constructive criticism as it makes your own arguments stronger and substantive. But he did neither, he didn’t add any valuable feedback, even if critical.
If TYO had indeed criticsied some aspect of your report for being untruthful or innaccurate, that would be welcome, we would appreciate that, and I’m sure you would, and there lies the problem. I believe he has no real knowledge of what these Islamophobes say, (unlike those of us who follow them closely) and is merely here to proselytise.
It’s one thing allowing our enemies and opposing views to be posted here, that is welcome, but what we don’t need is a proselytiser at this website.
So far, TYO has brought nothing of value to this website. We are not here to listen to philosophy of the kind he preaches. On top of that, he has the gall to say, you should appreciate him because he isn’t sucking up to you.
Sheeeeesh, the audacity! Now he want’s to be petted for saying your report should be in line with Buddha and Gandhi philosphy, never mind the content of the report.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Yeah, I respect TYO’s opinion and he seems like a decent chap, but I think you’ve got to admit that laying down reality can sometimes be cruel ‘coz not everything in this world is pink candy floss and soft petals and such like and we just can’t be entertaining this poor woman’s delusions any longer. Excellent article btw!!
November 23rd, 2009 at 2:38 pm
iSherif thanks.
Seductive,
Wow, you sure have a penchant for the quick responses and I have no doubt that you would make an excellent administrator of an uncensored forum. I might not agree with some of your posts but you are tenacious.
I don’t know TYO, so I can’t say for sure I know his motivation or not. I can only go by what he writes. I like constructive criticism and I do agree that the nature of his initial criticism of my article was lacking in any substance, instead of address that TYO you seem to have gone in another direction and attacked the language.
I think any fair person can see that this woman is a clown and a charlatan. I don’t feel bad saying that because her actions reveal her to be deranged. A family friend of hers til this day said “she sold her soul.” Her beliefs are heinous and any institution especially a spiritual institution that gives her hate a platform, like the Ahavath Torah needs to be called out.
As far as the spat between you and TYO I don’t know if I can interject anything. I think you two can figure it out, just be civil you two.
November 24th, 2009 at 12:16 am
hehe Awesome…finally someone discovered the truth about that “reformist”…:D
November 25th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Any news on whether or not she is still invited to Ahavath Torah to spread more of her myths?
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Out of curiosity,I spent several hours viewing on and listening to several YouTube lectures/speeches given mainly by Wafa Sultan. While doing so,I took notes,and based on that,I could submit the following observations with a degree of confidence:
~ She was born and raised as a Muslim,in SECULAR syria-repeat:SECULAR Syria
~ She is approximately 50 years old.
~ She talks too much about herself and gives the impression that what she
claims must be accepted against the universality of Islam,inspite of the 1.4 Billion Muslims world wide. In other words,she has a profound contempt to all those people. UNREAL!
~ She has no substance in genuine understanding of the foundation of Shari’a Laws,let alone understanding the ESSENCE of Islam.
~ She graduated from the medical school of University of Alepo,Syria.
~ She claims that the turning point in her life took place in 1979 when a group of Muslim Brotherhood murdered a professor at University of Alepo while chanting ” Allaho Akbar,Allaho Akbar”. Checking with the officials of University of Alepo indicates no such murder took place at the University campus.
~ She migrated to the U.S.in 1989.
~ She could not get a license to practice medicine in the U.S. She and her husband met finnacial difficulties,especially for paying a rent of $800 dollars per month.
~ Between 1989-2005,she worked in a piza maker and in a gas station. I must say,here,that there is absolutely nothing wrong in doing so to survive,except in connection to the CAUSE AND EFFECT of her motivation to pour such an unbelivable rhetorical animosity toward of and nonsensical attack against Islam,the religion that helped her to coup with all life’s requirements to graduate from a well known medical school in Syria.
~ Her sudden fame started after Mr.Faisal Al-Qasim,anchorman of Al-Jazeera Arabic channel program called in Arabic “AL-Etigah Al-Muaakis”,meaning:
“The Opposite View”,had invited her in 2005 to participate in a discussion about Islam. Apparently the Robert Spencers of the world and the Christian Zionists who hate Islam with profound passion decided to use her for their divisive and nefarious agendas and thus she solved her financial difficulties. I am fully convinced that,for her part,it is all about money
and nothing more,exactly as others before her have done so for years,but all will fail and end up in oblivion. It is a matter of time. I had seen it
happening before in time past and the result was failure.
~ No brainer is needed to detect her contradictions from her own rhetorical rant: she claims that she is an “Atheist” and at the same time she claims that she is a “Muslim Reformist”. An obvious contradiction and, indeed,a total incompatibility. Genuine reformists of any religion remain adhering firmly to their religion,but work within the frame work of their religion to achieve the needed reform. But when she rants that Islam cannot be reformed,another contradiction and she realy shows her true color and total bankruptcy in her thoughts and intellect,if she has any.
~ She gives herself the rights she denies to others as she used the words “SHUT-UP” to an oponent who challenged her unreasable claims and contentions during a discussion about Islam.
CONCLUSION:
===========
Adding all the above observations together will certainly reflects unfavorably on Wafa Sultan,as a human being and as a “Muslim Reformist” or
even as an “Atheist”,since at least the Atheists I know,conduct themselves and their rejecting all religions with a degree of integrity. I regret to say that Wafa Sultan has none.
An Alert to All Muslims:
=========================
The current economic melt-down may produce more indivisuals like Wafa Sultan as the dificulties in making enough money to pay the rent and pay for food become wide spread among some weak character Muslims from the Arab and Muslim world. And haters of Islam and Muslims like Pipes,Spencers,Pat Robertson,John Hagee,etc… will always take advantage of some Muslims financial dificulties and they will be ready to use them for their evil agendas.
December 3rd, 2009 at 2:04 am
…this woman is scum.
December 6th, 2009 at 3:18 am
Wafa has been refuted here http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/wafa__sultan_s_lies_refuted
January 14th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
The criticisms of Wafa Sultan are neither here nor there. I came here from YouTube after seeing some 13th century superstitious, bearded peasant call her a heretic. (So what? Does that mean something? Does it counter any of her arguments?)
There are vast swathes of the Earth that need people like Wafa Sultan and many more like her to drag them kicking and screaming out of the Dark Ages.
At one time the Arab world lead science and technology - today it is mired in a backwater suppressed by dogma and fear. Social conditions are mediaeval, politics are corrupt, and tribal custom is considered acceptable.
Those of you who accept religious nonsense, look to Iran and ask yourselves, what is holding you back?
January 17th, 2010 at 5:30 pm
Have you ever read her book…anyone?…..anyone? She just points out what happened to her in Syria and what experiences her mother, grandmother and other female relatives had to endure. How does this make her a “hater”? You leftist pagans NEVER debate the points people with whom you disagree make. You ALWAYS go after the person. Hurling insults, spewing venom and wishing physical harm on them. If any of you wish, you could read some books by Karen Armstrong and John Esposito which basically whitewash Islam and blame the West, poverty blah, blah, blah or you could take in some books by Robert Spencer, Daniel Pipes( who have spent years reading the Koran, Hadith, and Sunna) or former Muslims such as Ibn Warraq or Wafa Sultan. But my guess is that you would call the latter authors “haters”, “loons” etc.., If Islam have took over the U.S.A, you guys would have to become Muslims(be ready to be controlled by Shari’a). You could become dhimmis if you were Jewish or Christian, but my guess is that most of you guys are pagans of some sort(Darwinian, environmental, etc..,). Just be prepared to recite the “inshallah”, get a copy of the Koran, and get your girlfriends a trendy looking burqa.