Wafa Sultan

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name = Wafa Sultan


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residence = Los Angeles, California
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known_for = Criticism of Islam
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occupation = Psychiatrist
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Wafa Sultan ( _ar. وفاء سلطان; born 1958, Damascus, Syria) is an American psychiatrist and a controversial critic of Islam.

Life and career

Sultan was born to a Sunni Muslim family in Damascus, Syria.citeweb|title=One on One: A woman's work in progress|author=Ruthie Blum Leibowitz|url=http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1159193523009&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull|accessdate=2008-03-01|publisher="The Jerusalem Post"|] citeweb|title=Welcome to all who pass the test|author=Gerard Henderson|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/welcome-to-all-who-pass-the-test/2007/08/27/1188067035595.html|accessdate=2008-03-01|publisher="The Sydney Morning Herald"] She resides in Los Angeles, California. She emigrated to the United States in 1989, and is now a naturalized citizen. She allegedly arrived in California with her husband Moufid (now David) in the late 1980s on a tourist visa and later they managed to get US citizenship on account of an [amnesty law] for farmers, through a Mexican farm worker.Fact|date=January 2008 Sultan has become notable since the September 11, 2001 attacks for her participation in Middle East political debates, with Arabic essays that circulated widely and some television appearances on Al-Jazeera and CNN.

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 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 had been seen least one million times.citeweb|title=For Muslim Who Says Violence Destroys Islam, Violent Threats|author=John M. Broder|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/11/international/middleeast/11sultan.html?ex=1299733200&en=d13886daba5e586f&ei=5090&partner=rssus|publisher="The New York Times"|accessdate=2008-02-24] 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 its wealth and technology.

Sultan is working on a book to be called "The Escaped Prisoner: When God Is a Monster".citeweb|title=For Muslim Who Says Violence Destroys Islam, Violent Threats|author=John M. Broder|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/11/international/middleeast/11sultan.html?ex=1299733200&en=d13886daba5e586f&ei=5090&partner=rssus|publisher="The New York Times"|accessdate=2008-02-24]

Political views

Sultan describes her thesis as witnessing "a battle between modernity and barbarism which Islam will lose". It has brought her telephone threats, 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."Fact|date=January 2008 In a discussion with Ahmad bin Muhammad, she said: "It was these teachings that distorted this terrorist and killed his humanity". [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]

Sultan stated that she was shocked into secularism by the 1979 atrocities committed by Islamic extremists of the Muslim Brotherhood against innocent Syrian people, including the machine-gun assassination of her professor, Yusef al Yusef, [citeweb|title=Breaking the Silence: One woman is risking her life to speak the truth about radical Islam.|author=Kerry Howley|url=http://www.rd.com/stories/inspiration/a-woman-speaks-out-against-radical-islam/article.html|publisher="Readers Digest"|accessdate=2008-09-20] an ophthalmologist renowned beyond Syria, in her classroom in front of her eyes at the University of Aleppo where she was a medical student. "They shot hundreds of bullets into him, shouting, 'God is great!' " 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." [citeweb|title=THE SATURDAY PROFILE; For Muslim Who Says Violence Destroys Islam, Violent Threats|publisher="New York Times"|author=John M. Broder|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9507E6D71331F932A25750C0A9609C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|accessdate=2008-09-20] It remains however notable that Wafa Sultan has not commented on the oppression waged by the Syrian Ba'athist party against the Muslim Brotherhood during the same period, nor has she acknowledged its role in the conflict regarding the Muslim Brotherhood.

The University of Aleppo denied this, saying that the incident took place off-campus, and at a time when Sultan wasn't even around. citeweb|title=WAFA SULTAN: Reformist or opportunist?|publisher=Southern California Infocus|author=Abdussalam Mohamed|url=http://www.infocusnews.net/content/view/4009/135|publisher="Southern California InFocus"|accessdate=2008-09-20]

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."citeweb|title=Wafa Sultan|author=Asra Nomani|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1187385,00.html|publisher="Time"|accessdate=2008-02-24] [citeweb|title=The People Who Shape Our World|url=http://www.time.com/time/2006/time100/|publisher="Time"|accessdate=2008-02-24] "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."

Religious sentiment

In the same Time Magazine interview, Sultan conflictingly described herself as a Muslim who does not adhere to Islam: "I even don't believe in Islam, but I am a Muslim." [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1187385,00.html Wafa Sulta (time.com)] , also see [http://www.time.com/time/2006/time100/ Time 100, for 2006 (time.com)] ] However, in a recent conference associated with the controversial conservative writer David Horowitz, Wafa Sultan expressed her views unequivocally stating:cquote|"I have decided to fight Islam; please pay attention to my statement; to fight Islam, not the political Islam, not the militant Islam, not the radical Islam, not the Wahhabi Islam, but Islam itself...Islam has never been misunderstood, Islam is the problem....(Muslims) have to realize that they have only two choices: to change or to be crushed." [citeweb|title=Panel:Women in Islam|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up3yuQDAWKQ|publisher=YouTube|accessdate=2008-02-24]

References

External links

Interviews and speeches

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Negt6IzxPTo Wafa Sultan discusses the effect of the Muhammad Cartoons and the freeing of Muslims]
* [http://switch5.castup.net/frames/20041020_MemriTV_Popup/video_480x360.asp?ai=214&ar=1050wmv&ak=null MEMRI TV interview clip] A Clash between the Mentality of the Middle Ages and That of the 21st Century - #1 clip. ( [http://www.memritv.org/Transcript.asp?P1=1050 MEMRI transcript] )( [http://www.memritv.org/Transcript.asp?P1=783 MEMRI transcript] )
* [http://www.aqoul.com/images/wafa_sultan.pdf Complete English transcript of 2006-02-23 appearance, courtesy of Aqoul.com]
* [http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/L/Joshua.M.Landis-1/syriablog/2005/08/who-are-muslim-brotherhood-trying-to.htm Who Are The Muslim Brotherhood Trying To Fool?] - Sultan essay
*YouTube video clips of al-Jazeera interview: Wafa Sultan ( [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wPglHZQf-0 1] ); Ibrahim al-Khouly ( [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1tReI69hkk 1] , [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztXaNwbbJQU 2] )
*ar icon [http://www.aljazeera.net/mritems/streams/2006/2/21/1_599171_1_13.wma The #1 Interview from the Al Jazeera site] . ( [http://www.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/17389B0B-7B34-47D1-8F98-09022430BE6E.htm Transcript of the Full Version of the #1 interview in Arabic Language from the Al Jazeera site] )
*ar icon [http://www.aljazeera.net/mritems/streams/2005/7/26/1_553182_1_13.wma Listen to the #2 Interview from the Al Jazeera site] . ( [http://www.aljazeera.net/channel/archive/archive?ArchiveId=131089 Transcript of the Full Version of the #2 interview in Arabic Language from the Al Jazeera site] )
*ar icon [http://www.copts-united.com/wr/waf.php Dr. Wafa Sultan Articles on the The Website of United Copts]
*ar icon [http://www.copts-united.com/Copts_United_N/TV_Video_Clips/Conferences/ZH_Conf_25-27_03_2006/Wafaa_Emil_Azhar250306.wmv Video Clip of Doctor Wafaa Sultan's speech about the Human Rights Charter]
*ar icon [http://www.copts-united.com/Copts_United_N/TV_Video_Clips/Washington/Waffa_Sultan_Washington_16-19Nov05.wmv Video Clip #1 of Doctor Wafaa Sultan's speech in the Copts conference in Washington 16-19 November 2005]
*ar icon [http://www.copts-united.com/Copts_United_N/TV_Video_Clips/Washington/WafaaSultan_Washington_17Nov2005.wmv Video Clip #2 of Doctor Wafaa Sultan's interview, with the Copt Sharif Mansour, during the conference in Washington 16-19 November 2005]
*ar icon [http://www.christpal.com/press/RECORD_WAFAA_2.rm Dialogue with doctor Wafaa Sultan in the Paltalk] . The dialogue has run by Ahmed Abaza.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Negt6IzxPTo Nine minutes of Danish television] . A "crack in the wall" - Wafa Sultan on the mohammed cartoons
*ar icon [http://files.ww.com/files/44686.html] . Wafa Sultan on the Danish cartoons with Tala't Rmeih. Complete episode as shown on Al Jazeera on 4 March 2008.

Opinions

* [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1187385,00.html Heroes & Pioneers; Wafa Sultan - A Daring Voice Calls For a New Islam] TIME 100: The People Who Shape Our World
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/11/international/middleeast/11sultan.html?ex=1299733200&en=d13886daba5e586f&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss "New York Times" article]

Critical opinions

* [http://www.infocusnews.net/content/view/4009/135/ "Wafa Sultan: Reformist or Opportunist?"]
* [http://www.altmuslim.com/perm.php?id=1674_0_25_0_C "Dr. Wafa Sultan: A Lost Opportunity"]
* [http://www.ncpa.info/news/view_newsdetails.asp?id=258 "Islam's Ann Coulter: The seductive and blinkered belligerence of Wafa Sultan"] Rabbi Stephen Julius Stein
* [http://aqoul.com/images/wafa_sultan.pdf Original script of the interview without the bias of MEMRI TV]
* [http://www.aqoul.com/archives/2006/03/fatwas_and_wafa.php "How to be a Muslim reformer"]
* [http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/nesrine_malik/2008/05/islams_refuseniks.html.printer.friendly Islam's refuseniks]