Wafa Sultan

Wafa Sultan is not the bravest woman in the world. She's not even the bravest author in the world: numerous people, from Salman Rushdie to Asia Bibi, have shared their stories publicly, thus invariably incurring curses, death threats, and even assassination attempts. But Dr. Sultan (a physician and psychiatrist) has, in this book, provided a brief and chilling autobiography, and an in-depth exposé of the Mohammedan religion — or, as she would put it, the Mohammedan political system. There are many excellent books on the subject, but this one is unique.

Born to Muslim parents in Syria, raised in the Mohammedan religion, she became an agnostic after seeing the atrocities committed against Syrians by the so-called Muslim Brotherhood. After many attempts, she and her immediate family managed to emigrate to America in 1989. Following 9/11 (exactly twenty years prior to the writing of this review), she began speaking out against Mohammedanism and its "god," giving her book its title. Her appearances on CNN and Al Jazeera made her an international sensation, and provoked an immediate "fatwa" from the Mohammedan authorities — a curse which she expected, and which bothered her not at all.

In this book, she devotes chapters to the persecution of women in Mohammedan countries, which is perhaps her primary concern. But she also includes a chapter on the psychological and social burdens placed on men by belief in the Quran. She writes at length about the dreadful "socialization" of children, and the utter and complete exclusivity of Islam, a "religion" more intolerant and deadly than any seen on earth since the pagan cults of Old Testament times.

This is a lot of ground to cover in 244 pages, but she does it, clearly and expertly. A secularist and a psychiatrist, Dr. Sultan is not attempting to convert people to Christianity or any other faith. She is drawing a bright line between two things that are utterly incompatible: Islam and civilization.

Very highly recommended.… (más)

A well written memoir of a woman who left Syria for America, and left Islam for non-belief. She tells her story in lucid prose, but seems at times to be detached from the story...at least until she talks about fellow immigrants who hate America. She gets very emotional as she discusses her love for her adopted country and how wonderful it is, and how they respect their women. It is easy to realize that she has a rosier view of America than is probably justified, but one can sympathize when they read the stories of where she grew up. Especially when they realize she had it much easier than most women in her society. She is aware of that, and is angry for all the women who suffer. Overall, a good book, but perhaps a bit naive in her political understanding.… (más)

Miserable, vile Islam. Disgusting too.

This very personal insider's view doesn't cover the claimed beauties of Islam beloved by many Sophisticated™ people, but it does not need to since those can be found elsewhere. The fear-driven woman-despising / fascist / outsider-suspicious / anti-moral / piratical / stagnant / self-hating drives woven more or less strongly into Islam's very structure must somehow or other be eradicated, yet will _always_ be part of Islamic culture's legacy. Islam is actually so bad that I doubt if any Muslim can be worse than it or even as bad (it would be interesting to know how many are much better) and any introduction to Islam that fails to mention these ugly sides has failed its duty.

The fascist aspect of Islamic culture, which I assume is derived from its origins as a raiding culture, shows itself in that everyone except Allah at the top and whoever is at the bottom is both master AND slave. In the company of a superior (by rank, age, gender, etc) a Muslim is a slave, otherwise he or she is master and everyone else assumes the role as slave. Such attitudes do not lead to happy or well-functioning societies.… (más)