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We need more interviewers like Wafa Sultan who aren't afraid to challenge jihadist distortions, obfuscations, and sleights of hand. Instead, the mainstream media is awash with dhimmis on both the left and the right. "LA Psycohologyst [sic] Wafa Sultan Clashes with Algerian Islamist Ahmad bin Muhammad over Islamic Teachings and Terrorism," from MEMRITV, with thanks to Alain:
Wafa Sultan, a psychologist from LA, here speaks with Dr. Ahmad Bin Muhammad, an Algerian professor -- this was aired on Al-Jazeera on July 26, 2005. Sultan starts out by asking him why Muslim men become suicide bombers. She speaks plainly about the role of Islam:
Wafa Sultan: [...]In our countries, religion is the sole source of education, and is the only spring from which that terrorist drank until his thirst was quenched. He was not born a terrorist, and did not become a terrorist overnight. Islamic teachings played a role in weaving his ideological fabric, thread by thread, and did not allow other sources – I am referring to scientific sources – to play a role. It was these teachings that distorted this terrorist and killed his humanity. It was not (the terrorist) who distorted the religious teachings and misunderstood them, as some ignorant people claim.When you recite to a child still in his early years the verse: "They will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off," regardless of this verse's interpretation, and regardless of the reasons it was conveyed or its time – you have made the first step towards creating a great terrorist...
In response, Dr. bin Muhammad plays the deflection game, or tu quoque, as Hugh Fitzgerald has labeled it:
Bin Muhammad: The guest from America asked how a young man could blow up a bus. If only she had asked how a president could blow up a peaceful nation in Iraq. How does a president help the arch-killer of occupied Palestine? Why doesn't she ask from where Hitler was brought up – Hitler, who murdered 50 million innocent people. Why doesn't she ask where the people who dropped two atom bombs on Japan were educated? Who killed three million innocent Vietnamese? Who annihilated the Indians? Who maintained imperialism to this day? Who waged the Spanish civil war, which exacted a toll of 600,000 in 36 months? Why don't we ask these questions? Who has over 15,000 nuclear warheads – Muslims or the non-Muslims? The Muslims or the Americans? The Muslims or the Europeans? We want an answer. Where was Bush educated – if education is really what makes a person a criminal?...
But Wafa Sultan, unlike so many others, is not about to let him get away with it:
Wafa Sultan: Murder is terrorism regardless of time or place, but when it is committed as a decree from Allah, this is another matter...The Crusader wars about which the professor is talking – these wars came after the Islamic religious teachings, and as a response to these teachings. This is the law of action and reaction. The Islamic religious teachings have incited to the rejection of the other, to the denial of the other, and to the killing of the other. Have they not incited to the killing of Jews and Christians? If we had heard that a tribe in a distant corner of China has a holy book and religious teachings calling to kill Muslims – would the Muslims stand idly by in the face of such teachings?
The Crusader wars came after these Islamic religious teachings. When these Islamic teachings were delivered, America did not exist on the face of the earth, nor was Israel in Palestine...
Why doesn't he talk about the Muslim conquests that preceded all the wars he is talking about? Why doesn't he mention that when Tariq bin Ziyyad entered Andalusia with his armies, he said to his people: "The sea is behind you, and the enemy is in front"? How can you storm a peaceful country, and consider all its peaceful inhabitants to be your enemies, merely because you have the right to spread your religion? Should the religion be spread by the sword and through fighting?...
Stunned, the good doctor flails about:
Bin Muhammad: Who invented slavery in recent centuries? Who colonized the other – us or them? Did Algeria colonize France, or vice versa? Did Egypt colonize England, or vice versa? We are the victims...I am not saying that killing innocent people is nice. I say that all innocent people should be protected. But at the same time, we must start with the innocent among the Muslims. There are millions of innocent people among us, while the innocent among you – and innocent they are – number only dozens, hundreds, or thousands, at the most...
Wafa Sultan: Can you explain to me the killing of a hundred thousand children, women and men in Algeria, using the most abominable killing methods? Can you explain to me the killing of 15,000 Syrian civilians? Can you explain to me the abominable crime in the military artillery school in Aleppo? Can you explain the crime in Al-Asbaqiya neighborhood of Damascus, Syria? Can you explain the attack of the terrorists on the peaceful village of Al-Kisheh in Upper Egypt, and the massacre of 21 Coptic peasants? Can you explain to me what is going on in Indonesia, Turkey, and Egypt, even though these are Islamic countries which opposed the American intervention in Iraq, and which don't have armies in Iraq, yet were not spared by the terrorists? Can you explain these phenomena, which took place in Arab countries? Was all this revenge on America or Israel? Or were they merely to satisfy bestial wild instincts aroused in them by religious teachings, which incite to rejection of the other, to the killing of the other, and to the denial of the other. When Saddam Hussein buried 300,000 Shiites and Kurds alive, we did not hear a single Muslim protesting. Your silence served to acknowledge the legitimacy of these killings, didn't it?...
Posted by Robert at July 30, 2005 9:51 AM
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Excellent post. A Muslim has the bravery to challenge the victimology delusions of the jihad supporter.
It is these stirrings that will have a larger impact on the terror threat, rather than the military battles against jihad paramilitaries in Iraq and Afghanistan. While killing the Enemy on the battlefield is important and satisfying, we have to counter the ideology with rationality, a strong mind and a lawyer's wit for counter argument.
Posted by: Monk of War![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/nav-commenters.gif)
at July 30, 2005 10:29 AM
Bravo!
Wherever Wafa Sultan was educated, it certainly wasn't the Columbia School of Journalism....!
May her tribe prosper!
Posted by: voletti at July 30, 2005 10:38 AM
Islam is incompatible with modern multicultural, secular, pluralistic society. Case in point that I would like to use to illustrate this is Mr. Van Gogh. He was murdered over an art exhibit, which desecrated the faith if Islam. Compare and contrast an art exhibit in New York several years ago that depicted crosses bathed in jars of urine and other nasty socially unacceptable desecrations of the Catholic and Christian faith. Why didn’t Christians kill this artist? Think about it. Is Islam compatible? The way things are going the entire world will be Islamic or there will be no Islam. This reminds me of a quote from Gene Roddenberry. He was asked, ”Why are there no Moslems in the future world of Star Trek?” He replied simply, “Because Star Trek is in the future.”
God did not put Moslems on this planet to be judge jury and executioner. You should live your life by example to show other people the path of righteousness not this murderous hate cult that Islam has become.
at July 30, 2005 10:43 AM
Hooray for Wafa...and a woman too...Dr Muhammad must be embarrassed...
Another Muslim Doctor...Dr of what???
at July 30, 2005 11:31 AM
dhu_swami asked:
Another Muslim Doctor...Dr of what???
MEMRI opens the article identifying him as:
Dr. Ahmad Bin Muhammad, an Algerian professor of religious politics
Wafa closes the interview with:
Wafa Sultan: Christopher Columbus discovered American in 1492. America was founded in 1776, approximately 300 years later. You cannot blame America – as a constitution, a regime, and a state – for killing the Indians.
She is indeed impressive. Surprising to see Al Jazeera give her the recognition.
Posted by: justamomof4 at July 30, 2005 12:29 PM
The good doctor is indeed courageous. We hope she keeps her head or isn't silenced in another way.
Posted by: epg at July 30, 2005 1:42 PM
Mr. Spencer, do you know anything about this great and brave lady??
What is her background? Is she from a Christian Arab background or simply a secular or even apostate muslim background?
Good to have her here in the States....hope she stays safe!!
Posted by: Albertanator at July 30, 2005 3:42 PM
ethoman,
Interesting and encouraging quote by Gene Roddenberry. However, he's not entirely correct. There are Muslims in Star Trek's vision of the future. They're called KLINGONS.
at July 30, 2005 4:24 PM
Someone get this woman a blog! This is a voice that should be heard. Of course, it might be harder to get any leading Islamist apologists to agree to an interview with her after awhile.
Posted by: AbbaGav at July 30, 2005 4:36 PM
Albertanator - asked if she was from a christian arab background . . .
google her name and you will find Writings of Dr. Wafa Sultan (Arabic language essays on a variety of topics relevant to understanding the impact of Islam in the West)at a site called "Annaqed"(Arabic word for "the critic"). IThe site offers an English section.
Towards the end of the english section is written:
The new English section mainly consists, for the time being, of articles and information related to the attack. The Arabic section contains a diversity of political, religious, and social articles mostly addressed to the Arabic mind and many in defense of human rights around the world, particularly those of Christian minorities.
Posted by: justamomof4
at July 30, 2005 4:54 PM
Wafa is my hero!
Posted by: What_the at July 30, 2005 6:01 PM
OT
From the Moslem backlashaphobia center of Southern California.
Muslims Feel Targeted at Mosque
Members of a Pomona religious center believe vandalism discovered this week was a hate crime. But police say they have no proof yet.
...vandals broke into several classrooms and stole a 40-inch flat-screen television and a donation box and pay phone change box with unknown amounts of money.
I'm not sure about their motivations," the imam said, speaking in English peppered with Arabic phrases. But "if it was robbery, then why the destruction?"
But others at the mosque, where worshipers are predominantly Shiite Muslims from Iraq, were certain the incident was a reaction by those who blame all Muslims for the recent bombings in London, the bombings of commuter trains in Madrid last year and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"Prejudice and religious hatred are alive and well," said Nabil Shmara, 45, a civil engineer who lives in Anaheim Hills. "This is a normal or expected backlash."
"Those who did this to our mosque are the same as those who did the bombing in London.. They are also hurting innocent people."
Pomona police found no sign of forced entry nor any clear-cut evidence of a hate crime, but they have said that an unknown number of people may have had keys to the mosque. Police said the burglary was discovered Wednesday and could have taken place several days before that.
Alive and well indeed, although a bit stale, stealing your TV four years after the fact as some kind of payback, is just ludicrous. Albeit in Mr Nabil’s eyes it is equal to the deeds of Mohamed Atta. I wonder if he is aware that Pomona has a pretty high crime rate and they really aren’t that special?
Posted by: Bar at July 30, 2005 7:57 PM
Wafa Sultan, you go girl!
Fire Con-dhimmi-leeza Rice and hire her!
Finally someone who isn't afraid (or uninformed) to answer the standard "You were bad, so we can be bad, too!" nonsense of the Islamopologists.
We need about 600,000,000 more women like her.
"Fiat justitia, ruat coelum."
(Let justice be done, though the heavens fall.)
Posted by: BigSleep at July 31, 2005 3:11 AM
Islamists are Westernophobes. They should be exposed as such instead of cringing behind their victim status of "Islamophobia." If an Islamophobe means I don't want their religion ruling my life or my country, hey, I own up! Detesting their religion is not the same as detesting them, personally.
Posted by: londongirl at July 31, 2005 4:10 AM
Wow, very impressive! The fact that a female made this Islamic jerk look like a fool is even better. Wonder how many fatwas have been issued demanding her execution.
Posted by: Susanp at July 31, 2005 10:56 PM
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