Wafa Sultan: I receive death threats on a daily basis

Examiner 03 November 2009
By D.M. Murdock

Dr. Wafa Sultan is a Syrian-born, American psychiatrist famous for her blistering critique of Islam in a debate with a Muslim cleric first aired on al-Jazeera television in 2006. The video of this controversial chastisement was posted online and has been seen by millions of people worldwide. So popular was this courageous and passionate exposé that TIME magazine voted Dr. Sultan one of the world's 100 most influential people of that year.

Dr. Sultan is also a co-founder of the American human rights group Former Muslims United, whose members include other important ex-Muslim activists such Nonie Darwish and Amil Imani, along with other brave souls. One of the main purposes of FMU is to ensure that Muslim apostates are protected under U.S. law, which charges people with murder who kill other human beings, regardless of their faith or non-belief. Unfortunately, according to the four main schools of Islamic jurisprudence, apostates from Islam can be murdered freely and legally—and many of the Muslim faithful have been taught to believe this slaughter is necessary, according to "God's law."

Former Muslims United also educates the public as to other threats to their basic human rights and freedoms under Islamic or sharia law, which is being pushed in non-Muslim countries around the world. One look at the kingdom of Saudi Arabia reveals the fundamentalist Islamic state under sharia law—and this way of life is being exported globally along with an agenda to compel sharia law upon the non-Muslim population as well. Along with sharia comes apostate murder, legal wife beatings, "honor killings," child marriages, public beheadings, stonings and hangings, limb amputations, discrimination against and forced covering up of women, as well as other brutal and harsh atrocities and mistreatments of human beings.

Wafa Sultan is an active and courageous critic of Islam at its fundamental core, which includes not only sharia law but also violent exhortations within the Koran/Quran itself. For her vitally important work helping preserve democratic and free society, Dr. Sultan lives under a constant security threat. In order to tell her story and spread her message, she has a new book out explaining the quagmire in which much of the world finds itself currently sinking, A God Who Hates: The Courageous Woman Who Inflamed the Muslim World Speaks Out Against the Evils of Islam. She has kindly agreed to an interview with me here on Examiner.com about her life and mission.

D.M Murdock: Dr. Sultan, thank you for honoring us with this interview. You are a courageous woman for doing what you do. The first question is, have you personally received any threats against you for your work exposing the problems with Islamic law and tradition? Are any of these threats specifically because of your very public apostasy from Islam? How has your life been impacted by these threats?

"I receive death threats on a daily basis."

Wafa Sultan: I receive death threats on a daily basis. I'm a well-known writer in the Arab world. My writings expose me to millions of devout Muslims who have nothing positive to prove but the sheer cruelty of their teachings. Islam has deprived them of their intellectual ability to face criticism with an effective and acceptable way.

Being born and raised as a Muslim has helped me to realize how serious these threats are. While I try to not let the threats interfere with my mission, at the same time I don't ignore them either. Prior to the release of my book A God Who Hates, I was forced to go into hiding. It hasn't been easy, but since I believe in my mission, nothing will deter me from accomplishing my objective.

DM: You were born and raised in a country—Syria—that, although it supposedly has a "secular" government, is largely Muslim. How was life different in Syria than it has been since you became an American citizen? Specifically as a woman, how is your life different from what it would have been, if you had stayed within the Syrian Muslim culture?

WS: The idea of "secular" government is a misconception that needs to be clarified. There is no secular government in the Islamic world. Some governments pretend to be secular for two main reasons: 1. To prove to the West that they are "secular" and in that way to benefit economically from its dealing with the West; and 2. The despotic governments are always threatened by Islamists. That leaves those autocratic regimes with no choice but to hit the Islamists with an iron fist (...)

Video Playlist: Wafa Sultan warns the west about Islam

Apostate Wafa Sultan: "A God Who Hates"