The Courageous Woman Who Inflamed the Muslim World Speaks Out Against the Evils of Islam

A COURAGEOUS MUSLIM WOMAN TELLS IT AS IT IS.
ISLAM IS HOPELESS.ITS WORLDVIEW IS STUCK IN THE 7TH CENTURY.
TRYING TO MOVE IT TO THE XXI CENTURY WOULD DESTROY ISLAM ALL TOGETHER AND FREE ABOUT 2B MUSLIMS FROM THE STRAIGHT JACKET THEY ARE IN.
GOOD BOOK BASED ON AN ACTUAL LIFE EXPERIENCE.

This book is very similar to Nona Narwish's "Cruel and usual punishment". In both cases a Muslim woman deals with the harsh treatment of the women under the Islam tellling shocking personal experiences that offer a very bad picture of this religion and the Islamic societies.Wafa Sultan also praised with vehemence the american freedom and civil rights and she states that you can't be a good Muslim and a good American (or a good Western citizen simultaneosly.
For me it is very interesting to know the point of view of people who has experienced Islam first hand and I encourage any person interested like me in Islam to read this book and Nona Narwish's . The command of Arabic language of the author allows her a deep knowledge of Islamic history,literature and tradition so her testimony is very valuable. I can recognize some negative traits of the Muslim societies that she describes in my own country, Spain, that suffered Muslim occupation for seven centuries However I disagree with some aspects of her psychologycal analysis .

Wafa achieves what I believe is her goal with this book, conveying the backwardness, violence, inhumanity and lack of respect for human rights that serve as the fabric of Muslim, and especially Arab Muslim, societies. Furthermore, she rightly places the fault for this state of affairs squarely on the shoulders of Islam. One cannot help but sense, however, the intense undercurrent of bitterness and anger that she harbors, as it runs through nearly every page of her book, and it unfortunately serves to detract from her otherwise high level of credibility. On the one hand, Wafa, makes it clear that she cannot stand the ingrained tendency of Muslim males to use screaming and volume as the key underpinnings of their arguments in any discussion, yet she is essentially doing the same thing in her writing. Through the constant use of general statements, always negative, she paints with an overly broad brush. This causes the reader to wonder – just a little bit at least – about her veracity on the whole. An important read, absolutely. But it could have benefited from an editor willing to divide the broad brush into smaller, more nuanced segments.

Dr. Sultan's memoir is riveting and breath taking. Her courage to stand up to intolerance and hate is remarkable. To understand the pyche of the Muslim world, this book is a must read. Her critics dislike her because she is honest and frank and challenges the idea that women must be secondary.

From a literary standpoint, this book does have a few flaws, however its message is so important that I could not give it anything buy 5 stars. The Arab proverbs and jokes that she includes to illustrate the Muslim Arab mind-set are more than worth the price of the book by themselves. One fault she has is that she tends to repeat herself rather often. Another minor point is that though she believes she has liberated herself from the Islamic culture she was brought up in, it still influences her thinking in places. For example, throughout the book she makes the claim that it was the pre-Islamic Arid desert Bedu culture of Arabia that produced and caused the evils of Islam. That is an unfair (and untrue) statement and is a direct result of Islamic propaganda which denigrates pre-Islamic Arabia calling it the Jahiliyyah (or age of ignorance). Nothing could be further from the truth. The traditional Bedu raiding culture, though it did exist, was not as vile as she made it out to be. In their raids against each other there was very little taking of life out of fear of tha'ir, or blood revenge. It was only when Islam turned these raids outward against "others" that the raiding culture took on a more deadly form. Furthermore, pre-Islamic Arabia was not all Bedu culture. There were many cities, empires, and high civilizations in pre-Islamic Arabia that rivaled those in the so-called fertile crescent. Jews, Gnostic Christians, Orthodox and Catholic Christains, and pagan Arabs of all sorts all co-existed in pre-Islamic Arabia, and there was a great deal of intellectual ferment. The status of women was much higher than in surrounding areas (such as Greece and Rome for example), as women could become rulers of states (history counts at least 42 that we know of), Goddesses, or owners of companies (Muhammad's first wife for example). In fact the chivalry code of Europe's Middle Ages was heavily influenced by pre-Islamic Arabic poetry brought to Spain by the Arabs. Unfortunately all of this came to an end with the advent of Islam. In other words, it wasn't Arabia's so-called "intellectual desert" that created Islam, it was Islam that turned Arabia into an "intellectual desert." Islam has trashed every country it has taken over, and none more so that Arabia. In a bit of a self-contradiction, Ms. Sultan even admits as much on page 205 where she says "Islam subjugated the cultures of all the peoples it afflicted, but it eradicated all traces of indigenous Arab culture more thoroughly than those of any other." All-in-all, though, this book is a must read for anybody interested in the Middle East, Islam, Terrorism, the fate of the west and/or women's rights.

Wafa Sultan has written a very heart-wrenching story about the abuse that Syrian women suffer from uncaring husbands and other male relatives; abuse Sultan contends originates in the anti-female attitudes of the prophet Mohammad (the founder of Islam) and his fawning god Allah. The author worked in Syrian hospitals during the early 1980s, before moving to the U.S. Her book is of personal anecdotes while living in an Islamic society, and how even young boys are taught to disrespect women. Although she portrays herself as a psychologist, this is not a collegiate study of serious personality disorders amongst Muslim women. Nor is it a rigorous psychoanalytical study of Islam (see "Psychoanalysis and the Challenge of Islam" by Fethi Benslama). The author two or three times will refer to the Muslim male's `conscious and unconscious' thoughts about women and how they are influenced by anti-female attitudes as espoused by Mohammad, in either the Quran or the ahadith. Her book is informative as to how she had to overcome her Muslim-induced anti-Jewish feelings, even after having lived in California for several years. What I had hoped for in her book would have been more of an `analysis' of the flawed foundations of Islam. She offers a handful of anti-female ayats in the Koran, and while she does cite some anti-female quotations from the ahadith, she provides specific citations of sources for maybe only half of them. It would have been helpful if she had provided specific citations, as some of her quotes are worded differently from similar quotations from the ahadith that I have read. My point is here that her opinions are based on a handful (okay: many, but not really numerous) of anecdotes, which really don't lead one to the conclusion that Islam is really rotten to its core - just that there are some `bad apples' in the mosque-barrel. (A better look at how women are mistreated in Islamic cultures is "Woman in the Muslim Unconscious" by Fatna Sabbah and "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam" by Robert Spencer.)

Excellent and well written book about the life experiences of this Muslim woman. Born, raised and educated in Syria, she practices as a Physician for several years before she, her husband and children emigrate to the United States to begin a new life. The book is punctuated with dozens of stories of difficult events she, family members and friends experience in a culture which has been acclimated over hundreds of years to value the lives of Muslim men and boys over all others. It is thoughtful, gripping and at times shocking in what it reveals. It is a must read for anyone who cares about not only womens rights, but freedom of speech for everyone. Buy and read this book as a way of supporting this courageous woman, and others like her who wish to speak the truth.

Ms. Sultan is not the greatest writer, but the truth she speaks about Islam is important information. I have been reading a lot about Islam and its founder, Muhammed. I see the "prophet" as nothing more than a highwayman, a thief, a slave trader, child molesting pervert and very violent opportunist. Ms Sultan's book shows the modern day consequences to women and children of the "religion" of Islam. More people should be learning the truth of Muhammed and Islam. This book teaches the truth based on her personal experience.

Wow, while reading this book I wondered all the time where were the femenists, all those hysterical-leftist-women-lovers that don't open their mouth in front of the islamization of Europe and USA. Fortunatelly this great woman speak for all, the humiliated ones. Shame on all the "politically correct" (I mean, cowards) politicians and feminists in Europe and America

Wafa Sultan, a Syrian-American woman, who grew up in Syria, exposes what the ‘real’ Koran (the original version written in Arabic), is all about, and it's not the same as the watered down version in English. The Arabic version, according to the author, is the cause of all the cultural brutality bestowed upon women and children in her country - and it’s scary.

This book is not something I will ever forget, after reading it! She provides a bit of history, which explains quite clearly why things are the way they are. This book describes in detail, EXACTLY how women are viewed and treated by "RADICAL" Muslims. I found the way these women were treated, to be absolutely horrendous. The book also describes exactly how, the men view themselves and why. This book is intensely graphic, but extremely well written. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone. My own salute goes out to the author-Wafa Sultan, for her bravery in writing this book!

Wafa Sultan, a Syrian-American woman, who grew up in Syria, exposes what the ‘real’ Koran (the original version written in Arabic), is all about, and it's not the same as the watered down version in English. The Arabic version, according to the author, is the cause of all the cultural brutality bestowed upon women and children in her country - and it’s scary.

This book is not something I will ever forget, after reading it! She provides a bit of history, which explains quite clearly why things are the way they are. This book describes in detail, EXACTLY how women are viewed and treated by "RADICAL" Muslims. I found the way these women were treated, to be absolutely horrendous. The book also describes exactly how, the men view themselves and why. This book is intensely graphic, but extremely well written. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone. My own salute goes out to the author-Wafa Sultan, for her bravery in writing this book!

Good analysis of a sad subject--
First hand analysis. One can only imagine their great progress had it not
been for the self-inflicted nullification of half their population, including
professionals like Dr. Wafa.

This book was a real eye-opener. I read it while also reading "3 Cups of Tea". Read together I stayed focused. I was able to read about the men of a religion/political system, who treat their animals better than their wives and daughters, without condemming the Islam faith.

If you love freedom, then you must (it is not an option anymore) educate yourself as to what is happening in America today. Having been born and raised in an Islamic country, Ms. Sultan obviously knows first-hand the secrets that Islam does not want the rest of the world to know.
Thank the Lord Jesus Christ for people like her who is not afraid to stand up and tell it like it is.
God bless America and God bless Israel !!!

This lady shines the light of truth on the "religion of peace". It takes concrete courage to write the truth in the face of constant threats. I am glad she is writing and speaking out on what is really happening.

I would very much like to post a review, but I haven't got the book (yet, I hope). Placed an order for this book on august 21, I received a mail on 13th of october informing me that the book had been shipped and that the estimated delivery time was november 17. Today, december 1 2009, I am still waiting. Can anyone please help me? Thanks!A God Who Hates: The Courageous Woman Who Inflamed the Muslim World Speaks Out Against the Evils of Islam

A very brave lady who explained the evil that is Islam. She had the courage to confront the "ogre" and beat it. Every Western woman in the world should read this book and challenge the acceptance of Islam in the modern world.

I have just completed my reading of Wafa Sultan's book, "A God Who Hates". This is a must read book! Many are familiar with her brilliant debate with a Saudi Sheikh on al jazeera television in which she excoriated the coercive violence endemic to the Muslim world. Here she reviews the sources and foundations of that worldview that creates such pathologies. Many accuse her of hating. What I found in her book was a passionate love for Muslims and a desire to open their minds to escape from the oppression that is endemic to Islam...Period. This is a woman who has received hundreds of death threats for simply telling the truth as she experienced it. Having just completed my own careful reading of the Qur'an using Muslim commentaries I affirm that her picture of the message pervasive in the Qur'an is absolutely accurate. She devastates the usual arguments brought against so-called "cherry-picking" of negative things in the Qur'an. Most importantly, she shows, with the acumen of a trained doctor, the results of a consistent application of this world-view to children and adults. The results are devastating. The closer you get to orthodox Arabic Islam, the worse it gets. Having lived in Muslim countries for 11 years I found myself over and over saying, "wow, for the first time I have an explanation for the behaviors that I saw". This is a book that I am going to buy 50 copies of and give to friends, especially Muslim friends. They may become angry, but some will quietly admit, this is the problem. The problem of the Muslim world is not its lack of application of Islam. The problem of the Muslim world is Islam...period. We need to have the love, courage and compassion to give Muslims an opportunity to consider an insider's critique of their own system. Growth only comes through challenging long established assumptions. Doubt is not a "shaytan". In fact, when extreme oppression is established, it is a "word" from God and a "spirit" from God. That God is love, not hate. Thank you, Wafa, for your great courage! You have inspired me to love my Muslim friends enough to challenge their assumptions.

Wafa Sultan does not claim to be an Islamic scholar, but she has seen Islam close up for the first thirty years of her life. The ogre that has a billion and a half people cowering in fear and shame is reflected in the oppressed lives of his subjects. What is so gripping about Dr. Sultan's account is how the affliction is passed from one generation to another -- diminished women give birth and nurturing to children who end up equally diminished. Worse yet, women embrace their defectiveness in a kind of Stockholm Syndrome. Dr. Sultan writes, "[W]omen have become convinced of their defectiveness and have indeed sanctified that defectiveness as divine decree." The solution, according to Dr. Sultan, is for Muslims and non-Muslims to read the Islamic sacred documents first-hand without distortion or falsification.

Dr. Sultan writes from the heart but has the insight of not only a medical doctor but also a mother and patriotic American. Her book is a highly readable, personal account that will have you laughing and crying as you follow her journey from the sad valley of the ogre to the land of opportunity, hope, and a God who loves.

While this is Dr. Sultan's first book in English, she is widely read in the Arabic media, and she is sometimes called the "Dear Abby" of the Muslim world. It is noteworthy that the two readers who panned her book (so far) are named Mohamed.

All the great spiritual teachers, Christ, Krishna, Buddha, agree that the main things which drag our consciousness down to baser behavior are lust, anger, and greed. They go hand-in-hand. St. Thomas Aquinas said of Mohammed:

"Mohammed seduced the people by promises of carnal pleasure to which the concupiscence of the flesh goads us. His teaching also contained precepts that were in conformity with his promises, and he gave free rein to carnal pleasure. In all this, as is not unexpected, he was obeyed by carnal men. As for proofs of the truth of his doctrine, he brought forward only such as could be grasped by the natural ability of anyone with a very modest wisdom. Indeed, the truths that he taught he mingled with many fables and with doctrines of the greatest falsity. He did not bring forth any signs produced in a supernatural way, which alone fittingly gives witness to divine inspiration; for a visible action that can be only divine reveals an invisibly inspired teacher of truth. On the contrary, Muhammad said that he was sent in the power of his arms—which are signs not lacking even to robbers and tyrants. What is more, no wise men, men trained in things divine and human, believed in him from the beginning, Those who believed in him were brutal men and desert wanderers, utterly ignorant of all divine teaching, through whose numbers Muhammad forced others to become his followers by the violence of his arms. Nor do divine pronouncements on the part of preceding prophets offer him any witness. On the contrary, he perverts almost all the testimonies of the Old and New Testaments by making them into fabrications of his own, as can be seen by anyone who examines his law. It was, therefore, a shrewd decision on his part to forbid his followers to read the Old and New Testaments, lest these books convict him of falsity. It is thus clear that those who place any faith in his words believe foolishly."

If you look at the Muslim world, not only now but through the centuries, you see exactly this, that there is much anger and treating women as objects of lust, in Islam. It is much more of a way of life permeated with anger and lust.

As we speak, Ahmad-al-Shamri is imprisoned and sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia. His only crime? Renouncing Islam in favor of atheism. Polls state that 60% of Muslims in Muslim Countries agree that death should be the penalty for leaving Islam. It was the official court/criminal system of Saudi Arabia that made this conviction.

Read also the autobiography of Najood, the 10 year old who got a divorce. Her Father married her at age ten. The Father of the groom promised that she would not be asked to have sex until puberty. But her new husband promptly raped her, and her new Mother-in-Law treated her like a slave. Brutal.

This book is written by a Muslim woman who doesn't believe in Islam anymore. During an interview on the al-Jazeera network, she told the male Muslim interviewer to shut up because it was her turn to speak. This had never happened before, especially on television in the Islamic world (a woman never tells a man to "shut up" there). She was instantly famous. Overnight, in fact.

After the interview-that is, after Sultan ripped her male Muslim opponent a new you-know-what and showed her viewpoint to be superior to his-she wrote this book. It's about her journey out of her native country of Syria and to America. In the book, Sultan, a psychologist, has many critical words for several topics in the Islamic world: for Allah, a make-believe deity whom she humorously calls an "ogre"; for the philosophy of raiding, which is a dominant trait in the Arab Muslim psyche; for Muslim men and how they treat Muslim women in the Middle East (it's not good); for the many American Muslims who benefit from Western technology and human rights but then curse America behind its back and secretly wish for its destruction; and for the conceit of Muslim males, who think they're superior beings, since the make-believe deity, Allah, has commanded them to fight the "infidels" until Islam dominates the globe (these Muslim males, Sultan notes, are also ineffective at calm and rational argumentation because they're set in their ways and will instead yell and shriek at their opponents, even if those opponents are fellow Muslims). Sultan ends the book with a warning to the West as many Muslims who emigrate to Western countries are intent on destroying them.

A provocative and relevant book, especially with the "refugee" crisis now sweeping across Western Europe and perhaps eventually to America. Read, think, and decide for yourself.

Readers would also like "Jenna's Flaw," a novel about the death of God, the crumbling of Western civilization, and how the West can save it.

I just finished this riveting book. It holds your attention with horrific stories of a culture very far removed from Western democratic culture. I have no doubt that Wafa Sultan experienced the horrors and injuries she so eloquently describes in this book. Her suffering and anguish is a terrible example of how millions of women world wide live and suffer their entire lives. She is one of the few lucky ones who escaped that hell.

The reason for 4 stars and not 5 is a reason that may not be valid, but for some reason I feel obligated to be reserved. I get a sense that she is very bitter (and understandably so) and perhaps attacks Islam a bit too harshly because of her bitterness and not solely for objective criticisms. She makes a case that there are NO Muslim who are forthcoming about what is truly in their hearts and minds to a non Muslim. I find this rather difficult to believe given the fact that a Muslim friend of mine named Basil who is Egyptian, used to join me a few times a month at a local watering hole when I lived in Manhattan to play chess, have a few drinks, and a cigar (damned guy always beat me in chess too lol. But he made me a much better chess player).

He often cursed the "Islamists" (not to be confused with someone who follows the religion of Islam. An "Islamist" is one who wants Sharia Law to govern their society and often the world) and especially terrorists who as he always said, "disgrace the name of Allah." He was very outspoken about his issues with what is taught around the world about Islam, Jews, and the "infidels." He was the one who told me to read the book "The Closing of the Muslim Mind" by Robert R. Reilly to understand the history of the two battling ideologies that would steer the direction of Islam that happened almost 1000 years ago between the Mutezalites (sp?) vs the Asharites and how unfortunately the Asharites won that battle, and from that point on rejected any western philosophy, logic (YES... Logic), and rationality (YES... rationality).

I can not believe that my friend Basil was such a rare person that he was/is one of the only Muslim's who embrace, believe, and live in a society that puts Liberty and Freedom above all. He was a deep thinker, a spiritual and decent man. My only regret was that we lost touch once I moved out of NYC.

I seek truth, and if there is truth to the charge that Islam is NOT a peaceful religion, then so be it. I will not falter in stating such truths no matter how cowardly the world and people around me become in speaking such uncomfortable truths. However, that may not be the truth and I will continue to read and research Islam until my knowledge about it becomes more whole.

It wouldn't be the first ideology/philosophy that is immersed and must be marketed with lies in order to gain acceptance by the general populace and it certainly won't be the last.

However, the way I see it, there is good and bad in every single group. Victor Frankl, a holocaust survivor, when asked if he hated all Germans and the Germanic race, said an emphatic no. He said there are only two races in the world: The Decent, and the indecent. That statement changed my life.

Right now Islam is in a crises, and the only way I see any hope for it and it's practitioners is that it must go through a Reformation much like Judaism did almost 3000 years ago and Christianity did about 400 years ago. I believe that the root of this Reformation will only grow in a free democratic society and then spread throughout the world. Until this happens, Islam will continue to be loathed and feared as a religion on the whole.

And those too afraid to speak out against it's current failings and shortcomings and choose to repress honest dialogue about it's flaws (ie: the apologists of Western society who have their heads so far in the sand that they refuse to see the fact that the militant Islamists would only be too happy to see them and most of their views destroyed) will only prolong this Reformation.

V

One of the reviewers here states (note: on the store UK) that non-Muslims should read this book; being a Christian and not a Muslim myself, I have read this book and it is an eye-opener, if not completely surprising. On the contrary, I don't just think non-Muslims should read it, Muslims should also read this illuminating book, in my humble opinion.

Wafa Sultan, the writer, spent 33 years of her life in Syria and talks about the life she lead as a Muslim woman, and in her eyes although she is a doctor and very much an accomplished Middle Class member of that society, she regales how as a woman she was very much seen as a third-class citizen in her own country.

The nub of her argument isn't that some Muslims are deranged, but Islam and the Qu'ran are basically sound, her opinion is that the Qu'ran itself is off-kilter and its teaching can be twisted to allow all kinds of injustices to be allowed, all in the name of religion. I have never read the Qu'ran but am thinking of buying one, a good translation, so that I can perhaps fully understand, as much as is possible, the book a billion people hold as important to their faith. I have no axe to grind here, just an interest and curiosity. Let's be honest also, people in the name of every religion, be it Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism to name but five have all committed atrocities in the name of their god or holy prophet, and often all these religions have been used to justify injustice, 'holy' wars, brutal divisions, conquest and land-grabbing and the like; so none of us can point fingers at each other in that respect.

My one core point is that it seems that within the aegis of Islam, Islamic thought, society and culture, there appears to be a great fear of self-examination, of even a gentle criticism of the Qu'ran and Qu'ranic thought and scholarship, and that even to dare question the Prophet is beyond the pale. Within Christianity there is a culture amongst many Christians of questioning, that questioning being seen as part and parcel of modern Christian thought, worship, life and culture. I believe that because of this questioning nature, we can begin to fully understand God, that He isn't some distant awful deity but a loving and truly merciful Creator who wants only the best for us and is big enough to take on-board our misgivings and misunderstandings.

One of the things I believe as a Christian is we should all learn to tolerate and understand each other, and we should all learn, whatever our professed beliefs, to respect each other quite simply; if our belief is bringing us to hate someone else, perhaps we all need to look again at what we are reading or what we are taught.

Wafa Sultan provides a valuable addition to the body of literature that reveals life in Moslem societies, in her case the seemingly secular state of Syria. Nonie Darwish writes about Egypt, Brigitte Gabriel describes her childhood in Lebanon whilst Ayaan Hirsi Ali exposes her homeland Somalia, part of her childhood spent in Saudi Arabia and the situation of women amongst Europe's unintegrated immigrant communities. A God Who Hates is a blend of autobiography and an analysis of what ails the culture.

Sultan's book confirms the opinion of the aforementioned authors, an position that contradicts the "narrative" of the mainstream media and academics in Middle Eastern studies departments of a "religion of peace" given a bad name by a few radicals. It is more ideology than religion in which the position of women is rather grim, as Sultan reveals the degradations suffered by her grandmother, mother and sisters. Women are considered inferior throughout these societies - helpless victims of Sharia law that subjects them to abuse.

The author insists that the hatred emanates from the Islamic scriptures and tradition. Like Ali Sina's psychobiography Understanding Muhammad, she analyses the personality of the prophet, the god and the influence of the nomadic desert existence that gave birth to it. Sultan confirms what Ayaan Hirsi Ali reports about the antisemitism she encountered in Saudi Arabia, a phenomenon seemingly universal in the Arab World. This observation is also echoed by Nonie Darwish in Now They Call Me Infidel.

Of particular concern are her citations of the qualities of the deity in the Koran as Avenger, Compeller, Death Bringer, Harmer, Humiliator & Imperious and her theory that these appellations have been internalized and are being acted out by the followers of the religion. Her portrayal of the raging, bellowing deity that terrifies the believers into submissive despair is tragic and frightening. She makes a convincing case that the belief system itself is responsible for the intolerance, misogyny and social ills that plague Muslim societies.

Sultan demonstrates how a variety of evils result from the fear-based ideology. Ordinary believers are caught in the mental vise of its harsh tenets. She discusses the famous interview on Al-Jazeerah TV and the impact it has had on the Muslim world. She is grateful to her adopted country for the sanctuary, freedom and joy it gives her. Her description of the small things that she appreciates is very moving and shows how much we westerners take for granted. She encourages the USA to resist the proliferation of radical Islamism and to take a pro-active approach in combating it.

In the concluding chapter Sultan criticizes Colin Powell's remarks made during the US presidential election campaign of 2008. On "Meet The Press" Powell claimed that nothing would be amiss with Americans electing a Muslim President. She points out Powell's perilously limited understanding and the political correctness behind it that renders rational discussion of the ideology's destructive aspects virtually impossible.

I highly recommend this often harrowing but ultimately uplifting account of a journey to physical and spiritual freedom along with Ayaan Hirsi Ali's The Caged Virgin and Infidel, Brigitte Gabriel's Because They Hate and They Must Be Stopped, Now They Call Me Infidel and Cruel and Usual Punishment by Nonie Darwish as well as The Force of Reason by Oriana Fallaci.

Wafa Sultan's "A God Who Hates" is one of the most courageous books you will ever read. Mohammed, the founder of Islam, established capital punishment for anyone who criticized him or his ideology. Witness the murder of Theo van Gogh. Too, Political Correctness demonizes any critique of Islam.

Sultan is an Arab who grew up in Syria and was raised as a Muslim. Sultan can be compared to her predecessor, Nawal el-Saadawi, author of "The Hidden Face of Eve: Women in the Arab World." Like Sultan, el-Saadawi wrote as an Arab, Muslim, physician and woman. El-Saadawi opened "Hidden Face of Eve" with a terrifying, heartbreaking description of her own clitoredectomy. As a physician, el-Saadawi was privy to the rampant, hidden incest, rape and other abuses that proliferate in the misogynist dungeon made inevitable by Islam.

In "A God Who Hates," physician, woman, Muslim and Arab Wafa Sultan describes the tortures and humiliations that she witnessed, beginning with the despicable treatment of her grandmother by her grandfather. Sultan's grandmother was a formidable woman; had she been born in the West, this grandmother could have become comparable to Margaret Thatcher. Instead, immediately after smallpox took the lives of their sons, leaving the daughters behind, Sultan's grandfather became "abu banaat," "father of daughters," an insult in Arabic. To protect his own honor, and with his sons barely cold in their graves, he ordered his twenty-something wife, who had born him five children, to beg a beautiful young girl to marry him. This new wife would erase the Muslim man's shame at being a father of daughters. Sultan's grandmother had to bring home the new wife, dance in celebration, and then endure the rest of her life as a servant in her own home, a servant to her husband, his new wife, and their ten sons.

As a physician, Sultan witnessed horrors: a raped woman whose attackers had placed a drinking glass insider her body as a makeshift prophylactic, a wife whose husband stubbed out his cigarettes on her body, and the physicians who mocked the woman as a failure for forcing her husband to discipline her so harshly. Sultan's niece Mayyada was married off to a forty-year-old when she was 11; she later killed herself.

Sultan emphasizes that these cruelties are not random, but supported by the Koran and hadith. Sultan quotes one hadith as follows: "A man has the right to expect his wife, if his nose runs with blood, mucus, or pus, to lick it up with her tongue" (139). They are also supported by the example of Mohammed, the perfect man, worthy to be emulated (Koran 33:21), who, when he was in his fifties, married a six-year-old girl, who took the Jewish woman Safia on the same day he murdered her husband, father, and brother, and who ordered that Umm Qirfa, a one-hundred-year-old woman, be torn apart by camels (210).

Sultan exposes the true attitudes of Muslims in the US, attitudes that anyone who has spoken frankly with Muslims has heard many times. Sultan attends a party in America and the Muslim hostess refuses to recycle her trash. "God curse them! Do you expect me to help them look after their environment?" (67). Another Muslim woman prowls supermarkets in the US, sticking holes in product wrappers (66). A Muslim, even as she petitions for entry to America, prays that Allah will blind Americans (93). A Muslim, upon receiving American citizenship and after taking the oath of allegiance, announces that American citizenship is worth less than the sole of his shoe (226).

Sultan points out that the prayer that Muslims must recite five times a day mandates hostility between Muslims and their enemies, Christians and Jews, as with this prayer Muslims must face Arabia, pray in Arabic, and repeat the Fatiha, including Koran 1:7, a verse that identifies Christians as "those who have gone astray" and Jews as "those who have incurred your wrath" (168). Further, the Koran demands that Muslims "take neither Jews nor Christians for friends" 5:51. Sultan points out that the Islamic doctrine of taqia (elsewhere spelled taqiyya) instructs a Muslim to "conceal his true feelings when he feels that non-Muslims around him have the upper hand, while at the same time working secretly, so he can attack when the time is ripe" (242).

The book is not perfect; it is a collection of disconnected essays and vignettes rather than an organized argument. Sultan succumbs to the temptation to make unsupported, sweeping generalizations that can only serve to weaken her case. On page one, for example, she says that Muslims "don't read." It is statistically true that illiteracy is high in the Muslim world and readership is low, but the generalization is offensive, unhelpful and unnecessary. Sultan does not cite previous scholarship when she should. She mentions that the Arab raid or razzia was the precursor to jihad, but does not cite William Montgomery Watt.

Given the importance of this book, any complaint against it is minor. Every American should read this book *now.* Muslims must read it as well. Since freedom of speech, and even freedom of thought, are impossible under Islam, truths like Sultan's are crushed in the Muslim world. The longest journey begins with a single step, and the single step to redemption of the Muslim world might begin with Muslims reading this book.

I have read 24 books on Islamic history, culture and religion, and I would rate this book as the top choice to read for someone who wants to learn how Islam affects Arab culture and thinking. When confronted with ongoing events in the Middle East, how often have Westerners said to themselves, "This doesn't make sense!" There is a reason why a lot of events don't make sense to Westerners: Arabs simply don't think like us on a number of issues. When Dr. Sultan came to America, it became clear to her that Political Correctness was preventing Westerners from understanding the Arab World as it really is. As a result, she felt compelled to write this book to help us understand what Arabs think and why they think this way. After you read this book, you will have a vastly greater insight into why ongoing events are occurring in the Middle East.

One would be hard-pressed to find someone who can explain Arab culture and society as well as Dr. Sultan. First, she is a woman. Unfortunately, men are well privileged with respect to women in Islam; as a result, it is more difficult for men to criticize Islam in comparison to women. Second, she grew up in an Islamic, Arab country and understands the culture extremely well. Third, she lives in the West and can write honestly about her experiences without the fear of death. Unfortunately, if a Muslima writes a book critical of Islam while living in an Islamic country, she could face the prospect of being honor killed. Fourth, she is a trained psychiatrist. Her training gives her the ability to explain the psychological underpinnings of Arab culture.

This book adds valuable understanding as to why certain problems exist in the Middle East.

This is an important and incredibly insightful story. Wafa Sultan is a courageous, intelligent and honest person who has given us an insight into how a society based on hatred towards others can manipulate the minds of intelligent people and how a person can transform that hatred to compassionate wisdom through contact and intellectual exploration. A must read for ever Muslim, and every person who seeks peace, justice and understanding to transform the hatred inside of themselves and in their families, educational systems, religious upbringing and societies. Thank you Wafa Sultan. May G-d protect you to keep speaking the truth.

Wafa Sultan provides a valuable addition to the body of literature that reveals life in Moslem societies, in her case the seemingly secular state of Syria. Nonie Darwish writes about Egypt, Brigitte Gabriel describes her childhood in Lebanon whilst Ayaan Hirsi Ali exposes her homeland Somalia, part of her childhood spent in Saudi Arabia and the situation of women amongst Europe's unintegrated immigrant communities. A God Who Hates is a blend of autobiography and an analysis of what ails the culture.

Sultan's book confirms the opinion of the aforementioned authors, an position that contradicts the "narrative" of the mainstream media and academics in Middle Eastern studies departments of a "religion of peace" given a bad name by a few radicals. It is more ideology than religion in which the position of women is rather grim, as Sultan reveals the degradations suffered by her grandmother, mother and sisters. Women are considered inferior throughout these societies - helpless victims of Sharia law that subjects them to abuse.

The author insists that the hatred emanates from the Islamic scriptures and tradition. Like Ali Sina's psychobiography Understanding Muhammad, she analyses the personality of the prophet, the god and the influence of the nomadic desert existence that gave birth to it. Sultan confirms what Ayaan Hirsi Ali reports about the antisemitism she encountered in Saudi Arabia, a phenomenon seemingly universal in the Arab World. This observation is also echoed by Nonie Darwish in Now They Call Me Infidel.

Of particular concern are her citations of the qualities of the deity in the Koran as Avenger, Compeller, Death Bringer, Harmer, Humiliator & Imperious and her theory that these appellations have been internalized and are being acted out by the followers of the religion. Her portrayal of the raging, bellowing deity that terrifies the believers into submissive despair is tragic and frightening. She makes a convincing case that the belief system itself is responsible for the intolerance, misogyny and social ills that plague Muslim societies.

Sultan demonstrates how a variety of evils result from the fear-based ideology. Ordinary believers are caught in the mental vise of its harsh tenets. She discusses the famous interview on Al-Jazeerah TV and the impact it has had on the Muslim world. She is grateful to her adopted country for the sanctuary, freedom and joy it gives her. Her description of the small things that she appreciates is very moving and shows how much we westerners take for granted. She encourages the USA to resist the proliferation of radical Islamism and to take a pro-active approach in combating it.

In the concluding chapter Sultan criticizes Colin Powell's remarks made during the US presidential election campaign of 2008. On "Meet The Press" Powell claimed that nothing would be amiss with Americans electing a Muslim President. She points out Powell's perilously limited understanding and the political correctness behind it that renders rational discussion of the ideology's destructive aspects virtually impossible.

I highly recommend this often harrowing but ultimately uplifting account of a journey to physical and spiritual freedom along with Ayaan Hirsi Ali's The Caged Virgin and Infidel, Brigitte Gabriel's Because They Hate and They Must Be Stopped, Now They Call Me Infidel and Cruel and Usual Punishment by Nonie Darwish as well as The Force of Reason by Oriana Fallaci.

Finally, Syrian-born psychiatrist Wafa Sultan blows the lid off Islam's source of hate (Allah, the Hadith, and the Koran), including the religious use of terrorism for the advancement of the Islamic agenda. The author is an atheist and she delivers a hard-hitting work that exposes the relationship between Islam and the Arabic culture/national civil structures. She insists that this link is like a "vicious cycle" that produces a "deformed chicken or a rotten egg." The more faithful a society is to Islam, the more horrible its fruit.

This uncompromising book reveals Islam's lack of creating:

- a Modern culture
- Rights for women
- Pluralistic societies

"A God Who Hates" is a volume that may help clear the jaundiced eyes of the ultra-tolerant crowd and its strong polemics may help open their self-deceived minds (with its clear exposition of historical truth).

Sultan is brilliant as she is brave. Let us all aim for and work towards truth, love, and progress.
One Way to God: Christian Philosophy and Presuppositional Apologetics Examine World Religions

Wafa Sultan was born in 1958 Syria and emigrated to the U.S. in 1989. "A God Who Hates" describes Ms. Sultan's experiences, as well as those of her family, wile growing up. The most obvious point of her story is that the Muslim religion is very disrespectful of women, even teaching young males this perspective. Fortunately, her family was relatively lax by Muslim standards, and she didn't live in a much starker environment such as Northern Pakistan or Afghanistan. Early on she had a love of learning and reading, but was persuaded by pursue medical studies instead and became a psychiatrist. She is best known for having told a Muslim cleric in 2006 to "Be quiet - it's my turn!" while on an Al-Jazeera televised debate in L.A. and then contending that the conflict between the West and Muslims "Is a clash between civilization and backwardness, between the civilized and the primitive, between barbarity and rationality."

I have no doubts whatsoever of the truth of Sultan's allegations - just recently a Muslim father in my area killed his daughter (ran over her and a friend) for becoming "too Westernized." Sultan contends that Islam is a religion of fear, but this doesn't explain why the intense negativity against Westerners.

I'm sure that a lot of Muslims trapped in their strict, uncompromising domestic and social spheres aren't able to give a voice to their doubts, their powerlessness, the injustices they suffer, their segregation and alienation, the obsessiveness of their thoughts and rituals and judgements to their equally-indoctrinated communities.
Heck, I bet some are fearful to even be *thinking* of such things, let alone express them externally.

I applaud Dr. Sultan for her bravery in coming forward-- already knowing what kind of repercussions would await her for telling a simple story about her own experiences in various cultural and historical contexts for contrast-- and wish to see more Muslims help other Muslims escape from Islam's black hole.

Definitely voluntary Muslims everywhere should be more active in their faith, telling those radicals, the fundies, the limb-loppers, the cowards who plant bombs, and executioners that they got the Qur'an wrong and that such homicidal tantrums make the rest of the kind, supportive, progressive Muslims look bad.

Far from inciting hatred towards Muslims (which are people like you and me), Wafa Sultan shows everyone the enforced burdens of 7th-century thinking that Islam propagates and Muslims-- now, increasingly non-Muslims and their embassies, their polio doctors, their diplomats, their journalists, and equality laws-- are victims of.

WAFA SULTAN is Syrian-born and shares what she has both learned and lived in the Islamic culture. Wafa Sultan is truly a courageous woman in every sense of the word. Her book is shocking, compelling and eye-opening. From the very introduction she is unapologetically and brutally honest. The images and stories are disturbing and heart breaking. I believe her story was motivated by the love she has for her fellow countrymen and the plight of the oppressed under their laws. It is my belief you will never look at Islam the same way again. I believe many Americans will be shocked to learn for the first time the truth about this culture. I am sure Wafa Sultan will have the wrath of many bought against her but she has chosen to speak the full truth. I have read her book and will be purchasing more to give to friends.
Amazing and needed book in the Post 9-11 world.

I read "A God Who Hates" a few years ago, along with Ayaan Hirsi Ali's "Infidel" --both books are compelling biographical depictions of intelligent, brave women-- one from Syria, the other, Somalia. Each woman issues a spoken intent to give a message to Westerners-- a clear and sharp warning, stemming from authentic perspective, not watered down political correctness. Read these worthy books, and hear them out. Very clarifying above the media and political noise.

A book telling the truth about Islam. Wafa Sultan is a very courageous speaker against an ideology/regim/religion that would delight in taking her life. Love her and her book as well as her videos on YouTube.

Brilliant woman, extremely enlightening book. The one star reviewer is biased and hasn't read the book. This is more than just about religion - this is a personal journey, development of philosophy, all presented very well.

Other reviews that gave it five stars are correct to praise it so. However, I just want to praise the courage of the woman who wrote it--ballsy, intrepid, indefagitable--and the warm richness of human emotion that she reveals for her fellow human beings. The writing style is pleasant and engaging. I would recommend this book to anyone. She examines a very horrifying and grim subject matter in such a way the reader feels invited into a new world and uplifted at home by her own courageous example. She is really to risk her own life to speak the truth about Islam. Are we?

In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the United States, it became abundantly clear to the Western world that there was a new and pernicious nemesis in town. Radical Islamic suicide bombers had jolted us out of our torpor as we confronted the stark and frightening realization that our cherished democratic values, principles, code of ethics and very lifestyle were in existential danger. In order to eradicate the visceral feelings of resentment of Muslims that were ruminating in the psyches of Americans and other westerners; the media, along with those in academic and "politically correct" circles initiated a campaign of "re-education". Extolling the virtues of the religion called Islam, they put forth the notion that Islam is a genuine religion of peace; a religion that places a sacred value on the sanctity of life. We were told that only a few extreme "radical Jihadists" belonging to an obscure organization called Al Qeada were responsible for tainting and maligning the purity of Islam.

Wafa Sultan, an ex-Muslim dissident from Syria, offers a wholly different take on this sophistical premise in her shocking new book, "A God Who Hates" (St. Martin's Press - 2009) as she portrays a searing portrait of Muslim culture. The subtitle of the book describes Sultan as "the courageous woman who inflamed the Muslim world" as she "speaks out against the evils of Islam." The reader is left with no doubt that Sultan is way more than a doughty and intrepid advocate of the truth, but a woman who is willing to place her life in mortal danger in order to preserve, protect and defend Western civilization as we know it. She raises the narrative to a highly profound level as she essentially reveals that, contrary to popular opinion, it is not a few "radical Jihadists" who are guilty of distorting otherwise warm and fuzzy Islamic precepts, but rather the culprit in engendering this kind of vitriolic hatred and bloodlust is none other than the Koran itself, along with the paradigm of the prophet Muhammad and the "god" known as Allah. She refers to Islam, as "the ogre" as she explores the psychological roots of a nomadic people who invented this religion in order to assuage their own paralyzing fears and overwhelming feelings of desperation and helplessness.

Wafa Sultan knows from whence she speaks. Having grown up in a devoutly Muslim home in Syria, she recalls her very personal stories of the barbarism of Islam and how it impacted on her and her family. Being born female in a Muslim culture that enforces a male hegemony, Sultan recalls the humiliating degradation imposed on her grandmother, mother and sisters who were virtual slaves to their husbands and their fathers. Contempt and loathing for women as inherently inferior beings permeates the Muslim world as is evidenced in today's alarming escalation of "honor murders" in which Muslim men brazenly murder their womenfolk for alleged transgressions of Sharia law.

Women's inhumanity to other women is also discussed here as Sultan tells us of the abusive treatment of daughter-in-laws by their own mother-in-laws who punish them in the same way that they themselves were tormented as young brides. Education for girls and women in Islamic society was sorely lacking and discouraged in order to keep them locked in a permanent state of servility. Their treatment of children is also spotlighted as abusive as the Koran mandates that they mete out corporal punishment to their children who do not pray or adhere to the tenets of Islam.

Sultan herself was fortunate in a sense. She was educated as a physician in Syria and her headstrong, independent nature compelled her to extricate herself from the draconian dictates of an oppressive religion. Moreover, as a physician in Syria she takes note of the glaring inequities of medical care as it pertains to gender. Dr. Sultan viewed Muslim men as anathema but as luck would have it, she met an educated man who respected her. After their marriage they made their way to the United States where she now raises her children and practices medicine in the Los Angeles area.

Citing a gamut of Koranic verses and providing concrete historical evidence dating back to the 7th century, Sultan proves that the predicate for Islam is unadulterated fear, violence, hatred of the other, theft and murder. From the genesis of the Islamic movement, the author informs us of Arab nomadic tribes raiding one another in bloodthirsty rampages that left sheer devastation in their wake. Describing the terror and desolation that the Arab peoples felt so acutely during centuries of desert dwelling, Sultan tells us that the fear of dying in the arid and harsh desert from hunger, thirst, illness and the always imminent attack by another tribe created an anxious and violent nation whose sole objective was daily survival at all costs. Says the author, "Arabs who lived in the environment that gave birth to Islam were powerless in the face of the challenges presented by this environment, which threatened their lives and their welfare. Because they felt so helpless they felt a need for forcefulness and created a god who would fulfill this need. When the Arab male lost his power he felt the need for a forceful god. And so he created a forceful god in the image of his need - but this god was not powerful."

Thus, the religion of Islam instills a hatred of the infidel, "the other" and anyone who does not subscribe to the tenets of their bellicose belief system. History has recorded that scores of heinous murders of Christians, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs were perpetrated by the hands of Allah's followers. Because their god is described in the Koran as "The Harmer:, "The Avenger", "The Compeller" and "The Imperious", it is Sultan's view that the Islamic people have internalized such labels and have sought to emulate the rudimentary character of their deity. Brutal savagery towards anyone they perceive to be a threat and even against one another is one of the modalities through which Muslims actualized these "godly" traits. She describes the prophet Muhammad as a man bereft of moral authority; a pedophile and a purveyor or violence and falsehood; He gives his tacit approval to his followers to continue on the trajectory of "holiness" by engaging in hostile acts of religious zealotry, without regard for human life.

Offering eclectic insights into Muslim culture, Sultan tells us that because Islam is so riddled with strife, negativism and banal hatred it's language readily reflects this all encompassing disposition. As such, Muslims do not speak in a calm and reasoned manner but rather are vocally strident; resorting to constant shrieking, yelling, bellowing and shouting while engaging in acrimonious, ad hominem attacks against those who they are purportedly conversing with.

And that, of course, segues into a chapter called, "Who is that woman on Al Jazeera?". As a world renowned essayist, Dr. Sultan's opinions were well known through the Arab and Muslim countries. For that reason, the Al Jazeera television network invited her to debate a domineering Islamic cleric on the topic of "the connection between Islamic teachings and terrorism." It was in this venue that Dr. Sultan, having been denied the right to express herself or given enough time to state her case by the male moderator, did so anyway in an erudite and eloquent fashion without raising the volume of her voice; in contrast to her adversary who engaged in ear popping dialogue.

Given the last few seconds of the show to conclude her thoughts, Dr. Sultan was once again interrupted by the clergyman but this time told him in no uncertain terms to "Be quiet! It's my turn!". This kind of rejoinder is considered common parlance to us Westerners who enjoy watching television debates but these few words sent shock waves throughout the Muslim world. "I uttered this sentence without realizing it would open a new chapter in Arab and Muslim history. Never in the history of Islam has a woman clearly and forcefully asked a Muslim man to be quiet because it was her turn to speak", says Dr. Sultan.

Throughout this engrossing and compelling book, Sultan generously heaps praise on her adopted country. She acknowledges her appreciation for the plethora of rights, individual freedoms and liberties that she has enjoyed in the United States for the last 21 years. She urges America to stand strong in the face of the proliferation of global radical Islam and suggests that it confront the burgeoning threat to our civilization that "the ogre" represents in a pro-active fashion. "I love America as few people do" says Sultan, and "my love for it makes me feel concern for it. I do not want any danger to threaten the safety or beauty of this country that rescued me from my fears and fed me when I was hungry. America, to put it very briefly indeed, is my freedom."

Wafa Sultan is renowned for her taboo shattering interview on Al Jazeera, when she skewered a poor Muslim cleric with a long overdue diatribe on the faults and blindnesses of Islam. This book is a piece with that mission. It is searingly honest, largely autobiographical and brims with horrific experiences derived from her family and medical practice in Syria, and with the now well described duplicity of many Arab-speaking acquaintances in the West. It is peppered with ascerbic analysis for this behaviour, the naive Western response and valuable insights into the Middle Eastern mind. The role of honour, the difficulty of apologising, saving face, the state of the conscience are among some of the crucial themes she touches on.

Her description of the Arab and Muslim neurosis (if not psychosis) about Israel is especially illuminating, and reveals just how poisoned and distorted much Middle Eastern political and journalistic discourse has become. Detractors should learn to read Arabic or read accurate translations of publications to find ample confirmation for what she claims, if anything she understates it.

She doesn't adequately explain why the West is so cowed by Islamic morality, and given her history, understandably doesn't have a clear sense of just how deeply Western morality has decayed, why for example the rocketing teenage pregnancies, STDs, broken families and feral children that Muslims clerics so often harp upon are indeed hallmarks of dangerous lawlessness in Western society. Muslims have a point when they speak with disdain of Western 'values', but Wafa Sultan's rejoinder would no doubt be that much of that 'morality' is also hollow and deeply hypocritical, and may act as a shield for disgusting abuse, as evidenced by her numerous accounts.

The book however makes tentative positive recommendations and serves as a salty, prophetic wake up call that both Muslims and other faiths would do well to read carefully and critically.

Wafa Sultan describes herself as an atheist. Her autobiographical "A God who Hates" is a witness statement concerning Islam's God, of whom she writes "I did see the influence he wielded, and in order to dispel his influence, I have to deal with him as if he exists" (p.46).

At the heart of Sultan's courageous book is a testimony concerning the treatment of women in Muslim societies. This, as she experienced it, was horrific. She tells of how her grandmother was forced to welcome her grandfather's second wife by dancing at their wedding; of harrowing insights into family sexual abuse - many instances of incest rape came to her attention when pregnancy brought the female victims into her surgery; of the murder of women who had the misfortune to fall pregnant, often at the hands of the very same male relative who had raped them; of abuse by the medical profession and employers; of sexual harassment of single women in public places - the movements of female students on a bus 'resembled those mice attempting to flee from a malicious cat' (p.29); of the oppressive system of guardianship which men exercise over women in Islam; and, perhaps most movingly of all, of the self-rejecting words she heard coming from the mouths of abused female patients.

A question that cries out from these this litany of suffering is 'Why?' After many years of observation and study, Sultan came to what seemed to her to be the inescapable conclusion that all the abuses she was observing around her were due to Islam and its God.

Sultan offers this warning to the world: 'The status of women in Muslim countries is a human catastrophe that the world has ignored for centuries, and for which it is now paying a high price for ignoring.' The price, she suggests, is that oppressed and subjugated women cannot raise emotionally well and mentally healthy men. The 'invisible Muslim woman' ... is ... 'the hen who incubates the eggs of terrorism.' (p.135) Sultan's answer to the post 9/11 question 'Why do they hate us?' is 'Because Muslims hate their women, and any group who hates their women can't love anyone else.' Why do they hate their women? 'Because their God does.' (p.7)

Sultan believes that the retrograde features of the God of Islam were originally due to the harsh desert environment in which he was created by the minds of the Arabs, so many centuries ago. She contends that the harsh and fear-oriented desert mind-set is merely a primitive backwardness, which must be replaced by a more enlightened world view. The desert God of fear and hate, she says, must be displaced. This is for her an inevitable and necessary product of human progress.

Sultan holds America up as her dream land of freedom and human dignity, a vision of the progress which she hopes the Muslim world will enjoy. However the evil of abuse of women is not limited to Islamic societies and there is something naive about Sultan's trust in progress.

Sultan provides many references to the Koran and traditions of Muhammad, in order to make clear how Islamic teachings condition Muslim men to ill-treat Muslim women. However this book is not a reference work on Islamic law. Rather it is an intensely personal document, the diary of a soul walking a long, difficult and dangerous journey out of darkness into hard-won freedom. The author is a compassionate and brave woman, who writes with terrible frankness about her experiences, but dares to dream and hope for a better world, shaped by a loving God.

This is a riveting and scary book. It explains why the Muslim culture is permitted to treat women less than animals. I was struck by a phrase where a Man's prayer is considered polluted if either a dog or a woman passes by him during his prayer time? If this is what is written in the Arabic version of Islam there is not much hope for this religion to be fair to women or come out of the dark ages. Some other passages and translations are equally nauseating. It really is an eye-opener and Dr. Sultan makes a good case for the world to be wary of the fundamentalist oppressive religious beliefs. Wafa Sultan also excoriates Muslims that have migrated to America of being deceitful and enjoying the freedom , equality and liberties while at the same time nurturing hatred towards the US. This was very disturbing and again another eye-opener. However just like Wafa and her older brother whom she talks about I would like to think that not all people can be painted with the same brush and there must be fair minded, broad minded and intellectually honest Muslim people in this country. All in all it is a disturbing book, and one that for me explains a lot of the negativity, oppression of women at a societal level like the Taliban preventing girls from going to school etc--seen in the Muslim world today. This should be a must read for all the policy makers.

Wafa Sultans book is an essential reading for all of us in the west interested in the heritage of culture which muslim refugees bring to the west. The important message alignes with the one of Ayan Hirsi Ali and Ishad Manjii that reform of the islamic mind goes throughe the emancipiation of the muslm women. The repression of muslim women resembles in several parts of the mindset in other cultures even the one in the west however the support of the repression from the holy book makes reform much harder. Besides underlying this issue Wafa Sultan brings an interesting analysis explaining the violence found in the koranic traditions not found elsewere.

I read this book and I have studied Islam in the context of a conversion exercise. When I said no, I was promised death by my caring muslim "friend". I was only somewhat surprised because I went through the cult experience myself. I joined a cult when I was young, and I am so very glad that the cult I joined was peaceful and the doctrine was good. The leader became obviously barking mad over years, and I got out after 10 years "inside" and about 10 years with one foot inside. Curiously, one of the things that helped me get out was that we were encouraged to study the beliefs of literally hundreds of other religions and mystical paths. It was a good education that way.

So I understand exactly how hard it is to deal with a hermetically sealed society and I know very well what people do with doctrine. When I read Koran and studied the life of mohamed and accounts from his intimates I was absolutely appalled. It was crystal clear to me then that war, secret murder, and apocalyptic violence is what this doctrine specified. Another serious difference is that Koran is unlike every other religious literature I read.

Most religious literature is stories and talking about god, philosophy, that sort of thing. Koran is a book of commandments and that is most of it. It has very little else to it. Ha'dith and Sira are the stories.

Reading Hadith and Sira is a scorching experience. It is like descending into the mind of pure evil to read what mohamed did. It affected me so much that I refuse to capitalize his name again.

So reading this book, I understood clearly what Dr. Sultan was talking about. She is absolutely right. The problem of the muslim world, the problem of the middle east, is islam, period. The core problem of islam is mohamed. What mohamed did was evil and that is all there is to say. The cult that he created remains.

Everyone in the West (everyone in the middle east also) must face this. And our news media and politicians need to quit fooling themselves and making up fairy tales about islam. Islam is a menace, period. Islam must be faced down, called what it is, and the media must never stop doing it.

This is definitely a very brilliant book, written by a Muslim woman about Islam! And if the "Satanic Verses" has earned its author a death sentence by Ayatollah Khumeini, I wonder what kind of torture devout Muslims would dream of inflicting upon the author of "A God who hates"!
Dr Sultan is one of the very rare Muslims who have come to the correct conclusion about their religion, namely that God was created by man in order to alleviate his fear of the unknown. The "ogre" metaphor she has come up with is very appropriate indeed! Of course, this conclusion has been reached centuries ago by Greek thinkers such as Democritus and Epicurus, and by other philosophers in the Christian West. And Dr Sultan, as a psychiatrist, should know perfectly well how Freud explained religion, namely that it is nothing but a collective neurosis. It is common, in the West, for philosophers and historians to criticize the Christian religion, at least since the Enlightenment. But very few Muslim thinkers have ever dared to express views similar to the ones found in this book, and for this, Dr Sultan deserves nothing but praise, both for her courage and her perspicacity.
However, I tend to disagree with her when she says, at page 54, that "his (the Muslim god) repugnant qualities are not to be found in other gods." Nothing is farther from the truth. As a matter of fact, the Hebrew god, Yahweh, has the same repugnant qualities as the Muslim god: he his violent, vindictive and asks complete obedience from his followers. Otherwise, he will "strike them with great vengeance and furious anger"! And his prophets, Moses, David and the rest of them, have the same hatred for people of other creeds, the so-called goyim. Killing them is not only allowed, it is a duty! Here is an example from 1 Samuel(King James Version).Because Caleb refused to give to the envoys of David what he sent them for, the "prophet" is furious, and says as follows(verse 22): "So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall". Can you imagine that? Definitely, it is not by chance that the Muslim religion has adopted most of the traditions of the Jewish religion(circumcision, kasher foods etc...). Furthermore, the Jewish notion of the "chosen people" has become, in Islam, the famous "you are the best nation issued to mankind"...These are two faces of the same coin, no question about that!
On the other hand, regarding the subject of mistreatment of Muslim women by their husbands, Dr Sultan seems to have forgotten the most important injunction of the Koran: it is to be found in the fourth Sura(An-Nisa), verse 34. This verse says nearly what follows(an exact translation is impossible): "And those (women) of which you fear the disobedience, preach to them, desert them in bed and beat them, and if they obey you, don't transgress against them..." So a Muslim husband beating his wife can always find a "disobedience" excuse in this verse, whatever the case may be! It is good to quote here how this verse is rendered in the "authorized English translation":
"[4:34] The men are made responsible for the women, ** and GOD has endowed them with certain qualities, and made them the bread earners. The righteous women will cheerfully accept this arrangement, since it is GOD's commandment, and honor their husbands during their absence. If you experience rebellion from the women, you shall first talk to them, then (you may use negative incentives like) deserting them in bed, then you may (as a last alternative) beat them. If they obey you, you are not permitted to transgress against them. GOD is Most High, Supreme."
It is obvious, for those who read Arabic, that the author of this translation has tried to soften the harshness of the original, introducing comments between brackets and changing the imperative "beat them" to "you may beat them"...This is precisely what Dr Sultan talks about regarding the way Islam is presented disfigured to non-Arab speaking audiences...
And finally, let me point out a couple of small inaccuracies to Dr Sultan. At page 152, she speaks of "the Koranic verse quoted on page 148". But page 148 contains a hadith, not a Koranic verse. At page 182, she talks about the name Hassan Nasrallah has chosen for his party, without mentioning that this name comes from a Koranic verse, verse 56 of sura 5(Al-ma'ida), which says "fa inna hizballahi humul-ghalibun:the party of Allah are the victors". Hence the pride with which Nasrallah and his followers have acclaimed their "divine victory" against Israel in the 2006 war...
One more remark,to the reader who would think I am only critical of Judaism and Islam: please read my review of "The End of Faith", by Sam Harris...

I just finished Ms. Sultan's book and while I am swayed by her arguments, I also feel they are only part of the picture. We and the world are full of complexities and I'm not sure one book can address everything. Some of the reviewers seem to forget that.

I know Ms. Sultan criticizes Islam in particular, but I could see a few parallels to Christianity. One of the big differences is that Christianity, for all its faults, has evolved enough to allow criticism and change. For example, priests can be held responsible for abusing children, and gays and lesbians can demand that they not be discriminated against. Sure, not all Christians agree on these and many other issues, but they are not condemned to death for interpreting their own faith. They're argued with, made fun of, criticized as not being true believers, but they don't fear for their lives. They don't have a jihad put on them by other Christians because they're not falling into line. I think this is one of the points Ms. Sultan is making in her book. Islam has not evolved in fourteen centuries, and heaven help the poor ingrate who tries to question these teachings.

That being said, I've often heard it said that Islam is a religion of peace. I guess I'm going to have to do some more reading to see that side of it.

Wafa Sultan's courage shines throughout this book. She dares to criticize the oppression of women in Muslim countries while still expressing her strong emotional bond to Islam. "A God Who Hates" is filled with anecdotes from Sultan's own life and from her work as a doctor in Syria. She made two contrasts that I found especially helpful in my efforts to understand the source of the violence so often connected with Islam: one, she points out that in Mohammed's day, Arabian tribes survived by raiding to acquire the food and water they needed in the desert and to assure themselves that the tribes they raided would not retaliate. This life style plays out today, she asserts, as one Muslim forces his will on another, whether this is nation against nation or husbands against wives, brother against sister. The other point she makes is that Muslim conversation always turns to disagreement, which concludes with people shrieking at each other. In America, by contrast, people listen during conversation. For centuries, Muslims have refused to examine the doctrines and practices of Islam. Instead, they shriek that they are right which reminds me of the responses from Muslims such as CAIR whenever anyone hints that a terrorist may have Muslim connections (i.e., Fort Hood incident). Her training as a psychiatrist enhances her insights regarding behavior, especially among children, and the violent influence of Koranic teachings which tend toward negative expressions,as in Sura 2:10, ""they shall be sternly punished for their lying." She suggests, "Can God not use more positive language to demonstrate the importance of truthfulness?" I highly recommend this book for those seeking to understand Islam and for those concerned with its treatment of women.

I have read Dr. Sultan's book and I have to say it is a phenomenal resource from a daring enlightened author. The book speaks of the unspoken, talks about what is considered as "taboo" in the middle east. The book is a must-have manual on how to understand Islamic culture in the middle east, especially Arabic-Islamic culture. It even unwraps what's beneath the culture itself, digs in to that very same seed that gave birth to it, and talks about the circumstances that surrounded it then.

After reading the book, I somehow managed to understand the motives and rationale behind every behavior and notion over there, it opened my eyes to the enormousness of the clash happening between Modernization and Islam. Everything over there makes sense now to me, from my school's religion class teacher who used to teach us lies and myths about the "Infidel" west to my ex boss at work who mastered the art of ambiguity, lying and deception. I feel sorry for them, I no longer blame them anymore, for they all have been drinking from the same fountain of lies and hatred! Furthermore, the book also presents some valuable ideas & tips on how America should handle post 9/11 challenges and threats, especially threats from within, from frustrated, confused, lied-upon individuals who are terrified by the wheel of Modernization the same way Bedouins are terrified by the roaring sound of trains crossing through their desolated deserts.

I was born and raised in Jordan-middle east, but right now I work and reside in this great country- the USA, supposedly I am a moslem, and an Arab yet I find Dr. Sultan's book an iconic accomplishment and a salvation beacon that would hopefully light the dark ages the middle east is sinking into.

Dr. Wafa Sultan is one of the finest, bravest, and most insightful people in the world. She is a friend of mine. I dedicated to her my book on "Combating Terrorists in the USA: Protecting the CONUS from Terrorists" for speaking out against the evils of Islam. Wafa distinctly clarifies the God who hates (i.e., Allah), the truth about the ogre's messenger (Muhammad), and the cruel and demeaning way the typical Muslim man treats his wife/wives and children. If Muhammad lived today, he would be considered a pedophile, sexual pervert, adulterer, and a sexual child abuser, which is totally disgusting and despicable. All of those who write nasty posts about Wafa and her book are those we need to watch and be aware of, for they hate America and plan to do our country harm. If they hate America so much, they should get out of here and live where they can find their paradise back in the Middle East somewhere.
By being a medical doctor and psychiatrist, Dr. Sultan makes a very good and accurate psychological analysis of the Islamic men and why they are fearful, raid, and treat women "like shoes" the way they do. Of course, I am only writing about those Muslim men who treat their women as chattel, which is the majority of Muslim/Islamic men. Wafa Sultan had stated in her book: "You poor Americans! If you only realized what Amal [and other Muslims living in the U.S. who hate us so much] thinks of the United States, you'd realize that you're digging your own graves with your naivete!" It is my hope that this book will shake more Americans out of their naivete, open their eyes, and prepare for dealing with these hate mongers. We need to stop being deceived by the Muslims in America who hate us and plan our demise and to place us under Sharia Law.
My hat is off to Dr. Wafa Sultan - a great American and patriot - for writing this milestone of a book that gives the average American an accurate insight into those Muslims who are living in America for the purpose of destroying our country. They are part of "the enemy within" that must be stopped.

I love how Dr. Sultan weaves the experiences in her life with the teachings of Islam, how Islamic doctrine shaped her experiences and those of many other Muslims. I have learned things that I actually did not know. For instance: I had been taught the Shahada while a young child of four or five years (the Shahada is a Koranic verse that is taught to Muslims during early childhood and is a prominent part of the five daily Muslim "prayers"). I do not speak Arabic. I was taught its meaning in English later in life and read the English "translation" myself. In no English translation have I found that two prominent lines in this major verse refer to Christians and Jews respectively. This is left out of the English "translation." However, the Arabic version, the real version, retains the jabs at Christians and Jews. My father has iterated this verse at dinner gatherings, like one would offer a prayer before a meal, with friends who are Christian and Jewish. I am certain he does not know of the real words. He does not speak or understand Arabic (like so very many Muslims). I shudder to think of this memory now, of our lovely and beloved friends and my innocent, deceived father. Thank goodness that the freedom of our country allows Dr. Sultan the ability to shed light on Islam, not just for non-Muslims, but most especially for the believing Muslims who believe without even knowing what it is they read. I know Muslims will not be able to tolerate this book. They will call this educated and brave woman all sorts of names. And by doing so, they only prove her many valid points.

Wafa Sultan's story of how and why she left Islam should be required reading for every American. She didn't study Islam much until she came to the U.S., and she began studying it hoping that the slender thread binding her to Islam would turn into a sturdy rope. But the opposite happened. The more she studied Islam, the more she was able to understand and explain the negative experiences she had in Syria during the first 32 years of her life. Life was much better for her in America, and she began to understand that Islam was the reason for the contrast between the U.S. and Syria, and for the moral deficit she encountered in the Muslim world.

Sultan had an epiphany when she discovered that she was better treated as a gas station attendant in American than as a physician in Syria. "That I received more respect as a foreign gas station attendant in America than as a doctor in my native land still stuns me and was the thing that took me and shook me by the shoulders." (P. 97)

Probably the most crucial fact that Wafa Sultan relates is on the penultimate page: Islam is both a religion and a state.

"No one can be a true Muslim and a true American simultaneously. Islam is both a religion and a state, and to be a true Muslim, you must believe in Islam as both religion and state. A true Muslim does not acknowledge the U.S. Constitution, and his willingness to live under that constitution is, as far as he is concerned, nothing more than an unavoidable step on the way to that constitution's replacement by Islamic Sharia law." (234)

That Islam is both a religion and state is the key to understanding everything important about Islam. It explains why sharia law universally commands death for the apostate: he hasn't just left a religion, he's committed treason against his state, and all countries, until fairly recently, punished treason with death. And yet this crucial fact about Islam is not comprehended by our governing elites in this country, not even by the Republicans, who are supposed to be the grown ups on national security issues.

Wafa Sultan's spiritual journey has taken her out of Islam, and she has fingered Islam as the culprit behind the Muslim world's distressing moral shortfalls. But she still hasn't figured out that Christianity is the reason why the U.S. is so much better. I hope someday she will finish her spiritual journey.

Book review by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.

Everyone should read this book. Not only is it a captivating story, not only does Sultan do an excellent job in describing and providing the specific details of her journey, and not only will this book shock you by what Sultan describes, this book is a real education about an important element/fixture in our society. This kind of knowledge is important, essential, and necessary.

Of well over 200 books that I have reviewed, this ranks at the very top of the list. The very top!

When you are able to digest all the information Sultan offers readers, you will be amazed at the changes in your mental state, the alteration of your beliefs, and the fundamental changes in your attitudes toward the Muslim world and, especially, Islam. She clearly provides the examples and the evidence that Islam is an archaic, outdated, obsolete, and anachronistic religion.

There is no way that a single review of Sultan's book can possibly do it justice, and I know that this one will not; however, if you choose not to read this book, here is some of the essential information you will miss.

On page 26, she writes: "The teachings of Islam have destroyed the men and women there, and rendered them incapable of the smallest measure of humane behavior."

On page 28, after writing about a young woman who had been sexually abused by her father, her brother, an uncle, or another male relative, who became pregnant not long after her first period, then taken to a doctor: "One would think that a doctor's attitude to young women in distress such as this would have been one of care and sympathy. No relationship between a man and a woman in that sick society could be anything but oppressive and exploitative, not even the relationship between a male doctor and his female patients. . . "

Page 57: ". . . Islam, in its teachings, mode of thinking, and way of life, is still captive in a prison whose doors have not opened for fourteen centuries. It is exactly like a man who lives in a hut in the middle of a wood. The hut is Islam and the wood is the unknown. To avoid his fear of the unknown the man has locked all ways in and out of his hut and refuses to go out into the wood. The Muslim treats the world around him in the same way that the man who lives in the hut does. He is afraid of the world around him. His education has not encouraged him to equip himself with the skills necessary for confronting his apprehensions or probing the depths of that world. On the contrary, this education has taught him to fear his surroundings, convinced him to mistrust them, and warned him of the evil that that world holds in store for him."

Page 79: "In Islam, a husband owns his wife just as he does the furnishings of his home."

P. 114: "I feel into the trap of Islam in the early years of my childhood," Sultan writes. When I grew older, I decided to escape from that trap. My freedom lies in my decision. I don't believe that I will ever be able to free myself completely from the jaws of that trap -- no one can -- but my inability to do so does not detract from my freedom. I am free now, whether I manage to free myself completely or only partially."

P. 124: "Under this law [Islamic law] the childhood of many young girls is violated throughout the Islamic world. In many Arab countries such as Jordan, Syria, and Egypt, hundreds of crimes are committed every year against the rights of underage girls, who have no control over their lives, by men from the Arabian Gulf states. These men with their illicit money and their nonexistent morals take advantage of the poverty running rampant in these countries to buy minors for money. For each girl purchased by one of these monstrous pigs, it is the beginning of a journey of suffering, which usually ends with the underage girl being returned to her family after her childhood, her womanhood, her honor, and her reputation violated in exchange for trifling sums of money, in the name of marriage in accordance with the law of God and his Prophet . . . "

PP. 127-128: "When discussing the deteriorating position of women in the Muslim world some defenders of Muslim law protest, claiming that Islam revered women, but that some of its followers had misunderstood the Koran and the Prophetic tradtion. But I still have a question: Have the same followers misunderstood the Prophet's attitude to women in his lifetime? Where are the Koranic verses or Prophetic traditions that can alleviate the ugliness of these attitudes? They are not to be found. How can we view the marriage of a fifty-year-old man to a six-year-old girl (consummated three years later) other than as rape? The answer is not to be found. How can we view the marriage of a man to his son's wife as an acceptable act? There is no passage to make one think otherwise. How can we view a man's marriage to his female captive after he has attacked her tribe and killed her husband, father, and brother except as a crime? We can't because there are no verses or traditions to persuade us otherwise?

P. 129: "Islam was born into an environment that sanctioned the capture and rape of women, holding them -- not the man committing the crime -- responsible. Islam did not proscribe what was already permissible. On the contrary, it legalized it and enshrined it in canonical law. . . ."

P. 131: "A Muslim man can see himself only in terms of his ability to pump out money and sperm. The Muslim woman, for her part, sees herself only as an incubator for his sperm and as a piece of furniture he has bought and paid for with his money. The man alone decides when to take possession of this object and when to deposit his sperm in it dictating a relationship in which human feelings have no value."

P. 135: "When I began to learn to read, the Koran was the first book I opened. I can never remember anyone explaining these versus to me in a more merciful and tolerant way than I understand them today. Today most Muslims attack me unmercifully. They accuse me of picking out from the Koran those verses which serve my purposes, just as I would pick the best cherries out of a boxful. Naturally, I like this simile, and cannot see anything in it that reflects badly on my reliability. The box that God reveals is not supposed to have any spoiled cherries in it. . . ."

P. 137: "Muslim education has stunted women to the point of depriving them of their mind and their conscience. This education has had a profound effect on the minds of Muslim men and women alike. . . ."

P. 139: "The Muslim male is conceited. His ogre has appointed him as his deputy and has conferred absolute power upon him. This power knows no bounds and has no respect for women's intelligence or emotions. Even where something as private and personal as having sex with one's spouse is concerned, Islam gives women no choice in the matter. Muhammad: says in another hadith "If a man summons his wife to his bed and she refuses, the angels will curse her until the morning."

P. 139: "When there is a conflict between obeying her husband and obeying God, a woman owes her first obedience to her husband. This means that she is not allowed to fast or pray unless her husband agrees, as laid down by the words of the Prophet of Islam in a hadith: "A woman shall neither fast nor pray without her husband's authorization."

P. 153: "This is not the only incident, unfortunately, of a Muslim saying one thing to an English-speaking audience and something else entirely to an Arabic-speaking audience and something else entirely to an Arabic-speaking one. In the wake of the September 11th attack, a study even was held at which the main -- and -- only speaker was a public speaker from the Muslim community. After he had finished speaking, those present began to ask questions, and I asked him: `Doctor, do you believe that the Islamic books we have will contribute to the creation of a peaceable and nonviolent generation?' The speaker was well aware of who I was and of my contributions; he, therefore, replied: `Absolutely not!' implying that Islamic books need to be altered or looked at more carefully. However, when asked by a publisher of a Lost Angeles Arabic-language newspaper if it would be okay to quote his answers word for word, he objected. . . . deep down he [the [publisher] realized that what the speaker had said in a private forum was different from what he was prepared to say publicly."

P. 155: "Islam is a sealed flask. Its stopper allows no ventilation. In order to safeguard itself and guarantee its continued survival this ideological system holds its people in an iron grip and has created an oppressive and despotic relationship between society and the individual. The individual has no freedom within his society and has been deprived of his ability to express his opinion, especially when that opinion is not the prevailing one. Islam has deprived its followers of the most basic form of freedom -- the freedom to express oneself. And it has killed their desire to enjoy this freedom. In order to ensure its control over the individual, it has interfered in all aspects of his life, large and small, and has planned it out for him in every particular. It micromanages his every activity and regulates the most private moments of his life -- to the point of commanding him to put his left foot before his right when he gets into the bath."

PP. 160-161: "How can a Muslim escape the grasp of his ruler when he is completely convinced of the necessity of obeying him? How can he protest against this obedience, which represents obedience to his Prophet and therefore also to his God? He cannot. Islam is indeed a despotic regime. It has been so since its inception, and remains so today."

P. 179: "From its earliest beginnings Islam has forcibly defended its teachings. It resorted to force because it needed power. It used its might to stamp out any ideas that did not fit into its program, and kept its people firmly locked up in prison. It rejected the principle of excellence and the laws of supply and demand. Not merchandise but its own was allowed into its marketplace. The Koran and the life, actions, and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad were the sole source of knowledge and the only basis for legislation. Islam imposed these sources by force and allowed no others to compete with them. . . ."

P. 192: "If you read the history and teachings of Islam you will get the initial impression that Islam is more accepting of and less hostile to Christians and Jews, as it recognizes the sanctity of their holy books. But anyone who scrutinizes this history carefully with a critical eye will realize that Islam has declared war on both religions, and has entrusted its followers with a sacred mission: to fight them until the End of Days."

P. 199: "I always ask myself: Why have my children, the product of American education, grown up to respect others, no matter what their religion, race, or origins? Why was I burned by the fires of hatred until late in life, and why are people in my homeland still being burned by that fire? Why should people in the land of my birth not learn to love, so that they can be productive, efficient, and happy like people in other countries that teach love? Why should people in my homeland not learn to accept people who do not profess the same religion as they do, so that they can live with others in peace and harmony? We have learned to hate others, and this hatred has hurt us more than it has hurt anyone else."

I quote extensively from Sultan's book to give those who have not or will not read her book more than just a taste of what I feel makes her book great -- and a terrific read as well. As noted at the opening of this review, this is an important, necessary, relevant, and significant book that should be read by everyone.

Here is something I found fascinating. When I wrote this review (07-16-10), there were 66 reviews on the the store.com website. Of those, only 8 were negative (and two of them were written by men whose first names were Mohammed whose negative reviews would be expected, so we're left with only 6 negative ones), but here is what is fascinating: of the remaining 58 reviews, most were 4-star reviews and the remaining few were 3-star reviews. Not only were most of the reviews of this book 4-star (outstanding), but the reviewers took the time to write extensive reviews, not just a sentence or two. A serious book merits serious reviews which take time to write.

This is a serious book that needs greater attention as well as more readers.

I bought this book because of a desire to learn more about the Muslim culture. I was pleased to read honest and open insight from someone who has lived it. I understand better now why I am hated as a Christian/American. I feel like I understand their thinking a little better. Yes, it has made me more leary than I already was, and for good reason as she explains in the book.My heart goes out to Wafa, she is a woman of courage and honor. I wish it was a mandatory read for all Americans over the age of 18. I believe it would help our politicians in there decision making. I have recommended this book to my entire family and extended family.

Wafa Sultan is a remarkable Arab woman. Using her excellent education and bright intelligence she has managed to purge her mind of the evil of Islam, a so-called 'religion' which is really a powerful political movement aiming for World Domination by force.

Islam was founded in 610 by an Arab pedophile, Muhammad, who consummated his 'marriage' to his 'wife', Aisha, when she was only nine years old. This pedophile's behavior was so abhorrent to his fellow Arabs that they drove him out of the city of his birth, Mecca, and forced him to hide in Medina.

In Medina Muhammad preached a litany of sick ideas that today would have gotten him placed in a locked psycho ward. These ideas are soaked in hatred and extreme cruelty as Wafa Sultan rightly points out. No rational person could possibly accept them as a basis for his life values. Any person with a normal brain would reject them out of hand as being sick and grossly disturbed.

But someone whose cerebral function of reality testing was defective could absorb this evil nonsense and transmit it to their children. One would expect that the children, as they matured into adults, would start to analyze and critically evaluate these Islamic beliefs and reject them. Unfortunately, this does not happen and so we have the pitiful example of grown Arab men believing that forty virgins are waiting for them in heaven if only they blow themselves up!

It is amazing that Islam has lasted fourteen centuries. The Islamic rule that anyone who disbelieves Muhammad's teachings in the Koran must be killed is probably responsible since it prevents anyone from living long enough to make a critical evaluation of the truth of Islamic beliefs.

Wafa Sultan has rendered a vital service to her readers in exposing this morass of evil and extreme cruelty.

Americans must be determined to drive out these criminally insane killers before we all become victims ourselves.

I just finished reading this book, as a person who has lived in a Muslim country for 24 years, some part of the book was written as if it was read from my own life. The final chapters of the book, with no doubt, was a tiny but the most accurate picture of what I had personally experienced. The first few chapters are most like a biography of the author and stories of Muslims society, it aims to create a background image in term of Muslims morality, their interactions and perspective. The only negative aspect of the book in my opinion was its weak command of English.
- Ramin Shamshiri, May.2010.

Everyone in the U.S. should read this book along with the others mentioned in a previous review. This should be a wakeup call. Sultan describes the insidious nature of this virulent totalarian political system that is wrapped in a veneer of religion that makes it difficult to ward off because it is now a 'holy law', and, therefore, beyond question by it's subjects. We need to heed what Ms. Sultan has to say.Good book full of information. Get it. Read it.

Wafa Sultan takes an ax to Islam despite the risk that her own head would be at the stake. This outspoken woman has now joined the heroic elite of muslim truth-tellers, such as Ibn Warraq or Ayaan Hirsi Ali. What I most appreciate about this book is Mrs. Sultan's honesty in telling her story as she lived it, warts and all. Her book is a dire warning to us and, as such, must not be ignored.

Reading Wafa Sultan's book has given me some clarity regarding Islam's similarities with the Greco-Roman prechristian culture, its opposition of western civilization, and its clash with Christianity. Most obvious to me is the distorted image of the Islamic God (Allah) as a god of vengence contradictions and hate who requires unquestioned obedience to His commands even if they defy reason and common moral precepts. By contrast, the Christian God is a God Who made everything good and Who can not hate all that He has created, including "people of the book." I find that the God of Islam has many of the fallen human attributes of the idolatrous Greco-Roman gods wrapped up in one flawed supreme being. The Christian recognizes a God Who is above human nature and Who is all perfect, all wise, all good, and all loving. He created the universe with both physical and moral laws that are unchangeable and discoverable.

Christianity is the foundation of western civilization which recognized the rights value and equality of all people, male and female. Women are not considered inferior. The recognition that all men share in the image and likeness of our God has brought about the end of master-slave bondage. The bible--not the Koran--is the revealed Word of God--its knowledge being the underpinning of the rule of just laws, freedom, and representative government. Western civilization could not have developed without it.

Islamic society and religion, by contrast, is rooted in the life and teaching of a "prophet" most imperfect and a product of seventh century Arabian culture. This "prophet" is not the personification of perfect man to be exemplified in all matters of speech and actions. His imperfections, his prejudices, his hatreds, his perversions, his backward culture, his drive for power, and his use of violence are all fused into a grotesque monotheism--a capricious and indecipherable God, master-slave relationships, women and children as property, obedience and actions based on fear of repisal, a fusion of state and religion, a distorted concept of salvation, and a conflicted morality.

Wafa Sultan was a product and a victim of Islamization in Syria. Having overcome this bondage of both mind and body, discovering the beauty of Christian thought and practice, and enjoying the freedom and benefits of western civilization in her adopted country, her witness and her depth of understanding casts much light into a darkened and closed system chaining millions more into a religion of victimization.

This is a book about an extremely courageous woman who spoke out against the evils of Islam especially as it pertained to women. I believe she spoke about what many of today's Muslim women are thinking but wouldn't dare say aloud. If only there were more courageous women like her in the Muslim world to speak out against the barbaric religion that is Islam

Wafa Sultan is an amazing woman. She is a true hero in a full sense of this word. Because of what she writes and talks about, she is threatened with death by those she writes and talks about. And, frankly, that in itself validates everything she writes and talks about. In this age of stupidity and political correctness - this is a gem not to be missed. Find some videos of her on YouTube. You'll be blown away by this lady!!

Under Islamic Sharia Laws and the teachings of Muhammad and Quran, atrocities has been committed against many over the centuries . Since 9/11 these acts, specially towards women, honor killings, rapes, stoning, murders and slavery have been noticed more. Between 1979, the beginning of the Iranian Revolution and formation of the Islamic Republic Of Iran till 1997, some 1500 Iranian women have been hanged, some as young as 10 years old. Thanks to the writings of brave women like Wafa Sultan, Brigitte Gabriel, Nonie Darwish and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who have put their lives on the line by pouring their gut wrenching stories out in the open, about their personal lives under Islam, the western world seems to be waking up, howbeit still not fully. Then we read the reviews of Sultan's book by 2 folks on this space by the name of, you guessed it, Muhammad, who much in vain and with total hypocrisy call her unqualified for telling the truth about Islam's treatment of women. They attempt to discredit Dr. Sultan simply because she hasn't been educated in " theology of Islam ". What a farce. What a theology !

How can these people live with themselves for denying what is so obvious to the entire world except to those who follow such a dark and hateful religion.

" A God Who Hates " must be read by all curious minds, as well as a book which will show the reader as why Islam is the way it is, by showing who Muhammad really was. "Understanding Muhammad, A Psychobiography" By: Ali Sina

This is a wonderful and very necessary book by a well-educated, honest, and fearless woman. Unfortunately, all of these things make Muslim men very anxious and angry (which is EXTREMELY rare and almost never seen, but believe it!). Read this if you want to know the truth about what's going in the Islam, the Middle East, and North Africa.

The only response Muslims have to Wafa is to lie and engage in low-level personal attacks. Like the fact that she worked and owned pizza stations and gas stations (shocking, she supported her family instead of collecting welfare) or that she hasn't gotten her medical license yet in the US (maybe she'd rather focus on business). They have no real response to her actual arguments because--guess what? They're all true and she's 100% correct.

A GOD WHO HATES by Dr. Wafa Sultan is an astounding non-fiction work that will encourage Western readers to appreciate the society they live in more than they already do. Her personal experiences alone are worth every penny. She was born and raised a Muslim in Syria. She performed her internship in a gynecology office, and is now a trained psychiatrist. Her unique training and experience ensure that Dr. Sultan is one the most qualified individuals on the planet to illuminate the duplicity and unreasonableness of Islamic terrorists, and explain why they think the way that they do. Her many riveting, direct observations of women physically and psychologically abused are horrifying. A GOD WHO HATES clearly rings of the truth it contains. It was as hard to put this non-fiction book down as the best of Stephen King's thrillers.
The only fault I can find is her blind love for the United States, which is understandable given her experience, and I think it endears many American readers to her.
Both the Old and New Testaments are full of exhortations to help the widows and orphans, and not to oppress them. Dr. Sultan's experience explains why this is so, and that in many ways, nothing has changed in that part of the world since biblical times. She explains the dark side of Muslim beliefs, and how many of the religious schools known as madrassas manufacture hate warped minds much as Detroit assembly lines manufacture motor vehicles. Dr. Sultan breaks Islam down brick by ready to throw brick. She backs up her observations with poignant direct quotes from the Qur'an, Mohammad's so-called Hadiths, (which according to Islamic scholars were written 300 years after his death) and other Arab literature.
This is required reading for anyone who had freedom and desires to keep it. After reading this book you will look away in disgust the next time someone tells you that Islam is a `peaceful religion.' As the ancient Chinese General Sun Tzu advocated; know your enemy. This is the most stunning and enlightening book I have read in many years, and I read a lot. All five shining stars to this most courageous woman! Thanks Dr. Sultan. May the God who created us bless you.

I had the pleasure of reading her book and not being blinded by political correctness was amazed that these stories are not shared enough in our social media culture. If somebody calls themselves a feminist but turns a blind eye to her life they are doing much harm to women worldwide. If somebody calls themselves a progressive democratic but down plays the coming jihad against America they can no longer fool anyone. Read this and force those we put in power to aknowledge this reality.

Read this book and spread the news to all Americans. I have since been reading more and more books about Muslim society and Americans need to wake up as the author has written. This book will open your eyes to what really is going on with this ideology/political system and everyone should listen! Pass this book on, especially to the children. Something is definitely rotten in Denmark!

Excellent book, must read, brave woman, speaks the truth, exposes the violence, hate and evil of a religion that promotes terror and killing of kafirs, infidels.
Dr. Wafa sultan is a great, smart, brave ,educated, and talented lady. her book is worthy of 5 stars.I recommend all to read it.

Another excellent non politically correct book, that is brutally honest and only hated because it shows the true face of those that cause so much damge but because of political correctness their deeds go unnoticed.

When I first started reading this book, it was profound in that Wafa obviously has done a lot of soul searching. She seemed to begin by shedding some light on how Arabs viewed their God. She describes how the desert creates fear in it's inhabitants; the fear of dieing of thirst and that to combat this fear, the inhabitants, the people, had to create an ogre (Allah) to protect them. She also goes on to say that Arabic literature and history books are replete with stories of raids, fear and conquering as a way of life in order to survive. There's nothing positive in the teaching and education of the people and when Muslims have a conversation, they don't even listen to one another, but just shriek and yell and whoever shrieks the loudest is the one who commands and all others will listen. But then the majority of the book paints a picture of hopelessness for the Arab countries and the rest of the world. She calls on America to fix it, but gives no suggestion as to how. Thanks, Wafa.

The theme of Arabs that Wafa paints is one of master and slave that permeates all areas of their lives: government, employment, marriage and friendships. Women are dirt and women and children are treated like chattel (property). According to Wafa, most women and girls are sexually abused, raped, and beaten by the men in their lives: fathers, uncles, husbands, brothers. Sick. The concept of submission is what the Koran teaches and it's how they live; submission to your ruler, your employer, your husband, and your parents. Ask no questions, Just blindly obey.

In the first 1/4 of the book, Wafa describes the Muslims here in America and she says that they have no respect for our values or culture; that they're here only to raid (by buying our cars, houses and other material goods), having no respect for out land, and to hurt us. She says you can't trust Muslims here because she's seen first hand how two-faced they are. In front of Americans, they're respectful, polite, and picture perfect, but behind Americans backs, they're cursing us. That point really disturbed me. I started to feel more hatred to all Muslims. But I know, deep down, that ALL people aren't 100% of anything. So I had to keep reading.

Then about 3/4 through the book, Wafa said Muslims coming into this country want a better life and are seeking to break away from the prison of Islam. So, she contradicts herself and I'm left feeling bewildered. Not knowing how I should react to Muslims or what I should think.

Some of her writing had a few grammatical errors in it that confused me and which prompted several re-readings of the same passage and even then I ended up having to be ok with presuming what she meant. Her flow of ideas were a little choppy and I found myself having to turn back a few pages to re-read so that I could grasp the time period and country she was speaking about. It wasn't all that bad, but at times I was not altogether sure of exactly when or where she was talking about. She flips back and forth between childhood memories in Syria and her early years in the United States making her thoughts slightly disjointed.

There are a lot of people, reviewers of this book included, that blast her as a person who just hates the religion of Islam; that she's a liar and a person out for revenge for the way she was treated as a child and as a women. I take all that venom towards her with a grain of salt. One only has to look at the Arab culture and ask themselves, "Why, after so many centuries, do these people not have a philosophy of liberation? They have been stuck in their situation for over 1400 years! Why hasn't it changed?"

Wafa's explanation of the fears of the desert, specifically citing the Arabic literature of the Bedouin father who tries to find help for his son, who is badly hurt, and wanders through the desert only to find himself circling back to where his son is and then finds his son dead, is what drives their continued belief system. And it's this belief system, a life of nothing but struggle and only the strongest and most powerful survive, that keeps them a prisoner in their own land. Basically, it's the survival of the fittest.The only way to survive is to believe in the sayings of the prophet Muhammad, which means obeying Allah, and raid each other. Well, perhaps that's partly true? Look at how they live. Look how long they've been stuck in their situation. No doubt there is something disfunctional going on.

The question remains, though, how much of that population, what percentage, is the true representation of what Wafa describes? I don't know if anyone will ever find a truly unbiased book about the beliefs of that culture. You'll get differrent images and different perspectives, but would you ever find a true overall picture of the overall philosophy of that culture?

I feel fairly confident of one thing and that is that their education doesn't allow them to read Greek and Roman literature or any other literature of other cultures. They're not exposed to other cultures way of life or thinking, and when they are exposed, it's through propaganda. Look through the history books and you'll find that when individuals want to break free, they begin a revolution and from there, eventually, freedom is found. But this desire to be free begins with learned thought, higher-order thinking, higher education. This isn't something that most Arabs and non-Arabs are exposed to.They are censored and kept submissive.

Take into account the facts that The Middle East has always been oppressed by rulers, their education has been limited to the beliefs of that culture and there's not much question about how they are still in the mindset that they're in. The really scary thing is that Wafa also explains that many of these people don't want another way to live. Their beliefs are so grounded in fear that there is no more room for any change in belief.

After reading this book, I feel like I need to search for other books to round out my knowledge. It does prompt a person to continue to search for more about the Middle East, the Koran and other factors that contribute to that culture. One thing I disagree with many people on is the viewpoint that the Crusades were mostly responsible for the strife between the East and the West. Although, they certainly didn't help any, I wish people would stop trying to pinn the blame on one area of history.

This book is very good, organized and delivers a good message. The writer was syrian who immigrated to the USA.
There is a tendency to praise America, but that is OK . The writer talked about her personal life to draw a contrast between life under Islam and life under democracy and freedom.
Sultan also tried to be a hero to liberate women from oppressive religion and political systems.
Now everybody in the middle east is talking about the need to renovate, update the Islamic message to reflect the true spirit of Islam, which unfortunately deteriorated in the hands of the hardliners and narrow minded to the lowest level ever. Sultan could effectively join the reformers for the benefit of Islam and the other Abrahamic religions, since they share the same hateful God.
The book didn't delve deep in the root of the problem which is Islam itself, because americans have shallow and rosey ideas about it. Sultan should have given a short introduction to Islam and its main ideas. She should talk more in Arabic to the arabic speaking people. I myself followed her debates and interviews on Youtube and can tell that she can talk perfect Arabic with authority and charisma and would be very effective in convincing and changing the minds of people and at least to let them start thinking. Her Arabic and knowledge of Koran and Hadith are awesome.
Sultan has guts, courage and is fearless in debates with the top religious figures. In general it is a good start to bring the dangerous religion under scrutiny and show that it actually present a threat to peace, harmony, accepting others, humanity and freedom. This book deserves 5 stars and must be red.

It is very easy to be a shock jock with nothing substantive to say, Wafa sultan is an Alawite, she grew up poor and abused by her own family, my sympathies for her hardships and misfortunes but her motive for kludging this filth together seems to be purely financial, she is not an authority on anything but her personal tragedy, Alawite men are known for drinking and abusive behavior towards their families and for not following islam at all in their daily dealings, it has to do with a culture of corruption and total lack of morality the assad regime (her own clan) has ingrained in his alawite supporter core over many decades, this culture produced some of the most horrific mass atrocities known to man kind in the 80's and is still producing sadistic torture images seen in the Caesar images very recently.

It is easy to criticise Islam, (or any other religion) but what do we gain? It will result in even more hate from the people who believe in that religion. I think someone who knows very well a religion, the islam in this case, should be able to find the right way how to talk to fellow believers and get across the message. There must be a way to communicate between religions!

This book only talks to the "western world", of course it will provoke anger for the muslim world because it has not found the right language...

Wafa Sultan: A Poseur Playing off of Ignorance to Further Hate. This person is not what she says she is and has agendas to propagate to those who are ignorant and get their money. I have seen many of her interviews and she is neither Objective nor Honest. I have not read the book based on her shady background and multiple lies as explained in the report by InFocus a California based journal. If you want to know more look for this Article "Wafa Sultan: A Poseur Playing off of Ignorance to Further Hate" A simple online search will show the article.
After reading this article and the one from InFocus I felt I better save my money and read something that comes not from a LIAR.
So before you buy check the facts on who the Author is and then decide for yourself.

Dr. Sultan would have a better solution if she shipped her "Ugly Ogre god" back to the Arab world. She needs to meet the God Who is Love and free herself from the brainwashing that has spoiled her life.

I can not understand the logic of people who blame God for bad human behavior ? To shift blame from people to God is foolish. I say there is something wrong with people. Hating is wrong and that has nothing to do with God.

A bigoted, one-sided view from the mind of a social misfit. Sultan is an Alawite (Assad's religious group) and she lived for some time in some Sunni areas. Naturally, being an argumentative person who thinks way too highly of herself, she found herself at odds with the traditional, conservative culture of Syrian Sunnis (a culture which has as much to do with pre-Islamic influence as it does with Islam itself). Add to that the stigma of being an Alawite and the ire those people get from the Sunnis, and you'll see why she came to harbor a dark view of Islam. Sultan would have railed against capitalism and Christianity if she was born in America. She's an insecure woman who feels the need to make a name for herself and have her voice be heard. Nothing of substance in this book but biased anecdotes. If you want a strong, multifaceted and logical rebuttal of Islam, pick up Ibn Warraq's "Why I Am Not a Muslim"... Sultan does atheists a disservice by cloaking her attention-seeking, money-making bigotry with the veil of anti-religious polemics. Stupid analogy to an ogre written about 100 times in this book- an analogy that only looks at Islam in one way. Some would say an analogy that says more about the Middle Eastern civilization and Third World mentality in general, rather than just Islam.

Not worth reading if you are looking for academically researched books on Islam or "terrorism", you are more likely to be less of a bigot if you watch Fox news than actually watching her speak on Youtube, she seems delusional since even her story doesn't add up. As can be seen by this ill written book. If you are serious about Islam and want to know the root causes of such strife in the world and whether this is related to the foundation tenants of the faith I would highly recommend reading "Misquoting Muhammad" by Dr. Jonathan Brown. Who is actually a scholar and and not a fraud in the sense that he "actually" attended Al-Azhar University and he is American so he brings both detentions to the table unlike unlike Miss Sultana.

Without a doubt, if accounts of Sultan's story are indeed truth, then she has without a doubt gone through hardships from the hands of unjust men. However, that being said, having her personal story as a reason to denounce an entire religion and it's people is more than a bit unfair.

One thing that people fail to understand is that what people do in the so-called name of religion, is actually a reflection of their cultural beliefs. There are plenty of American Muslims here in the US and we know what she describes is not the norm here. A very small yet relevant examples is that of the KKK in the USofA. They claimed to be Christians but you don't see them held up as the standard for all Christians. Why should Muslims be any different?

When any group of people are improperly represented in a bad light, a lot of people jump the band-wagon and call those who stand up to this injustice 'blind' and 'in denial'. I think it's amazing that so many people are ready to hate and only go to sources that backup their preconceived notions rather than objectively looking and discussing opposing arguments. If you cannot understand the mindset and meaning behind your opponents way of thinking, there is no way you can possibly grow. As a minority woman, I don't go around thinking every upper class white male and/or female wants to own me as a slave. There are a few horrible people in this world yes, but in no way does that mean a minor population of people speaks for majority of the population. Empiricism should definitely be embraced in this case - "Oh she quoted the Qur'an!" Do you know how many words and meaning are lost in translation from ANY given language? My suggestion for the best was of understanding any written word is to be proficient in the original language in which it was written.

If this was a book written by a white male degrading the African-American/Hispanic-American/Asian-American populations, it would be considered politically incorrect and outright wrong; however, as this is dealing with a population and religion our country has said nothing but horrible things about, people will be more inclined to agree with her. The acts of a corrupt few does not represent the whole - as capable thinking adults/young adults, this is common sense we should have well by now. Culture does not = religion. The flogging of Africans and the murder of Native Americans were done in the name of God by men who felt they had the right, but most people are intelligent to know that's not what Christianity/Catholicism is about.

This book is basically a rant. Statements like "I have never in my life seen Muslims talk without disagreement", "without (shouting), they have no sense of their own worth or existence; without it they have no sense of even being alive", "they fabricate disagreements so that they can scream", "I have no doubt that a small minority of them is made up of rational people" that are found in pages 4-6 typify her tone and sentiment throughout the book. While I feel sorry for the hardship and negative experiences that Ms. Sultan had endured, the deep bitterness exhibited by such numerous statements have impaired her ability to make sane and logical arguments. Anyone looking for substance in this book would be highly disappointed and probably insulted by such irrational statements that are found throughout the book.

Aside from tone and substance issues, if one were to replace the words "Muslims" and "Islam" with "Jews" and "Judaism", statements in this book could be confused with ones in Hitler's "Mein Kampf". I have no doubt that the same people who promoted this book would find it too bigoted and hateful to be on the store and would encourage a total boycott of the author.

Finally, one important clarification to make. While the author claims to be Muslim by birth, most Alawites don't consider themselves Muslims. Also, most main stream Muslims, both Sunni and Shia, don't consider Alawites Muslims either. There is actually very little in common between Alawites' beliefs, worship practices, and religious ideals with Muslims. Therefore, norms and practices in Ms. Sultan's all-Alawite village are certainly not representative of those in Muslim towns.

Generalizing ones own experience to reach an entire faith is not true or fair.

If I was abused by a Catholic priest, does this mean that all Christians are pedophiles?
If I lived in poor slums where education is pathetic, could we take the actions of such a community to represent an entire faith?
How can we believe one woman and discount the tens of millions of muslim women that that have facebook accounts that are openly proud to wear the Hijab ( head dress that covers the hair ).
The world today is far too open, and if there is a gross injustice towards women you would have tens of millions of women complaining.

I do not contend that she may have had a hard time, poverty and the lack of education are evils that would make any society hard to live in for the weaker or exploited, but to generalize her experience is a gross intellectual mistake to say the least.
Venting out anger and calling it wisdom is plain to see, just look at the title.

The problem with Muslims in the middle east is NOT Islam, it is Corrupt, Misogynistic Bigots who pick and choose passages from the Holy Quran to serve their own selfish self-propagating purposes. Islam is a religion that does not promote oppression, dictatorships, or any other act for the sake of violence itself. Islam promotes peaceful harmonious life and behavior towards fellow human beings. The messages that this book is promoting, that Islam is faulty religion is completely at odds with the essence of Islam and I do not at all appreciate it. Thank You.

Her writing is full of generalizations. I suspect she has had some bad experience with Muslims she trusted and once betrayed she decided to blast them all with illinformed stereotyping. She is so full of hatred herself. Or she never learned about the Islamic faith....and was just a modern woman who was muslim only by name. Her worldview was not shaped by Islam but by secular psychology. Or perhaps now is the time to get famous if you are a woman and you can write against Islam. Time to make lots of money doing that.

Rumi, the greatest poet of love, wrote "I am the slave of the Quran and dust on the feet of Muhammad."

I would rather go by his example than listen to psychiatrist who hates.
But may God shower his mercy on her hateful heart. Perhaps she can smell the roses again.

This unfortunate book was written by a woman who was apparently badly mistreated growing up in Syria, by men who call themselves Muslims. The problem is that she attributes the bad treatment to all Muslims everywhere. She misquotes the Koran for her purposes and appears to be unable to distinguish between what people do in the (false) name of religion, and what the religion actually is. By her standard, no religion would be good, because all have nominal adherents who do evil things, often in the name of their religion.

She and her husband are able to immigrate to the USA; and from that point on, everything American is *not Arab* and *not Islamic* and *good*, compared to the Syrian culture, which was *Arab* and *Islamic* and *bad*. She provides pages and pages of fodder for people who want to confirm their prejudices rather than learn facts, people who would condemn a world religion on the basis of the actions of those who falsely represent it, rather than find common graound for understanding with the millions of civilized, peaceful Muslims around the world.

Today we need to learn the facts and do what we can to strengthen moderate influences in our own and other religions. This book does not help.

I recommend readers to buy this book in large quantities. The author is an Alawite Syrian and her family needs the money because of the war in Syria. This book is great material for islamophobes and Islam haters. You will find excellent examples to quote from when posting hate messages online. It will fulfill your hate desires and needs. If you were ever asked to write a hate speech just copy a couple of pages from it and you will get a standing ovation.

This book makes an excellent gift idea, you can buy it in large bundles for church parties and wedding parties and to distribute to friends while watching football matches.
Buy it while it lasts.

I am not here to defend Islam as a religion. But from her background, and you can search that for yourself, you will find out that she was no body and this is her first book with no religious studies or sociology background.

Her goal is to make $$$$ spreading hatred toward Islam, what a cheap way to do that a degrading to her kind. I am so ashamed that the news gave her that much publicity like CBN and Fox news. Do we need a woman filled with hatred and a desire to make money by twisting facts about a race or a religion, who is next?

If there is less than one star I would give it and it's not worth that one star I gave her book. I'm ashamed of such author who spreads hatred and twist facts like we need this in our world. Readers are not stupid, and she should've respected that we read and get the facts ourselves, and we are well educated to know that there are good and bad amongst any race not religion, twisting the words of God in his Holy Book is disrespectful and a sin, even in Christianity and Judaism.. God has nothing to do with what humans are doing to each other. Stop drilling for $$$$, spreading evilness is not the way to do it.

I read this book with a lot of interest. It was really disturbing to see the venom spouted by the author, but what was more troubling was that the book is full of outright lies about the Muslim religion. It's plenty racist, too. My take-away from this book was that you can make a lot of money from bashing Islam and getting on the hate-talk circuit, especially if you have some type of ethnicity that makes you "authentic." I would put this book in the category of fiction.

Wafa Sultan hates Islam with a passion. She hates Islam so much that when she hears the words "Allahu Akbar" she has a panic attack. Why does she hate Islam so much? What does she have against Allah? She was born in Syria and lived there at a time that Syrian Muslims were killing people indiscriminately and in the name of Allah. It was Muslims committing acts of terrorism that influenced her position against Islam. It is not an intellectual decision after years of study which brought her to the conclusion that God hates. It was an emotional decision that resulted from what happened in her life.

This lady is not against God or Allah; she is against Muslims who kill innocent people in the name of Allah. Instead of condemning those murders, she throws a blanket condemnation of the whole religion. It starts on page 45 of her book where her teacher Dr. Yusef is killed by someone shouting "Allahu Akbar". She says "Ever since that moment, Allah has been equated in my mind with the sound of a bullet and become a God who has no respect for human life." Now I ask you, the reasonable reader, is it fair to blame God for the actions of a Muslim? Did Allah come down from the sky and shoot her teacher in the head? Is It right to call Islam bad because of bad Muslims?

It would be absurd to call God hateful because of the brutal slaughtering done by Christian Crusaders. I am sure there were people back then who called the God of Christianity hateful after what they witnessed. If Wafa had been born in another Muslim country- say Indonesia or Yemen...maybe not Yemen because there are ignorant Muslims their too- she would probably still be a practicing Muslim bowing down to her creator 5 times a day. Instead she hates the God who created her and gave her the ability to think with her brain, which scientists agree, is better than any computer.

Lastly, to address the point of whether Allah really hates people, we need to look at two things. The Quran, Hadith and the example of Muslims who have followed Islam exactly the way it should be followed. Does God want people to be murdered in the Koran? Allah says "Do not take life that Allah has made sacred except by way of justice and law." 8:61 and similarly in 17:33 There will be Muslims who will ignore this and focus on other verses which say to kill the non-believers such as 9:29 or 2:191.These verses are like military verses; they give Muslims the inspiration when necessary to fight. Like soldiers in any army, there will be some who go overboard or who forget the rules and do their own thing.

Allah does not want anyone to die, but Allah is just and allows Muslims the right to defend themselves and their religious brothers and sisters. What does God say about Muslims fighting and defending themselves. " And fight those who fight you, but do not transgress the limits." 2:190 Allah even asks Muslims the question "Why shouldn't you fight in the cause of Allah and of those who being weak are ill treated and oppressed. Men, Women, and Children whose cry is `our Lord, save us from this town' whose people are oppressors." 4:75

There is such a thing as oppression in this world and Wafa does not give us any solution on how to deal with it. She only has a grudge against Allah for allowing someone dear to her to be killed and this book is her way of releasing her anger. People should have the right to say what they want, but it should be based on reason and logic and not on emotions.

Well, I am not here to advise you on Islam or religion. You have your own minds and you can use them yourselves to make a judgement about something. What I realy do ask you though is to make a reasonable judgement based on the author's reliability, motive and true knowledge.
First, if you want a reliable resource you check how much has the author published before, and what is her/his background. Obviously Wafaa hasnt published anything before the media "made her a star", that is media such as Fox News and others. She has no background in history, religious studies or sociology background making her a speaker with regard to the subject. What she claims she represents is a crusade against Islam as a religion. Such biased stand point of an author makes all her/his publications questionable, since the thesis they represents is inherently biased, and by no means represent the full picture. Add to that, it is an ignorant image that reflects only personal opinion.
The rise of Ms Sultan is also questionable: pre-9/11/01 she was completely an unknown figure. Suddenly, after the terrorist attacks, she becomes "one of the most influential 100 figures". Hasn't anybody noticed that this looks wierd? is not because those who wnated to push her up had the interest of a clash between civilizations in mind from the first day??
I leave that to the dear readers to judge