If the name Wafa Sultan means something to you congratulations and if not please read on and discover how this woman has been criticising Islam and condemning it as backward looking and a violent religion and talking a lot of sense in the passing.

I understand she is of Syrian descent and now lives in California.  She seriously criticises Muslims and Islam and accuses them of not acknowledging the contribution non-Muslims have made to civilisation.  She has had acclaim and hate in equal measure and continues to berate the backwardness of the Muslim faith that will not move forward without letting go of violence.

Her movie on YouTube (see link above) has shown that she strikes a chord with peace loving people and the site has had over 1 million hits.

She states in one of her videos that she has been a Muslim for 32 years and goes on to condemn the religion as backward looking and violent. She states that the people who destroy and kill others by blowing themselves up are Muslims and by comparison makes the volatile statement "We have not seen a single Jew blow himself up in a German restaurant.”

I feel the need for a word of caution here as her video on YouTube is produced by a company called MEMRI which stands for The Middle East Media Research Institute which describes itself as a reformist organisation that bridges the communication gap between Arab and non-Arab. While this is commendable it does lead one to suspect that calling yourself non-profitmaking and non-partisan could lead to accusations of Government sponsored since it’s seems to be based at a non-disclosed location in Washington DC. One could understand why you would not wish an address to be given out but of such things are conspiracy made in some minds.

Wafa Sultan herself has been featured in the Washington Post and Time Magazine but then again so was that great ‘economiser of the truth’ former President Nixon (may he rest in peace).

This resort to violence and destruction according to her was peculiar to Moslems as an answer to their problems and they were stuck firmly in the past. Reformers of Islam have taken her words and promoted a need for change and modernity but whether this will happen is still open to debate. I think until we have respect for each others beliefs and religions we will forever all be stuck in history.