| Revision as of 19:59, 4 May 2022 view sourceFirefangledfeathers (talk | contribs)Administrators31,647 editsm Reverted 1 edit by 89.211.154.180 (talk) to last revision by 5225CTags: Twinkle Undo← Previous edit | Revision as of 14:49, 7 May 2022 view source 176.170.72.29 (talk) wikiislam isn't a "islamophobic" wiki (https://wikiislamica.net/WikiIslam:Frequently_Asked_Questions#Does_WikiIslam_permit_Islamophobic.2C_racist.2C_or_hateful_content.3F). A wiki focused on criticizing islam does not mean that it is islamophobicTags: Reverted references removed Visual editNext edit → | ||
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| {{Islamophobia|Media}} | {{Islamophobia|Media}} | ||
| '''WikiIslam''' is a ] focused on criticizing ].<ref name ="Breivik"/> The wiki was founded by ] in 2006<ref name ="Breivik"/> and acquired by the ] in 2015.<ref name="EXMNA">{{Cite web|date=2015-12-03|title=Ex-Muslims of North America takes ownership and operation of WikiIslam|url=https://exmuslims.org/ex-muslims-north-america-takes-ownership-operation-wikiislam/|access-date=2020-05-26|website=Ex-Muslims of North America|language=en-US}}</ref> As a "community-edited" website, registered users may modify and edit its content.<ref name ="Breivik"/> | |||
| '''WikiIslam''' is an ]<ref name="CIWI">{{cite journal |last1=Larsson |first1=Göran |title=Cyber-Islamophobia? The case of WikiIslam |journal=Contemporary Islam |date=1 June 2007 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=53–67 |doi=10.1007/s11562-007-0002-2 |s2cid=144896607 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-007-0002-2 |language=en |issn=1872-0226}}</ref><ref name="CyberOrient">{{cite journal |last1=Enstedt |first1=Daniel |last2=Larsson |first2=Göran |title=Telling the Truth about Islam? Apostasy Narratives and Representations of Islam on WikiIslam.net |journal=CyberOrient |date=2013 |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=64–93 |doi=10.1002/j.cyo2.20130701.0003 |url=https://cyberorient.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/04/CyberOrient_Vol_7_Iss_1_Enstedt_Larsson.pdf |access-date=12 July 2020 |issn=1804-3194}}</ref><ref name="Shukri"/>{{refn|<ref name ="Breivik">{{Cite book|title=In the Tracks of Breivik: Far Right Networks in Northern and Eastern Europe |first=Göran |last=Larsson |chapter=Islamophobia or Legitimate Concern? Contrasting Official and Populist Understanding of Opposition to Muslims |publisher=Lit Verlag |year=2014 |isbn=9783643905420 |location=Vienna |oclc=881140905 |pages=155–66 |editor-last1=Mays |editor-first1=Christin |editor-last2=Deland |editor-first2=Mats |editor-last3=Minkenberg |editor-first3=Michael}}</ref><ref name="Uddin">{{cite book |last1=Uddin |first1=Asma T. |title=When Islam Is Not a Religion: Inside America's Fight for Religious Freedom |date=2019 |location=New York |isbn=978-1643131740 |edition=First Pegasus Books hardcover |quote=The rampantly anti-Muslim website, WikiIslam, connects Islam and pedophilia even more brazenly, 'Pedophilia is permitted in the Qur’an, was practiced by Prophet Muhammad and his companions, and some Muslims today continue to commit the crime, following their prophet’s example.'}}</ref><ref name="Khan">{{cite book |last1=Khan |first1=Nadia |editor1-last=Smith |editor1-first=Jane |editor2-last=Haddad |editor2-first=Yvonne |title=The Oxford Handbook of American Islam |date=Jan 2015 |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199862634 |chapter=American Muslims in the Age of New Media |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199862634.013.005 |quote=American Muslim organizations use new media both to address issues internal to their community and to counter growing anti-Muslim sentiment. For example, in 2005, Wiki Islam debuted, claiming to provide a 'politically incorrect' alternative to Misplaced Pages.}}</ref><ref name="InOutIslam">{{cite book |last1=Enstedt |first1=Daniel |editor1-last=van Nieuwkerk |editor1-first=Karin |title=Moving in and out of Islam |date=2018 |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=Austin, TX |isbn=978-1-4773-1748-8 |page=74 |edition=First |chapter-url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Moving_In_and_Out_of_Islam/uPxzDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA74&printsec=frontcover |chapter=Understanding Religious Apostasy, Disaffiliation, and Islam in Contemporary Sweden |quote=Anti-Muslim rhetoric on internet sites such as WikiIslam.net ... and faithfreedom.org ... reproduce a negative image of religion that is associated with Islam.}}</ref>}} ] focused on criticizing ].<ref name ="Breivik"/> The wiki was founded by ] in 2006<ref name ="Breivik"/> and acquired by the ] in 2015.<ref name="EXMNA">{{Cite web|date=2015-12-03|title=Ex-Muslims of North America takes ownership and operation of WikiIslam|url=https://exmuslims.org/ex-muslims-north-america-takes-ownership-operation-wikiislam/|access-date=2020-05-26|website=Ex-Muslims of North America|language=en-US}}</ref> As a "community-edited" website, registered users may modify and edit its content.<ref name ="Breivik"/> | |||
| ==Overview== | ==Overview== | ||
| The website was registered on October 27, 2005 and launched on September 4, 2006.<ref name="Breivik"/>{{rp|162}} It was founded by ], an Iranian-born Canadian ex-Muslim, and originally maintained by his organization, Faith Freedom International.<ref name="Breivik"/>{{rp|162}}{{Efn|Sina argues Islam to be "an unreformable, violent, militant political cult" that was founded by a "a rapist, a pedophile, a mass murderer, a terrorist, a madman"; he deemed all Muslims to be synonymous with "stupid, barbarian, thug, arrogant, brain dead, zombie, hooligan, goon, shameless, savage and many other ignoble things".<ref>{{Cite web|last=O'Malley|first=Nick|date=2017-01-27|title=One Nation, Australia's portal to Trump and the alt-right|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/one-nation-australias-portal-to-trump-and-the-altright-20170127-gu08q5.html|access-date=2021-12-25|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en}}</ref> He is a board member of ], classified as an anti-Muslim hate group by ] (SPLC). FFI mentions its aim to lie in "'unmask Islam and help Muslims leave ".}} The site described its purpose as "collect facts relating to the criticism{{Efn|As used on WikiIslam, to be "critical" has meant holding preconceived negative opinions of Muslims and Islam.<ref name="CIWI" />{{rp|57|quote=Those who call up the homepage are also reminded that this is a critical site and that it does not contain any pro-Islamic content. In this specific context, to be critical is to hold a preconceived and negative opinion about Islam and Muslims.}}}} of Islam from valid Islamic sources without the effect of censorship that is common in ]" due to "political correctness".<ref name="Breivik" />{{rp|162}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gardell |first1=Mattias |author-link=Mattias Gardell |title=Islamofobi |date=2012 |publisher=Leopard förlag |location=Stockholm |isbn=9789173434027 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Islamofobi/vC6bCwAAQBAJ |language=Swedish |quote=WikiIslam – en 'islamkritisk encyklopedi' som skapades av antimuslimska cyberaktivister som slutit sig till att deras inlägg på Misplaced Pages 'censurerades' av politiskt korrekta redaktörer och motsades av muslimer som lade sig i samtalet om islam och muslimer – anser att 'termen islamofobi är avledande, uppeggande och ofta används för att förhindra mycket legitim kritik av islam'.}}</ref><ref name="CIWI" />{{rp|57}} The grand aim of the site has been to build a defense against the "global threat" of Muslims and Islam.<ref name="CyberOrient" />{{rp|65|quote=Besides providing critical information about Islam and Muslims, the aim of the site is also to build online defensive position against Islam and Muslims as a global threat....WikiIslam provides Internet users with new ways of combating and criticising Islam and Muslims in both cyberspace and offline, by circulating critical information about Islam and Muslims.}}{{Efn|This conspiracy theory has been also propagated by Sina himself.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Politics Behind Misunderstanding Islam |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-politics-behind-misunderstanding-islam/|website=CBS News|language=en-US}}</ref>{{rs|reason=This is an opinion piece.|date=December 2021}}}} As a "community-edited website", it can be edited and modified by (registered) approved ].<ref name="Breivik" />{{rp|162}} | The website was registered on October 27, 2005 and launched on September 4, 2006.<ref name="Breivik"/>{{rp|162}} It was founded by ], an Iranian-born Canadian ex-Muslim, and originally maintained by his organization, Faith Freedom International.<ref name="Breivik"/>{{rp|162}}{{Efn|Sina argues Islam to be "an unreformable, violent, militant political cult" that was founded by a "a rapist, a pedophile, a mass murderer, a terrorist, a madman"; he deemed all Muslims to be synonymous with "stupid, barbarian, thug, arrogant, brain dead, zombie, hooligan, goon, shameless, savage and many other ignoble things".<ref>{{Cite web|last=O'Malley|first=Nick|date=2017-01-27|title=One Nation, Australia's portal to Trump and the alt-right|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/one-nation-australias-portal-to-trump-and-the-altright-20170127-gu08q5.html|access-date=2021-12-25|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en}}</ref> He is a board member of ], classified as an anti-Muslim hate group by ] (SPLC). FFI mentions its aim to lie in "'unmask Islam and help Muslims leave ".}} The site described its purpose as "collect facts relating to the criticism{{Efn|As used on WikiIslam, to be "critical" has meant holding preconceived negative opinions of Muslims and Islam.<ref name="CIWI" />{{rp|57|quote=Those who call up the homepage are also reminded that this is a critical site and that it does not contain any pro-Islamic content. In this specific context, to be critical is to hold a preconceived and negative opinion about Islam and Muslims.}}}} of Islam from valid Islamic sources without the effect of censorship that is common in ]" due to "political correctness".<ref name="Breivik" />{{rp|162}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gardell |first1=Mattias |author-link=Mattias Gardell |title=Islamofobi |date=2012 |publisher=Leopard förlag |location=Stockholm |isbn=9789173434027 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Islamofobi/vC6bCwAAQBAJ |language=Swedish |quote=WikiIslam – en 'islamkritisk encyklopedi' som skapades av antimuslimska cyberaktivister som slutit sig till att deras inlägg på Misplaced Pages 'censurerades' av politiskt korrekta redaktörer och motsades av muslimer som lade sig i samtalet om islam och muslimer – anser att 'termen islamofobi är avledande, uppeggande och ofta används för att förhindra mycket legitim kritik av islam'.}}</ref><ref name="CIWI">{{cite journal |last1=Larsson |first1=Göran |date=1 June 2007 |title=Cyber-Islamophobia? The case of WikiIslam |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-007-0002-2 |journal=Contemporary Islam |language=en |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=53–67 |doi=10.1007/s11562-007-0002-2 |issn=1872-0226 |s2cid=144896607}}</ref>{{rp|57}} The grand aim of the site has been to build a defense against the "global threat" of Muslims and Islam.<ref name="CyberOrient">{{cite journal |last1=Enstedt |first1=Daniel |last2=Larsson |first2=Göran |date=2013 |title=Telling the Truth about Islam? Apostasy Narratives and Representations of Islam on WikiIslam.net |url=https://cyberorient.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/04/CyberOrient_Vol_7_Iss_1_Enstedt_Larsson.pdf |journal=CyberOrient |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=64–93 |doi=10.1002/j.cyo2.20130701.0003 |issn=1804-3194 |access-date=12 July 2020}}</ref>{{rp|65|quote=Besides providing critical information about Islam and Muslims, the aim of the site is also to build online defensive position against Islam and Muslims as a global threat....WikiIslam provides Internet users with new ways of combating and criticising Islam and Muslims in both cyberspace and offline, by circulating critical information about Islam and Muslims.}}{{Efn|This conspiracy theory has been also propagated by Sina himself.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Politics Behind Misunderstanding Islam |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-politics-behind-misunderstanding-islam/|website=CBS News|language=en-US}}</ref>{{rs|reason=This is an opinion piece.|date=December 2021}}}} As a "community-edited website", it can be edited and modified by (registered) approved ].<ref name="Breivik" />{{rp|162}} | ||
| {{As of|2018}}{{Efn|Larsson's latest publication on the site is from 2018 where he asks readers to consult his publications from 2007 and 2013 for scholarship on WikiIslam.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Larsson|first=Göran|date=2018-03-13|title=Disputed, Sensitive and Indispensable Topics: The Study of Islam and Apostasy|url=https://brill.com/view/journals/mtsr/30/3/article-p201_1.xml|journal=Method & Theory in the Study of Religion|volume=30|issue=3|pages=201–226|doi=10.1163/15700682-12341435|issn=0943-3058}}</ref>}}, information on (alleged) internal contradictions in ], persecution of non-Muslims and ex-Muslims, follies of ] etc. are held; a narrow focus is maintained on "violence, sexuality and gender conflicts".<ref name="CIWI" /><ref name="Breivik" />{{rp|162}} Apostasy testimonies are featured too.<ref name="CyberOrient" /> The site holds a list of 101 "provocative" questions which are to be asked of any Muslim to prove that Islam is not a "true religion" — this ran in tune with the site's active encouragement to criticize Muslims and spread negative information.<ref name="CIWI" />{{rp|59|quote=WikiIslam also encourages its visitors to question and criticise all Muslims for their belief in Islam.... The visitor is also recommended to make use of the Internet to criticise Muslims and spread negative information about them and about Islam.}} Translations of content into multiple languages are available.<ref name="CyberOrient" /> | {{As of|2018}}{{Efn|Larsson's latest publication on the site is from 2018 where he asks readers to consult his publications from 2007 and 2013 for scholarship on WikiIslam.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Larsson|first=Göran|date=2018-03-13|title=Disputed, Sensitive and Indispensable Topics: The Study of Islam and Apostasy|url=https://brill.com/view/journals/mtsr/30/3/article-p201_1.xml|journal=Method & Theory in the Study of Religion|volume=30|issue=3|pages=201–226|doi=10.1163/15700682-12341435|issn=0943-3058}}</ref>}}, information on (alleged) internal contradictions in ], persecution of non-Muslims and ex-Muslims, follies of ] etc. are held; a narrow focus is maintained on "violence, sexuality and gender conflicts".<ref name="CIWI" /><ref name="Breivik" />{{rp|162}} Apostasy testimonies are featured too.<ref name="CyberOrient" /> The site holds a list of 101 "provocative" questions which are to be asked of any Muslim to prove that Islam is not a "true religion" — this ran in tune with the site's active encouragement to criticize Muslims and spread negative information.<ref name="CIWI" />{{rp|59|quote=WikiIslam also encourages its visitors to question and criticise all Muslims for their belief in Islam.... The visitor is also recommended to make use of the Internet to criticise Muslims and spread negative information about them and about Islam.}} Translations of content into multiple languages are available.<ref name="CyberOrient" /> | ||
Revision as of 14:49, 7 May 2022
Anti-Islamic wiki owned by Ex-Muslims of North America | |
| Owner | Ex-Muslims of North America |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Ali Sina |
| URL | wikiislam |
| Launched | 4 September 2006; 18 years ago (2006-09-04) |
| Current status | Active |
| Content license | CC-BY-NC 3.0 |
WikiIslam is a wiki focused on criticizing Islam. The wiki was founded by Ali Sina in 2006 and acquired by the Ex-Muslims of North America in 2015. As a "community-edited" website, registered users may modify and edit its content.
Overview
The website was registered on October 27, 2005 and launched on September 4, 2006. It was founded by Ali Sina, an Iranian-born Canadian ex-Muslim, and originally maintained by his organization, Faith Freedom International. The site described its purpose as "collect facts relating to the criticism of Islam from valid Islamic sources without the effect of censorship that is common in Misplaced Pages" due to "political correctness". The grand aim of the site has been to build a defense against the "global threat" of Muslims and Islam. As a "community-edited website", it can be edited and modified by (registered) approved netizens.
As of 2018, information on (alleged) internal contradictions in Quran, persecution of non-Muslims and ex-Muslims, follies of Muhammad etc. are held; a narrow focus is maintained on "violence, sexuality and gender conflicts". Apostasy testimonies are featured too. The site holds a list of 101 "provocative" questions which are to be asked of any Muslim to prove that Islam is not a "true religion" — this ran in tune with the site's active encouragement to criticize Muslims and spread negative information. Translations of content into multiple languages are available.
In December 2015, Ex-Muslims of North America (EXMNA) took over ownership and operation of the site. In March 2021, EXMNA announced that it had created new content standards on WikiIslam, archived and deleted articles that did not meet those standards, and initiated re-writes of other articles.
Reception
Göran Larsson, Professor of Religious Studies at University of Gothenburg, argued in 2007 that WikiIslam is an Islamophobic web portal, and, in a 2014 survey of "anti-Muslim websites", he profiled WikiIslam's apparent aim as "present Islamic history, theology, and practitioners in a way which leaves the reader with an exceedingly negative image of the faith". Larsson and co-writer Daniel Enstedt wrote in 2013 that the website has been "often perceived as being anti-Muslim, if not Islamophobic". Larsson's impression was that the stories on WikiIslam were selected only to show that Muslims are "ignorant, backward or even stupid". Both Larsson and Enstedt have considered WikiIslam's selection and presentation of Islamic topics to be "very one-dimensional" with "alternative interpretations seldom represented".
In 2019, Asma Uddin, advisor on religious liberty to OSCE and a fellow at the Aspen Institute, reiterated WikiIslam to be a "rampantly anti-Muslim website". The same year, Syaza Shukri, Professor of Political Sciences at International Islamic University Malaysia, deemed the lack of positive content on WikiIslam to demonstrate a "definite agenda": the promotion of a monolithic version of Islam—violent, oppressive, and unrepresentative of "how a majority of Muslims view their religion".
Notes
- Sina argues Islam to be "an unreformable, violent, militant political cult" that was founded by a "a rapist, a pedophile, a mass murderer, a terrorist, a madman"; he deemed all Muslims to be synonymous with "stupid, barbarian, thug, arrogant, brain dead, zombie, hooligan, goon, shameless, savage and many other ignoble things". He is a board member of Stop Islamization of America, classified as an anti-Muslim hate group by Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). FFI mentions its aim to lie in "'unmask Islam and help Muslims leave ".
- As used on WikiIslam, to be "critical" has meant holding preconceived negative opinions of Muslims and Islam.
- This conspiracy theory has been also propagated by Sina himself.
- Larsson's latest publication on the site is from 2018 where he asks readers to consult his publications from 2007 and 2013 for scholarship on WikiIslam.
- Larsson's 2007 view was summarized by Ruth Tsuria, an expert on the intersection of digital media and religion: "Larsson argues that WikiIslam takes a closed attitude in its understanding of Islam, and so should be seen as an Islamophobic web portal." However, Larsson conceded that since WikiIslam contained a list of links to other websites—such as that of the Middle East Media Research Institute—, it was difficult to argue that all information posted on the site was Islamophobic.
References
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Breivikwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Ex-Muslims of North America takes ownership and operation of WikiIslam". Ex-Muslims of North America. 2015-12-03. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
- O'Malley, Nick (2017-01-27). "One Nation, Australia's portal to Trump and the alt-right". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2021-12-25.
- ^ Larsson, Göran (1 June 2007). "Cyber-Islamophobia? The case of WikiIslam". Contemporary Islam. 1 (1): 53–67. doi:10.1007/s11562-007-0002-2. ISSN 1872-0226. S2CID 144896607.
- Gardell, Mattias (2012). Islamofobi (in Swedish). Stockholm: Leopard förlag. ISBN 9789173434027.
WikiIslam – en 'islamkritisk encyklopedi' som skapades av antimuslimska cyberaktivister som slutit sig till att deras inlägg på Misplaced Pages 'censurerades' av politiskt korrekta redaktörer och motsades av muslimer som lade sig i samtalet om islam och muslimer – anser att 'termen islamofobi är avledande, uppeggande och ofta används för att förhindra mycket legitim kritik av islam'.
- ^ Enstedt, Daniel; Larsson, Göran (2013). "Telling the Truth about Islam? Apostasy Narratives and Representations of Islam on WikiIslam.net" (PDF). CyberOrient. 7 (1): 64–93. doi:10.1002/j.cyo2.20130701.0003. ISSN 1804-3194. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- "The Politics Behind Misunderstanding Islam". CBS News.
- Larsson, Göran (2018-03-13). "Disputed, Sensitive and Indispensable Topics: The Study of Islam and Apostasy". Method & Theory in the Study of Religion. 30 (3): 201–226. doi:10.1163/15700682-12341435. ISSN 0943-3058.
- "WikiIslam overhaul milestone achieved". Ex-Muslims of North America. 18 March 2021. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
- University, Seton Hall (2017-08-03). "Profile Ruth Tsuria". Seton Hall University. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
- Tsuria, Ruth (2013-01-01). "The video Three Things About Islam: Islamophobia online or a religious dialogue". Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis. 25: 225. doi:10.30674/scripta.67442. ISSN 2343-4937.
- Affairs, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World. "Asma Uddin". berkleycenter.georgetown.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Cite error: The named reference
Uddinwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - Shukri, Syaza Farhana Mohamad (2019). "The Perception of Indonesian Youths toward Islamophobia: An Exploratory Study". Islamophobia Studies Journal. 5 (1): 61–75. doi:10.13169/islastudj.5.1.0061. ISSN 2325-8381. JSTOR 10.13169/islastudj.5.1.0061. S2CID 213425625.
Larsson (2007) did a research on Islamophobia on the Internet, specifically the anti-Islam portal WikiIslam. Unlike Misplaced Pages, WikiIslam only produces content that are critical to Islam. While the owner does not consider the website to be a hate site, the fact that there is nothing positive about Islam on it proves that it has a definite agenda.... WikiIslam is of course promoting Islam as a monolithic religion that is violent and oppressive, and more importantly, does not represent how a majority of Muslims view their religion.