This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 106.201.50.146 (talk) at 02:02, 13 June 2022 (Cited the about information as per in it's original website (Wikiislam)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 02:02, 13 June 2022 by 106.201.50.146 (talk) (Cited the about information as per in it's original website (Wikiislam))(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Anti-Islamic wiki owned by Ex-Muslims of North AmericaOwner | Ex-Muslims of North America |
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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
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
Breivik
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - 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.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
CIWI
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - 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'.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
CyberOrient
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - "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.
- Cite error: The named reference
EXMNA
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - "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
Uddin
was 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.