A god who hates: The courageous woman who inflamed the Muslim world speaks out against the evils of Islam

By Wafa Sultan


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 100 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  She clearly provides the examples and the evidence that Islam is an archaic, outdated, obsolete, and anachronistic religion.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 Amazon.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.


This book can be found at Amazon.com: A god who hates: The courageous woman who inflamed the Muslim world speaks out against the evils of Islam