好书共享 A God Who Hates by Wafa Sultan

I stumbled upon this book at the new-book shelf of our local public library.

I quickly found myself not being able to put the book down, neglecting the kids and housework (sort of), putting off must-to-do work and deeply engrossed in the lives of the people depicted within.

The subtitle reads: The courageous woman who inflamed the Muslim World speaks out against the evils of Islam.

I was attracted to the book not because it reveals the evils of the other religions but because it helps me understand many global and personal behaviors that I came into contact with. It sheds light and understanding to my once narrowed and blurred vision. I feel that for once I was able to connect the dots of what I knew about Islam and the followers.

Sultan shows us in simple but very poignant language her autobiographical experience in Syria that is deeply entwined with the national happenings and the rest of the Muslim world. Through her account, I got a glimpse of the mental world of the unique Muslim culture. To Sultan, Muslim is more of a mid-eastern desert mentality than a religion. Yet, this bizarre mentality becomes a hotbed and a reinforcer of Islam, which in turn, harness the culture in the Muslim world.

Nevertheless, it is out of love that Sultan criticizes her mother culture for the betterment of those who are still left struggling there. As Chinese, who in some remote ways, share certain traits of an ancient people, it is not hard to resonate in certain respects, particularly the part regarding women's role in society back in history and the sojourner's role in a new world called US.

The reading also helps me see that the biggest terrorist act in Muslim world does not necessarily lie in the sporadic terrorist attacks throughout the world, but wose yet, in the Muslim education system that constantly poisons the young minds with the skewed foundamentalist teachings of Islam.

Here are some of the quotes for myself to keep:

"Courage is one of the rarest human virtures. To bring about change and rectify defects one must first acquire courage. Wisdom alone cannot change things. On the contrary, sometimes it helps perpetuate a lack of change. Only courage can bring about change." (p.49)

"Every person is born with a sort of birthmark, which others have prepared for him. He plays no part in deciding what that birthmakr looks like or the elements it's made up of, but he finds himself forced to ear it, impringed on his flesh, throughout his lifetime, as it can never be completely removed and it can never completely fade. Each birthmark contains a person's family values, principles, customs, and traditions. This is all you possess, and all you have with which to confront life's challenges. Some parts of it will impede you; others will make your path smoother. You alone will decide what to keep and what to get rid of. Life isn't fair." (p. 115) ... "The birthmarks we inherit remains etched into the depths of our unconscious, and however we may try to remove it, a large scar will remain to affect us and remind us." (p.116)  (I believe that what Sultan talks about here, the birthmarks, is the culture a person is born into but she discusses it without any of those fancy culture terms and relates very well to the context of her narrative.)

"Laws alone cannot safeguard a cociety. For a law to be effective, there must be a moral foundation in the populace, and a nation has to attain a certain moral standard before it can either make laws or apply them. It is a society's morals that formulate its laws and guarantee their enforcement." (p. 204) (This reminds me of the rampant moral decadence in China and the level of law abuse there.)

"A fish cannot see the water it swims in". (A French proverb. p. 219)

"None so blind as those who will not see." (Such as oxymoron. p. 225)

"Islam is both a religion and a state, and to be a true Muslim you must believe in Islam as both religion and state."
( p. 243)

As we could imagine, Sultan, by speaking out and pointing out the underlying problems of Islam and the Muslim world, has received many death threats across the globe. Nevertheless, speak she must, for the love of her people, her culture and for humanity in general.

This reminds me of the book by Li Ao, The Ugly Chinese. Only out of the deepest love and understanding can a person spear through the magnificant drapery of culture and expose the rotten parts underneath.

To learn more of Sultan and her interviews on Muslim, type in her name on Youtube and you will see a wealth of information there.


(New York: St. Martin's Press, 2009)