User:Rickyrab/Ali Sina

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This is a user page because Ali Sina is notable and because some Wikipedians don't recognize that notability or recognize a combination of biased sources - for and against Ali Sina - as being valid. For a list of contributors to this article, see User:Rickyrab/Ali Sina/Contributors.

Ali Sina is the founder of Faith Freedom International[1], a secularist organization which states on its web site that it is "a grassroots movement of ex-Muslims whose goals are to (a) unmask Islam and show that it is an imperialistic ideology akin to Nazism but disguised as religion and (b) to help Muslims leave it, end this culture of hate caused by their "us" vs. "them" ethos and embrace the human race in amity"[1]

According to faithfreedom.org Ali Sina is an ex-Muslim[2]. His writings on Islam have been included in Ibn Warraq's book Leaving Islam: Apostates Speak Out.

Ali Sina started writing on Islam in the year 2000 on a website called Rational Thinking [3]. In those days, Rational Thinking was one of the few websites on the Internet critical of Islam. After a year, Sina formed a new website called Faith Freedom International which is kept updated.

Contents

[edit] Views and observations

Sina considers himself a freethinker and a secular humanist. His main arguments are that Islam is an intolerant religion that does not respect human rights and is a danger to peace. He is strongly critical of its founder Muhammad.

Sina believes that in order to eradicate Islam, people need to reveal the truth about it by quoting the Quran and the Hadith, which contain stories about the life of Muhammad such as his marriage to Aisha, his ordering the assassination of critics, his marrying a woman, Safiyah [4] after ordering that her husband be tortured and subseqently killed, and many other examples which Sina claims extracts from the Islamic sources such as the Hadiths of Bukhari, Muslim, and Tabari.

Sina believes these acts should be questioned under "...the light of reason."[5] He predicts the Internet is the innovation which will cause millions of good people who are nominally Muslim to leave it upon accepting his view of Islam's origins.[6] Ali Sina believes that one day many will leave Islam and it will collapse as communism did.[7]

Sina believes that Islam should be singled out from other religions, because he thinks unlike all other religions, it is a "cult of hate."[8] He also argues that, since he regards Islam as opposed to the Golden Rule, it therefore is an illegitimate religion.[9].

[edit] Debates

Since issuing his challenge in 2001, Sina has held numerous debates with both Muslim scholars and non-scholars. Arguably Prominent scholars among those who debated with Sina include Abu Saleh, Prof. Abdul Hadi Palazzi, Dr. Alireza Assar, Javed Ahmad Ghamidi[10], Yamin Zakaria[11] and Edip Yuksel[12]. Arguably the most prominent of the scholars with whom Sina exchanged a letter [13] with was the Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, the former deputy of Ayatollah Khomeini who later became a dissident and critic of the Islamic Republic. Ali also posted a letter in his website claiming to be sent to Dr. Zakir Naik[14] inviting him for an open debate. After being challenged by many Muslims to debate with him, several requests sent by Muslims and non Muslims to Zakir Naik's website were ignored. Sina then wrote to Zakir Naik himself but in reply, the administration of his website wrote back saying that Zakir was busy and instead Dr. Naiks supporters challenged Sina to come in a debate in front of a live audience. Sina believes that it was clear from his correspondence that Dr. Naik is evading the discussion since he is not responding to the debate request. [15]

Several months prior to the establishment of Faith Freedom International, in January, 2001, Sina had a discussion via email with Reza Cyrus Pahlavi, the son of the late Shah of Iran regarding a potential regime in Iran that could replace the current one. Sina argued it should be a democratic republic, while Pahlavi advocated constitutional monarchy.[16]

[edit] Apostasy from Islam

According to Sinas website, During an unpublished interview with the Sunday Times (UK) reporter Abul Taher, Sina explained the experiences that led him to leave Islam.[8]. In a detailed testimony on his website, Ali gives more details of his reasons for leaving Islam [17].

[edit] Death Threats and Fatwas issued against Ali Sina

According to Sinas website, Syed Yousaf Bin, the chief patron of the Ulema Board, in Hyderabad has issued a fatwa against him, where he decreed, "if anybody kills Dr. Ali Sina, he will be rewarded with Rs.1,000,000 (Indian rupees one million)”. [18]

Haseeb-ul-hasan Siddiqui, a leading cleric of the Muslim organization, the Sunni Ulema Board has also warned Ali and others behind faithfreedom.org of the consequences that they would have to face if they don’t close the website. He is reported to have said "According to Islam, the criticisers of Islam should be stoned to death." [18]

Safdar Nagori who was the secretary-general of the extremist Islamic outfit SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India) until the organization was proscribed under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 has been reported to have said, "Dr. Ali Sina would be killed within a month, irrespective of wherever his hideout is." [18]

Sina says he also receives mail from Muslims [19], which occasionally include death threats [20] [21]. Besides Ali Sina, many other prominent critics of Islam have received death threats from Muslims, such as Craig Winn[22].

[edit] Views on other faiths

Ali Sina has also commented on other faiths. He believes that Christians borrowed much of practices, myth and symbols from pagans e.g. mithraism.[23]

He believes Moses and Jesus are fictitious personages (myths) and that the Bible is false. He believes Muslims, Christians and Jews follow a false doctrine [24].

Although he claims with certainty that a person called Jesus existed and lot of what is attributed to him is true, he believes that much of Christianity is a fairytale and is for the feeble minded e.g. “The stories of virgin birth, walking on water, converting water to wine or resurrection and ascension”[25]. He believes that early believers added these stories to spice up the religion and make it look attractive for simple minded, illiterate and unsophisticated people. He states that once you strip Christianity of these fairytales and superstitions and separate the actions of church, Christianity is a good teaching. He says that putting aside these fairytales and separating fact from fiction, the essence of Christianity is not bad, and teaches love and forgiveness. He describes Jesus as a young eccentric man who was angry at the stupidity of the people and lashed out at them but despite his human flaw, what he taught was not evil and that he was a rabbi. Ali Sina has compared himself to Jesus saying, "He called himself the son of God, the way I call myself the son of Universe". [26]

Ali Sina believes that unlike Islam, other religions have something to offer, saying that "most other religions, like Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Bahaism, etc. are mixed bags of good and bad. " [27].

[edit] Criticism

There are many people who disagree with his views and way of engaging in debate. Some of the problems often voiced are:

  • Pseudonymity: Ali Sina has been criticised for not disclosing his real identity and for not debating with any Islamic scholar in public in front of a live audience.
  • Anti-islamic: Yamin Zakaria, who has debated with Ali sina, describes him as, "A rabid anti-Islamic zealot who considers Muslims to be animals even though he was born into a Muslim family!..." along with other things[28]. In the pre-press drive for his book[29], Ali Sina, accepts the allegation that "I have been called an extremist. I accept this charge with honor. Islam is sheer evil....".

[edit] See also

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Home page: Faith Freedom International
  2. ^ Ali Sina: Why I left Islam
  3. ^ Rational Thinking
  4. ^ Faithfreedom.org: Safiyah, the Jewish Wife of Muhammad
  5. ^ Faithfreedom.org: Eradication, Not Reformation
  6. ^ The Power of Thoughts
  7. ^ Islam: Religion or Political Ideology?-A forum debate
  8. ^ a b Interview with Abul Taher
  9. ^ Debate with Yamin Zakaria, page 8
  10. ^ FaithFreedom.org: Mr. Javed Ahmad Ghamidi vs. Ali Sina
  11. ^ Yamin Zakaria vs. Ali Sina
  12. ^ FaithFreedom.org: Edip Yuksel vs. Ali Sina
  13. ^ Letter from Montazeri
  14. ^ Ali Sina's letter to Zakir Naik
  15. ^ http://www.faithfreedom.org/debates/ZakirNaik.htm
  16. ^ Debate with Reza Pahlavi II
  17. ^ Ali Sina: Why I left Islam
  18. ^ a b c http://www.faithfreedom.org/debates/Ghamidip6.htm
  19. ^ http://www.faithfreedom.org/mcommets.htm
  20. ^ http://www.faithfreedom.org/oped/sina60209c.htm
  21. ^ http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/001924.php
  22. ^ http://www.prophetofdoom.net/feedback.aspx?g=402 - Death Threats issed by Muslims to Craig Winn, critic of Islam
  23. ^ FaithFreedom.org: Oped
  24. ^ Faithfreedom.org: Debate
  25. ^ FaithFreedom.org: Oped
  26. ^ http://www.faithfreedom.org/oped/sina60523.htm
  27. ^ FaithFreedom.org: Oped
  28. ^ http://icssa.org/yameendebate.html Yamin Zakaria and Ali sina debate
  29. ^ http://www.faithfreedom.org/book.htm

[edit] External links

[edit] Online sources

[edit] Articles critical of Ali Sina


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