WikiIslam
WikiIslam is a "community-edited" wiki that has been described by scholars and writers as Islamophobic, anti-Muslim, and anti-Islam.[1][2][3][4] The wiki's mission statement is "to provide accurate and accessible information from traditional and critical perspectives on the beliefs, practices, and development of Islam."[5]
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| Available in | 8 languages |
|---|---|
| Owner | Ex-Muslims of North America |
| Founder(s) | Ali Sina |
| URL | wikiislam |
| Commercial | No |
| Launched | 4 September 2006 |
| Current status | Active |
Content license | CC-BY-NC 3.0 |
History
The website was registered on October 27, 2005 and launched on September 4, 2006.[3]:162 It was founded by Ali Sina, an Iranian ex-Muslim, and originally maintained by his organization, Faith Freedom International.[3]:162 In December 2015, the Ex-Muslims of North America took over ownership and operation of WikiIslam.[6]
As of 2007, the website was focused on the criticism of Islam and differentiated itself from Wikipedia on the basis that "opinions critical of Islam are not censored on WikiIslam for political correctness."[1]:57
Critiques
| Part of a series on |
| Islamophobia |
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In 2007, theologian Göran Larsson argued that the website should be seen as an Islamophobic web portal,[lower-alpha 1] noted that it commits selective bias by collecting only negative or critical material,[1]:59 and characterized the website as "strongly anti-Muslims and anti-Islam."[1]:64 His article in Contemporary Islam states that "In relation to the criteria set up by the Runnymede Trust ... it should be quite easy to label most of the material published on WikiIslam as expressions of Islamophobia."[1]:62 Larsson added that "my impression is that the stories reported by WikiIslam have merely been selected to show that Muslims are ignorant, backward or even stupid" and observed that WikiIslam encouraged visitors to criticize all Muslims.[1]:59 However, because WikiIslam contained a list of links to other websites, such as that of the Middle East Media Research Institute, the article notes that "it becomes much more difficult to argue that all information posted on WikiIslam is Islamophobic by nature."[1]:63
In 2013, both Daniel Enstedt and Göran Larsson wrote that the apostasy testimonies on WikiIslam[lower-alpha 2] were a part of a "negative and biased"[2]:64 representation of Islam and "an important element in an Islamophobic world view that presents Islam and Muslims as diametrically opposite to all other world views."[2]:88 The authors remarked that despite the material on WikiIslam being "presented as authentic" and derived from Islamic sources and Muslim spokespersons, the selection and presentation was "very one-dimensional" with "alternative interpretations [being] seldom represented."[2]:64–65
In a 2014 survey of "anti-Muslim websites,"[3]:161 WikiIslam's apparent aim was described as "present[ing] Islamic history, theology, and practitioners in a way which leaves the reader with an exceedingly negative image of the faith, discouraging them from either taking up or continuing its practice. The focus, in other words, is on violence, sexuality and gender conflicts, leaving WikiIslam's potential visitors without easy access to material that might counterbalance its narrowly-focused view and/or convey the fact that Muslim theologians hold differing opinions about many of the site's topics."[3]:162
In 2019, Syaza Shukri expressed that the lack of positive content on the website demonstrated a "definite agenda" and that WikiIslam promoted a monolithic version of Islam, both violent and oppressive, unrepresentative of "how a majority of Muslims view their religion."[4]:65
Notes
- Larsson's view was summarized by Ruth Tsuria, an expert on Islamophobia and digital media: "Larsson argues that WikiIslam takes a closed attitude in its understanding of Islam, and so should be seen as an Islamophobic web portal." 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.
- While the testimonies are no longer available on the main site, they are available for review at WikiIslam's archive and the Internet Archive. See "Category:Former Muslims - WikiIslam". archive.wikiislam.net. Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
References
- 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.
- 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. ISSN 1804-3194. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- Larsson, Göran (2014). "Islamophobia or Legitimate Concern? Contrasting Official and Populist Understanding of Opposition to Muslims". In Mays, Christin; Deland, Mats; Minkenberg, Michael (eds.). In the Tracks of Breivik: Far Right Networks in Northern and Eastern Europe. Vienna: Lit Verlag. pp. 155–66. ISBN 9783643905420. OCLC 881140905.
- 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.
...specifically the anti-Islam portal WikiIslam. Unlike Wikipedia, 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.
- "WikiIslam - the online resource on Islam". WikiIslam. 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
- "Ex-Muslims of North America takes ownership and operation of WikiIslam". Ex-Muslims of North America. 2015-12-03. Retrieved 2020-05-26.