WikiIslam

{{expand}}{{islamophobia}}
'''WikiIslam''' is an anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim [[wiki]], describing itself as providing "information from traditional and critical perspectives on the beliefs, practices, and development of Islam". Large numbers of its articles are set up to document topics relating to [[Islam]] based on its own sources, the [[Qur'an]], [[hadith]], and Islamic scholars.

It was launched on September 4, 2006 by [[Ali Sina]] and members of Faith Freedom International. In 2015 the site ownership and operations were transferred to Ex-Muslims of North America (EXMNA).<ref>https://exmuslims.org/ex-muslims-north-america-takes-ownership-operation-wikiislam/</ref>

It has received significant criticism for its [[Islamophobia|Islamophobic]] and anti-Muslim positions<ref name="CIWI">{{cite journal |last1=Larsson |first1=Göran |title=Cyber-Islamophobia? The case of WikiIslam |journal=Contemporary Islam |date=1 June 2007 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=53–67 |doi=10.1007/s11562-007-0002-2 |s2cid=144896607 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-007-0002-2 |language=en |issn=1872-0226}}</ref><ref name="CyberOrient">{{cite journal |last1=Enstedt |first1=Daniel |last2=Larsson |first2=Göran |title=Telling the Truth about Islam? Apostasy Narratives and Representations of Islam on WikiIslam.net |journal=CyberOrient |date=2013 |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=64–93 |doi=10.1002/j.cyo2.20130701.0003 |url=https://cyberorient.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/04/CyberOrient_Vol_7_Iss_1_Enstedt_Larsson.pdf |access-date=12 July 2020 |issn=1804-3194}}</ref><ref name ="Breivik">{{Cite book|title=In the Tracks of Breivik: Far Right Networks in Northern and Eastern Europe |first=Göran |last=Larsson |chapter=Islamophobia or Legitimate Concern? Contrasting Official and Populist Understanding of Opposition to Muslims |publisher=Lit Verlag |year=2014 |isbn=9783643905420 |location=Vienna |oclc=881140905 |pages=155–66 |editor-last1=Mays |editor-first1=Christin |editor-last2=Deland |editor-first2=Mats |editor-last3=Minkenberg |editor-first3=Michael}}</ref><ref name="Uddin">{{cite book |last1=Uddin |first1=Asma T. |title=When Islam Is Not a Religion: Inside America's Fight for Religious Freedom |date=2019 |location=New York |isbn=978-1643131740 |edition=First Pegasus Books hardcover |quote=The rampantly anti-Muslim website, WikiIslam, connects Islam and pedophilia even more brazenly, 'Pedophilia is permitted in the Qur’an, was practiced by Prophet Muhammad and his companions, and some Muslims today continue to commit the crime, following their prophet’s example.'}}</ref><ref name="Khan">{{cite book |last1=Khan |first1=Nadia |editor1-last=Smith |editor1-first=Jane |editor2-last=Haddad |editor2-first=Yvonne |title=The Oxford Handbook of American Islam |date=Jan 2015 |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199862634 |chapter=American Muslims in the Age of New Media |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199862634.013.005 |quote=American Muslim organizations use new media both to address issues internal to their community and to counter growing anti-Muslim sentiment. For example, in 2005, Wiki Islam debuted, claiming to provide a 'politically incorrect' alternative to Wikipedia.}}</ref><ref name="InOutIslam">{{cite book |last1=Enstedt |first1=Daniel |editor1-last=van Nieuwkerk |editor1-first=Karin |title=Moving in and out of Islam |date=2018 |publisher=University of Texas Press |location=Austin, TX |isbn=978-1-4773-1748-8 |page=74 |edition=First |chapter-url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Moving_In_and_Out_of_Islam/uPxzDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA74&printsec=frontcover |chapter=Understanding Religious Apostasy, Disaffiliation, and Islam in Contemporary Sweden |quote=Anti-Muslim rhetoric on internet sites such as WikiIslam.net ... and faithfreedom.org ... reproduce[s] a negative image of religion that is associated with Islam.}}</ref> or promoting a version of Islam inconsisent with how the majority of Muslims view their own religion.<ref name="Shukri">{{cite journal |last1=Shukri |first1=Syaza Farhana Mohamad |title=The Perception of Indonesian Youths toward Islamophobia: An Exploratory Study |journal=Islamophobia Studies Journal |date=2019 |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=61–75 |doi=10.13169/islastudj.5.1.0061 |jstor=10.13169/islastudj.5.1.0061 |s2cid=213425625 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.13169/islastudj.5.1.0061 |issn=2325-8381 |quote=Larsson (2007) did a research on Islamophobia on the Internet, 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.}}</ref>{{rp|65}}<ref>https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/01419870.2023.2268154?needAccess=true</ref>

EXMNA announced in 2021 that a milestone had been reached whereby a large number of article deletions had been completed and new content standards introduced as well as other measures.<ref>https://exmuslims.org/wikiislam-overhaul-milestone-achieved/</ref> Despite their announcement, academics have noted that the content remains "far from neutral." <ref>https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/01419870.2023.2268154?needAccess=true</ref>

After WikiIslam's revamp, the [[Media Bias/Fact Check]] website subsequently updated its assessment of the site noting "significant change" since their last review.<ref>https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/wikiislam/ accessed 11 April 2022<Br />"''We rated them a questionable anti-Islam site in a previous review. Since our last review, they have cleaned up the website removing the overtly hostile content toward Islam. At the time of this review, they continue to focus on the negative aspects of Islam, such as this Wife Beating in the Qur’an. While this paints Islam negatively to a western audience, it is sourced directly from Verse 4:34 of the Quran. A review of dozens of content areas reveals most information focuses on negative aspects of Islam, such as this Scientific Errors in the Quran. Again they source directly from the Quran. Although WikiIslam is edited by those, who do not favor Islam, the information is usually derived from the texts themselves and not third-party interpretations, which is a significant change from our previous review in 2018. In general, WikiIslam publishes fact-based information that is one-sided, resulting in anti-Islamic propaganda.''"</ref> Despite the change, academics have noted that WikiIslam continues to engage in cherry-picking and "has emerged as an important point of reference and source of knowledge for the scientification of Islamophobia."<ref>{{cite web |title=The scientification of Islamophobia: the case of WikiIslam |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-wgfRLldKI |language=en}}</ref>

Its criticisms of Islam are ''very'' sharp, and its outlook on these is consistently negative. Amongst its articles are those on the subjects of [[homosexuality]] and [[pedophilia|child marriage]], which purport to be descriptions of Islam's treatment of these subjects. It also has a considerable amount of detail on [[apostasy]] from Islam, focusing on the fact that it is [[death penalty|punishable by death]] in some Muslim-majority countries as well as other issues surrounding leaving the religion. Other articles focus on such topics as errors and contradictions in the Qur'an, its textual history, and the sources it draws upon from the late antiquity milieu.

==See also==
*[[Answering Islam]]

==External links==
*[http://www.wikiislam.net/wiki/Main_Page WikiIslam Main Page]

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{keyword|wikikey=WikiIslam}}
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[[Category:Criticism of Islam]]
[[Category:Islamophobia]]
[[Category:Wikis]]

Categories: Criticism of Islam, Islamophobia, Wikis