WikiIslam: Difference between revisions

Jump to navigation Jump to search
1,407 bytes added ,  9 November 2018
no edit summary
[checked revision][checked revision]
No edit summary
(24 intermediate revisions by 9 users not shown)
Line 19: Line 19:


In August 2008, the site was moved to a new server and since then it has been operating independently, remaining unaffiliated with or owned by any organization. Contrary to persistent claims propagated by apologists,<ref>For example, Sheila Musaji of [http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftheamericanmuslim.org%2Ftam.php%2Ffeatures%2Farticles%2Fali_sina%2F&date=2014-01-26 TheAmericanMuslim], who has been contacted but refuses to correct the error, claims WikiIslam is "run" by "Ali Sina and Faith Freedom" and "only prints material which is negative towards Islam." Both claims are wrong. WikiIslam hosts many [[:Category:Pro-Islamic Content|pro-Islamic articles]] written by Muslim editors.</ref> WikiIslam is not owned by [[Ali Sina]], FFI, Robert Spencer, [[Jihad Watch]] or any other organization.<ref>Note that neither of these individuals or their websites are considered reliable sources at WikiIslam. According to [[WikiIslam:Reliable_Sources#Other_Sources_2|WikiIslam:Reliable Sources]], ''"Statements of fact concerning Islam from polemic sources such as books, articles or commentaries by individuals such as Robert Spencer, Pamela Gellar, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Mark A. Gabriel, Wafa Sultan, Ali Sina, Walid Shoebat, Brigitte Gabriel etc. are not to be used under any circumstances as references on WikiIslam. If you come across any such statements, remove them immediately."''</ref>
In August 2008, the site was moved to a new server and since then it has been operating independently, remaining unaffiliated with or owned by any organization. Contrary to persistent claims propagated by apologists,<ref>For example, Sheila Musaji of [http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftheamericanmuslim.org%2Ftam.php%2Ffeatures%2Farticles%2Fali_sina%2F&date=2014-01-26 TheAmericanMuslim], who has been contacted but refuses to correct the error, claims WikiIslam is "run" by "Ali Sina and Faith Freedom" and "only prints material which is negative towards Islam." Both claims are wrong. WikiIslam hosts many [[:Category:Pro-Islamic Content|pro-Islamic articles]] written by Muslim editors.</ref> WikiIslam is not owned by [[Ali Sina]], FFI, Robert Spencer, [[Jihad Watch]] or any other organization.<ref>Note that neither of these individuals or their websites are considered reliable sources at WikiIslam. According to [[WikiIslam:Reliable_Sources#Other_Sources_2|WikiIslam:Reliable Sources]], ''"Statements of fact concerning Islam from polemic sources such as books, articles or commentaries by individuals such as Robert Spencer, Pamela Gellar, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Mark A. Gabriel, Wafa Sultan, Ali Sina, Walid Shoebat, Brigitte Gabriel etc. are not to be used under any circumstances as references on WikiIslam. If you come across any such statements, remove them immediately."''</ref>
In December 2015, the ownership of the website was transferred to [[Ex-Muslims of North America]]. <ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.exmna.org/ex-muslims-north-america-takes-ownership-operation-wikiislam/|title= Ex-Muslims of North America takes ownership and operation of WikiIslam|publisher= |author= |date= Dec 3, 2015|archiveurl= |deadurl=no}}</ref>


==Reception==
==Reception==
Line 26: Line 28:
In December 2006, Göran Larsson presented a paper on WikiIslam at a conference in [[Sweden]]. At that point in time, the site was barely out of its infancy, only having been open to the public for three months, and Larsson was very critical. Today, with its new policies, new guidelines, thousands of more pages and the inclusion of pro-Islamic content aimed at presenting a positive image of Islam, WikiIslam remains the same only in name. But even back then in its primitive form, Larsson admitted that he could not label all the site "Islamophobic" in nature.<ref>Göran Larsson, [http://www.springerlink.com/content/p02g0g86387j4t62/ "Cyber-Islamophobia? The case of WikiIslam"], Contemporary Islam: Volume 1, Number 1, 53-67, DOI: 10.1007/s11562-007-0002-2</ref>
In December 2006, Göran Larsson presented a paper on WikiIslam at a conference in [[Sweden]]. At that point in time, the site was barely out of its infancy, only having been open to the public for three months, and Larsson was very critical. Today, with its new policies, new guidelines, thousands of more pages and the inclusion of pro-Islamic content aimed at presenting a positive image of Islam, WikiIslam remains the same only in name. But even back then in its primitive form, Larsson admitted that he could not label all the site "Islamophobic" in nature.<ref>Göran Larsson, [http://www.springerlink.com/content/p02g0g86387j4t62/ "Cyber-Islamophobia? The case of WikiIslam"], Contemporary Islam: Volume 1, Number 1, 53-67, DOI: 10.1007/s11562-007-0002-2</ref>


Contrary to what is sometimes claimed,<ref name="Criticism"></ref> WikiIslam has not received any attention from news agencies such as the Associated Press (AP); however, its non-partisan approach to criticism has led to the site being linked to or referenced by various notable sites such as ''RichardDawkins.net''<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://richarddawkins.net/links?page=5|2=2012-02-07}} "About/ Links"], RichardDawkins.net, accessed February 7, 2012.</ref> and ''GreenProphet.com''.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.greenprophet.com/2011/12/rain-prayers-sunny-friday/|title= Muslim President Calls for Rain Prayers on Sunny Friday|publisher= Green Prophet|author= Tafline Laylin|date= December 28, 2011|archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.greenprophet.com/2011/12/rain-prayers-sunny-friday/&date=2012-02-07|deadurl=no}}</ref> It has also been cited by Dr. Heather Deegan in her book, ''Africa Today: Culture, Economics, Religion, Security'',<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.amazon.com/Africa-Today-Economics-Religion-Security/dp/0415418844/|title= Africa Today: Culture, Economics, Religion, Security|publisher= Routledge|author= Heather Deegan|date=December 26, 2008 |page= 100|isbn= 978-0415418843|archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FAfrica-Today-Economics-Religion-Security%2Fdp%2F0415418844%2F&date=2013-07-20|deadurl=no}}</ref> Prof. Carlos Brebbia in his book, ''Disaster Management and Human Health Risk III: Reducing Risk, Improving Outcomes'',<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.amazon.com/Disaster-Management-Human-Health-Risk/dp/1845647386|title= Disaster Management and Human Health Risk III: Reducing Risk, Improving Outcomes|publisher= Wit Pr/Computational Mechanics|author= C. A. Brebbia|date= July 9, 2013|page= 366|isbn= 978-1845647384|archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FDisaster-Management-Human-Health-Risk%2Fdp%2F1845647386&date=2013-07-25|deadurl=no}}</ref> and Dr. Stefan Kirchner in his paper published in the ''Baltic Journal of Law & Politics''.<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/bjlp.2011.4.issue-1/v10076-011-0003-6/v10076-011-0003-6.xml|2=2013-07-20}} "Faith, Ethics and Religious Norms in a Globalized Environment: Freedom of Religion as a Challenge to the Regulation of Islamic Finance in Europe"]. Baltic Journal of Law & Politics. Volume 4, Issue 1, Pages 52–82, ISSN (Online) 2029-0454, ISSN (Print) , DOI: 10.2478/v10076-011-0003-6, August 2011.</ref>
Contrary to what is sometimes claimed,<ref name="Criticism"></ref> WikiIslam has not received any attention from news agencies such as the Associated Press (AP); however, its non-partisan approach to criticism has led to the site being linked to or referenced by various notable sites such as ''RichardDawkins.net''<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://richarddawkins.net/links?page=5|2=2012-02-07}} "About/ Links"], RichardDawkins.net, accessed February 7, 2012.</ref> and ''GreenProphet.com''.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.greenprophet.com/2011/12/rain-prayers-sunny-friday/|title= Muslim President Calls for Rain Prayers on Sunny Friday|publisher= Green Prophet|author= Tafline Laylin|date= December 28, 2011|archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.greenprophet.com/2011/12/rain-prayers-sunny-friday/&date=2012-02-07|deadurl=no}}</ref> It has also been cited by Prof. Dr. G. Hussein Rassool in his book, ''Cultural Competence in Caring for Muslim Patients'',<ref>{{cite web|url= http://books.google.com/books?id=r5nJAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT141&lpg=PT141&dq=Cultural+Competence+in+Caring+for+Muslim+Patients+wikiislam&source=bl&ots=oFOauH3oPg&sig=5Vtne1TY1qwgdldumOa-T9K6atU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UHENVIfmLY_lauWagZAO&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Cultural%20Competence%20in%20Caring%20for%20Muslim%20Patients%20wikiislam&f=false|title= Cultural Competence in Caring for Muslim Patients|publisher= Palgrave Macmillan|author= G. Hussein Rassool (Ed.)|date= April 25, 2014|isbn= 9781137358424|archiveurl= https://archive.today/AR6Nr|deadurl=no}}</ref> Dr. Heather Deegan in her book, ''Africa Today: Culture, Economics, Religion, Security'',<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.amazon.com/Africa-Today-Economics-Religion-Security/dp/0415418844/|title= Africa Today: Culture, Economics, Religion, Security|publisher= Routledge|author= Heather Deegan|date=December 26, 2008 |page= 100|isbn= 978-0415418843|archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FAfrica-Today-Economics-Religion-Security%2Fdp%2F0415418844%2F&date=2013-07-20|deadurl=no}}</ref> Prof. Carlos Brebbia in his book, ''Disaster Management and Human Health Risk III: Reducing Risk, Improving Outcomes'',<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.amazon.com/Disaster-Management-Human-Health-Risk/dp/1845647386|title= Disaster Management and Human Health Risk III: Reducing Risk, Improving Outcomes|publisher= Wit Pr/Computational Mechanics|author= C. A. Brebbia|date= July 9, 2013|page= 366|isbn= 978-1845647384|archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FDisaster-Management-Human-Health-Risk%2Fdp%2F1845647386&date=2013-07-25|deadurl=no}}</ref> and Dr. Stefan Kirchner in his paper published in the ''Baltic Journal of Law & Politics''.<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/bjlp.2011.4.issue-1/v10076-011-0003-6/v10076-011-0003-6.xml|2=2013-07-20}} "Faith, Ethics and Religious Norms in a Globalized Environment: Freedom of Religion as a Challenge to the Regulation of Islamic Finance in Europe"]. Baltic Journal of Law & Politics. Volume 4, Issue 1, Pages 52–82, ISSN (Online) 2029-0454, ISSN (Print) , DOI: 10.2478/v10076-011-0003-6, August 2011.</ref>


===Muslims===
===Muslims===


Due to the focus of the site, the most noticeable reactions from Muslims has been negative.<ref name="Criticism">For responses to various criticisms of WikiIslam, visit the ''[http://islamo-criticism.blogspot.com/p/criticism-of-wikiislam.html Criticism of WikiIslam]'' section of the ''[http://islamo-criticism.blogspot.com/ IslamoCriticism]'' blog.</ref> Some have called for the site to be taken offline through illegal means such as hacking,<ref>''"Someone needs to shut it down. any hackers out here?"'' - [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.ummah.com/forum/showthread.php?365182-Solving-the-Wiki-islam-problem|2=2013-05-24}} Solving the Wiki-islam problem], DamirK, Ummah Forum, May 24, 2013.</ref><ref>''"Its sad, Saudi have hackers who can hack and take down a lot of crap stuff on the internet but they never seem to notice what should be taken care of."'' - [http://lostinriyadh.blogspot.com/2012/03/for-my-readers-in-saudi-infact-for.html  For my readers in Saudi, infact for anyone], LostInRiyadh.blogspot.com (comment by Dentographer, March 4, 2012)</ref> and it had previously been [[Websites Censored by Islamic Governments|banned]] in [[Saudi Arabia]] on the country's [[pornography]] blacklist, even though the site contains nothing of a pornographic nature.<ref>A screenshot can be viewed [[:File:Wikiislam com-aug-2011-ksa.png|here]]</ref>  
Due to the focus of the site, the most noticeable reactions from Muslims has been negative.<ref name="Criticism">For responses to various criticisms of WikiIslam, visit the ''[http://islamo-criticism.blogspot.com/p/criticism-of-wikiislam.html Criticism of WikiIslam]'' section of the ''[http://islamo-criticism.blogspot.com/ IslamoCriticism]'' blog.</ref> Some have called for the site to be taken offline through illegal means such as hacking,<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.ummah.com/forum/showthread.php?398571|title= Muslims should DDOS anti muslim websites|publisher= Ummah Forum|author= |date= April 19, 2014|archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ummah.com%2Fforum%2Fshowthread.php%3F398571&date=2014-04-24|deadurl=no}}</ref><ref>''"Someone needs to shut it down. any hackers out here?"'' - [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.ummah.com/forum/showthread.php?365182-Solving-the-Wiki-islam-problem|2=2013-05-24}} Solving the Wiki-islam problem], DamirK, Ummah Forum, May 24, 2013.</ref><ref>''"Its sad, Saudi have hackers who can hack and take down a lot of crap stuff on the internet but they never seem to notice what should be taken care of."'' - [http://lostinriyadh.blogspot.com/2012/03/for-my-readers-in-saudi-infact-for.html  For my readers in Saudi, infact for anyone], LostInRiyadh.blogspot.com (comment by Dentographer, March 4, 2012)</ref> and it had previously been [[Websites Censored by Islamic Governments|banned]] in [[Saudi Arabia]] on the country's [[pornography]] blacklist, even though the site contains nothing of a pornographic nature.<ref>A screenshot can be viewed [[:File:Wikiislam com-aug-2011-ksa.png|here]]</ref>  


Constant vandalism, death-threats, and non-compliance with guidelines by Muslim editors has lead to WikiIslam, like the German Wikipedia, implementing “[[WikiIslam:Pending Changes Protection|pending-changes protection]]”, meaning that editing still remains open to all, including IP users, but changes have to be approved before becoming visible to readers.
Constant vandalism, death-threats, and non-compliance with guidelines by Muslim editors has lead to WikiIslam, like the German Wikipedia, implementing “[[WikiIslam:Pending Changes Protection|pending-changes protection]]”, meaning that editing still remains open to all, including IP users, but changes have to be approved before becoming visible to readers.
Line 38: Line 40:
==Audience==
==Audience==


WikiIslam hosts {{NUMBEROFARTICLES}} articles. On average, it currently receives over 250,000 visitors a month generating about 500,000 page views. As of October 2013, Alexa.com places it within the top 70,000 most visited websites.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alexa.com%2Fsiteinfo%2Fwww.wikiislam.net&date=2013-10-19|title= Wikiislam.net|publisher= Alexa.com|author= |date= accessed October 19, 2013|archiveurl= |deadurl=no}}</ref>
WikiIslam hosts {{NUMBEROFARTICLES}} articles. On average, it currently receives over 250,000 visitors a month generating about 500,000 page views. As of September 2014, Alexa.com places it within the top 70,000 most visited websites.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alexa.com%2Fsiteinfo%2Fwww.wikiislam.net&date=2014-09-03|title= Wikiislam.net|publisher= Alexa.com|author= |date= accessed October 19, 2013|archiveurl= |deadurl=no}}</ref>


Unlike many other sites critical of Islam, WikiIslam's audience is not "Eurocentric". The majority of its readers are from Eastern or Muslim-majority nations such as [[Pakistan]], [[Bangladesh]], [[India]], [[Malaysia]], [[Egypt]], [[United Arab Emirates]], and [[Singapore]].<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/www.wikiislam.net|2=2011-11-28}} "Wikiislam.net/ Audience"], Alexa.com, accessed  November 28, 2011.</ref> Likewise, many of the site's administrators and editors are from a Muslim background or are skeptics from Muslim majority nations.
Unlike many other sites critical of Islam, WikiIslam's audience is not "Eurocentric". A large percentage of its readers are from Eastern or Muslim-majority nations such as [[Pakistan]], [[Bangladesh]], [[India]], [[Malaysia]], [[Egypt]], [[United Arab Emirates]], and [[Singapore]].<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/www.wikiislam.net|2=2011-11-28}} "Wikiislam.net/ Audience"], Alexa.com, accessed  November 28, 2011.</ref> Likewise, many of the site's administrators and editors are from a Muslim background or are skeptics from Muslim majority nations.


The site is currently [[WikiIslam:Join the Team#Ways_To_Help_Us|looking for editors]] to translate some of their English articles into Indonesian, Urdu, Bengali and [[Arabic]]. There are translations from English already available at the site in [[:Category:Other_Languages|several languages]], including [[Azərbaycanca Yazılar - Articles in Azerbaijani|Azerbaijani]], [[Les articles en francais - Articles in French|French]], [[:Category:Türkçe (Turkish)|Turkish]] and [[Ozbekcha maqolalar - Articles in Uzbek|Uzbek]]. A [[:ru:Заглавная страница|Russian]] sub-domain was started in early 2013 and they also host many [[Translations of Arabic/Islamic Media|press articles and fatwas]] from the Islamic world translated into English from the original Arabic.
The site is currently [[WikiIslam:Join the Team#Ways_To_Help_Us|looking for editors]] to translate some of their English articles into Indonesian, Urdu, Bengali and [[Arabic]]. There are translations from English already available at the site in [[:Category:Other_Languages|several languages]], including [[Azərbaycanca Yazılar - Articles in Azerbaijani|Azerbaijani]], [[Les articles en francais - Articles in French|French]], [[:Category:Türkçe (Turkish)|Turkish]] and [[Ozbekcha maqolalar - Articles in Uzbek|Uzbek]]. A [[:ru:Заглавная страница|Russian]] sub-domain was started in early 2013 and they also host many [[Translations of Arabic/Islamic Media|press articles and fatwas]] from the Islamic world translated into English from the original Arabic. A [[:bg:Начална_страница|Bulgarian]] sub-domain was created in April, 2015.


==Wikipedia==
==Wikipedia==
Line 56: Line 58:
*[[WikiIslam:Frequently Asked Questions|Frequently Asked Questions]]
*[[WikiIslam:Frequently Asked Questions|Frequently Asked Questions]]
*[[What People Say About WikiIslam]]
*[[What People Say About WikiIslam]]
{{Translation-links-english|[[O webu WikiIslam|Czech]]}}


==Contact Information==
==Contact Information==
{{Fb link}}
{{Fb link}}
If you would like to contact WikiIslam for general ideas and suggestions, you can [http://wikiislam.net/w/index.php?title=WikiIslam:Forum/Ideas_and_Suggestions&action=edit&section=new leave a message] on the forum page. For copyright issues, click [[WikiIslam:Copyright Issues|here]]. And for other important issues, click [[WikiIslam:Contact Us|here]].
To contact WikiIslam with general ideas and suggestions, a message can be left on the relevant [[WikiIslam:Discussions|Discussions]] page. For copyright issues, click [[WikiIslam:Copyright Issues|here]]. And for other important issues, click [[WikiIslam:Contact Us|here]].


==References==
==References==

Navigation menu