# Did this woman really make these statements on Al Jazeera? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 23, 2006, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-woman-really-make-these-statements-on-al-jazeera/349597 "2006-03-23T15:21:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-woman-really-make-these-statements-on-al-jazeera/349597/1 "2006-03-23T15:21:18Z")
I was wondering if someone could interpret/verify that the subtitles match the spoken words on this video. [http://switch5.castup.net/frames/20041020\_MemriTV\_Popup/video\_480x360.asp?ai=214&ar=1050wmv&ak=null](http://switch5.castup.net/frames/20041020_MemriTV_Popup/video_480x360.asp?ai=214&ar=1050wmv&ak=null) The subtitles were obvioulsy added in after the program and do not represent closed captioning from a live talk show interview on cable (perfect down to the commas, etc). This doesn not mean they are wrong or scripted to make her sound as eloquent as she comes off - she could very well be that well spoken. Anyway…fraud or not? That is the question. ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-woman-really-make-these-statements-on-al-jazeera/349597/2 "2006-03-23T16:20:05Z")
My Arabic isn’t nearly good enough to confirm 100% of the translation, but I caught a great deal of words & phrases which matched up just fine. Why _would_ this be fraud? Because there’s a non-bin Laden-type opinion being expressed? Al-Jazeera airs a very wide variety of views (much wider than network TV in the US) and features depth of debate and conflict of opinion I only wish we aired on network TV here is the US. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-woman-really-make-these-statements-on-al-jazeera/349597/3 "2006-03-23T16:31:54Z")
Oh, in no way do I assume it is bogus. I was impressed with how eloquent she seemed. On a show of that nature, if you ever read transcripts, even well practiced people don’t come close to her ability to be succinct. I love that the host called her a heretic – Just classic, especially agains the background of her comments and points! Beautiful. It’s what she says, how she says it and his reaction that seem so well timed. With the subtitles looking like they were added (not Closed Captions from live TV), I had to ask. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-woman-really-make-these-statements-on-al-jazeera/349597/4 "2006-03-23T16:42:20Z")
A [Google News search](http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&ie=UTF-8&q=Wafa+Sultan&btnG=Search+News) offers plenty of articles on this woman for those seeking more information. ---
**Author:** ![Gladstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/90db22/32.png) [@Gladstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gladstone)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-woman-really-make-these-statements-on-al-jazeera/349597/5 "2006-03-23T16:46:22Z")
Her name is Dr. Wafa Sultan, a Lebanese psychiatrist who lives in SoCal. [This](http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0D17F638550C728DDDAA0894DE404482) article was written about her in the NY Times a while back. Unfortunately, since the article is old, you’ll have to pay to view it if you’re not a “TimesSelect” member or somesuch. ---
**Author:** ![Tyrrell\_McAllister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tyrrell_mcallister/32/16772_2.png) [@Tyrrell\_McAllister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tyrrell_McAllister)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-woman-really-make-these-statements-on-al-jazeera/349597/6 "2006-03-23T22:36:18Z")
Google returned this link to a freely available complete version of that NY Times article hosted at [NYTimes.com](http://NYTimes.com). You probably still need to have the normal free registration at [NYTimes.com](http://NYTimes.com) to view it, though. [For Muslim Who Says Violence Destroys Islam, Violent Threats](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/11/international/middleeast/11sultan.html?ei=5070&en=050fbede89faa3bd&ex=1143262800&pagewanted=all)