attacking ideas | my changing view of Islam [cc] 

borak obama?

Reminder that having critical thoughs about a religion (expressed with respect of course) doesn’t automatically make you a hater to those who practise that religion

Man, I'm actually scared to watch this video. I'm a 17 yo female Muslim who's currently in conflict with ideas that are ingrained into my head as I grew up in Indonesia, and the many perspectives I've read and gained through the english speaking internet. Ever since I saw this video in my recommended, it's been in my mind ever since. I could only scrounge up the courage to read the comments and haven't gotten around to watching the video yet haha I have so many complex feelings about my religion. I often find myself wincing or feeling uncomfortable when I'm sitting in my mandatory religion classes that delve into laws and sins and punishment. I know this isn't healthy, that I'm holding it all in because I'm scared that I will be shamed or mocked if I expressed that I questioned my beliefs. When westerners criticize the hijab, I find myself to be a bit defensive. I will try to defend it, saying while some ARE forced into it and that's terrible, some women actually prefer to wear it and I don't think it's such an odd thing to make a fuss of. But deep down, I don't believe what I'm saying. Do I? I don't know... In Indonesia, if you see someone wearing a hijab, it's not out of the ordinary. We don't stare and gawk or see them as their religion. I just see that they're just PEOPLE, with quirks and oddities and worries of their own. Even if you see people not wearing the hijab in day to day public that's not in religious gatherings, you usually go about your day normally. But the criticism can extend to how muslim women started wearing their hijabs from birth. Like how muslim women are shamed and scared with the prospect of being burdened with sin unless they cover up their body. Am I brainwashed into thinking I'm dependent on my hijab or I should cover myself? I don't know. My father has always been stern with having me wear the hijab ever since I was little, heck until now. It's come to a point where it's INGRAINED into me as a person, and that I'd feel that there's something wrong if I don't wear it outside or if I don't wear anything modest/ covers up to my wrist and ankles. Heck even some Muslims criticize the traditional wear here in Bandung which is the kebaya, saying it's tight and "SeGgSy". I stick with Islam because that's what I am. All I've known all my life is that I'm a muslim. I constantly get reminded of that because it's ingrained into my lifestyle, from praying, to wearing the hijab when I go to school, to watching out for haram food. If I stop doing all those things, I have this void feeling that I'm doing something wrong. Other than that, I know Islam works for some people. My mother and father faced harsh childhoods and horrifying things happened to them, but they pulled through thanks to their religion and their children a better childhood. I want to so badly share that adoration of my religion like them, but I'm afraid of ever bringing up the topic because they're so kind. They never abuse me, they are actually quite up to date in modern times and work in the medical field so they don't reject modern science. Though, even though I love them from the bottom of my heart, they could be quite conservative at times. Openly expressing disdain on LGBTQ+ or other ways teenagers might act out in. And you know what? I hate myself for having that inkling of hate when I see queer relationships. It's infuriating, it's wrong for me to hate other people when their love isn't harming anyone. But it's been ingrained into my head and that is a problem I need to fix and not an excuse for me to feel this way. And so, I sit on the fence. I suppose I would be what you call a "moderate muslim". But there's that fear that someone will pipe in and leave a scathing remark on how that's proof that Islam in its entirety is unpalletable to the current times and how I desperately want to defend it. I sit on the fence, because one part of me likes being "diverse" or somewhat different from the rest of the west English speaking audience. This is me. It's my culture! I get giddy when I see an Indonesian, let alone a hijab wearing Indonesian having a presence online because I feel seen! Hey, she's familiar in the sea of unfamiliar cultures and people! But then I dread reading the comments. Because I've always anticipated it being either barraged with scathing remarks about my beliefs, or people trying to challenge it. I know I should actually thunk and use me brain, but I'm so defensive and scared about having a rational discussion. I know that no belief is excused from being criticized, but I am still scared haha. Very conflicting feelings. God, sorry that this is so unorganized. I know no one is forcing me to watch it, but I feel constantly drawn to it. It's been in my mind when my mind is wandering. I... might leave another comment when I'm done watching the video. I know you probably will never read this, but thanks for spurring such conflicting thoughts into my mind. I honestly don't know where else I can say this without coming on a verge of a panic attack or feel extreme shame.

As a Muslim woman who lives in an Arab country, I'd put it this way: the more you criticise religion, the better our life becomes here as women.

I viewed this video as an Egyptian Muslim and Now after one year I'm Egyptian Atheist

There is a huge difference between bigotry and criticism.

'Islamophobia' is supposed to refer to ideas like 'Muslims are terrorists' and other generalizing claims that disparage the less extreme Muslims. Unfortunately, it seems to have been co-opted to be used to refer to anyone critical of Islam. Call out and correct people who misuse this word.

I see a lot of people claiming this isn't a fair assessment of Islam. Like, read the title. The video is about why we should think critically about widespread ideas. It's using his personal journey of how he viewed a religion as an example for the wider concept.

I'm an ex-muslim. One of the reasons I left the religion is because I don't and can't see it as a peaceful religion. Why would a peaceful religion want to kill me for being gay? Why would a peaceful religion shame me for showing my hair and body? Why would they kill me for leaving, if they can't even comprehend I exist and deserve to do so? I will never hate any muslim people for simply being muslim. That does not mean I can't dislike and criticize Islam.

"She said she love my faith in people, and hope that they will not disappointed me" Ouch...

Manahel al-Otaibi (saudi activist) has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for supporting women's rights, and i see so many people supporting this sentence, she already suffered a lot of mental and physical abuse in custody... this is their religion of peace. I feel so hopeless for this world.

i got called christianophobic, Islamophobic AND antisemitic once for simply saying "homosexuality is not a sin" LMAOOOO edit (a year later): after always getting a notification whenever someone replies, i can say there are two types - either its “noone would say that/didn’t happen” or “it is a sin/they’re right” - so that’s kinda funny

I am a Muslim living in Turkey. I just want to say I want religion and state being separate like an ordinary European nation. Hateful and backwards ideas should be left behind and progress should be achieved. And most importantly, nothing should be above criticism. We must choke this cancer of ignorance for good, otherwise muslims could never live in a healthy way.

Yes, it's a long one this time. But for me, it was important to say all of this in one go - you might realise why. Peace. TT

i had the same problem of protecting all muslims automatically because recent media, i tried so hard not to be prejudiced, i ended up going full circle. this video helped me realize they are just people like us and shouldn't be immune to criticism. whether you assume all muslims are bad people or terrorists, or they can do no bad and are misunderstood, you're probably paying too much to their religion and not them as a person. super insightful as usual, thank you so much for explaining this in an easy to understand video :)

I remember being friends with a Muslim girl in school, she was one of the nicest people I’ve ever met so I figured that Islam was just a better version of Christianity since most of the Christian’s I had met were mean and judgmental. But after a few years she came out and told me that her family was borderline abusive and was full of hate and contempt because of their religious teachings. And I too had seen this woman transform quickly into an atheist once we spoke about the reality of her situation, I am so very proud of her. And I am so very proud of anyone who was able to break themselves free of the oppression from a religious upbringing. It’s very hard and I believe in you

im actually crying right now, As someone who is a female ex-muslim thank you for making this video it really speaks to me. the amount of sexism and misogyny i have expereienced from my own family and even my own mother (who frequently body shames me if i don't wear modest clothes accodring to islamic standards which she has done since i was a child) due to me deciding to not wear my hijab to school and out in public to town and to family houses for the first time ever at the beginning of this year which led to a huge arguement with my toxic female cousin who told me that she is not froring me to wear the hijab but that i should wear it out of respect for my mother so i dont embarass her with the muslim community by going out withoutmy hijab on which is basically her forcing me to wear it. ahhhh good old muslims and there love for using doublespeak. anaway im just gonna wear the hijab when i go out with my family but not to school until i can move out and im just gonna pretend to wear the hijab to school in the morning to school. right now i still live at home but i have only come out as ex-muslim to my younger sister and non-muslim best friend and it's scary because i have some violent cosuins who may kill me if i leave the religion. so i am waiting till i get my own place and move out until i come out to my family. don't worry i live in a western country so moving out is easier for me but still kinda hard and is killing me mentally.

As a Muslim I respect this unbiased take on Islam. We really need discussions on this.

If you heard me sing.. you'd pick the death option.

As an ex muslim and a gay person, it is really impossible for me to talk with respect about a religion that condemns me to double death. Also, the hate and threats I receive from the followers of Islam makes it difficult for me more and more not to hate them. I try my best to separate between the ideas and the people who preach them, but in my case I just can’t anymore as I don’t receive any support even from the so called open minded Muslims.

As a Muslim, I really respect how the criticism is being done without any bigotry. Of course, fair criticism is not phobia

it is sad that in today's western world, the idea of "not challenging ideas and only stick to yours" is becoming more mainstream to the point people lie to themselves just to protect their initial idea.

"So, Parinda loses either way". One of the lines that stuck out most to me.

Wow, what an incredible video. I have a Muslim family and still living with them. I've always felt held back as a creative person as things like drawing animals, people, singing, listening to or making music are considered to be sins. Also, it's unclear to me, but at least according to my mother, writing fiction would be a sin as well, since it's technically telling lies. And anytime I'd try to read or watch something that talks about other religions, even if it's something as inoffensive as Percy Jackson, I'd get in trouble. And horror movies were not allowed because they are considered satanic. Another thing though that I felt is a real pain in the ass for me personally however is that in Islam you aren't allowed to be friends with the opposite sex as it's considered inappropriate. That makes things pretty difficult because even if I only wanted to just befriend people of the same sex as me, it would be impossible to separate the members of the opposite sex from the group when we're hanging out somewhere. In the first place I don't want to have to exclude people the opposite sex from being my friend since they'll be more likely to have similar interests as me than my own sex. At some point when I was in high school, my second oldest brother came out as an atheist. And the 3rd, and 4th oldest haven't claimed atheism or theism but are not practising. There was drama for sometime between the family but eventually they came to accept the fact he is atheist and believes in evolution. Or at the very least they tolerated him and my other brothers. That incident was interesting. At first I was as shocked as anyone else in my family, but eventually I came to see that he was right in thinking for himself. He had studied biology and myths at university and came to his own conclusions. Honestly, if I didn't have siblings capable of critical thinking I probably wouldn't had the courage to be the way I am now. But before all that stuff happened I was already pretending to pray at home and at school. Then at some point stopped even when we went to the mosque. In the last semester of high school is when I decided not to wear hijab anymore. To be honest the biggest reason for that was because wearing hijab was uncomfortable and gave me neck problems. But my parents took it very personally, so I didn't even bother to tell them why. But they never came to me to ask why I had done this and instead they talked about me when I wasn't around and how they were worried that I was going down the wrong path, apparently it was a rather loud conversation, this is what I was told by my younger sister, but to be honest I wouldn't doubt it because I heard their conversations when they were talking about my brothers. One thing I find funny though is how my mother made a curt remark saying that I was influenced by or just copying my brother - it was one of those two; it's been sometime but it doesn't really matters which one it was, she basically was just saying I was doing the things I was doing just because my brothers were doing it. It didn't occur to her that I was capable of being critical of my religion. Or rather I should say; her religion. Nowadays, I can say I'm doing a lot better. I still believe in god but I wouldn't say that I'm apart of a particular religion. I want to look deeper into other religions and myth and look into history and science and compare to see what meaning or value can be derived from that. I'm writing fiction now and trying to actually get good at art now that I don't care what my parents think. I have friends online but if I get any in real life then I going to have to just go their house because it's going to be a pain if they ever come to my house. Anyways, if you read to the end of this reddit length comment, cool. I just wanted to sorta share my experience. Thank God, I live in Canada so I don't have to worry about my family killing me.

_"Madness can take many forms, none so as contemptible as man's belief in a mythology of his own making. A world view buttressed by dogmatic desperation invariably leads to single minded fanaticism, and the need to do terrible things in the name of righteousness"_

"..plants that rely on photosynthesis had no photo to synthesize.." I never laughed so hard before as when I heard this. I recently discovered this channel. Nice work.

Why hasn’t this channel blown up yet? He has so many profound and important ideas. He needs to be heard by more than 180k people.

thank you for existing, theramin.

This video was uploaded 6 years ago. Few weeks ago an Ex Muslim man from Iraq burned a Quran in Sweden. Iraqi people went crazy. They were screaming wanting to attack him. In Iraq they burned down Swedish Embassy.

Whenever you upload a new video, I shut off all distractions, especially social media, wear my headset and watch it with uninterrupted attention all the way through. Never stop making content. My favourite RU-vid channel hands down.

As an American, much of the previous exposure I've had to criticism of Islam has been from Christian conservatives. I had a manager once who referred to people from the Middle East as "sand n*****s". I was nervous to watch this video as a result, but I found it incredibly thoughtful instead.

You are soo unbiased, I'm trying to be more unbiased about things, I'm grateful that there are people who talk unbiased about religion

i get called anti semetic for describing my childhood as "growing up in a cult". people love seeing other people living interesting lifestyles. it's only great for the people doing it voluntarily.

I've watched tons of youtube atheist shows, but this one stands out for it's "polished logic", clear and concise insights and easy to follow visuals. An absolute pleasure to watch.

on the topic of Religious Education in the UK, which I also endured in secondary school, I remember that my RE teacher was very pro-burka. She told us that the burka is a wonderful tool for feminism in Islam, and that it promotes being non-judgmental of the woman's body. Even back then this didn't make sense to me, to me it seemed to do the exact opposite of removing judgment from the woman - instead she has no freedom to express herself with the way she wants to dress, so she must be perceived in a very specific way. Of course, I was not raised Muslim so I can't appreciate any deeper cultural things about it, and I am not against hijab or burka if a woman truly wishes to wear one, but it should certainly not be forced upon them by religion, and I think it was unfair of my teacher to take a specific side defending them, she should have been more objective and looked at the concerns as well as the benefits.

I really really really really hope Parinda sees your video. That would bring me joy somehow.

3:13 I love the extra detail you put where you said "many folks have grown SICK" with the abbreviation of "shunned, imprisoned, censored, killed" on the screen reads out SICK. It may or may not be intentional,

As an ex Muslim who grew up in Saudi Arabia speaks fluent Arabic and knows scripture Intimately this video is accurate about its depreciation of Islam and Islamic culture

39:09 OK I lost it. I have no words for how brilliant your videos are. I don't normally get emotional but today I'm especially tired from work and cried knowing there are people who are in geniune, reasonable fear for their lives who find hope in what you and others like you do. Never stop.

Lately my attention span is getting shorter, but somehow your video here is interesting enough for me to watch until the end, at the first time. Also, I like your clarity of thought and insightful ideas here. Thank you.

I'm at 9:30 . I'm a Chinese. I'm now a Christian. So I'm fascinated by your experiences. I always wondered what it would have been like if I grew up as a British Christian, and if my life would have been better, and if maybe I would have been less clueless and less ignorant about the world around me. Turns out, it would just trade one form of cluelessness and ignorance about the world with another. We're all born as children, completely unaware of all the darkness that this world is filled with until we came into this world. Our parents form a protective bubble around us to shield us from all evils, the best they know how. But we all eventually have to grow up and see the world our parents had to survive in to create that beautiful environment which is a safe harbour of that childhood innocence we all had. I remember moving from China to Germany to join my parents. At that time, I thought there were only two languages in the world: Chinese and "foreign". And since my only experience with a non Chinese language was German, I thought that "foreign" was German. Imagine my surprise when the other children told me that the reason why I couldn't understand a word of that Macarena song was because it was in Spanish, a third language I wasn't even conscious of until that point in time. For them, it was all so obvious. Spain was a different country. In Spain, they speak Spanish. In Germany, we speak German. And in China, we spoke Chinese. But I couldn't wrap my head around this concept that not only did we Chinese find others incomprehensible and foreign, foreigners can find each other incomprehensible and foreign. That was a very foreign concept to me. As I grew older, we moved to New Zealand when I was 6, and I was told that we have to speak English now, and we can't speak German anymore. I was taught that the English way of saying kindergarden was preschool. Imagine my shock when I saw kindergartens in New Zealand! But they were different. The Kindergartens I went to in Germany kept us alternating between indoors and outdoors after a set period of time. I found that rather disruptive. In New Zealand, kindergarden seemed to just be a generic word used for a place to leave your children to be looked after with a group of other children which is also government certified to do so and to have people who have passed certain tests to look after your children with certain hours of operation and a fee and certain options to get government funding provided you're happy to not be able to keep them there full time. Coming to New Zealand, I had to learn how to deal with broader and broader definitions that might just give you a vague sense of what they mean while leaving a lot to the imagination. I no longer had access to a group of people who communicated in exact terms. It was frustrating. Anyway, this has very little to do with Islam. I was just surprised how innocent you were in your concept of Islam and how you took whatever your teachers told you at face value. In China, we're kinda used to being lied to, so we take everything we're told with a grain of salt. Apparently, it makes us hard to work with. I wouldn't be surprised. We double check everything. It pays off eventually. But at the time, it'll probably look completely unnecessary. At least, I do. Not sure if it's my Chinese side or my German side. Whatever it is, it can't be my Kiwi side. But I'm inspired by your courage in being so transparent. I'm learning about this here in the West. Especially as a Christian. The importance of being transparent with God. How it's good for me. And it lets God as Light shine right through me, sometimes, even into the hearts of others through me. How healthy it is. How it kills off the germs of secrets. Anyway, wishing you all the best. Zhou

I'm a muslim. What I enjoyed most about this video was that it was the first-ever account by a non-muslim westerner that I've seen criticizing Islam without that undertone of bigotry I've grown accustomed to - it is an intellectually honest take. You did well to consider islam as the muslims experienced it and not in how it poses a threat to you. One thing that may fall slightly outside the scope of your video but that I feel is not acknowledged enough is that muslims around the world feel threatened by the world's superpowers, and so many young muslims have been brought up believing that they are targetted by secularists and communists (west and east) and I think that it plays a role in their adherence to dogma. The state of islam today is truly a shell of its early self - avenues of debate are shut now and all challenges to status quo ideals are considered threats that must be eliminated. I'm from the "middle east" and it really does feel that the people in that part of the world are in a kind of collective post-traumatic state where they're hypervigilant and threatened. There is a void caused especially by yet unresolved neocolonial expansion into the region over the last century and it left many muslims feeling hopeless or betrayed, and that took them in many directions - some lead to outward violence whereas the majority lead to internalized anger and impotence that was passed down. It's my conviction that there is a way forward for muslims and islam that is independent of external aid. It is a process of reanimation and evolution and it will hurt, but it is in every way going to be a process that the muslims themselves have to go through and no non-muslim could act as surrogate and take them through it. It's worth saying that until the political empowerment of theocratic despots by superpowers playing cold war ceases, this process will be an exceedingly difficult uphill battle for those muslims trying to reform their religion. Anyway, I hope you read this. I was drawn to your channel because of the psychology videos. Great stuff. :)

As an ex muslim from Indonesia, I thank you for this video, if only there's a way for me to add captions for your amazing video in my language, all the hours it'll take will definitely be worth it if it changes just one muslim to accept criticism and be more critical of his (or any) ideas.

as ab ex-muslim i support these ideas. I live in turkey and I was lacking belief in Allah when I was 7. And I left Islam in 10. My dad was an atheist too so I didn't get any opposition in family. so I thought everyone would accept me for who I am. When I was 13 I cane out to the school as non-muslim and I got bullied a lot. At least I helped some atheist in our class to come out and stand before me. One kid even threatened to kill me. islam is not a religion of peace it supports bullying and killing everyone that isn't the same as them. So stop calling people islamaphobic when they criticise Islam.

This gave me some perspective on my immediate choice to ignore some genuine positive and humanitarian attitudes of my Christian family, friends, peers. I fell into viewing Christians as lesser because I had a negative experience growing up, but in truth it doesn’t justify the fear and mistrust I automatically felt. This caused a fractured relationship with my mother that to this day I’m trying to repair my image of her.

No ideaology should get free Free Pass

Honestly I'm surprised you don't get more shoutouts from other atheist RU-vidrs - well, at least the ones I watch - because your videos are fantastic.

i hope parinda is doing amazing today. shes so brave for standing with what she believes, and i hope to be like her(as an ex muslim myself)

As ex Muslim, ty so much for this awasome video ❤

NO religion should have privileged immunity.

A truly well-put video. I admire the way in which each thought was laid so clearly, with examples and real life experiences. Made me think and learn a lot on a subject I would always keep to myself about. Thank you very much

As a devout indonesian muslim educated in a pious yet moderate and modern environment i must confess its quiet a fresh air to just receive these kinds of unbiased discussions, im actually kinda in a quandary regarding my beliefs as well though these had subsided for a while but some paradoxical questions persisted to bedevil me Regardless i was foreboding something thatll mindlessly chastised us as usual but im actually quiet flabbergasted by your insightful discussion

Wow, a piece of art full of wisdom for the ages. My transition to atheism happened a decade ago. I went through a phase of obsession with Richard Dawkins-esque pop culture: binge-watching "x destroys y by pure logic", "here's how stupid literal scripture actually is" kinda stuff that made me feel smug about myself. But I have long since passed that stage, moving on to consuming actually enriching content and actually trying to figure out how to live a good life. So I didn't expect to find much value in yet another atheist content creator. But this has pleasantly surprised me by provoking much thought. I wish this project success and hope it inspires a healthy climate of skepticism (directed at ideas) and empathy (directed at people). Sadly, echoing some of the other comments, I actually feel scared to share this. I fear both the threatening response of religious zealots and the chastising denouncement from cultural relativists. On a lighter note: it's funny the video starts with a "fictitious" religion that outlaws art and music. Considering the actual subject of the video, is this fiction far from reality?

This is one of the best videos on having a honest conversation on Islam that I have ever seen. It is very fair and balanced. Thank you very much!

I remember I went to a private religious school for most of my elementary school life, which preached Islamic values and studies. It preaches being kind and obedient to god, but the people there were extremely toxic and made me feel depressed and unlovable. I remember a sheikh there talking about how homosexuality was a major sin, and me being about 9 at the time and not knowing a thing about the subject just believed it blindly. I remember being forced to memorize suras and being told that it was good for me, even though it made me feel fatigued and tired mentally. I remember being told that me drawing my harmless OCs was sinful because I was drawing faces, which was “satanic.” I remember being shamed and ridiculed by teachers and my parents for listening to music and wanting to pursue a career in the arts. I remember my dad calling me the devil himself when he found out that I was lesbian I remember my mom calling me ungrateful for thinking about transitioning from ftm There’s so much more that was impacted in my life because of the religion, but I don’t know if I can speak about it here Thank you for making this video, this impacted me in ways that I’m very grateful for

I found that the more i learned about religion the less i believed. If you really question your religious dogma with an open heart it will become very obvious that this stuff is completely made up.

As an ex muslim that questioned god very early on but was lucky enough to come from a very progressive family that only accepts the parts of scripture that aren't in conflict with modern science i really appreciate the nuance in your video

Can we please get this video (and pretty much all others) as mandatory in religious education and critical thinking in schools?

Some muslims believe in disgusting things , so as a muslim im glad i grew up in a muslim family who actually taught me to be open minded as well as peaceful , and im glad my parents taught me how to defend myself and im just as valubal and capibal as a man , my family is amazing and thats why i feel bad for those who grew up in an extrimes family

As an ex muslim living in France I wish I could share this video everywhere (unfortunately I have to pretend to be muslim in front of my family). This is spot on. A big problem I have in France is that in the media and politics, those who criticize Islam at all hate immigrants and are very right wing. So the leftists decided to take a victimizing apporach to islam and muslim. I was called islamophobic and ignorant for saying that islam doesn't deserve respect, very ironic considering I was raised into this religion. As more people speak up, things will get better in the world.

The stories you told are an example of how good people can believe horrible things.

Funnily enough, my tipping point out of christianity was by playing Final Fantasy X when I was 12... Practically every line of dialogue in this game is made to question religion. My mother was appalled at the idea that I didn't want to go to church anymore but I stood my ground. 16 years later and dozens of religious arguments with my parents and my dad doesn't believe anymore so that's a win.

let me correct you about something as someone who lives in an islamic country as a woman and an atheist: The most harm islam inflects is on women and people who disowned the religion and are now in constant fear of being killed.

Your point of view is very interesting. I grew up in a rather progressive french non religious family, going to school with some muslims around me who were really nice. You would probably expect me to have picked up this idea that muslims are victims who can do no wrong and have a peaceful religion, but I never really experienced it. Maybe as a small child, when I didn't know what religions truly were in general. But it was always apparent to me that it wasn't all butterflies. Not only did I experience the wave of islamic terrorist attacks as a young teen (which my muslim classmates were also devastated about, honestly they paid the price of it because it led to a surge in racism), but I also had a chechen friend in high school who told me how her family was overly strict, homophobic and controlling over women. Due to its strong secular values, France is often under attack in countries ruled by islamic law, and it's rather comical to see in a way, like the time iranian media caricatured the president Macron expecting french people to get mad about it, because they thought we worshipped our president like they worship their leaders. Little did they know bashing the president is our favourite hobby and we were having a field day with that drawing.

Amazingly well-considered and well-put. Over 40 minutes but every single one of them well-spent. It's definitely made me think. My hat is off to you. I've also increased my Patreon pledge, since clearly your high-investment videos deserve all the support they can get.

“Traditions are solutions to forgotten problems.”

i remember when i was in college the topic of Islam came up. having recently reading articles about islamic scripture i was passionately critical about the religion. to my shock i was met with extreme hostility. my fellow students said things like "its talk like that which promotes violence" and Chirstianity also has problems. some students shook their heads and turned away from me. as a well-versed but questioning Christian, i was able to defend their counter-criticisms (they should have used better ones), but i felt so isolated. if only my one friend in the class had been present. i kept providing arguments and defending my position, the class then criticised me for talking behind my friend's back. i was confused, i would do no such thing. apparently my new friend was a Muslim and i had not known. he was not present because he was attending his mosque on Fridays for prayer. it was rather ironic, i wasn't going to compromise what i thought for the sake of our new friendship but i was disheartened to have to disagree with the only person in my class whose presence i enjoyed. when the inevitable discussion arose, he was friendly and even excited to share Islam from his perspective. i wasn't logically convinced but i was impressed at how noble he seemed expressing how much Allah loves us. i saw in him many similarites that i had when i was a more devout christian. being responsible, polite, diligent - a "do everything as unto the Lord" type attitude and most importantly an attitude of unconditional love for fellow humans. watching these videos has helped me analyse these past interactions, and i have learned quite a lot: - despite valid criticisms, people seem to defend Islam and give it immunity to criticisms - with my valid criticisms, i unfortunately distained an entire group of people. while unknowingly having a new genuine friend who was part of that group. i should judge individuals not groups - there can be vast differences in how scripture is interpreted in a religion (i should have known this being a Christain) down to the individual level - one can achieve that positive loving attitude for our fellow humans through different religions, not just Chirstianity. i hope to achieve this again one day, but through myself

I fully agree with this video, and I'm stunned by the amount of depth and nuance you've managed to put into it. I only wish more people could see these ideas in the nuanced way they're meant to be seen.

this is the first time i have seen a neutral english description of what basic "racism" is as a german i need to thank you you can´t imagine how much that means to me

Extremely thoughtful, well organized, calmly paced, and well spoken. I have avoided thinking about Islam for a long time. This made me think. 🤔

As an exmuslim myself, I understand how deeply dangerous how the ideology of Islam is. I can't even tell my family and loved ones that I'm no longer a Muslim. Till today, I still lead prayers because friends would literally push you to the front. They have no idea I'm no longer a Muslim and I have no choice but to keep it that way. Many people have been killed and even jailed in my country for daring to criticize this evil cult.

And really, it's quite sad I'm afraid to share this video.

I myself am an atheist hiding in pakistan under the guise of a devout practicing muslim. I can tell you that all these points brought up are 100% true. No matter what happens do not stop criticizing islam. It is due to the resistance against it that alot more critical thinkers and true humanitarian citizens are being brought up, even if it is like me in secrecy. If more scrutiny is put upon the religion then perhaps in my own lifetime i just may be able to openly declare being an atheist rather than living in fear and hiding.

I go back to this video every now and then to help clear my head of doubt. I'm an immigrant from a country that uses sharia law, and it deeply hurts to see my home country's leaders denounce its own people, including me, for intrinsic qualities we can't change. thank you so much for how thoroughly you made sure to cut into the ways in which people will use islam as a shield or justification for hurting their own neighbors, friends, and family.

“With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil - that takes religion.” ― Steven Weinberg

this somewhat enlightened me, and i think i also am too protective of a system of beliefs i did not dare scrutinize enough in fear of being racists

It is outrageous that the process of reasonable evaluation of concepts, and criticisms of outlandish and untenable dogma is now called a "phobia"..

i keep seeing islamic people saying "if you're not Muslim, at least respect our religion" and "im sorry, i cant support lgbt, but i can still respect it" im sorry, i cant respect a religion that sees me as a terrible flaw to society, that says women are subordinates to men, that says men have authority over women bodies, and you cant "respect" lgbt if you dont support it. they are synonyms in this context. then if i criticise this religion im rude, im mean, im prejudiced. even those that are atheist like me have been blinded into thinking that you HAVE to respect other religions. another dumb argument is that "oh, its not the religion, its the people!" when i try to talk about the horrors of abuse toward women in Islamic countries, like Iran, for example. the religion IS the people. if the religion makes people act like this, something isn't right. everything can be used for good, but the likeliness of it being used for good and the likeliness of it being used for bad are what matters. islam and christianity are more likely to be used for bad. that is what I've been seeing again and again, and what I've understood. i cant talk for other religions, im not very informed on them, but im sure they're likely the same. someone that has information on other major religions correct me, please.

I think no religion should be allowed to practice childhood indoctrination. If your religion is really true, it should be able to convince adults, not prey on the vulnerable minds of children.

this is one of the most critical and innovative videos i've seen on youtube

"Things are more complicated than they appear"... that should come as common sense. Unfortunately, not.

I’m an ex christian that turned atheist for awhile. I guess I’m still technically atheist but I prefer the word secular now. Because frankly the atheism sphere I joined was the extreme opposite. I escaped christianity to get away from bigotry and dogma but it was so weird because when you dig deeper into the atheist culture the extreme ones are just as bigoted ands dogmatic. I found my head spinning realizing I had ran into the exact same problems I wanted to get away from! So when you talked about splitting extremism and the fact that a lot of these problems are often human problems it made me happy. I’m more toned down now. I’m less obsessed with religion, politics or what “other people” are doing or thinking. I’m so much more balanced and I make friends more easily now. I never knew that clinging so hard to these world views was over shadowing my personality to the point that I had become unbearable to be around! But I didn’t know any other way of life because my entire family’s personalities were based around their religion or who they were voting for. I guess a lot of ex religious people fall into this trap because there’s a lot of atheists still carrying these attitudes and behaviours with them. I feel so much better now that I’ve let that part of me go.

As a ex Muslim Turkish girl I'm so glad to find your channel . I had these questions in my mind that I couldn't really answer properly but when I found you , you talked about it so well that I finally feel comfortable and confident while talking about these things and turkey is actually getting worse nowadays so I started to despise religion more and started to feel more fear than ever for my future in Turkey . right now because of the party that won the election we're going through many bad changes in the social structure and people are just basically allowed to do whatever they want to women and they can get away with it because our president doesn't really believe that there's such thing as abuse against women and being the way I am I'm very scared for the future I'm just thinking when are we going to lose our right to exist as humans as woman and it slowly happening I can see it religion is being weaponized against people because the people who won the election are the people who's been using and abusing religion so overtime I started to feel disgusted of this religion and there is a resentment that I still couldn't get over it and I don't think I can in this situations anyway I'm a woman and you are very right on the fact that women are very badly abused and people use religion as an excuse for these kind of ideologies and because of the people I can't be a part of this type of religion and I always been a suspicious person always been questioning things always try to make sense of things and you know even if we weren't abused this way I still would probably be an atheist watching your videos I find deep relief feels like I'm going to therapy that I can't afford right now . Thank you for that

Theramin, Thanks for doing this. Also if you're still in touch with Oz and Parminda send them both hugs and particularly mad props to Oz. Stories like these are what give me hope for the future and the vital role Ex-Muslims must play in shaping it.

It's not "just" a religion. It's political ideology, policy, indoctrination, education and a way of life.

16:48 Such a sweet sentiment. I've heard people who say they believed what you did and got told off for it, but to hear someone praised for their hope in people is great to hear. I truly do hope everyone who has faith in other humans doesn't get disappointed as well.

Thank you for being critical of all religions. What I usually see is children with neon green hair screeching about the evils of christianity but conveniently ignoring the flaws of Islam for fear of being labelled "islamophobic" or some other garbage. No one is immune to critisism and "accept my beliefs" and "bigotry" isn't an excuse at all.

Brilliant work! Brilliant as always!

11:48 "So, lifeforms that relied on photosynthesis had no photo to synthesize" I admire how calmly and earnestly you can read out such a sentence. Seriously though, nice little word play, it may or may not have made me chuckle (a lot).

Reminder that you can hate objectively bad and horrid ideas and that isn’t disrespectful. Hate the idea, not the people. Unless the people act hateable of course.

As a modern day Muslim, this had me thinking. Thank you for your insights as I myself don't quite know how to handle this evolving social thinking.

How has it taken me 2 years to find a video that expresses the entirety of my feelings on this matter, that I was unable to adequately put words to...

I've pretty much come to the same conclusion. From a desire to protect the innocent to the understanding of what Islam can actually be at its worst or "purest" literal form. Its results speak for themselves. Thanks for the video.

I prefer saying “Anti Muslim bigotry” over Islamophobia. The former rightly identifies that attacking the Muslim simply for being one is always bad. It’s clear and direct. The latter, to me, implies that attacking the idea that is the religion - it says Islam in the term after all - is always bad and that the religion should be exempt from criticism. It also implies that fear or dislike of Islam is always irrational which certainly isn’t irrational if you’re part of the LGBT community, an ex Muslim or a woman etc. Although I’d still say that everyone is a victim in oppressive religions. The term islamophobia can be easily made intentionally vague to lump in an anti Muslim bigot (who wants to ban Muslims from peacefully worshipping their religion, ban the Quran, ban the hijab, and lumps in a Muslim who just lives their life and worships their religion peacefully with an extremist Saudi cleric calling for a global caliphate) with a person genuinely criticising Islam as an idea.

This is the best Islam debunk video I have ever seen. Mostly Islam debunk videos focus on revealing the absurdity of Quran and divisiveness of Muslims' hypocrisy. It's so rare to see a person going from Islam sympathetic to fully recognize the true face of Islam on a personal experience.

Parinda is such a strong woman. Tears in my eyes. One day I'll also take off my hijab and align myself visibly with my own values.

As a Muslim woman living in a 100% Muslim country this hits deep. The sense of hopelessness I feel knowing I can never be who I truly am. Wearing the hijab everyday feels like I’m slowly tying a noose around my neck and one day it just might suffocate me to death. I am so proud of the ex Muslims who have had the courage to come forward and share these criticisms despite so much threats because it makes me feel less alone

Ultimately I see religion as a tool that humans have come up with over time to organize social orders more easily and to rationalize the world. Ultimately that is all it is, that is a tool. This tool can be used for good, or for bad. It is ultimately the choice of the individual as to how they use this tool, how they interpret what they hear and what they preach. I realized this some time ago. My accepting many different religions is due to that. Labels are simply labels, and the nuances in the adherence to the philosophies under those labels are all up to the individual.

As a muslim this video was very insightful. I got to see a perspective in which i wouldnt get within my community. For that i thank you :)

I remember watching a documentary about the Rushdie affair when I was a student in the UK -- long after the affair had died down. Much of it confirmed what I'd already known. But I was doubly flabbergasted when British Muslims in archival materials in that film expressed anger that British blasphemy laws did not "protect" Islam from "threats" like Rushdie's book.First of all, the very notion that Britain still had blasphemy laws (even as a dead letter) was astounding. But secondly, I thought "Muslims in the UK should call for such laws to be revoked, not extended! After all, these are *Christian* blasphemy laws. By Christian standards, Islam (which denies the divinity of Christ) is itself blasphemous! How on earth do they expect that such laws would work in their favour?". I did suspect an explanation: that there is some sort of temporary coalition between religious zealots of opposing groups, seeking to attack the mutual enemy of religious freedom, which undermined them both. What still mystifies me is secularists who lend support to this coalition, excusing attacks on religious freedoms. Though, after watching this video, I think I have a better understanding of this phenomenon, too.