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A Former Muslim

Started by apostasin, July 20, 2012, 12:30:15 PM

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CB Brooks MD

This is exactly the kind of perspective needed by many cultures to advance.
Islam resists through violence. The US resists through political bullying and correctness ("we must respect and pander to the religious crazies").
Hopefully, voices of reason will gain traction, and the upcoming generations, with increasingly secular views, are our best hope.

Ecurb Noselrub

Quote from: TheWalkingContradiction on July 21, 2012, 01:58:27 AM
[  Maybe one day there can be an educational thread about the real Middle East (as opposed to Western stereotypes) on this tiny island of freethinking cyberspace...

I suggest starting with food. I discovered Halal food in NYC last year - yum!  All Middle Eastern food is a great!  The USA is conquering the world with Coca Cola and McDonalds, so why not follow the successful model?

Crow

Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on July 25, 2012, 03:56:01 AM
I suggest starting with food. I discovered Halal food in NYC last year - yum!  All Middle Eastern food is a great!  The USA is conquering the world with Coca Cola and McDonalds, so why not follow the successful model?

Halal food just means it has been prepared in custom with the Islamic tradition, i.e. if its meat the animal is hung upside down and had its throat slit and a prayer is said, I had a full English halal breakfast the other week, I didn't enjoy though as it had no bacon or sausages. English breakfasts are pretty gross anyway. But yeah a lot middle eastern food is yummy.
Retired member.

TheWalkingContradiction

Quote from: Crow on July 25, 2012, 09:08:25 PM
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on July 25, 2012, 03:56:01 AM
I suggest starting with food. I discovered Halal food in NYC last year - yum!  All Middle Eastern food is a great!  The USA is conquering the world with Coca Cola and McDonalds, so why not follow the successful model?

Halal food just means it has been prepared in custom with the Islamic tradition, i.e. if its meat the animal is hung upside down and had its throat slit and a prayer is said, I had a full English halal breakfast the other week, I didn't enjoy though as it had no bacon or sausages. English breakfasts are pretty gross anyway. But yeah a lot middle eastern food is yummy.

My Arabic mother turned my Italian father into a lover of Arabic food, and I grew up eating as much Arabic food as American and Italian food.  (We may have been the only family eating spaghetti and kibbeh balls...)  I still love Arabic food, and since I live in a Brooklyn neighborhood that is about 50% Arabic I eat it often.  We also have many varieties of Arabic food here, as the original Arabic inhabitants were primarily Lebanese and Syrian Christians, but in the past 15 years we have had a large scale movement of Muslims from North Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Palestine.  Non-Arabic residents who had never seen a woman in a hijab before suddenly walk shoulder to shoulder with hundreds...  Too cool.  I love cultural mixes.  :)

Irish men (from Ireland) stand outside the Irish bars, Russians (mostly Russian Jews from Russia and Ukraine but also from the other former Soviet republics) stand outside Russian food stores, and Italian-American teenagers hop atop mailboxes and parked cars...  All staring at a site they still cannot quite comprehend, a site that is now as 24/7 as New York.

Anyway...  Let me know if I can provide any help with Middle Eastern food (which, I should add, is almost the same in Arabic countries, Israel and Turkey--although North African Arabs do have a somewhat different palate).

OldGit

QuoteIrish men (from Ireland) stand outside the Irish bars ...

Over here, you'll never see a Paddy outside a pub.

Tank

Quote from: OldGit on July 26, 2012, 09:55:57 AM
QuoteIrish men (from Ireland) stand outside the Irish bars ...

Over here, you'll never see a Paddy outside a pub.
Except when smoking a fag.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

OldGit

QuoteExcept when smoking a fag.

That's true.

En_Route

Quote from: Tank on July 26, 2012, 01:34:30 PM
Quote from: OldGit on July 26, 2012, 09:55:57 AM
QuoteIrish men (from Ireland) stand outside the Irish bars ...

Over here, you'll never see a Paddy outside a pub.
Except when smoking a fag.

Or waiting for it to open.
Some ideas are so stupid only an intellectual could believe them (Orwell).

Tank

Quote from: En_Route on July 26, 2012, 04:29:49 PM
Quote from: Tank on July 26, 2012, 01:34:30 PM
Quote from: OldGit on July 26, 2012, 09:55:57 AM
QuoteIrish men (from Ireland) stand outside the Irish bars ...

Over here, you'll never see a Paddy outside a pub.
Except when smoking a fag.

Or waiting for it to open.
Or just after its closed.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

En_Route

Quote from: Tank on July 26, 2012, 09:01:02 PM
Quote from: En_Route on July 26, 2012, 04:29:49 PM
Quote from: Tank on July 26, 2012, 01:34:30 PM
Quote from: OldGit on July 26, 2012, 09:55:57 AM
QuoteIrish men (from Ireland) stand outside the Irish bars ...

Over here, you'll never see a Paddy outside a pub.
Except when smoking a fag.

Or waiting for it to open.
Or just after its closed.

Except he won't be standing then.
Some ideas are so stupid only an intellectual could believe them (Orwell).

TheWalkingContradiction

Quote from: En_Route on July 26, 2012, 09:08:26 PM
Quote from: Tank on July 26, 2012, 09:01:02 PM
Quote from: En_Route on July 26, 2012, 04:29:49 PM
Quote from: Tank on July 26, 2012, 01:34:30 PM
Quote from: OldGit on July 26, 2012, 09:55:57 AM
QuoteIrish men (from Ireland) stand outside the Irish bars ...

Over here, you'll never see a Paddy outside a pub.
Except when smoking a fag.

Or waiting for it to open.
Or just after its closed.

Except he won't be standing then.


He'll be marching in New York's St. Patrick's Day Parade (which is really the Irish Pride Parade around here).

Or...  Since you guys mentioned fags (British use) and smoking...  And since I'm American...   Maybe he'll be marching in a different parade.  The local Irish fags are smokin' hot!!!

jumbojak

That was a pretty good video apotasin but you need a better microphone. I think you said in the comments you were using your phone. For what it's worth I have a Blue Snowflake that works quite nicely and was fairly inexpensive. And welcome to the board.

"Amazing what chimney sweeping can teach us, no? Keep your fire hot and
your flue clean."  - Ecurb Noselrub

"I'd be incensed by your impudence were I not so impressed by your memory." - Siz

teenabeana22

Welcome.  You're story is enlightening and I enjoyed watching your video. I live in a muslim neighborhood in American and I have a few moderate muslim friends and one in particular that I'm close with.  She does not know I am atheist because I know it would mean the end of our friendship.  I think you are brave for rejecting Islam.  I have yet to hear from an ex-muslim and I am looking forward to hearing more about your journey. :)

teenabeana22

Quote from: apostasin on July 20, 2012, 12:30:15 PM
Greetings,

I am a former Muslim.

More specifically, I grew up pretending to be a Muslim in a hardline-Muslim country where the penalty for Apostasy is death by decapitation. Walking, talking, and appearing to agree with things I have always questioned and doubted comprised the majority of my youth.

I feel burdened with a personal obligation towards my future generation to inform them about the dangers of their religion. I also happen to be in a unique position, since I know exactly how my brethren think, and how their arguments supporting Islam have their foundations in nothing more than wavering emotion and whim.

I can personally attest to the fact that only ideologies like Islam can force good people to do heinous things.

I threw the following video together over the past few hours:

http*://www.you*tube.com/watch?v=LjZm94ojlyM&feature=plcp

As you can see, I have not taken the outright inflammatory route from the onset. Doing so may cause the target viewer to immediately raise their defenses, and maybe skip viewing the rest of the video altogether.

An honest, brutal critique would be helpful.

Also, if it is not in any violation of your time, I would greatly appreciate it if you would share the message and spread it around.

Thank you all.

- A

(Link disabled in conformance with site policy. -- Recusant)