081 – Interview with Arab Ex-Muslim Alaadin
Alaadin is a former Sunni who lived most of his life in Saudi Arabia. Went from being an enthusiastic, devout Muslim to helping ex-Muslims deal with leaving Islam.
YouTube version of this conversation: https://youtu.be/gqS8XmwQMBw
His YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCUvpcW30kyMJGIgI4LtmkQ
IG: https://www.instagram.com/apostatealaddin/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ApostateAladdin
Here are the time stamps for our conversation:
0:00 Introductions and announcements.
1:40 What does the name Alaadin mean? Alaadin’s religious background – growing up in Saudi Arabia.
4:01 Censorship of “blasphemous” content in Saudi Arabia. What caused Alaadin to start having doubts
5:29 Tik Tok stream issue
5:54 Back to Alaadin’s doubts – the issues he had with the free will arguments. The “game of chance”. The problem of hell.
10:55 Middle and upper-class Muslims tend to be cultural and not orthodoxy.
13:43 Alaadin’s relationship with the Imam who was teaching the Quran. The “You were not a true Muslim” issue.
18:16 Memorizing the Quran. Alaadin’s favorite Surah and its meaning.
21:21 Treating Muhammad like a demi-god: the gross practice of drinking the water used by the prophet Muhammad for wudu.
22:20 Alaadin’s varsity experience in a foreign country and being exposed to a very diverse group of people.
25:50 Is Alaadin a natural skeptic?
26:53 Would Alaadin describe himself as an atheist or as an agnostic person?
28:25 Defending Islam online and how it ultimately led both Abdullah and Alaadin out of the religion.
31:55 Did Alaadin try to seek help to shore up his faith when he started having doubts? How was that emotional journey like? Living a double life (munafiq) and how it wore down Alaadin.
37:42 How Islam pushes people into living double lives.
41:00 Was leaving Islam relieving for Alaadin? Seeking answers from reliable Islamic sources. WikiIslam and the genetic fallacy that most Muslims use to try to discredit it.
50:25 Christian apologetics against Islam
51:43 The “Oh, you don’t speak Arabic so you can’t know if Islam is false” argument. Was Arabic the best language to give the final revelation?
58:38 The “Oh, the Quran is memorized by many people” argument. Variants in the Quran.
1:02:20 How Alaadin finally realized that he was no longer Muslim.
1:03:53 Channel announcements.
1:04:33 Working on living an authentic life and existential questions.
1:09:17 Moderate Muslims VS Orthodoxy Muslims.
1:10:58 How Abdullah and Alaadin got connected.
1:13:00 What is moderate Islam? Is it a cult? Applying the BITE model to moderate Islam.
1:22:30 People who joined Islam at a later stage in their lives are not as affected by it as the people who were born into Muslim families and grew up Muslims.
1:25:36 Religious trauma especially in kids and how it affected Alaadin.
1:32:46 Is Tharnos better than Allah? The absurdly low chances of getting into heaven. The materialistic view of the Islamic heaven.
1:35:13 How is Alaadin’s life now after leaving Islam? – dealing with nihilism, making a positive impact in the world, dealing with coming out to family members.
1:40:14 Responding to comments in the live chat – Is Abdullah starting a new religion? Humanism.
1:43:55 Advice for ex-Muslims living in Muslim majority countries.
1:50:11 Final remarks.
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