107 – Interview with Singaporean Muslim Convert Terence Kenneth John Nunis
For this episode, I was joined by Terence Kenneth John Nunis, a Singaporean Muslim convert. He grew up as a devout Catholic until his late teenage years when he converted to Islam. We kicked off the interview with Terence sharing his background as a Christian, his journey searching for the truth, and how it led him to Islam.
Terence and I then talked about why he thinks that controversial Muslim apologists like Dr. Zakir Naik and Nouman Ali Khan must be banned from Singapore. We discussed the impacts of Muslim apologists of their ilk on the Muslim community and Muslim apologetics. We then delved into the importance of having free speech and democracy without taking such concepts to the extreme.
The conversation then moved onto Terence’s views on Sunni tafsir and how each mufassir’s own personal baggage, prejudices, and limitations as humans of their own time affect the tone of the tafsir. Terence then explained the need to be less dogmatic and to apply logic when learning tafsir to determine which ones are valid and applicable in the contemporary world.
We also discussed the various schools of thought in Sunni Islam and Terence’s points of contentions with some of the schools of thought. This led to a discussion about various Sunni hadith including the ones on apostasy, fornication, and blasphemy. Terence then explained the “traditional Muslim” position on hadith and what makes a hadith sahih and if a hadith can supersede a verse in the Quran.
The discussion then turned to the state of affairs in the Muslim world and tokenism of Muslim converts by Muslims who were born in Islam. We ended the interview on the topic of the Sufi Tariqas’ corruption scheme and how they are exploiting their fellow Muslims.
YouTube version of this podcast: https://youtu.be/WlF47q3HQB0
You can follow Terence at https://www.facebook.com/stailth.jaartem.3/
https://amuslimconvertoncemore.blogspot.com/
https://www.quora.com/profile/Terence-Kenneth-John-Nunis
Timestamps:
0:00 Introductions and how Abdullah and Terence came to know each other
7:01 What appealed to Terence in Islam for him to convert from Catholicism to Islam?
14:53 Teaching Islam
15:55 Terence’s family’s response to him becoming a Muslim
17:49 Does the Muslim community set expectations on Muslims to confirm?
20:22 Should people like Zakir Naik, and Nouman Ali Khan be banned from Singapore?
26:50 Free speech and cancel culture. Is Democracy a sustainable form of government? The Muslim community in India.
36:24 Short break
37:05 Comments from the live section – Zakir Naik’s antics and intellectual dishonesty.
43:15 The problem with memorizing the Quran and hadith instead of learning how to critically analyze and apply Islamic literature.
52:28 Terence’s opinion on the concept of hell
54:47 Are there Muslim disbelievers? Does Islam prioritize Muslims over everyone else? Quran 4/93
1:00:54 Terence opinion on Tafsir and Tafseer like Ibn Kathir
1:05:07 The schools of thought are there in Islam
1:10:05 What are Terence’s points of contention with some schools of thought?
1:18:28 Terence’s take on the hadith on apostasy, fornication, and blasphemy.
1:21:29 The traditional Muslim position on hadith. What makes a hadith Sahih?
1:31:44 Islam is all about submission? And can the hadith be rejected?
1:38:03 The state of the Muslim world. The tokenism of Muslim converts by the Muslim community
1:45:14 Muslim scholars using doublespeak when addressing audiences in English and their vernacular language.
1:48:33 The Sufi Tariqas – MLM for afterlife insurance
1:54:26 Is it safe for Terence to be outspoken in Singapore? The importance of secularism.
2:00:38 The Sufi Tariqas – MLM for afterlife insurance (continued)
2:05:47 Final remarks
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