094 – Interview With Malaysian Ex-Muslimah Umaira
In this podcast, I interview an ex-Muslim Malay lady, Umaira. She explains how Islam impacted her family, her upbringing as well as her own life. She also details how she left Islam, found the ex-Muslim community online and came out to her mother as an apostate.
The YouTube version of this interview can be found here: https://youtu.be/iXxLS6nkjew
Here are the timestamps:
0:00 Introductions
2:32 What made Umaira want to share her story and how she came across the ex-Muslim community.
5:58 Umaira’s family and religious background
16:02 Malay magazines used to instill fear in young Muslims so that they remain devout. The concept of punishment in the grave and how prevalent it is in the Malay community
28:16 Umaira’s first encounter of befriending non-Malay and non-Muslim kids and how it made her rethink Quran 3/12.
38:40 The rape problem in Malay communities mostly by Muslim Malay men in spite of the enforcement of stringent purity culture.
42:30 Some Muslim schools require women to prove that they’re on periods before they can be exempted from prayers.
46:33 Umaira’s experience of being bullied at school.
49:50 How the supposedly pious hijabis are the ones who are engaging in haram acts. Problems with a sexually repressed society.
1:00:37 Channel announcements
1:01:05 How Umaira’s parents’ relationship impacted her dating life
1:07:45 The system of dowry and how it commodifies people.
1:13:20 How Umaira’s parents’ relationship impacted her dating life (continued)
1:15:38 Recharging the iman through reading Quran – Challenging Islamic tropes used to scare Muslims.
1:23:36 Umaira’s belief on her being a person with agency. Nominal Muslims living double lives.
1:28:42 Umaira’s experience dating an apostate and how it changed her perspective on Islam, dating, and love life.
1:31:40 Dawah TikTok and how it led Umaira to the ex-Muslim content and community.
1:34:08 Malay preachers justifying marrying young kids, misogyny, and violence against women.
1:40:07 What are Umaira’s religious beliefs now?
1:43:46 Teenager exposing the rape culture and the misogyny in Malaysian School.
1:47:10 Dr. Zakir Naik and how he is held in high regard in the Malay Muslim community.
1:51:30 Online harassment by Malay Muslims. Harassment of a trans-Muslim at the hands of both the state and the ordinary people.
2:01:45 How the Malaysian media portray the Egypt/Palestine conflict as a religious war rather than a humanitarian crisis affecting not just Muslims
2:06:36 Umaira’s coming out experience. Advice to people who want to come out to their friends and loved ones.
2:19:38 Final remarks
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