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Earlier this week I had the opportunity to sit down for a podcast conversation with the Secular Jihadists from the Middle East.
The four hosts of the Secular Jihadist podcasts are Armin Navabi, Faisal Saeed Al Mutar, Yasmine Mohammed and Ali A. Rizvi. They have been formidable figures at the forefront of the global Ex-Muslims community who are spearheading a worldwide change movement speaking out against what’s happening in the Islamic communities in the world.
The podcast usually appears in audio format on Soundcloud but was recorded exlusively in video format for their Youtube channel and off-schedule.
You can find Secular Jihadists from the Middle East from the following social media links:
Armin Navabi is an ex-Muslim from Iran and the founder of the Atheist Republic, a Canadian registered non-profit organization with over one million fans and followers worldwide. The organization is dedicated to offering a safe community for atheists around the world to share their ideas and meet like-minded individuals.
Armin was born and raised in the Islamic Republic of Iran and was indoctrinated thoroughly in the Muslim tradition. After almost losing his life in the pursuit of “God’s grace”, the devastation of that event motivated him to seek a better understanding of the nature and concept of God and religious belief. Armin’s journey led him to leave Islam and becoming an atheist. Wanting to reach out to others like himself, Armin continues to examine religion as well as the notion of God and interact with others to engage in thought-provoking and educational discussion. (source)
You can find Armin Navabi on these links:
You can find the Atheist Republic here;
http://www.atheistrepublic.com/
Facebook
Twitter
Faisal Saeed Al Mutar is an Iraqi-born writer, satirist, public speaker, community manager, computer geek and a Human rights activist. His writings and secular western lifestyle made him a target for threats and attacks by al-Qaeda. He survived three attempted kidnappings. His brother and cousin were also killed by al-Qaeda in sectarian violence. Al Mutar visited Lebanon and then Malaysia where he founded the Global Secular Humanist Movement in September 2010 “with the mission of addressing the absence of recognition and legal protections for secular humanists.” He sought asylum in the United States of America in 2013. (source)
You can find Faisal Saeed Al Mutar here;
http://www.faisalalmutar.com/
Facebook
Twitter
You can find the Global Secular Humanist Movement on the following links;
Yasmine is an Arab-Canadian university educator, activist, and author. She is the author of the popular blog Confessions of an ExMuslim. Born and raised in North America, she endured the same traumas that are familiar to Muslims across the planet. As a child, she was beaten for not memorizing the Quran. As a teenager, she was forced into a marriage to a member of Al Qaeda (after he was bailed out of prison by Osama bin Laden himself). And as an adult, she wore a niqab, and lived in a home/prison with paper covering all the windows. She recently published her memoir entitled: “From Al Qaeda to Atheism”. (source)
You can find Yasmine Mohammed here:
http://www.confessionsofanexmuslim.com/
Twitter
Facebook
Ali A. Rizvi is a Pakistani-Canadian writer, physician, and musician who resides in Toronto. Ali grew up in Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, as part of a progressive Muslim family, before he moved permanently to Canada in his twenties. As a physician, he trained in pathology (with a fellowship in oncologic pathology) at SUNY Buffalo and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, and also holds a master of science degree in biochemistry from Ontario’s McMaster University. In 2011, he switched his career to medical communications so he could focus more on his writing. Ali is an avid and vocal advocate for secularism, science, and reform, particularly in the Muslim community. He is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post, and also plays with a rock band in Toronto. Ali has recently published his first book, The Atheist Muslim. (source)
You can find Ali. A. Rizvi here:
Muju 6.0 