Ali Dawah - September 15, 2024
"WHY DON'T YOU WALK NAKED?" - MUSLIM & ATHEIST DEBATE
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
246.8505
Summary
In this episode, I speak with two sisters, Faizal and Sarah, about their journey of leaving Islam and how they came to the realization that there is more to life than what they thought. We discuss the importance of self-awareness and the role of the mind in our daily lives.
Transcript
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But making women cover up for things that God naturally gave them is inherently sexualizing.
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No, no, no. Okay, then why don't we walk around naked?
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With the restrictions that Islam places on it, like covering your entire mouth.
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Because what you've said is now, for example, who decides,
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okay, argument, why can't a woman not show her nipples?
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IslamNet is raising funds to establish a masjid and community center in Norway,
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because every person that comes a step closer to Allah through your donation,
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Okay, so let's start off with, okay, let's do a question each other.
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What caused you to, I was not Muslim 11 years ago.
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So I believed, I always believed in God, but I had no religion.
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Yeah, I mean, wait, what was your question, sorry?
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Just that I just didn't really ever really believe in it.
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When I was ever practicing it, ever, whenever I go to mosque or pray and stuff,
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I just didn't really, like, believe in it in the sense of, like, I didn't really actually
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believe there was an Allah up in the, like, up there, like, a God in general.
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And when I became older, I just started to question it more and question some of the practices,
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I guess, and, like, see how other people are treated in other Middle Eastern countries.
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Like, in the Middle East, you know how it's illegal to be gay, like, adultery, being punished
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And I thought that was very implicated in the way they implemented Syrian law.
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And overall, the concept of Islam, just something that I didn't really agree with, I didn't
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So I just thought, why would I believe in something I don't practice I actually believe in in my
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So it's interesting, because the thing is, I was in a similar place in the sense where
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So I was a theist, but to me, I was like, what's the purpose of life?
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It's like, this very place, I used to come clubbing every week myself.
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But I came to a point where I was like, there's more to life.
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I mean, it's not a really nice thing to say by yourself.
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Because as a human, like, you don't need to have a purpose.
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You're just in here to help people and be nice.
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So what you said there about helping people is a purpose, correct?
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Myself, when I look at myself, I believe I'm designed.
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When I look at my socks, my socks are also designed.
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Maybe not as complex as myself, but I was asking myself, how could my mere socks have
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a design, have a purpose, have a designer, but me as a human being who's far more complex
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in design, who can think for himself, make decisions, has a will, I'm just here randomly
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So that's when I started looking for my purpose.
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Now, your question, I think, would you say you came from more of a cultural background
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where Islam was just told to you to just pray, without explanation?
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I would definitely want to say that, like, living in London as well, probably also influenced
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me more than what, if I lived in Saudi Arabia, I'd probably be more of a Muslim then.
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I'd probably come to a different conclusion in Saudi Arabia.
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Because if you live in London, can I just, if you live in London, you're exposed to more
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There's not really, like, an incentive to practice compared to Saudi Arabia, where they
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implement an Islamic State and the national religion there is Islam.
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Compared to here, where it's more Christianity, it's more secular.
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So there would be a difference in whether you come to believe in Islam.
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Now, this argument, which it is partially true, that your environment can have an impact
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on your decision-making factors, which I'm going to come to later.
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There are people in Mecca, you know Mecca, where we do pilgrimage, that have not gone and
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The Kaaba is 10 minutes away from you, but they have not, they haven't gone to Hajj, let
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So to me, partially true and partially not, in the sense, your external factors can have
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But ultimately, if you are someone who is seeking the truth, if they put you in an island full
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But then if you're put in a land of Muslims, you might not end up believing in God anyway.
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When I'm mixing Saudi Arabia, majority Muslim, there are atheists there.
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So you know there's a difference between believing in God and believing in religion.
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Believing in religion is a whole different thing.
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I believe in God, but I don't believe in religion.
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So, I believe that both of you follow a religion.
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If I asked you, how do you believe this universe came to me?
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Evolution, natural selection, big man theory, science.
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The difference between me and you is the following.
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I believe there is a creator that has the will that brought this into existence.
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Now, when it comes to how you live your life, let me ask you a question.
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I've tried to eat healthier recently, but, like...
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Like, I think you're trying to, like, get an answer, like, that he might drink alcohol.
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But alcohol, though, I know there are some benefits to alcohol.
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Like, I think even atheists, they would agree that too much alcohol is bad for you.
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But, like, to completely cut it off is, like...
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Which, it literally, like, helps people get out of depression.
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Like, help them cope with, like, rape and stuff like that.
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So I don't understand why something is so beautiful.
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Music is one thing that brings people together.
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So, I'm going into a different topic of people, like...
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Because my argument was to prove that you follow a religion.
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Look, when you look at alcohol, there's new studies that show
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Not only that it plays a direct result in breast cancer.
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Well, I feel like alcohol in general can increase that, but...
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Recent studies, you can check in science journalism, you can check it, that any kind of alcohol
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All kind of alcohol has been determined as harmful to you.
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Well, it's mainly the issue that follows a way of life.
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Like, Islam is, like, a set of foundational principles.
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I feel like that comes from the religion itself.
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And I feel like the difference between a religion and someone who doesn't believe in a religion
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is that there's no restrictions on you when you live a...
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When you are an atheist, there's no restrictions on what you can do.
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You're just living life, not living a certain set of standards.
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So you not having standards is your way of life.
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Us having standards that we cannot do is my way of life.
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We both have a way of life that has different terms and conditions.
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When somebody comes and says, you are a Muslim, you follow a religion,
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That's like saying, if you're a vegetarian, that's a way of life,
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That doesn't mean they believe in like a plant god, does it?
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But the thing is, they are following a way of life.
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and then we have the creator telling us what to do.
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My argument is that when people come to this impression
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have an impact on your decision-making factors?
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So that means you are not actually necessarily free.
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because when I was not a believer in any religion,
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it was because I believed I looked good in something,
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I had this specific jumper that I believed I looked really good in.
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there used to be a penthouse club up there, yeah?
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I used to wear this jumper that was so uncomfortable,
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but I used to wear it because I believed I looked good in it.
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External factors were playing a role in the way I dress,
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The first thing I'm trying to establish is this.
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And then when he says he's creating everything,