In this episode, we speak with a young Muslim woman who is in the process of leaving the Islamic faith and facing real danger. She shares her story of leaving Islam and how she came to the decision to leave the faith. Her identity is being kept a secret for security reasons.
00:00:00.000Disclaimer here, this is the first time we've done this, but the name and voice of the innocent lady you're about to hear had to be disguised for security purposes.
00:00:09.000This is a person who is currently in the process of leaving Islam, is facing real danger, and we do ask that you listen to this entire interview in its totality to understand the context and do her story justice.
00:00:40.000And I get quite a few of these, but this one really caught my eye.
00:00:44.000Because of the nature of it, this was a young lady who talked about having watched one of my videos, one of the Quran Challenge videos, and actually having gone through a pretty big transition in leaving the Islamic faith.
00:00:57.000So you can imagine that she wants to keep her identity under wraps.
00:01:00.000Her name is not, in fact, Q. But for today, that is her name, Q. Thank you so much for coming on.
00:01:08.000I know it's awkward using the different name here.
00:01:12.000Listen, I got your message, so I guess, you know what, just sort of, I don't want to speak for you, kind of walk me through what happened here.
00:01:21.000You were Muslim, I guess, to begin with, or where did it start?
00:01:26.000No, I was raised Christian my entire life, Pentecostal, and most of my friends were Muslim.
00:01:37.000I went through a rough patch and I turned to Islam.
00:01:42.000At the time, I thought it was exactly what I needed in my life.
00:01:50.000It came in such a quick whirlwind in my life.
00:02:05.000I felt really pressured into it at the time, you know, because all my friends are Muslim, and I wasn't living at home at the time, wasn't on great terms with my family.
00:02:17.000And, yeah, it was just a time in my life where I really felt like I felt failed by Christians and At the time, I felt failed by God, you know?
00:02:29.000And Islam, you know, my Muslim friends were the ones there for me, and they kind of took me under their wing, and they were teaching me things, and I really had no idea much about it at the time.
00:03:13.000I mean, people would argue that's not necessarily exclusive to Islam, that a lot of people find faith of any variety when they're in a rough spot in their life.
00:03:37.000So, now not to sound self-aggrandizing, you mentioned that a big part of it was in watching one of my videos that you learned some things you hadn't known and it sort of caused you to explore it a little more?
00:03:50.000Well, I, you know, through my years, I've seen a lot of things in Islam that are horrible things.
00:03:58.000I mean, I've seen, I've heard, I've witnessed Terrible things from Muslims and, you know, and it stems from Islam.
00:04:07.000It's not like you can say, oh, well, you know, anybody's bad, but no, like, horrible things through Islam.
00:04:13.000And I always kind of looked at it with rose-colored glasses on, you know, but over the past few months, I was feeling like, you know, something's not right here.
00:04:23.000You know, seeing young girls being forced into marriage and all these things, and I was just...
00:04:31.000I was sitting at home and I seen a rebuttal video of a Muslim aide to one of yours.
00:04:43.000Well, I see that and I was like, well, you know, he was talking about the crime challenge and I was like, well, I've never, you know, I wanted to see the original video that he was doing the rebuttal to.
00:04:52.000So I watched it and I was like, wow, like, I didn't know some of that stuff about, you know, I used to be sick and you were saying all these surahs and I ended up looking them all up.
00:05:07.000And, you know, I was asking my, texting my Muslim friends and my husband at the time, you know, what's this about and what does this one mean?
00:05:15.000And, you know, no one really, they just kind of dance around it, you know, like, well, yeah, that's true, but, you know, Christians do it too, you know?
00:06:09.000Well, I guess to the people who would say, if that's the case and you see that now, why didn't you see that as someone who, you know, was old enough to make a critical decision and entered into the faith?
00:06:26.000On hindsight, looking back, because I asked myself that, you know, as someone I'd like to think I have a lot of common sense, and looking back, I asked myself the same thing.
00:06:38.000Especially coming from a Christian family who, you know, would warn me and pray for me and all these things.
00:06:44.000And I was really, really searching for something different from what I was raised in.
00:06:51.000And I was really angry at God for a long time.
00:06:57.000And, um, I don't know, I think I just looked at it with rose-colored glasses on.
00:07:01.000You know, like I would hear things and I would go to an imam and I would go to somebody and I would say, this is what I heard, this is what I read in the Quran and, you know, I don't understand, I don't necessarily like it, you know, can you explain it to me?
00:07:45.000Yeah, so I was looking at it with rose-colored glasses on, and they would, you know, just tell you, just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it's wrong, it doesn't mean it's not right, and, you know, there's a lot of things we don't understand with God and whatever.
00:08:35.000I was going to ask you, because you talk about women converting, and the truth is, statistically, there aren't a ton of people who convert.
00:08:42.000It's usually obligatory, or birth rates is how Islam is really growing, but there are some people who convert.
00:08:48.000What is, and forgive me, I'm not asking this to be rude, but what could possibly be the appeal for a woman to convert to something as oppressive as Islam?
00:08:58.000I mean, what's the thought process there?
00:10:19.000And then once you're in it, then you realize, you know, most people realize, some don't, but you realize that it's kind of not what you signed up for.
00:10:30.000You know, there's I know hundreds of girls who converted and then, you know, they thought it was the love of their life and then they end up getting their meet up every day.
00:10:40.000And, you know, I was married and I wasn't allowed to work.
00:11:22.000And that's the dangerous thing about Islam.
00:11:24.000And I really feel like that's how Islam is going to start really making its way in this country.
00:11:30.000I mean, people don't realize how many girls convert daily, and how many girls...
00:11:37.000I think that's how they're going to get through this country, is they convert the girls, they have tons of children with the girls, and then they raise those kids with them.
00:13:07.000And I mean, listen, we've been targeted not only for acts of violence by Muslims, but of course censorship on YouTube with downvotes and trying to get rid of advertisers.
00:13:17.000So let me ask you this, because a lot of people will say, and I don't think it's necessarily wrong, they'll criticize me, even Christians are saying, you know, you'll never convert anyone with something like the Quran challenge.
00:13:28.000Well, let me give you sort of my logic, and you can tell me if this is what happened with you.
00:13:31.000My logic is I'm not creating that video for the guy who creates the talk Islam rebuttal.
00:13:37.000I'm not creating that video for your husband where there is no chance of me converting him.
00:13:43.000But I feel as though when you have people who are manipulators, who are proactively lying to their constituency, and I think you see that a lot with talking Islam.
00:13:54.000If I can make an example of them and, yes, be a little bit biting, yes, be a little bit vicious, it allows me not to reach them but to reach people like you who can see them be exposed.
00:14:20.000Yours was actually literally sandwiched in between anti-Semitic emails, even though I'm not Jewish, from Muslims.
00:14:27.000Yeah, and I figured, you know, I'm sure for someone like you who does videos like you do, I'm sure it's nice once in a while to hear that you reach somebody that, you know, you affected somebody.
00:14:39.000And a positive way through it, you know, instead of all the hate mail.
00:20:21.000Our guest, codenamed Q, has converted from Islam.
00:20:27.000Honestly, it's one of those things where it sounds like something that I need to question, and I'll be honest, I'll have to go online afterward and search these things and say...
00:21:06.000So this divorce happens, so you find a reason to get out of state and get to your family.
00:21:12.000And now that I'm here, I've been here for a month, and I was advised by lawyers to not do it yet, to not tell him and his family yet that I'm done, because I have to establish residency.
00:21:25.000If I don't establish residency in the state, which is six months, then he can take me to court and they can force me to move back, especially...
00:21:34.000Since I moved out technically on false pretenses.
00:22:08.000Even if we were just dating, and we had a child together, and I wanted to move out of state, we would have to go to court and have it legal saying he's okay with it.
00:22:18.000And if he wanted to fight me on it, he could.
00:22:49.000So I'm just trying to avoid right now.
00:22:52.000Right, and obviously we're doing our best to make sure that no personal details are revealed here.
00:22:56.000Let me ask you this, because you were very adamant before we did the interview, like, no, I don't want any visual, and I don't want people to know the name.
00:23:04.000What is your, honestly, no sensationalism, what's your fear if people find out that it's you and find out that you've converted and left?
00:23:20.000You know, I know a girl who her husband, here in America, here in Michigan, took her child from her to Lebanon and she's never seen them again.
00:23:33.000I'm scared for them to take me to court and make me move back and then, you know, God knows what could happen.
00:23:41.000Listen, this is, people can say, oh, you know, anyone is bad people.
00:23:45.000You know, you can be any guy that is abusive or, you know, any guy that can turn on you.
00:23:51.000But when it comes to Muslims, there is almost every time that they're abusive or they're, you know, they try to hurt you or backlash, ruin your reputation, you know, take your kids from you.
00:24:27.000And especially having kids, like, it was just me, whatever.
00:24:30.000They can do what they want to me, but because I have three small kids, I really want to make sure that, you know, I do everything right, legally, That they can't come after my kids, that they can't fight me for my kids, that they, you know, can't hurt them, essentially.
00:24:46.000So when we hear the media and people talk about, you know, the moderate Islamic majority in this country, they're lumping people like your husband, former husband, in that category.
00:25:21.000But when you think about it, to them, when they use their bodies for Allah, when they do something on behalf of Allah and they die in the process, to them, that's a straight...
00:25:34.000You know, there's no judgment, there's no nothing, your argument is set to heaven because you use your body for the sake of Allah and, you know, His army.
00:25:43.000Now, in Islam, there's never a specific thing that says that, you know, there's no grace, there's no forgiveness, there's no forgiveness, there's no love.
00:25:52.000All it is is outweighing your good deeds with your bad, you know?
00:27:28.000You know, when ISIS beheaded all the Christians and I was sitting in his mom's living room with the whole family and I purposely said, what do you guys think about that?
00:27:38.000And immediately everybody said, well, they did it to them first.
00:27:48.000They are just defending against America and they come in their countries and kill the civilians and the children and they're defending themselves.
00:28:23.000And I even have Muslim neighbors who, if you ask them, They'll say, well, America's just trying to take their oil, and America came in their country first, and America's killing no people, and they have a right to defend themselves.
00:28:35.000I'll tell you what, and I hope you're ready for it, Q. There's going to be backlash to this, and people are just going to say that you're Islamophobic and you're lying, but I will tell you this.
00:28:45.000I can't verify what you said if that's true, because I would imagine when polled, most of them would do an about-face, and Eddie Haskell it, and, you look great, Mrs.
00:28:54.000Cleaver, and then turn around and say something else.
00:29:25.000So, I mean, I was actually banned from a college for doing some bits about Muslims at a multicultural fair, which are nowhere near as extreme as the videos that I've done now.
00:29:34.000So that's what shaped my view as an outsider.
00:29:37.000So it's interesting to hear that this shaped your view as an insider.
00:29:44.000It's almost like I don't know We're going to have to have you back on the program because I want to hear your progress.
00:29:49.000And if you do run into some hiccups, I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who would love to help you.
00:29:55.000I do have kind of one question for you.
00:29:57.000So you're obviously very afraid to discuss your conversion right now for fear of safety of your children and reasons you mentioned.
00:30:04.000When you left Christianity for Islam or you left what you were raised with, did you have that same fear?
00:30:21.000And that's the thing with Islam is, you know, looking back on it and having been a part of both religions.
00:30:26.000And don't get me wrong, I love, you know, Muslim people.
00:30:30.000You know, there's some really great ones out there.
00:30:33.000And, you know, 90% of my friends are Muslim.
00:30:37.000I'm just saying, from my point of view, you never know what they're capable of, because it's hardwired into them from their religion, you know, to carry out these acts that are unthinkable to us, but to them they're not that big of a deal.
00:31:13.000There's not that warm, fuzzy feeling you get, you know, when you're in a church or, you know, It's just non-existent.
00:31:21.000Even to atheists who are listening here, it is important for them, because they're going to say the warm, fuzzy feeling.
00:31:27.000Well, even if you don't believe in God, the warm, fuzzy feeling, you could explain away as the atmosphere because of the people in the congregation.
00:31:33.000They're giving you the warm, fuzzy feeling.
00:31:35.000So either way, you're describing two different auras.
00:32:10.000There you go, the least funny interview we've ever done on here, but it's important.
00:32:14.000So we please ask that you go to louderwithcrowder.com, check out the sources and ways to help with women in a situation similar to Q. Also, subscribe by clicking my face.
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