A couple years ago, I had the distinct honor of meeting with several ex-Muslim leaders at a private D.C. gathering. It was truly a humbling experience, and put all of my atheist “struggling” in perspective. Many of these people were in exile, several were persecuted by their families, and a handful were receiving repeated death threats. One individual even had a family member murdered because they were mistaken for each other.

Since this time, I have had discussions with many of these ex-Muslim leaders who expressed deep concern over how they were being treated by atheists, and a handful of atheist leaders. Although, they were first welcomed with open arms, they were gradually told to calm down their rhetoric, and to not to be so hateful against Islam. They were dumbfounded.

I must admit that it seems very clear there are tremendous double standards among atheists with how they handle Islam and Christianity. I have been in countless meetings where every Christian is painted with the “Westboro Baptist” brush, and no one complains. However, when it comes to Islam, no such appraisals are permissible.

Even on this blog, it is evident that the mere mention of Islamic extremism causes much outrage. Several times I wrote about the Charlie Hebdo murders (here, here, here, here, and here), and each time, I was called a bigot and a racist. This is regardless of the fact that I continually used qualifiers like these:

“Of course, the majority of the world’s Muslims are peace loving, and the idiots who claim otherwise should be ridiculed. Nonetheless, to continue to negate fundamentalist Islam’s hegemony of terrorism across the world is just as asinine. To acquiesce does not make one racist (Islam is not a race). Acknowledging this does not excuse the wrongs perpetrated by Western governments (and there are many). In actuality, it is possible to defeat racism and jingoistic bigotry by embracing the truth. Islamic extremism threatens all peoples, regardless of culture, and reveres no borders.”

I bring all of this up to bring your attention to this pertinent and well-presented speech by the Director of Development of Ex-Muslims of North America (an organization I wholeheartedly support), Sarah Haider.

It will be interesting to see how this is received. Sam Harris tweeted about it this morning, so sadly, I’m sure many will condemn it automatically.

Brother Richard

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