thegabegrumps:

secularhermit-deactivated201809:

Presented at the American Humanist Association 74th Annual Conference, May 7-10, 2015, in Denver, Colorado. #ahacon15

Reformists in Muslim countries are routinely silenced, through persecution or violence, which has been increasing over the last few decades as Islamism gains traction. Liberals are in a unique position to make a nuanced and compassionate critique of harmful conceptions of religion- a position which we are ceding. As a result, the only visible voices are those of hate-mongers from the far-right, Islamists and outright apologists. It is of the highest priority that liberals exert pressure on both groups towards positive change.

Sarah Haider is a co-founder of Ex-Muslims of North America, a community building organization for Ex-Muslims across the non-theist spectrum, for which she currently works to reduce discrimination of those who left Islam.

Sarah Haider is a liberal, feminist, Pakistani, Ex-Muslim woman who offers a wonderfully nuanced speech on the true trouble without traditional Islam, intersectionality, religion in politics, and the common hypocrisy in white liberal critique.

“Obviously, Islam isn’t the root of all evil… but it’s important to analyze. What we have here is a right wing in the west that believes Islam personifies evil, and a left wing that often refuses to even look into it as a source of harm. (…) It’s critical to realize that one can be a victim in one context and an oppressor in another. A Muslim man can deal with racism at work, real racism, facing career setbacks and then go home to beat his hijabi wife because he was raised in a misogynistic tradition, using the Quran’s literal verses as justification.”