I will be interviewing the American activist Hemant Mehta. I have been a big fan of Hemant and his approach towards disseminating his views and have been following him for many years on social media since I left Islam. I always wanted to speak to him about his perspectives and his activism. Join us for a conversation between your friendly neighborhood ex-Muslim and The Friendly Atheist Hemant Mehta!
YouTube version of this podcast can be found here: https://youtu.be/M4mT-aWIRLo
Here are the timestamps:
0:00 Introductions0:58 Why the friendly atheist?3:25 Jainism - being an extreme follower of Jainism. Does Hemant take some parts of Jainism? The extreme fasting in Jainism.8:20 Hemant's perspective on Islamic fasting. Problems with Islamic fasting and how it does not seem to have been planned with a global audience in mind.12:00 Is Christianity harmful to humanity?14:30 Is Hemant an anti-theist? Hemant’s perspective on this label.18:10 What is the biggest issue that needs to be tackled urgently? Why is it people tend to compartmentalize contradicting beliefs?22:05 Are Muslims in the US more progressive than Christians when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights?28:00 The difficulty in pulling apart cultural and Islamic teachings for example misogyny, chastity, and honor killing, and how younger Muslims are moving away from such practices.31:25 Why is it important to allow free speech to criticize religion? Is it important to express the lack of belief?34:20 Testimonials that Hemant receives from people questioning or leaving religion.35:10 How long did it take Abdullah to change his beliefs from being a Muslim to being an atheist? What started it?37:40 Has Hemant interacted with Muslims? What were the issues they were raising?39:50 The importance of coming out as an atheist and normalizing being an ex-Muslim.41:45 Death threats and backlash to activism against religion.43:20 Defending freedom of religion while also not aiding the far right in their anti-Muslims bigotry.46:30 Losing friends and family because of leaving religion. The problem of nihilism. What can you substitute church/religion for?53:00 Did religion survive this long because it was beneficial to people or for other reasons?57:25 The harsh realities for non-believers in Pakistan.58:27 Hemant's advice to people who are questioning or want to leave religion. Advice for people who are coming back to religion.1:01:50 Are Abrahamic religions better than non-Abrahamic religions?1:03:28 What project is Hemant most proud of?1:05:00 Hemant's social media handles1:05:40 Why Hemant's perspective is US-centric?1:06:20 Round of Quick questions1:07:18 Final remarks
