Yasmine Mohammed Podcast

Yasmine Mohammed Podcast

By: Yasmine Mohammed

Language: en-us

Categories: Religion, Spirituality, Islam

This podcast is an opportunity for you to join me in conversation with inspirational people from restrictive religious backgrounds who have fought and who have overcome. You know some names already: you know Malala Yousufzai, you know Ayaan Hirsi Ali. But there are countless others who have survived insurmountable odds, overcoming the most vicious of obstacles, and whose names you will not recognize. They are the unsung heroes. The warriors hidden in the shadows. Come meet them on the Yasmine Mohammed Podcast.

Episodes

Islam and the West - Episode 4: How Qatar Bought the West
Jan 06, 2026

Jay Solomon, author of The Iran Wars: Spy Games, Bank Battles, and the Secret Deals That Reshaped the Middle East and co-author of The Free Press report How Qatar Bought America joins Yasmine in Episode 4 of Islam and the West to discuss how Islamist governments like Qatar and Iran have spent billions of dollars infiltrating the media, education and governments in the West to control the narrative and spread their ideology.




Jay Solomon is one of the U.S.’s premier investigative journalists and writers, with a global track record that goes ba...

Duration: 01:14:45
Islam and the West - Episode 3: The Muslim Brotherhood and Other Islamists
Dec 02, 2025

In a new special series called Islam and the West, Yasmine is inviting the most brilliant minds of our time to discuss the most pressing issues of our time. These conversations help us understand the goals of Islamists in the West, who are infiltrating our governments, media and academic institutions. They also examine strategies to battle the overwhelming antisemitism and Islamism in the West.

Dalia Ziada, who serves as the Washington, D.C. Coordinator for the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), joins Yasmine in Episode 3 of Islam and the West to discuss...

Duration: 01:06:21
Islam and the West - Episode 2: What is 'Islamism'
Nov 25, 2025

In a new special series called Islam and the West, Yasmine is inviting the most brilliant minds of our time to discuss the most pressing issues of our time. These conversations help us understand the goals of Islamists in the West, who are infiltrating our governments, media and academic institutions. They also examine strategies to battle the overwhelming antisemitism and Islamism in the West.

Hamed Abdel-Samad, author of Islamic Fascism, joins Yasmine in Episode 2 of Islam and the West to shed light on the Muslim Brotherhood. They will discuss their origin in Egypt, how they perfected their...

Duration: 01:07:14
Leaving Ultra-Orthodox Judaism and Finding Self-Acceptance | with Dr Sara Glass
Nov 04, 2025

Sara is the author of a personal memoir Kissing Girls on Shabbat recounting her courageous journey of self-acceptance as a queer woman navigating life within and beyond the constraints of a Hasidic Jewish community. This poignant exploration of identity, resilience, and love resonates deeply with readers and shines a light on the universal struggle to embrace one’s true self.

 

Sara is a therapist, writer, and speaker who helps members of the queer community and individuals who have survived trauma to live bold, honest, and proud lives. She also serves as...

Duration: 01:04:25
From “Free Palestine” to Free Thinker | with Michael Gamal
Oct 21, 2025

Michael was born in the US into a Coptic Orthodox family, but he’d drifted in and out of Agnosticism since he was a teenager. Michael converted to Islam because he hated Jews so much. For nearly 20 years, he sympathized and advocated for the Palestinians until he felt like he had to choose between his humanity and continuing to support a cause he increasingly saw as morally bankrupt and depraved. That is when he started creating content that focuses on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

After spending nearly 20 years supporting a cause that would have gladly mur...

Duration: 01:39:23
The Unheard History of the Yezidi People | with Sheikh Mirza Ismail
Sep 30, 2025

Sheikh Mirza Ismail is a Yezidi religious leader who was forced to flee Iraq because of religious persecution. Spending over two years as a refugee in Syria and Turkey, Sheikh Mirza made his way to Canada where he received a degree in Social Service Work from Medix College in 2010. As a Sheikh, Mirza Ismail holds a portion of leadership among the Yezidi people and is the Founder and President of the Yezidi Human Rights Organization-International: www.yezidihumanrights.org 

Mirza was born in Shingal, the Yezidi region of Iraq that was over-run by ISIS in A...

Duration: 02:03:39
Celebrate Yasmine’s Birthday With Her Community and Friends!
Sep 16, 2025

In this very special episode, we celebrate my birthday by catching up with my wonderful friends, guests, and community.  

I’m honored, privileged and delighted to have these brave, strong, wonderful people in my life, who fill it with meaning and purpose, and who valiantly stand with me in the bold pursuit of human connection, mutual support, and critical thinking in a world often divided by ideology and prejudice.

A big thank you to my entire community of listeners and guests for making these past 4 years matter!

<...

Duration: 02:07:23
An Inside Look: Why Canada’s Leaders Fail to Combat Rising Antisemitism | with Selina Robinson
Sep 02, 2025

Selina Robinson is a Canadian politician and author of Truth be Told. After a webinar in early 2024, in which Robinson referred to the territory on which Israel was founded as “a crappy piece of land,” she became the centre of a political firestorm, in which activists and a group of Muslim clergy demanded her resignation. She was subjected to online harassment, including a credible death threat, and her constituency office was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti. Selina was consequently fired from BC’s cabinet and was told she could not continue with her responsibilities due to the “depth of work” sh...

Duration: 01:30:25
A Gay ExMuslim's Journey From Self-Hatred to Authenticity
Aug 26, 2025

Magan Magan is a Somali writer who was born in Yemen. He migrated to Australia with his family at the age of four. Years later, he left Islam - having wrestled with his sexuality while enduring a narcissistic mother. Islam had permitted both her abuse and the teachings dehumanised him for being a homosexual. Magan is the author of Stop All The Clocks, a poetry collection, which represents a point of healing and serves as a reclamation of his humanity against the apostasy and anti-gay laws in Islam. He is the co-managing editor of Verity La La, a...

Duration: 01:16:33
Islam and the West - Episode 1: How Did Islam Start?
Aug 12, 2025

In a new special series called Islam and the West, Yasmine is inviting the most brilliant minds of our time to discuss the most pressing issues of our time. These conversations help us understand the goals of Islamists in the West, who are infiltrating our governments, media and academic institutions. They also examine strategies to battle the overwhelming antisemitism and Islamism in the West.

The first guest on the Islam and the West limited series is Raymond Ibrahim, an expert on Islamic history and doctrine, and a widely published expert on the Middle East and Islam. He...

Duration: 01:24:33
Inside Hasidism: The Misogynism Within Ultra-Orthodox Judaism.
Jul 22, 2025

Goldie Hoffman grew up as one of 10 kids in a Hasidic family in an insular community in Brooklyn, New York. She endured strict gender roles, dress codes, and food laws. Her education was also limited as she was a girl in a Hasidic community. From a very early age, she was already acutely aware of and hated her restrictive second-class status. She knew what sexism was before she knew the word.

While obtaining a degree in History and Middle East Studies, Goldie learned that anything countering the current neo-'progressive' viewpoint was not accepted, denigrated...

Duration: 01:30:45
Unveiling Iran: A 47-Year Struggle Against the Islamic Regime | Special Community Event with Sara Ghorbani
Jul 15, 2025

Sara is an exMuslim woman from Iran who has been working relentlessly to counter Islamofascist propaganda and misinformation in today's world, and to raise awareness about Islamotrauma and Gender Apartheid in Islamic countries and communities.

Sara led a special community event where she talked about the latest war between the Islamic Regime and Israel, the ceasefire with Israel, and the history behind it all briefly. She then answered the questions from the community to help shed light on the situation in Iran in this special episode of Yasmine Mohammed Podcast. 


Duration: 01:39:06

Jasmin's Odyssey: Saudi Arabia to Western Freedom
Jul 08, 2025

Jasmin was born to an Arabian father and an Italian mother in Saudi Arabia and raised in fundamentalist Islam. Jasmin started wearing burqa in her tweens. She would get into verbal altercations with the “Mutawaa” (religious police) who monitored everyone and would harass, beat with canes, or take women to jail if they didn’t comply as they are silenced and not seen in any public place. Jasmin experienced segregation in all aspects of her life and did not even own her own ID card as women belong to their guardian male. From a child to adulthood, when Jasmin...

Duration: 01:21:41
From Sufism to Zionism
Jul 01, 2025

Dyan Bitan is a quantum healer and former Sufi who helps people break free from limiting programs that keep them stuck in cycles of suffering. She exposes belief systems - especially ideologies cloaked in righteousness - that hinder personal and collective freedom. In addition to her healing work, Dyan creates research-based content that challenges the appropriation of Indigenous struggles in the U.S. by pro-Palestinian activists. Through both her spiritual work and Jewish indigeneity advocacy, she empowers others to reclaim their sovereignty and think for themselves.

Dyan’s website: https://iamtheportal.com/

...

Duration: 01:27:13
Surviving the 2nd Intifada: The Intergenerational Trauma of Terrorism.
Jun 24, 2025

Growing up in Israel during the 2nd intifada, Miri never realized she was traumatized because the abnormal was normal. The fear of taking the bus because it could explode, opening the newspaper to find names of people who died in an attack, serving in the army and knowing that she’d know someone who would be killed. She never gave the normalization of missiles and having a safe room at home and a shelter in a playscape a thought while living there. Only after moving to the US to get her doctorate did she realize how the reality sh...

Duration: 01:23:18
Western Allies Say She's ‘Islamophobic.’ Extremists Want Her Dead.
Jun 17, 2025

Lama Al Sword is a Saudi Arabian former Shia Muslim who sought asylum in the UK after leaving her faith. Born into a minority Shia community in a small Saudi town, she defied societal and religious constraints to forge her own path. A doctor by profession and a stand-up comedian by passion, Lama uses humor to shed light on her experiences as a queer ex-Muslim. She challenges taboos, amplifies marginalized voices, and fosters conversations on identity, faith, and freedom.


X:
https://x.com/lamaswordcomedy

Duration: 01:24:01
Lessons Learned on Healing from ExMuslim Women
Jun 10, 2025

In this very special episode of Yasmine Mohammed Podcast, Yasmine will be joined by a group of ExMuslim women who have survived Islamic upbringing to share what they have learned or unlearned regarding their experiences with boundaries, narcissism, trauma bonds and attachment styles. This group of fierce women are joining Yasmine to help shed light on some common experiences, red flags and strategies to overcome trauma in life.


Yasmeena Ali: https://www.instagram.com/loveyasmeena/

Meshair Szpala: https://www.instagram.com/meshairszpala/<...

Duration: 02:01:52
Why We Speak Out: Identity, Anger, and Truth After October 7th | with Matthew Nouriel
Jun 03, 2025

Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa) and is based in Los Angeles, California. An activist and content creator of Iranian Jewish heritage, Matthew is dedicated to advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, promoting equality within the Iranian and Jewish communities, combating antisemitism, and supporting the Women Life Freedom movement for a free Iran.

Matthew actively works to expose the hypocrisy within the anti-Israel movement and to counter claims of pinkwashing, especially following the events of October 7. In recognition of his impactful work, Matthew received the TrailBlazer Award at the 2021 JQ International annual Impact Awards.  Duration: 01:51:38

77 Years of Failure: Why the Palestinian Strategy Must Change with Samer Sinijlawi
May 27, 2025

Samer joined the Fatah party in Palestine at the early age of 14 during the first Intifada. At the age of 15, he was arrested and had to spend 5 years in jail in Israel. After his prison sentence, Samer was elected as international secretary for the Fatah Youth. He was later elected as a head of International and Israeli relations on the Fatah Supreme Committee. 


For over 35 years, Samer has worked tirelessly to build bridges, engage in dialogue, and fight for a future where Israelis and Palestinians recognize each other’s humanity. Samer hop...

Duration: 02:00:11
The Crisis Facing Syria’s Druze and Why No One’s Talking About It
May 20, 2025

As the Druze are experiencing a devastating attack which mirrors October 7 in many aspects, Rania Dean, who is a member of the Druze community, is coming back to discuss the recent attacks. Her family have had deep roots in the area for generations and embody the Arab and Jewish experience, understanding both languages and cultures while maintaining an independent ethnic and religious Druze identity. Rania will join us to help us understand what is happening to the Druze and why.

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/raniafadeldean/

Duration: 01:39:12
Healing After Narcissistic Abuse with Richard Grannon
May 13, 2025

Richard Grannon, author of A Cult of One: How to Deprogram Yourself from Narcissistic Abuse, creator of online courses and facilitator of a supportive community all focused on helping others defend themselves, get back on their feet, and finally free themselves from narcissistic abuse. Drawing on numerous forms of psychotherapy, including NLP, cognitive behavioural therapy, Zen meditation, psychodynamics, and more, Grannon’s unique methodology offers a direct, practical solution to help narcissistic abuse victims reclaim their self-worth.


X: https://x.com/GrannonRichard

Instagram: ht...

Duration: 01:34:15
From Syrian Refugee to Spanish Guerrera
Apr 08, 2025

Mün is a Syrian refugee, an ex-muslim and a future special education teacher. She is a survivor of domestic violence, child sexual abuse, and rape. Mün happens to fall into the small percentage of statistics where all her abusers have always been women. Mün’s name is inspired by the great moon. She chose it 5 years ago, when she decided to cut ties with her family and forge a new free life that she gets to architect.

Instagram: me.lo.pienso

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com...

Duration: 01:30:24
Where are the moderate Muslims? Interview with Shaykh Paul Salahuddin Armstrong
Mar 25, 2025

Kyai (Shaykh) Paul Salahuddin Armstrong is a British Muslim leader, multifaith advocate, and public speaker committed to fostering understanding, unity, and positive change in society. In 1998, his personal quest for meaning led him to explore various faith traditions, culminating in his decision to embrace Islam on 1st March 2000. 


His affiliation with the Naqshbandi Sufi Tariqah (Sufi order) and Nahdlatul Ulama reflects Paul’s holistic approach to faith, which encourages intellectual inquiry, spiritual reflection, and active engagement in society. In his roles as an imam and murshid, he has served British and international Muslim com...

Duration: 01:20:37
Malaysian Mother and Australian Daughter Share Their Experiences with Islam
Mar 11, 2025

Siti Faridah Hashim is a victim and survivor of Malaysia’s radical Islamic ideology and the people who perpetuate it. After growing up in the harsh climate of fundamental Islam, she moved to Australia in 1991 to start a new and better life. She is a loving mother of three and enjoys gardening, shopping and reading. Siti joins us with her daughter Patricia Jordan to discuss their journey to freedom together. Patricia is currently a PhD Law Candidate and casual academic in Sydney. Pat is an Australian qualified lawyer of the Supreme Court of NSW in Australia and an Ho...

Duration: 00:57:32
Layla Alsheikh: A Bereaved Palestinian Mother’s Fight to End the Cycle of Violence
Mar 04, 2025

Layla Alsheikh is a Palestinian mother whose 6-month-old son Qusay became sick due to Israeli soldiers throwing tear gas in the village. When Layla tried to take him to the hospital, the Israeli soldiers prevented her family and delayed their arrival to the hospital for more than 4 hours. Layla’s son passed away that night and Layla lived with her grief and anger for more than a decade. Layla started her healing process by joining The Parents Circle Family Forum, a nonprofit of over 600 bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families. She started her peace advocacy shortly after. She lectures ar...

Duration: 01:23:44
Mark Vicente on: Apartheid, Cults, and Narcissists
Feb 25, 2025

Mark Vicente is an NXIVM cult whistleblower and survivor, an author, speaker, and award-winning Writer, Director and Producer from Johannesburg, South Africa. Because of the atrocities in his native South Africa, he found himself propelled to question certain fundamental assumptions at a very young age. Mark has developed a keen and passionate interest in exposing the coercive and duplicitous environments of high-control groups. He is currently in post-production on ‘Empathy Not Included’ (The Narcissist’s Playbook) a feature-length documentary exploring one of the most pervasive and often misunderstood mental pathologies in our culture: Narcissism. Shot in seven countries and vi...

Duration: 01:25:01
A Palestinian for Peace with Israel
Feb 18, 2025

Fadi Al-Waheed was born in Dammam, Saudi Arabia in the 80s to Palestinian parents. Fadi is a pacifist and an animal lover. His childhood was anything but nostalgic as he was force-fed the five Islamic books as doctrine. During university in Jordan, a friend’s admission of atheism ignited something in Fadi, leading him to quietly leave the faith at 21, all under the shadow of apostasy laws. Losing his mother in 2012 became a turning point; Fadi stopped apologizing for who he was and gave up trying to please everyone. Years later, he met his British partner in Qatar, an...

Duration: 02:24:48
Fighting Against Sexism in the Orthodox Judaism Community
Feb 11, 2025

Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll is an American-Israeli writer and an activist. As cofounder of Chochmat Nashim (Hebrew for Women's Wisdom) she fights extremism in the Orthodox community and raises the voices & faces of women. 

With a stock photobank (Jewishlifephotos.com) of real Orthodox Jewish women and families, she fights the erasure of women's images, and via RateMyBeitDin.com she gives voice to the community to improve the rabbinic court system where too many women find themselves chained to dead marriages.

Her work can be found in the Times of Israel, Jerusalem P...

Duration: 01:42:00
Behind the Curtain of the Muslim Brotherhood
Feb 04, 2025

Moomen Sallam, a former leader in the Muslim Brotherhood chapter in Egypt, will join me to discuss how the Brotherhood operates both in Egypt and on a global scale in Europe and North America. We will also discuss Egypt’s role in the war in Gaza and the current chaos in Syria.

Moomen is a leading voice amongst freethinkers in Egypt and the author of several articles and books including, ABC Secularism and ABC Liberalism and co-author of Egypt and Israel: Forty Years in the Desert of Cold Peace.


Duration: 02:40:49
Dr. Phyllis Chesler: Feminist Icon
Jan 28, 2025

Dr. Phyllis Chesler is an Emerita Professor of Psychology and Women’s Studies, a best-selling author, a legendary feminist leader, and a retired psychotherapist. Some of her most influential books are Women and Madness, Letters to a Young Feminist, Woman’s Inhumanity to Woman, An American Bride in Kabul, Islamic Gender Apartheid: Exposing a Veiled War Against Women.

Since 9/11, Dr. Chesler has focused on the rights of women, dissidents, and gays in the Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim communities; the...

Duration: 01:28:39
The Taliban's War on Women
Jan 21, 2025

Mina (pseudonym) is a former medical student from Afghanistan who was in her second year of university when the Taliban stripped her of the opportunity to pursue her education and career in medicine. She joins us for a special episode from inside Afghanistan to shed light on the dire reality for women under Taliban rule and the gender apartheid that governs their lives while the world watches.

Tune in to hear Mina’s powerful story, gain insight into the experiences of Afghan women, and learn how you can help.

Please no...

Duration: 01:09:49
Breaking Free: How an Orthodox Jewish Woman Fled a Cult and Reclaimed Her Identity
Jan 14, 2025

Yael grew up in Israel’s first kibbutz – Degania – with a secular mother and a traditional Moroccan father. When she was younger, she thought she was volunteering for a non-profit in Jerusalem, but it turned out to be a cult. Today, Yael is a Hebrew tutor and translator by day, musician by night, and a volunteer at The Feminist Library in Florence, Italy. She also writes for the Israeli magazine, Politically Corret (“corret” in Hebrew means “she reads”).

Follow Yael on yaelfine_ (Twitter), and yael.hebrew (Instagram)


Duration: 01:18:48
No Rescue Coming: How Canadians Must Confront Antisemitism and Complacency
Jan 07, 2025

In this episode with Dr. Babb, we discuss how all the antisemitic issues erupting in Canada are impacting politics, the education system, and the world. There is something rotten in the state of Canada and we are going to address that.

Dr. Casey Babb is a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, a fellow with the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, an associate fellow with the Royal United Services Institute in London, and an adviser with Secure Canada in Toronto.


Duration: 01:25:57
Unseen Syria: Growth, Defiance, and Media Blind Spots
Dec 24, 2024

Author of A Battle for the Soul of Islam: An American Muslim Patriot' s Fight to Save His Faith, Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, M.D. is a former Lieutenant Commander of the U.S. Navy, Founder and President of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD), and Co-Founder of the Muslim Reform Movement.

A first generation American Muslim, Dr. Jasser's parents fled the oppressive Baath regime of Syria in the mid-1960s for American freedom. A devout Muslim, he and his family have strong ties to the American Muslim community having helped lead mosques in...

Duration: 01:27:51
From Cult to Clarity: Luke’s Journey of Belief
Dec 17, 2024

Luke Stacey grew up in a British Israelite cult in Australia until he was 10 .. He then attended a Christian high school where he experienced religious indoctrination, insinuations of gay conversation ideology, and was surrounded by extremely homophobic Christian culture. 


Later in life he moved into a Muslim majority Australian suburb with his partner, house mate and two dogs. Over several years he saw, heard and learnt many things which made him question the good nature of yet another religious ideology.


Duration: 01:20:00
Crossroads of Cultures: A Mizrahi Jew’s Fight for Belonging
Dec 10, 2024

An Egyptian-Iraqi Jew, Rachel Wahba was born in India and grew up stateless in Japan. As a Mizrahi Jew and Zionist activist the many dimensions of her exile and displacement in the first twenty years of her life are a constant theme in her work as a writer, content creator, former psychotherapist and her advocacy as an advisory board member for JIMENA (Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa). She is also the co-founder of Olivia Travel, a company dedicated to curating travel experiences for lesbian and queer women for the past 35 years.

Duration: 01:52:36
Hard Truths from an American bride in Egypt
Nov 26, 2024

Karen Hunt is a full contact boxer who started the first and only boxing club for girls in Luxor, Egypt. She will be joining us to speak about her experience living in Egypt and why she was eventually forced to escape the country under dangerous circumstances.

Duration: 01:31:37
Growing up under Palestinian apartheid in Lebanon
Nov 05, 2024

Mohamad Ghaoui is a Palestinian-Lebanese man who grew up religious and worked with the PLO/PA in the 2000s. Mohamad is deeply committed to resolving the refugees and right of return issues, believing that its resolution is essential for overcoming barriers and paving the path to lasting peace.

He actively opposes the Lebanese ban on communication with Israelis, which hinders progress towards understanding and reconciliation. Mohamad speaks up in support of decriminalizing dialogue with Lebanon’s neighbors.


Duration: 01:50:23
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Her journey from Africa to America and from Islam to Christianity
Oct 29, 2024

Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1969. As she grew up, she embraced Islam and strove to live as a devout Muslim. In 1992, Hirsi Ali fled to the Netherlands to escape a forced marriage. There she was given asylum, and in time citizenship. She quickly learned Dutch and was able to study at the University of Leiden.

From 2003 to 2006, Hirsi Ali served as an elected member of the Dutch parliament. She then moved to the US, and in 2007 founded the AHA Foundation to protect and defend the rights of women in the...

Duration: 01:11:07
Who are the Druze?
Oct 22, 2024

Rania Dean is a Druze Israeli  who embodies the Arab and Jewish experience, understanding both languages and cultures while maintaining an independent ethnic and religious Druze identity. This unique perspective allows her to view both sides objectively, tirelessly working to dispel falsehoods and promote the truth about her country.

Rania's advocacy took on renewed vigor on October 7th, driven by a resolute determination to counteract misinformation about Israel.

Donate to the Druze of Majdal Shams: https://causematch.com/maman/hopefordruzecommunity/



Duration: 01:40:27
Under Police Protection for Researching Islamists in France
Oct 15, 2024

Dr. Florence Bergeaud-Blackler is a distinguished academic and researcher who specializes in the study of Islamic norms within secular contexts in Europe, like the role of the economy in shaping religious norms and the development of halal ecosystems.

Florence has written about the processes of Salafi indoctrination, considering both its fundamentalist and political dimensions, and how it interacts with the neo-liberal and post-modern political spheres.



Duration: 01:26:03
From Extremist Muslim to Peace Advocate
Oct 01, 2024

Mansour Al-Hadj was born and raised in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, and immigrated to the US in 2005. He has a degree in Sharia and Islamic Studies from The International University of Africa in Khartoum, Sudan. Mansour has first-hand experience with radicalization tactics used to recruit and mobilize Muslims worldwide. His research and writings in Arabic and English have focused on understanding the root causes of violent extremism in Arab and Muslim lands. Mansour is the Director of the Reform Project at the Middle East Media and Research Institute (MEMRI) and a founding member of Clarity Coalition and has testified before...

Duration: 01:58:08
Adam Elmasri: Faith Under Fire: Adam Elmasri on Growing Up Coptic in Egypt
Sep 24, 2024

Adam Elmasri is an Australian Egyptian free thinker, human rights activist, author, and content creator. Adam was born in Cairo and grew up in Egypt as an orthodox Coptic Christian. He is a strong religious critic whose viewpoints are based on academic studies and as a supporter of the LGBT and women’s rights in the Middle East. Adam has written two books, How did Christianity begin, REALLY? and Wounded by  Faith.

Duration: 01:21:16
Enas: Life of women in Gaza
Sep 17, 2024

Enas was forcibly taken to Gaza to be married off to a family member chosen by her father. She joins us in this episode to share that experience, as well as her time living in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Egypt. 

With roots in Palestine and having lived in several Arab and Muslim countries, Enas offers a wealth of knowledge, insights, and firsthand experiences about the region—and the current war in Gaza.

Duration: 02:55:43
Deep Halder: Massacre of Hindus in Bangladesh
Sep 10, 2024

Deep Halder is an Indian journalist, author, and editor with a career spanning more than two decades in the media industry. He has worked with leading Indian publications such as India Today and India Today Group Online, covering various topics including politics, society, and culture. Halder is known for his writing on socio-political issues, particularly focusing on marginalized communities in India.

One of his notable works is the book Blood Island: An Oral History of the Marichjhapi Massacre, which explores the mass...

Duration: 01:04:39
Isaac Yomtovian: Life as a Jew in Iran
Sep 03, 2024

Isaac Yomtovian, originally known as Es’hagh Pesare’ Ebram Johood, traces his Persian roots back 2,500 years.

He was born in Tehran near the Marble Palace of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. He immigrated to Israel, where he volunteered in the 1967 Six-Day War and earned a degree in Civil Engineering from the Technion.

In 1971, Yomtovian moved to the US, obtaining a Master of Science from the University of Nebraska, and conducting post-graduate work at Cornell University. He later founded EnviroScience, an engineering firm in Minneapolis, before relocating to Cleveland, where he earned an MBA from Case Western Rese...

Duration: 01:46:39
Woke Antisemitism: How a progressive ideology harms Jews
Aug 27, 2024

David Bernstein is a prominent law professor with expertise in constitutional law, civil rights, and legal history. He has authored influential books and articles on topics such as free speech, government regulation, and the protection of civil liberties. Known for his ability to bridge legal theory and practical application, Professor Bernstein is a vocal advocate for individual rights and the fair application of the law. 

In addition to his academic contributions, he frequently provides expert commentary on legal issues in the media and serves as a consultant on significant cases. Committed to education, Professor Bernstein mentors and i...

Duration: 01:19:17
YIRMIYAHU: After Oct 7th: Can Israelis ever trust Palestinians again?
Aug 20, 2024

Yirmiyahu Danzig is a content creator and digital educator specializing in Jewish diversity, history, and identity. His family has lived in Israel for nine generations, countering the narrative that Jews are colonizers in their own land. With roots in both the Old Yishuv of Jerusalem and the Caribbean, Yirmiyahu's unique heritage informs his social media activism, where he uses English, Hebrew, and Arabic to connect with diverse audiences.

Inspired by his ancestors who lived in the Old City of Jerusalem and survived the sugar plantations of the Caribbean, Yirmiyahu is a dedicated educator-activist. He speaks  on Jewish i...

Duration: 01:56:47
Jezebel: Hateful cult? Jehovah’s Witness Royalty Speaks Out
Aug 14, 2024

Jezebel, an ex-Jehovah’s Witness and Doomsday Cult survivor, spent over 20 years in the organization, enduring intense indoctrination, mind control, and emotional and mental abuse. Her experiences, including severe anxiety, depression, and eating disorders, are chronicled in two books written under her pen name.

A lifelong historian and pro-freedom activist, Jezebel advocates for trauma survivorship and the sacredness of individual sovereignty. She promotes positive survivor mentality, emphasizing inner strength and gratitude, and educates others about the dangers of childhood indoctrination, mind control, deceptive propaganda, weaponized language, censorship, and totalitarianism.

Through her work, Jezebel aims to ra...

Duration: 01:44:56
Ashley Waxman: Advocating for the Release of Israeli Hostages
Aug 06, 2024

Social media sensation, Ashley Waxman Bakshi is an entrepreneur, content creator, TV host, and activist. Following the kidnapping of her cousin, Agam Berger, by Hamas on October 7th, Ashley has been dedicated to advocating for the release of Israeli hostages. 

She collaborates with the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights and has met with world leaders to push for sanctions against the IRGC and entities supporting Palestinian terrorist organizations in Canada and the European Union.

Known for her platform "Girl Abroad," Ashley is a 38-year-old Canadian beauty and lifestyle content creator who moved to Israel a...

Duration: 02:07:47
Richardis: Muslim Migrants in Germany
Jul 23, 2024

Richardis is a German feminist who became an activist after experiencing stalking at the hands of an abusive man who kept using his status as a Muslim migrant to try and reverse victim and offender. She also had to witness a friend fall victim to a Muslim grooming gang  as an underage girl. Today, she’s part of a wider movement that fights violence against women and girls and vehemently opposes trivializing honor violence, the Islamic veil, FGM etc. She experiences the atmosphere in Germany in regards to discussing these matters as stifling as cultural relativism and accusations of rac...

Duration: 01:47:22
Yasmine: History of Jews in Arab Countries
Jul 09, 2024

Yasmine is first generation Israeli-American wife and mother, who has used her passion for Jewish history and representation to create and foster a community using her online work and advocacy, since 2016.
Yasmines paternal Saba fled Aleppo at age 13, where he and his family had lived for hundreds and hundreds of years, as antisemitism became increasingly violent. Her Saba was rescued by the first Youth Aliyah group along with other children from Lebanon in 1943. He had to leave behind his mother as she was blind and unable to make the trip safely. He served in the Haganah, fighting both...

Duration: 01:58:33
Einat Wilf: how UNRWA obstructs peace in Palestine
Jul 02, 2024

Dr. Einat Wilf is a leading thinker on Israel, Zionism, foreign policy and education. She was a member of the Israeli Parliament from 2010 to 2013, where she served as Chair of the Education Committee and Member of the influential Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Born and raised in Israel, Dr. Wilf served as an Intelligence Officer in the Israel Defense Forces, Foreign Policy Advisor to Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres and a strategic consultant with McKinsey & Company. Dr. Wilf has a BA from Harvard, an MBA from INSEAD in France, and a PhD in Political Science from the University of...

Duration: 01:19:36
Chama: A Muslim, Jewish, Moroccan Voice for Peace
Jun 20, 2024

Born into a Muslim-Jewish family in Morocco, Chama Metchaly has dedicated her career to creating safe spaces for dialogue and bridging the gaps between Muslim and Jewish narratives, as well as Eastern and Western values. Since the advent of the Abraham Accords, Mechtaly has advised numerous governmental and nongovernmental organizations on regional integration and Israeli-Arab relations. Based in New York and Dubai, her work has been featured in international media, including a feature documentary film by Asharq News. As a visual artist, she has exhibited her work in four continents, including twice at the Jerusalem Biennale. Mechtaly is currently...

Duration: 01:44:31
Uthman: a Former Imam Speaks Out
Jun 17, 2024

At the age of 11, Uthman enrolled in an Islamic boarding school and graduated as an Islamic scholar. With over 20 years of experience as an Imam, he has dedicated his life to exploring and understanding religious dynamics. He holds a Master of Arts in Muslim-Christian Relations from Hartford International University and is currently a PhD student in anthropology, focusing on Coptic Christianity. Uthman's research is a deep dive into the intricate relationship between religion and cultural identity, with a special focus on the Coptic Christian community in North America. His work is not just informed by a rich background in...

Duration: 01:37:40
Hamza: Imprisoned by Hamas in Gaza
Jun 04, 2024

Hamza Howidy is peace activist living in exile. He was born and raised in Gaza. He lived under the control of Hamas and was imprisoned by them when he participated in the "We want to Live" protests. Join us to hear the truth about what it was like to live in Gaza, how dangerous it is to oppose Hamas publicly, and what he has to say to university students in the west praising the terrorist group that imprisoned and tortured him.

Duration: 00:54:58
Jaleh Tavakoli: An Iranian and a Palestinian in Israel
May 14, 2024

Jaleh Tavakoli and I went to Israel for a week as part of a delegation of people from across the Middle East invited to join a group called Sharaka. Sharaka means "partnership" in Arabic and the NGO is a partnership between the UAE and Israel that was inspired by the Abraham accords. Their mission is to "Shape a New Middle East- Together".
While we were there we visited Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial, as well as the Nova Forest, which holds an Oct 7th memorial. It was the first time for both of us - Jaleh with roots...

Duration: 01:46:06
Elica le Bon: A Warning to the West
May 08, 2024

Elica Le Bon is a British-born attorney, artist, activist, and speaker. She was born and raised in London and moved to Los Angeles to go to law school. Since then, she has worked foremost as a criminal defense attorney while developing a second career in activism, initially focused primarily on bringing light to issues surrounding human rights in Iran and the wider Middle East. Since starting, her unique voice has reached millions across various audiences and platforms around the world as a voice for bridge building, truth telling, and humanity.

Follow Elica on Instagram: https://www.instagram...

Duration: 01:25:41
Gad Saad Growing up in Lebanon, October 7th, and the future of the West
Apr 29, 2024

Gad Saad is a professor at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada - one of the cities that has seen the biggest eruption of antisemitism since Oct 7th. Gad was born in Beirut, Lebanon to a Jewish family with roots in Syria. As a child, the antisemitism his family encountered is one of the reasons why they fled from Lebanon to Canada. And now in Canada, he has to hear professors telling students to “go back to Poland” in reference to Auschwitz and the Holocaust where millions of Jewish people were murdered. Gad and I spoke about antisemitism in the Arab...

Duration: 01:41:49
Golsa: An Iranian Accused of Islamophobia in Canada
Apr 02, 2024

Golsa Golestaneh is an Iranian-Canadian woman whose main passion is challenging misinformation, bias, and propaganda. Having a background in both Iranian and Canadian activist circles has helped her in analyzing sociopolitical issues factually and independently, rather than by relying on the mainstream narrative. Golsa will be joining us to talk about how she has been forced to attend diversity and inclusion reprogramming at her job because speaking up against the regime she escaped is socially unacceptable in Canada.

Duration: 02:17:58
Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib: Growing up in Gaza
Mar 18, 2024

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib is an American writer and analyst who grew up in Gaza City which he left in 2005 as a teenage exchange student. He writes extensively on Gaza’s political and humanitarian affairs and has been an outspoken critic of Hamas and a promoter of coexistence and peace as the only path forward between Palestinians and Israelis. Alkhatib has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a Master’s in intelligence and national security studies. His writing has been published in U.S. and Israeli outlets, and his opinions and comments have been featured in international press.

Duration: 02:36:46
Sam Harris on Israel, Islam, and the end of Woke Ideology
Mar 11, 2024

Sam Harris has a degree in philosophy from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA. He is the author of five New York Times best sellers. His books include The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation, The Moral Landscape, Free Will, Lying, Waking Up, and Islam and the Future of Tolerance. He also hosts the Making Sense Podcast, which was selected by Apple as one of the “iTunes Best” and has won a Webby Award for best podcast in the Science & Education category. As well, Sam has created the Waking Up app for anyone who...

Duration: 03:04:29
Islamist vs Zionist
Feb 26, 2024

Unlike my regular interviews, this podcast is a discussion between myself and my friend Jay Shapiro. Jay grew up as a Zionist and I grew up as an Islamist. We will be discussing October 7th and the aftermath... and you are welcome to join us.

 Jay Shapiro is a writer and documentary filmmaker with a focus on philosophy and intellectually challenging subjects. He wrote and directed the film adaptation of the collaboration between philosopher Sam Harris and former imprisoned Muslim extremist turned reformer, Maajid Nawaz entitled Islam And The Future of Tolerance. He has also directed successful f...

Duration: 02:35:06
Deepti
Feb 22, 2024

Deepti joins us to speak about the organization she runs with a dedicated group of volunteers called CHINGARI. The organization aims to bring awareness to the world about the Hindu girls who are kidnapped, forced to convert to Islam, forcefully married, and who face countless other atrocities in Sindh, Pakistan each day. Through informative advocacy, CHINGARI seeks to make local U.S. representatives aware of the unstable religious situation in Pakistan. Join us to speak to Deepti about her work, to understand how this could be such a common phenomenon, and to learn what must be done to protect...

Duration: 00:54:17
Deepti
Feb 21, 2024

Deepti joins us to speak about the organization she runs with a dedicated group of volunteers called CHINGARI. The organization aims to bring awareness to the world about the Hindu girls who are kidnapped, forced to convert to Islam, forcefully married, and who face countless other atrocities in Sindh, Pakistan each day. Through informative advocacy, CHINGARI seeks to make local U.S. representatives aware of the unstable religious situation in Pakistan. Join us to speak to Deepti about her work, to understand how this could be such a common phenomenon, and to learn what must be done to protect...

Duration: 00:54:07
Siavash
Feb 11, 2024

Siavash Safavi is a translator, former student activist, and political prisoner from Iran. He was sentenced to prison and lashing and had to escape the country in 2011. He arrived in Canada as a refugee in 2013 and in January 2017, he was labeled by the IRGC as one of the 30 traitors to the Islamic Republic for his opposition to the nuclear deal (JCPOA).

Duration: 02:15:16
Madiha
Jan 20, 2024

Madiha grew up in Pakistan before moving to the US. She will join us to share what life in like for girls and women in Pakistan and to tell us about her personal experiences and journey out of Islam and into becoming a free woman, a physician, a wife, a mother and the host of a YouTube page that explores the intersection of faith and modernity and dissecting ethical dilemmas. In her page she aims to spark meaningful conversations that transcend boundaries.  

Connect with Madiha on her YouTube channel: MadihaTalks

Duration: 01:46:00
Dalia Ziada: Had to flee for her life from Egypt because she spoke the truth about Hamas
Dec 20, 2023

In this very special Yasmine Mohammed Podcast, I will interview an incredibly brave woman named Dalia Ziada: Dalia is one of the most famous political analysts in the Arab world. She had to flee her country in fear for her life because she publicly told the truth about Hamas terrorists. In our conversation, she will explain why the Islamists are the enemy and why Europe and North America should be careful.

Contact Dalia:
dalia@egyldi.org
Facebook.com/daliaziada
Twitter @daliaziada

Dalia's book: https://www.amazon.com/Curious-Case-Three-Legged-Wolf-Democracy/dp/1696264731

Duration: 01:26:52
Anna: From Soviet to Israeli to Muslim to proud Jewish woman in the US
Dec 04, 2023

Anna was born in USSR to a Jewish family who, due to antisemitism, immigrated to Israel when she was two years old. Anna grew up in Israel in a Jewish family who survived the Holocaust. When she was about 10 years old, her mother married a Muslim man and converted to Islam. To escape the enforced religion, and living with a man who celebrated 9/11, Anna left home when she was a teenager. She eventually left Israel and moved to the USA all by herself to start a new life. Anna now holds an MBA and an BSA degree.

...

Duration: 02:09:46
Yasmeena
Nov 22, 2023

Yasmeena was born in Afghanistan and moved to the UK when she was nine. At 19, she met her now husband, David. Because David was Jewish, he was threatened by her family with death threats and vile statements like " Too bad Hitler didn't finish you all off". When she informed the Met police, they told her it is a family matter. Yasmeena is now a model and an activist who uses her body as a canvas to tell provocative and empowering stories. Through her work, she challenges traditional and religious values and societies' expectations of women. She encourages everyone to...

Duration: 01:42:13
Iffath: Former Amahdiyya Muslim
Oct 30, 2023

Iffath is a former member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, a messianic sect of Islam considered heretical by most mainstream Muslims. Growing up in the USA in the state of Tennessee, she struggled with the multitude of restrictions placed on her, especially since she was female.

The inner conflict she experienced led to decades of depression and self-loathing. A series of events beginning with the market crash of 2008 led her to deep inner work including personal development, meditation, and intuitive development practices. Eventually, her inner guidance system became so strong that she was able to drop the...

Duration: 01:13:51
Xehra: From fearing fire to choosing it as a dance partner
Oct 29, 2023

Xehra is a professional fire performer, artist and activist who started her journey of independence by faking a marriage to return home to America after her family forcibly moved her to the Middle East. She now strives to inspire women to deprogram the oppression of shame culture through free movement, embracing their sexuality, and dancing with the fire that she was told to fear.

Duration: 01:36:10
Sarah Edmonson
Oct 15, 2023

Sarah Edmondson has been a working actor for 25+ years, but she is most well-known for her real-life role in the downfall of the notorious NXIVM cult.

In 2019, Sarah published Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult that Bound My Life, an acclaimed memoir chronicling her harrowing experience. Her story as a whistleblower has also been featured in the CBC podcast “Uncover: Escaping NXIVM” and “The Vow”, the critically-acclaimed HBO documentary series.

In 2021, Sarah launched the A Little Bit Culty podcast with her husband Anthony ‘Nippy’ Ames, on a mission to shine much-needed...

Duration: 01:33:24
Elise
Sep 17, 2023

Elise Evans is a Women’s Rights Activist. She has been called the Katniss Everdeen of Saudi Arabia. Her passion and work highlight the draconian laws which keep women in a system that declares them minors until they die. Raised by a Saudi stepdad as a Saudi included molestation, prolonged confinement, physical & mental abuse, and more. She was subjected to the Male Guardianship Law, which stripped her of every right that she was born with as an American Citizen.

She works diligently to highlight the current situation on the ground in Saudi Arabia not just because she ha...

Duration: 01:08:45
Sara
Jul 26, 2023

Sara was born in a (mostly) secular family in an extremely religious country. She left Iran when realized she would never see her 30th birthday if she stayed any longer. Since last September, and the start of the revolution in Iran, she has started talking to her therapist more about her experiences in Iran, which led her therapist to diagnose Sara with PTSD, severe anxiety, minor depression and panic disorder, realizing how severely she was affected and how she barely survived the Islamic Regime. Sara has two cats that she loves dearly and "a husband who is just as...

Duration: 02:11:50
Collin
Jun 12, 2023

Collin May has a Master of Theological Studies degree from Harvard, a political philosophy degree from the Ecole des hautes etudes en sciences sociales in Paris, and a law degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. While at Harvard, he studied the falisifa with the world’s foremost expert on medieval Islamic philosophy, Dr. Muhsin Mahdi.

On May 25, 2022, the Alberta government appointed him as the first openly gay man to serve as Chief of the Alberta Human Rights Commission and Tribunals. On September 15, 2022, he was fired by the Alberta government due to the demands of the National Co...

Duration: 01:52:45
Jasmine
Apr 30, 2023

Jasmine grew up following the Jain religion in India. The religion has a very small following of 6 million worldwide and comprises little more than .5% of the population in India. She had questions about Jainism from a very young age. She was different from others - she noticed that early on: where others accepted the beliefs and status quo, she wanted to know why. Her curious mind always had questions and wanted answers that made sense to her. Today she is a rational egoist and does not believe in or follow any religion. Join me and Jasmine to find out...

Duration: 01:50:48
Lois
Apr 18, 2023

Lois grew up in a Nazarene family in Kansas City, Missouri, going to four church services each Sunday and one on Wednesday. By the time she was 17 at a Nazarene College, she was going to chapel every day. But despite all this constant connection with her faith, she still had doubts. She had doubts ever since she was a young child. She still had doubts even while she was a professor at a Christian college. It wasn’t until she found herself in a marriage with an alcoholic, sociopathic, ex-convict that all her doubts reached a crescendo. Join me as...

Duration: 01:38:51
Elnaz
Apr 04, 2023

Elnaz is an Iranian American women’s rights activist born and raised in Iran where she graduated as an engineer and was a business owner. She moved to the US in 2008 and worked in Tech companies including Google for more than a decade. After a decade in America, she decided to become vocal about the treatment of women by the Islamic Republic of Iran: she produced a weekly podcast with Women for Sustainable Freedom & Equality, held workshops on creating content for Iranian activists and worked closely with journalist and activist Masih Alinejad. Now, Elnaz is busy caring for her ne...

Duration: 01:36:00
Asra Nomani
Mar 27, 2023

For this very special episode of Forgotten Feminists, I will be speaking with a woman who certainly is not, and never can be, forgotten: Asra Nomani. Asra is a journalist, author, activist and one of my personal heroines and mentors. Asra is a woman of tiny stature who takes on the most goliath of fights against Islamic extremism and secular extremism as manifested today in what is referred to as "woke". Asra will talk to us about her life, her close encounters with terrorists, her activism, and her latest book: Woke Army - a book that uncovers the close...

Duration: 02:14:37
Anne
Mar 14, 2023

Anne was raised by a Palestinian father and American convert mother. However, unlike most American girls, she was homeschooled and forced into hijab. Her suffocating home life pushed her to attempt suicide at 17. When she was hospitalized, it was the first time in her life that she’d spent the night free from the grip of her family. “I came away from that experience with a single conclusion: I was going to leave this house in a body bag if I didn’t find a way out”. Join me and Anne to hear about her nail-biting escape and her life of...

Duration: 01:39:30
Deb D
Mar 06, 2023

When Deb was 19, she escaped the cult her mother had joined when she was 11. After eight years trapped in a cult, she was alone. She had zero life skills, no money, and no place to live. She was terrified, but she was free. She knew she would make it; she just didn’t know how! Eventually she married a Muslim man and had a son. Her son is a conservative Muslim living in the UAE where his wife and daughter are required to wear hijab. Join me to talk with Deb on her very tumultuous life and what she is...

Duration: 01:55:27
Dorothea
Feb 21, 2023

Dorothea grew up in the UK to a Pakistani family. Her independent spirit and determination was always a hinderance to her family and community around her. But yet, she persisted. Today Dorothea is able to let her authentic self shine in her life without restrictions.  She uses her negative past experiences to inform her important work as as a healthy relationship and harmful traditional practices consultant. She has over a decades practice experience working with victims of domestic abuse, sexual violence, honour crimes and forced marriage.

Duration: 02:06:12
Nada
Feb 14, 2023

Nada, author of Gaslight Avenue: Based on a True Hummus Story, upset the town when she swam against the tide. Now this Palestinian-born Canadian writer and womanist is addicted to helping other women reckon with the same patriarchal world she escaped from to live their best lives with full bodily autonomy, free of religious toxicity, misogyny, and conformity.

Duration: 01:05:43
Lina
Nov 28, 2022

Lina grew up a minority Christian in Cairo, Egypt. Frustrated with the sexist society around her, she moved to Canada in her 20s. Here she discovered that, in the name of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, people in the West fail to realize that within every cultural community, there are some unique minds and souls that think differently, and they deserve an equal opportunity to be heard and to express their views. In order to try and correct this egregious wrong, she published a book called "Liberation – Secrets of the Soul,” it is a collection of short stories, revealing existential mome...

Duration: 01:43:40
Ellaf
Nov 13, 2022

Ellaf came to America as a refugee from Iraq when she was just a baby. When she was 14 years old, she was sent back to Iraq to get married. After years of sexual, mental, and physical abuse, she found the courage to escape. Join me as we listen to Ellaf tell her story of not only surviving a child marriage but of thriving as a graduate student, an entrepreneur and the proud mother of three children who she saved from the generational trauma that repeated itself unhindered until it was met with Ellaf.

Duration: 01:19:32
Jaleh
Oct 21, 2022

Jaleh is the author of 'Public Secrets of Islam'. She was born in Iran under this current Islamic regime. She has always been a fierce supporter of women and against the brutality of political Islam. Her public criticisms have meant that she can no longer return to her homeland. In 2015 she survived an attack by an ISIS supporter at a free speech event that she had organized. Jaleh will tell us all about growing up in Iran, the terrorist attack that she survived, we will talk about her book and so much more. And, of course, she will also...

Duration: 01:43:35
Anya
Oct 11, 2022

In some ways Anya and I are total opposites and in other ways, we lived parallel lives. While I was tyrannized by a far right ideology, her experience was that of tyranny from the far left. Anya is from the Soviet Union. As everybody else there, she was heavily brainwashed into the communist ideology. While she didn't have to wear a hijab, there was plenty she was forced to do, think, and say - whether she liked it or not. She is of Jewish descent and, due to systemic antisemitism, her options in life were limited. She had to...

Duration: 01:16:28
Hanna
Oct 09, 2022

Hanna was born and raised in America with two Moroccan immigrants as parents. Her morals developed through immersion in a society that treasures individual liberties and the simultaneous exposure to the pitfalls of collectivistic culture within Islamic societies. Today, as a gay ex-Muslim, Hanna is an adamant defender of human rights and, more specifically, freedom of speech. As a Critical Thinking Fellow at the Ayaan Hirsi Ali Foundation, Hanna has hosted several events with prominent human rights advocates. Currently, Hanna is attending medical school and holds bachelor's degrees in Biomedical Sciences and Sociology.


Duration: 01:15:43
Leorah
Aug 04, 2022

Leorah is native Sudanese but was born and raised in Saudi Arabia where, along with her brother, started to learn Quran and Islamic Studies as soon as she could speak.  From there, their lives took very different paths- After enduring many years of abuse, as well as being buried under a niqab and being subjugated under Islamic laws, Leorah is now married to the man of her dreams. She is married to a Canadian Buddhist man who supports her in living the free life she was deprived of growing up. By stark contrast, however; her brother ended up joining t...

Duration: 02:14:26
Samira
Jul 19, 2022

Samira is half Arab, half Danish, however growing up the cultural and religious values of her father were way stronger thank her Danish side. When she became a teenager, the conflict between her two cultures caused a lot of turmoil and confusion for many years. She eventually felt the only way to free herself from the dichotomy was to leave Islam. But the break was a painful one. Her family disowned her for her choice to liberate herself and she missed her dad and her siblings. After a tragic loss of my first husband (an American non Muslim), she...

Duration: 01:02:54
Iman
Jul 17, 2022

Iman escaped Saudi Arabia where she was treated like property in 2003. She graduated medical school and escaped to Canada where she now is witnessing the erosion of freedoms and is sounding the alarm through her podcast "One Godless Woman". For her unapologetic and fierce activism, she being sued by a Muslim Brotherhood entity in Canada. Iman will tell us all about her journey from muzzled Muslim girl covered head to toe in black living under Sharia to freethinking woman wearing whatever she wants and saying whatever she wants in Canada.

Duration: 01:13:31
Aisha
Jul 15, 2022

Aisha is my first cousin 🤍 Her dad was my favorite uncle. Aisha grew up in New Jersey with her mother and sister when her parents divorced. In college she met a man and fell in love, the only problem was- he was Jewish. Her mother disowned her when she decided to marry him. To protect her younger sister from being "tainted" by Aisha's influence, she took her and left for Egypt without even telling Aisha. After many years of trauma and healing, Aisha now works as a faith leader supporting others at the Unitarian Universalist Church. Join us to hea...

Duration: 01:18:50
Rabyaah
Jul 13, 2022

Rabyaah grew up in Yemen before coming to the US at the age of six. She is the founder of Arab Women’s Voice and she co-founded the Yemeni American Coalition for Change to support grassroots movements in the Middle East during the Arab Spring. Rabyaah was also chosen as a national Bernie surrogate in the 2020 Presidential race. Rabyaah began to question the extremists in her community and the Islamists in US government around the Arab Spring. Her criticisms caused so much backlash, but it didn't stop her. She is committed to continuing to speak out for the good of...

Duration: 01:17:53
Liz
May 31, 2022

Elizabeth was born in the UK to a British-Italian family and grew up as a (semi/non-practicing) Christian. Following her own spiritual journey alongside a cultural exploration of Arabic language and culture, she later converted to Islam in her early 20s. Having since left Orthodox Islam, she is an advocate for liberalism in Islam. An award-winning activist, passionate about protecting human rights, promoting peace, and strengthening intercultural and interfaith cohesion, Elizabeth's main interests include women’s rights, refugee and migrant rights and issues surrounding multiculturalism, anti-extremism and community cohesion – in particular, Jewish-Muslim relations. A renowned and curious chatterbox, Elizabeth love...

Duration: 01:34:26
Weam
May 30, 2022

Weam Namou was born in Baghdad, to an ancient lineage called the Chaldeans (Neo-Babylonians who still speak Aramaic), and came to the U.S. at age ten. She is an Eric Hoffer award winning author of 14 books, a two-time international award-winning documentary filmmaker, a poet, journalist, and the founder and president of Unique Voices in Films, a nonprofit organization. She is currently working on her first feature narrative film, Pomegranate [in post-production]. The script of Pomegranate was selected as a quarter finalist by Francis Coppola's Zoetrope. Weam is the executive director of the Chaldean Cultural Center, which houses the...

Duration: 01:19:37
Nada
May 27, 2022

Nada grew up in Bahrain where she was forced into hijab as a young child, she struggled to live within the tiny framework that was afforded to her. And then one day, a picture on Facebook, where she proudly shared that she learned how to use chopsticks, blew up her whole life. Her family threatened to kill her and there was no looking back. Now, free from any familial demands, Nada lives in California working as a Medical Interpreter.

Duration: 01:28:20
Dalal
May 26, 2022

Dalal grew up in the US and Saudi Arabia and now lives in Ireland. At 18, she was forced into a marriage with a man she describes as having “more rights over my body than I did”. Dalal speaks openly and honestly about what it was like enduring years of abuse by her parents and what it took to leave her abusers and start anew. In the years since, she has grown mentally and physically (competing in powerlifting competitions!). She now lives in Ireland with her Belgian partner. Dalal’s personal story is meant for those who need to know that t...

Duration: 01:03:20
Meshair
May 24, 2022

Though she was born and raised in Saudi, Meshair’s parents are from Somalia. She travelled for the first time when she was twenty-five years old and continued travelling ever since. Traveling the world made her mind and heart expand. It filled her with love and left no room for hate and regret. She is now married to the man of her dreams, François- a French Pastry Chef who fills her heart with love and their home with sweet smell of freshly baked cookies and lavish decorations of petit fours!

Duration: 02:01:49
Wafa
May 22, 2022

Wafa is a Tamazight Tunisian Ex-Muslim, holder of a Ph.D. degree in Linguistics from The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, and a university educator. She currently serves as the director of the Translations Project, a program of the Center for Inquiry and the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. She is also a board member of Inara, the Tunisian Association of Irreligious and Free Thinkers. She is human rights and civil liberties activist, an advocate of the Ex-Muslim organizations for acceptance of religious dissent and promotion of secular values, and an activist for the...

Duration: 01:30:21