033 – Interview with Egyptian Deist and Former Islamic YouTuber Ahmed Sami
Interview with former Islamic YouTuber Ahmed Sami. Ahmed is an Egyptian Ex-Muslim Deist (believes in God but not Allah) and criticizes religion now after a long period of promoting it. His channel is here YouTube version of this podcast: https://youtu.be/BAUtwK5iYsU Timestamps: 0:00 Introductions2:03 Ahmed's background - learning about the word "atheist", starting a channel to offer counter-apologetics to Salafi apologetics.11:36 Is the "chain of man" method used to transfer the Quran and hadiths accurate?14:00 Kalam cosmological arguments by modern Salafist, William Lane Craig, Frank Tariq.16:08 Why would Islam need t to borrow concepts from Greek and Persian philosophy and mythology if it was revealed from God?18:22 The God gene - Does it even prove the existence of a God? The conspiracies surrounding the God gene.20:35 What are the problems with Isnād and Hadith? The "Holy shield" around religious scriptures that we need to overcome in order to read them objectively.32:00 The lack/cover-up of preserved pre-Islamic literature.37:15 How Ahmed found his way out of Islam.43:38 Explanatory power of science. Biases.46:38 The story of Adam and Eve - is it truth or myth by people trying to explain things they did not fully understand.52:00 What is Deism? Why is Ahmed a deist?55:50 The human-like attributes of God. How the concept of worshipping a God can be traced to the need for a father figure.1:00:20 How humans created God as a reflection of their current culture and philosophy.1:04:00 Where does Ahmed draw strength and motivation in life? Asking questions as we live our lives.1:09:36 The problems with Islamic epistemology.1:11:35 Why religions are not likely to go away any time soon (the endless need for answers). The benefits of religion to some people.1:19:20 Leaving Islam “just to sin”. The hypocrisy of Muslims who drink alcohol, indulge in premarital sex, and all other haram stuff.1:25:44 Ahmed's life after Islam. Leaving Islam for the wrong reasons.1:33:30 Ahmed's perspective on the situation between Muslims and atheists in the middle east.1:36:00 Street epistemology.1:36:40 Ahmed's perspective on the prophecies of Mohammad.1:41:03 Channel announcements1:41:26 Final remarks.
