It seems the frequency of Islamic terrorist attacks is matched only by those that wish to play apologist for them. This last week or so has seen horrific attacks in Istanbul, Dhaka, Baghdad and the ‘holy’ city of Madina.
The usual suspects came out of the woodwork to cry ‘anything but Islam’.
Joining me on this week’s #GSPodcast is Journalist and Author Asra Nomani (@AsraNomani). I’ll be asking how Islam allows for Asra’s liberal interpretation as well as discussing the reform movement. We delve into the current state of digital journalism and Asra’s infamous confrontation with Nathan Lean. Also, we’ll hear about the ‘honor brigade’ and #MyMuslimReform.
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#GSPodcast Theme by Dorian Silk & The MCH
This week on Taking The Myth, Stephen Knight and A Scotsman Abroad discuss the big topics. We talk about: Episode 77 of The #GSPodcast, The Catholic Church refusing to make reporting abusers mandatory, Sam Harris Vs. Maryam Namazie on The Waking Up Podcast and Salman Rushdie’s fatwa. Also, Nathan Lean is definitely a coward, but is he a Muslim? And of course, The ASLAN Awards and more!
Also available on iTunes and Stitcher.
Support the podcast at www.patreon.com/gspellchecker
Listeners get a free audiobook and trial with Audible at http://www.audibletrial.com/gs
Nathan Lean is an American author who has been dining out on the popularity afforded to the meaningless term ‘Islamophobia’ for several years now after releasing his book ‘The Islamophobia Industry’.
Lean essentially caricatures the discussion on Islamism as ‘Muslims Vs. Racists’ at every opportunity. There’s one massively inconvenient obstacle to his narrative however: non-white Muslim reformers and ex-Muslims. They too have noticed that not all is well within the Muslim world and that there are a number of things in Islamic orthodoxy that are deserving of criticism and challenge.
These courageous voices risk everything in defence of liberal principles. Rather than engage with the arguments of reformers, Nathan Lean opts for smear campaigns and derogatory labelling instead – once referring to Maajid Nawaz as a ‘Muslim Validator’ and ‘Lapdog’.
Asra Nomani is a Muslim reformer and staunch liberal. She took it upon herself to publically hold Lean to account for his behaviour, which you can watch below:
Remarkably, Nathan Lean isn’t particularly keen to answer questions about the things he’s said and done. One thing struck me as particularly interesting though. Is Nathan Lean a Muslim?
This has never occurred to me before as I don’t tend to care about peoples’ personal beliefs. However, this question is entirely justifiable given Nathan enjoys the presumption of impartiality from his readers, both professionally and publicly when he writes about Islam. Will Nathan declare his interests?
Stephen Knight is host of The #GSPodcast. You can listen to The Godless Spellchecker Podcast here, and support it by becoming a patron here.
