I was trafficked into a child marriage to a pedo relative. He locked me up in a tiny room w/no food, feminine hygiene products, or medication. He’d beat me unconscious, I’d wake up on the floor alone. My mother would call him & tell him to beat & kill me if I stood up to him.
We are victims of #Islamotrauma and OUR STORIES MATTER.
We are erased and executed in 1/4 of the planet as the rest of the planet turns a blind eye and pretends they can’t hear our screams.
When Erika Kirk spoke the words on the man who killed her husband: “That man… that young man… I forgive him.” That moment deeply affected me. I have struggled for over 60 years to forgive the man who killed my Dad. I will say those words now as I type: “ I forgive the man who killed my father.”
Peace be with you all.
I listened to Erika Kirk’s full speech at the memorial, and I want to share a few thoughts that came to me while live streaming the event. This is not political.
First, I should say that I grew up as a Muslim in a Muslim country. I don’t know enough about Christianity to say if what I witnessed is rooted in faith or culture. But what struck me most was how, even though death is heavy and this was by nature a sad occasion, the entire event carried a celebratory spirit that honored life.
That contrast hit me deeply. In Islam, even though we believe that good people go to heaven, the relationship with God is taught through fear. Funerals are overwhelmingly sad, often filled with warnings of the terrifying first night in the grave. Growing up hearing that, and then witnessing people celebrate life, speak of God’s love, and remember someone through the impact he had on others; it felt so refreshing, so positive.
Second, I was profoundly moved by @MrsErikaKirk’s words. I cannot fathom the strength it takes to stand and deliver such a meaningful speech after losing the love of your life. But even more than that, the grace it takes to forgive the very person who destroyed your world. I cannot imagine myself standing on a stage, sending love to those who cheered your husband’s murder, or inviting others to spread God’s love in response because, as she said, “we do not respond to hate with hate.” That is powerful beyond words.
Again, I am ignorant when it comes to Christianity, but if this is what it truly embodies, then I am envious of those who get to experience that feeling.
There’s really something to be said about the brokenness of a culture that feels offended by words because they “threaten danger,” but is unoffended by murder, the actual danger.
Dear everybody who just woke up to the chilling discovery of the world reframing Charlie Kirk, misquoting him, and rewriting him as an oppressor to retroactively justify his murder:
Welcome to every day since October 7th.
As a centrist, I think the reason Charlie Kirk’s killing has caused a wave of people abandoning the left is not because those people realized that the left is worse than the right, but because they realized there’s no difference between tribes at all.
That might seem strange, until you understand that the reason so many were part of the left in the first place is because of the illusion of moral superiority. It was attachment to the belief that they were part of the tribe of superior empathy, humanity, and morality.
Seeing how many people in their own tribe dehumanized a father and husband (and I keep saying this, which is in fact an apology in itself because he was a damn human and that’s enough) shattered that illusion of moral superiority and proved quite the opposite.
Waking up to that can feel very scary. I know that feeling as a former lifelong leftie, but once you realize that your tribal brain has been lying to you this entire time about what you’ve been a part of and what you’ve built your entire identity around, you realize that these lies have been dividing us and dehumanizing us rather than pushing us toward humanity.
If we allow ourselves to surrender to this truth that we can no longer ignore, what awaits us on the other end is freedom. That’s the silver lining. Surrendering our tribal identities—all of us, on every and all sides—leads to total freedom of the mind.
In his words, I really hope his legacy is a turning point.
My next guest is Michael, a man who converted to Islam because he hated Jews so much. Michael realized he had to choose between his humanity and continuing to support a cause he increasingly saw as morally bankrupt and depraved so he started creating content that focuses on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Michael believes he owes it to the Jewish community to tell his story and share his knowledge, to fight the propaganda machine and hopefully pull people out of the "free Palestine" death cult.
To read more and to join us in conversation, go to the link in the first comment.
Hey @GretaThunberg , why don’t you sail to my country Yemen where more than 10 million children are starving? Is it because there won’t be any cameras waiting for you there?
My next guest is Sheikh Mirza Ismail, a Yezidi religious leader who was forced to flee Iraq because of religious persecution. He is the Founder and President of the Yezidi Human Rights Organization-International.
To read more and to join us in conversation, go to the link in the first comment.
@MosabHasanYOSEF I was raised “Palestinian Muslim”. I don’t identify as either. I’m simply American born with Arab ancestry. People ask me which country? When I say my family came from Jerusalem, Israel they get so confused. But it’s the truth. It’s frustrating so many people don’t know history.
Come join us for a special event! For my birthday special, I will open the floor to my podcast community and will answer all your questions.
To read more and to join me in this special episode, go to the link in the first comment.
My next guest is @SelinaMRobinson, a family counsellor, City Councillor, Canadian Minister, and author of Truth be Told. Selina was subjected to online harassment, death threats, and was consequently fired from BC’s cabinet for saying Israel was built on a ‘crappy piece of land’.
To read more and to join us in conversation, go to the link in my first comment.