This podcast was egregious, Islam is no more deserving of protection and respect than any other ideology like communism, capitalism and white supremacy. Islam is not a race, simple and straight forward. If any Muslim pulls the race card on you while you are criticizing their religion, it is baiting, and a silencing tactic. Just say Islam is not a race, it’s a repugnant ideology that is extremely harmful to people and societies.
As for Islamophobia, i have 2 answers.
1- It is not a phobia when there rational and reasonable reasons for the fear. and when it comes to Islam there are many. From the Kill the infidel wherever you find them verses in the Quran to the multitude of other verses prescribing marital rape, prepubescent intercourse and wife beating, and ending with the prescribed treatment of otherwise religious but non Muslim population. The fear is real and valid, therefor rational and not a phobia.
2- Another cheap silencing tactic, inappropriately waged. I don’t fear Islam, i know it, i discern it’s harm, i harshly criticize it. disparage it and laugh it out from the public square of civilization. It does not belong to the circle of civilization.
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Islam empowering to women.
There is really no ideological concept in use today that is more disparaging to women than Islam. Women claiming to Feeling empowered while wearing the hijab are either lying in your face, or suffering from a severe case of Stockholm Syndrome. Wearing the hijab for Muslim women is not an option, it’s not a choice. There are severe punishments prescribed in the Quran and the Hadith for women who even slightly diverge from the mandatory hijab.
There is a third tantalizing option tho these women are heretic, they ignore and dismiss those part of the quran and hadith that disparages them, and that would be a good sign. They are capable of picking what empowers them and ignoring what put’s them down, selecting the good parts only, which is the definition of heresy.
A bit of information about the hijab. The definition of Hijab is a cover, cover of the private, inappropriate to publicly display body parts, for men, it is define by the waste area, that is where it starts and ends. For women, it’s a different story, It is defined as the whole body, except the face, the hands, and the feet, below the ankles. It also includes her voice, she is not to project her voice in public, not to use fragrances and walk with clutter. She is not to go out period, then there are a bunch of exceptions regarding how to go out into public space if very necessary… there is strong hadith that states that a chaste woman is to go on the streets twice in her life, once when she is walked to her husbands house and once when she is carried to the cemetery. this must be very empowering.
The quran also stated the the testimony of a woman in court is worth half that of a man, and when the apologist tries to wiggle out of it, by saying that that only in case of financial disputes, he is merely trying to blind side you from the fact that it is also the case in criminal court, and the example here is rape, for a rape conviction, one needs 4 male witnesses or 8 female witnesses, or the woman get’s the punishment for being a whore. You literally can’t convict a man with rape under Islamic law (sharia). Marital rape, as of no need for a woman’s consent to have sex when married is prescribed in multiple places in the quran, wife beating is also the right of the husband.

So how do you call that wrong? how do you dare calling that not wrong?

There are plenty of ex-muslims in the atheism community, they have websites, you can contact them, many are in deep hiding. but i am sure they would be willing to inform your subject regarding Islam. Pleas ask if you are not sure.