Since ISIS briefly took control of parts of Syria, some Muslims have had difficulty living in harmony with their faith, especially as a result of the atrocities committed in the name of Islam.
Kuwaitis on Twitter circulated a video clip of journalist Muhammad Al-Moamen declaring his renunciation of Islam and conversion to Christianity. He is currently living in an undisclosed location outside Kuwait.
Al-Moamen wore a cross in a video clip and attached it with the words, “I am determined, I know who the Lord is, I understand life, and I live now.”
He added that “Anything that we see related to saying I adopted Christianity for the purpose of fame, you will be upset, this is not a threat.” (SIC)
He concludes his video by saying “We are the children of Jesus Christ son of Mary.” “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” he said, assuring that there would be no debate on this matter.
Mohammad Al-Moamen is the grandson of Kuwaiti broadcaster Hamad Al-Moamen, one of Radio Kuwait’s founding fathers. His conversion to Christianity was a shock to numerous social media activists in Kuwait and the Gulf region in general.
Although he made clear that he was fully responsible for his decision, he was accused by many activists of suffering from mental issues for becoming Christian. Mohamad Otaibi, a Kuwaiti social media activist, tweeted, “There is no justification for any Muslim who changes his religion, but according to the video released by the broadcaster Muhammad Al-Moamen, I see in no room for doubt that he suffers from psychological disorders and lives in a state of confusion and disorientation. This is reflected in his appearance, health, and thinking.”
Some progressives blame the radicalism of the Wahabi ideology as a major catalyst for the defection. “His conversion to Christianity is not because of his conviction, but rather because of the contradictions of Sunni doctrine. The Wahhabi ideology has become the religion of most of the Sunnis. Because of its confinement and failure to answer questions of social life and interpretation, it is the main reason [for others] to defect to other religions,” wrote Shafy Alajeel on Twitter.
Some social media influencers opted for a different approach by spreading the claim that the renowned journalist actually comes from a Shiite family instead of a Sunni family. Such claims are commonly used to exonerate the Sunni faith and accuse Shiites of wrongdoing.
Samir A. Zedan is a former Senior Counter-Terrorism Analyst at the US Department of State, and a former Development Outreach and Communication Specialist at USAID/Iraq. He has contributed to hundreds of articles published in major media outlets with assignments in the Palestinian Areas, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Europe.
Mount Zion says
But what’s the problem , I thought there is no compulsion in religion and as we are assured by muslims all the time Islam is progressive and that their alleged prophet was the first femminist advocating for women rights and that nobody can be coerced into believing or disbelieving and all the usual crap that would make Islam appear like a wonderful religion of peace . So why is this Kuwaiti journalist accused of suffering from mental illness despite making clear that he was fully responsible for his decision . Do I sense some Christianophobia here ?
mortimer says
Mohammed used compulsion to bring people into Islam:
Tabari, Hisham & Ibn Kathir quote the same story of Muhammad, about to attack Mecca, when his men arrest a Meccan leader Abu Sufyan, and bring him to Muhammad. Muhammad tells him:
‘Woe to you O Abu Sufyan. Is it not time for you to realize that there is no God but the only God?” Abu Sufyan answers “I do believe that.” Muhammad then says “Woe to you Abu Sufyan, is it not time for you to know that I am the Apostle of God?” Abu Sufyan answers “By God, O Muhammad, of this there is doubt in my soul.”
(Tabari pt2,pg157; Ibn Kathir ‘Biography of the Prophet’ pt3,pg549)
Mohammed forcibly converted people in the hadiths, therefore forcible conversion is sacred Sunna and normative Islam, rather than an aberration.
Mount Zion says
I completely agree with you . I was beeing rethorical in my statement.
Peter Buckley says
As fouls as they are, the mere existence of ISIS has been necessary for muslims to witness the reality of Islam, and leave it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr0zBEkrIXI
Nobody can stop the inevitable collapse. It will be violent (though most of the violence will be committed AGAINST muslims), but those of us alive at this time are witnessing the first stage of Islam’s demise, thanks to the first generation of ex-muslims. There will be hundreds of thousands, even millions of Muhammad Al-Moamens already in the muslim world. By the next generation, they and their children will be able to pronounce their new faith without fear.
Thanks largely to the Internet, the inevitable collapse of Islam is speeding up…….
gravenimage says
How are Infidels more violent than Muslims? I’m afraid this makes no sense.
mortimer says
Muslims play word games over ‘no compulsion’, but the quote actually means something quite different, namely, that there should not be any impediment or ‘compelling reason’ to keep someone out of Islam.
All excuses for remaining outside Islam have to be swept away and any vow made to raise a child outside Islam may be concealed.
Mohammed told parents who vowed to raise their children as Jews to ignore their vows.
gravenimage says
Spot on, Mortimer.
gravenimage says
Renowned Kuwaiti journalist converts to Christianity, sparking turmoil on Gulf social media
…………………….
Good for Muhammad Al-Moamen! It is certainly a good thing that he is “currently living in an undisclosed location outside Kuwait”, given the Islamic death penalty for leaving Islam.
“Blasphemy” is illegal in Kuwait and carries the death penalty. Only Muslims can be citizens in Kuwait, so he will have his citizenship revoked..
Note the accusation that he used to be Shia–Musims cannot stand the tnought that a member of their own sect could possibly leave Islam.
Infidel says
Except that Wahabism is a Hanbali based doctrine within sunni islam, whereas Kuwait follows the Maliki school of sunni jurisprudence (I know in the map, Kuwait is very small, but it clearly looks Maliki, rather than Hanbali like Saudi Arabia). It’s intellectually lazy of ‘progressives’ to attribute everything they don’t like within islam to ‘Wahabism’, which is only followed in 3 countries – Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrein’s sunnis (who are the minority among that country’s muslims)
Anyway, congratulations to Mohammad Al-Moamen for rejecting Arab supremacy, which was one of the perks he had w/ islam, aside from everything else. He’s done the wise thing by going into hiding, but he should look to taking refuge in Lebanon, Syria or even Israel
gravenimage says
+1
Michael Copeland says
Shafy Alajeel’s comment that the Wahhabi ideology [hard line literalism] shows “failure to answer questions of social life and interpretation” agrees with Hamed Abdel-Samad in Germany, ex-muslim son of an Egyptian imam, who says,
“Islam offers no answers to the questions of modern life.”
Niemoller says
Muslims mass murdered 46 pygmies in the Congo last week. It doesn’t get much more ghoulish than that. It exposes the lie that Muslim jihadists are just defending Islam, not that it needed any more exposure.
gravenimage says
Yes–horrifying story, Niemoller:
“46 Pygmies killed in militia attack in eastern DR Congo”
https://www.news24.com/news24/africa/news/46-pygmies-killed-in-militia-attack-in-eastern-dr-congo-20210115
The ADF is a Ugandan Muslim rebel group.
James Lincoln says
Thanks for the link, gravenimage.
A web search shows that the ADF was formed as a merger of the:
Allied Democratic Movement
National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (NALU)
Uganda Muslim Liberation Army
Tablighi Jamaat movement
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied_Democratic_Forces
gravenimage says
Yes, James–for murderous Jihadists to call this a “democratic movement” is of course grotesque.
Michael Copeland says
Evidently pygmy lives do not matter.
Dachlan says
Robert..you should balance your news between the oppressed and the kind of news like this journalist..
gravenimage says
What?
Steve Hakes says
While he continues to speak of being a child of Jesus [“We are the children of Jesus Christ son of Mary”], he has a long way to go, but then, as the expression goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and Christian theology gets put in place in our lives like a jigsaw puzzle, piece by piece. We are not spiritually children of Jesus. Christians are spiritually children of the father, and joint-heirs of the messiah. I hold Islam to be good, but Christianity to be better, the corrective to all other religions.
gravenimage says
Steve, how is Islam good? What do you like about it? Its imposition of brutal Shari’ah law? Its rape and murder of unbelievers? Or–as here–its death penalty for leaving Islam?
Michael Copeland says
There is no private conscience in Islam. The Egyptian sheikh Yassir al-Burhani makes this clear in an interview:
“For example, is it the right of the Muslim to convert to Christianity or another religion?”
“Of course this is not a right.”
(JihadWatch.org 1 June 2012)
gravenimage says
Grimly spot on, Michael.