Imagine an Arab World Without Religion - with Faisal Saeed al Mutar

World War I left the Middle East and Arab world divided, birthing a wide spectrum of Islam, but can it make room for secularism? Faisal Saeed al Mutar a secular, liberal activist and Iraqi refugee details the current state of the migrant crisis in Europe and the issue of political correctness fueling the far-right. We also examine extremism in the migrant population, the future of Arab secularism and what we should do to fight the lure of extremism in this Lip News interview hosted by Philippe Assouline.

Guest Bio

Faisal Saeed al Mutar is an Iraqi born writer, computer geek and a Human rights activist. He is an advocate for Secularism, human rights and the free market of ideas. Al-Mutar is also a huge fan of the intersection of technology and advocacy and the founder of the Global Secular Humanist Movement and Secular Post. Al-Mutar has written in many different publications including the Huffington Post, The Humanist, Free Inquiry Magazine, The National Post in Canada, Big Think, The Richard Dawkins Foundation of Reason and Science, Secular World, Secular Nation Magazine and many others.

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Episode Breakdown

00:01 Welcoming Faisal Saeed al Mutar to the Lip.
00:43 Movements.org and human rights activism.
02:26 Growing up and escaping from Iraq.
05:50 Refugee backlash in the West.
07:35 Germany, speaking on campuses & Glenn Beck.
12:13 The Horseshoe Theory.
14:05 Becoming an atheist and Arab religious compatibility.
18:03 The appeal of extremism and policy to combat it.
20:50 Muslim liberal policies.
21:39 Thank you and goodbye.