/ptb/ - Public Testing Board

When I was a teenager, I came across a Ted Talk by a Muslim woman. She claimed covering up head-to-toe and wearing a headscarf as a hijab is not mandatory in Islam. She claimed that the hijab was something meant to protect women from being bothered, and if a woman wears an abaya or headscarf in a Western country, she’s bound to be noticed, bothered, and harassed; it’s not necessary for a woman to dress like that in the west, and she should dress modestly in a way that would not stand out. I’m paraphrasing and don’t remember everything.

I’ve always had an issue with the hijab, and this Ted talk was a relief to me. Then I stumbled across Ali Dawah’s reaction video. He mocked the woman, blurred parts of her out because she was dressed “inappropriately.” He said that she was wrong, and women are supposed to cover up completely.

I was so disappointed and disgusted. His video made me truly see how misogynistic Islam was. I left Islam a little while after. This was way before I knew anything about ex Muslim content creators.

It’s just funny how all of these Muslim content creators think that people are leaving Islam because of the existence of ex Muslim content creators, but the reality is they’re pushing people away from the religion and showing its true colors.

Edit: here’s Ali Dawah’s video