Life and culture: Author of "Why I am not a Muslim" and "The Origins of the Koran" speaks

In this May 2021 interview, Dr. Brubaker asks well-known author Ibn Warraq about his life and experiences. Warraq shares reflections upon a wide range of topics, including his own departure from Islam as a young man, and the development of his thought on matters of political philosophy over the years, which have been shaped by his life experiences and reading.

00:00 Introducion
02:26 Channel update
03:27 Interview start
04:26 Ibn Warraq's general summary of his life and writings
07:39 A crisis of identity
09:07 On writing "Why I am not a Muslim"
10:55 On family and subsequent books
12:05 September 11
14:01 On his interests beyond the Islam-related topics
15:35 Next steps
17:00 The "clash of civilizations," cancel culture, political correctness, etc.
18:36 The role of honor and shame
21:55 Ibn Warraq's developing views about secularism, secular humanism, and Christianity
23:21 "What becomes really important is truth"
24:17 The importance of unquestioned premises, and the importance of free inquiry
25:44 Reflections on the (American) political left and right
27:14 On slavery and abolition as an example of the West's capacity for self-criticism
30:22 Similar with the rights of women and sexual minorities in the West
31:08 The power of words, the importance of the Declaration of Independence, and the danger of allowing self-criticism turn into its opposite: self-hatred