# Should Muslims build bridges with ex-Muslims?

*Building bridges with ex-Muslims, and a preacher's objection*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/c9vke9rpq9o/s/1/
- Date: 2019-09-19 · Kind: discussion · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: A reply to Asadulah Al-Andalusi on the age of Aisha (r) | Mufti Abu Layth (0:00–2:30)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9vke9Rpq9o&t=0s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/c9vke9rpq9o/

**Topics:** Atheists and polemicists; Responses to critics

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Yes: he hopes Muslims can talk with ex-Muslims and critics as fellow human beings, as the early converts were won by human connection. He contrasts this with a preacher who refused any friendship with them.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says he hopes Muslims can build bridges with ex-Muslims and anyone who has issues with Islam, since we are human beings first and foremost.

**Evidence, his words at 0:37:** “I hope we can build bridges with X Muslims or anybody who has issues with Islam” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9vke9Rpq9o&t=37s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth explains that he recently had long, friendly and civil dialogues with two ex-Muslims, one of whom he names as Harris Sultan [?], in which their views were at loggerheads but neither side was hostile. He says he hopes Muslims can build bridges with ex-Muslims and anyone who has issues with Islam, since we are human beings first and the early converts came to Islam through human connection. He then relates that Asadullah al-Andalusi [?] objected in a post that he could never be friends with such people, who hate Allah and the Prophet, and that doing so would be betrayal, which Mufti characterises as building walls instead of bridges.

## Sources and names cited

- Harris Sultan [?]
- Asadullah al-Andalusi [?]

## Transcript (machine tier, 0:00–2:30)

[0:00] right let's focus people okay let's take a look now I said a lot andalusi and just have a quick discussion on this right what's going on just to bring you guys up to speed so I'd recently had a dialogue with some ex Muslims and because the dialogues were quite friendly but they were quite intense they were quite deep I mean one was with Hari salt on its in order to it spanned several hours about four hours long the other was with Abdullah gondol in

[0:37] English both are on YouTube and that was for about I think over two hours as well and so but they were respectful they were civil they were kind of friendly but they weren't I mean they were very like I obviously had my position my angle and they had these and Annie you know we I suppose our views were at loggerheads but we weren't as people I thought wasn't kind of hostile to them and they weren't hostile to me and and and I and I said that I I hope we can build bridges with X Muslims or anybody who has issues with Islam whether you

[1:16] know whether you accept the faith or don't we are human beings first and foremost and we should be able to at least talk and discuss and and have a human connection you know to think about it those people who embraced Islam in the early stage of Islam they went Muslim but it was because of that human connection that they connected so so I said this and some people obviously took offense amongst them was a certain law this his name is oh he goes by the name of Allah and Allah see now he made a post saying look some people are trying

[1:54] to say we should build bridges with X Muslims and so on and so forth and let it mean let it be you know let it let me be clear this is him that there's no way on earth I'll ever be friends with these people they hate Allah they hate you know he's Pro feet and I can never be friends with somebody that's like an act of betrayal and bla bla bla bla bla yeah so basically I don't build bridges I build walls and I kind of soak on myself in until we're so secluded that

[2:29] we just diminish so now I responded by saying look I strongly disagree I do accept that there are some people who are Islamophobe there are some people who just hate on everything they will hate religions faiths no matter what there are bigots out there unfortunately I do accept that that said I feel that there are many people out there who are X Muslims who are maybe they appear they do criticize Islam but I said is that not our own fault that we present certain things so he had said in his initial post they

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment c9vke9Rpq9o/s/1. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/c9vke9rpq9o/s/1/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.