Hemant Mehta is the founder and editor of FriendlyAtheist.com, a YouTube creator, and podcast co-host. He is a former National Board Certified math teacher in the suburbs of Chicago. He has appeared on CNN and FOX News and served on the board of directors for Foundation Beyond Belief and the Secular Student Alliance. He has written multiple books, including I Sold My Soul on eBay and The Young Atheist's Survival Guide. He also edited the book Queer Disbelief.
In a movie that will begin streaming on Netflix this Sunday, filmmaker Parvez Sharma, a gay Muslim, visited Mecca and circled the sacred Kaaba. He could have been seriously punished if he was caught taping the ritual (“extensive footage” is not allowed) and he could have been killed if his sexuality became known, but A Sinner in Mecca appears to be a fascinating account of what Islam looks like in Saudi Arabia: Read more
A lot of police departments and sheriff’s offices have been emblazoning their vehicles with “In God We Trust” stickers lately, saying they just love America and are putting the national motto on the cars. Even though it’s all too obvious they’re just excited at finding a legal way to push religion in the community. The Freedom From Religion Foundation has still sent letters to dozens of these departments requesting that sheriffs remove the stickers so that non-Christians and atheists aren’t made to feel excluded or unprotected. At the Childress Police Department in Texas, Chief Adrian Garcia actually responded, telling FFRF to go “fly a kite”: Read more
Sam Harris, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and other vocal critics of Islam have frequently been called bigots by those who say the atheists unfairly lump all Muslims together as extremists. Of course, anyone who actually listens to them knows that’s not the case. The atheists have acknowledged the importance of moderate Muslims in this conversation since they have more power to create change. But cherry-picking sound bites is what lazy critics do. They’re the ones who say Harris wants to “profile Muslims,” even though what he’s actually calling for is far more nuanced than that. They’re the ones who claim to know what’s in Harris’ heart and mind even when he’s right there to tell them otherwise. The latest example of this was a conversation on CNN between Harris and comedian/commentator Dean Obeidallah, ostensibly about Ben Carson’s statement that Muslims should not be President. At one point (2:50), Harris brings up how Sharia Law dictates cutting off the hands of thieves and throwing gay people off of rooftops. Obeidallah interrupts to point out that the latter punishment isn’t in the Qur’an, as if Harris is making it all up: Read more
