Alert icon
We're changing our privacy policy. This stuff matters.  Learn more  Dismiss

Why I Left Islam - Nonie Darwish(Part 2 of 2)

Loading...

Sign in or sign up now!
Alert icon
Upgrade to the latest Flash Player for improved playback performance. Upgrade now or more info.
4,638
Loading...
Alert icon
Sign in or sign up now!
Alert icon

Uploaded by on Sep 9, 2009

Biography of Nonie Darwish:

Born in Cairo, Egypt, Darwish moved to Gaza in the 1950s when her father, Lt. General Mustafa Hafez, was sent by Gamal Abdel Nasser to serve as commander of the Egyptian Army Intelligence in Gaza, which was under supervision of Egypt. Hafez founded the fedayeen who launched raids across Israel's southern border, that between 1951 and 1956, killed some 400 Israelis. In July 1956 when Nonie was eight years old, her father became the first targeted assassination carried out by the Israeli Defense Forces in response to Fedayeen's attacks, making him a shahid. During his speech announcing the nationalization of the Suez Canal, Nasser vowed that all of Egypt would take revenge for Hafez's death. Darwish claims that Nasser asked her and her siblings, "Which one of you will avenge your father's death by killing Jews?"

Darwish explains: "I always blamed Israel for my father's death, because that's what I was taught. I never looked at why Israel killed my father. They killed my father because the fedayeen were killing Israelis. They killed my father because when I was growing up, we had to recite poetry pledging jihad against Israel. We would have tears in our eyes, pledging that we wanted to die. I speak to people who think there was no terrorism against Israel before the '67 war. How can they deny it? My father died in it."

After his death, her family moved back to Cairo, where she attended Catholic high school and then the American University in Cairo, earning a BA in Sociology/Anthropology. She then worked as an editor and translator for the Middle East News Agency, until emigrating to the United States in 1978 with her husband, ultimately receiving United States citizenship. After arriving in the US, she became a Christian and began attending a non-denominational evangelical church. About a year after the September 11, 2001 attacks, Darwish began writing columns critical of Islamic extremism and the silence of moderate Muslims. "After 9/11 very few Americans of Arab and Muslim origin spoke out and from my experience it took us a long time to get noticed by Western media. Western media still regards Muslim organizations such as CAIR as representative of moderate Muslims in America. This is not the case. Muslim groups in the U.S. try to silence us and intimidate American campuses who invite us to speak. I often tell Muslim students that Arab Americans who are speaking out against terrorism are not the problem, its the terrorists who are giving Islam a bad name. And what the West must do is ask the politically incorrect questions and we Americans of Arab and Muslim origin owe them honest answers."

Darwish's Arabs for Israel website describes itself as an organization of Arabs and Muslims who "respect and support the State of Israel", welcome a "peaceful and diverse Middle East", reject "suicide/homicide terrorism as a form of Jihad", and promote "constructive self-criticism and reform" in the Arab/Muslim world. She often says "Just because I am pro- Israel does not mean I am anti- Arab, its just that my culture is in desperate need for reformation which must come from within".

She has spoken on numerous college campuses including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, Brown, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Oxford, Cornell, UCLA, NYU, Virginia Tech, UC Berkeley and several others. She has also spoken on Capitol Hill, the House of Lords, and The European Parliament.

"Why I Left Islam - Nonie Darwish" Part 2 of 2 From RealPeaceOfIslam

  • likes, 33 dislikes

Link to this comment:

Share to:

Top Comments

  • Islam is driven by a violent, expansionary ideology that seeks to conquer any contradictory religion, culture, and, ultimately, government. It must be stopped.

  • This made me cry... I am so blessed to be Christian.

see all

All Comments (7)

Sign In or Sign Up now to post a comment!
  • She is right, once you found God/Jesus, you will know it. I know I have, this is a good story.

  • She is right, once you found God/Jesus, you will know it. I know I have, this is a good story.

  • She is right, once you found God/Jesus, you will know it. I know I have, this is a good story.

  • Yes, I read the quran and mainly the hadiths. I was shocked to read in hadith S Muslim BOOK 19 JIHAD AND EXPEDITION how Muhammed killed, raided, plundered, enslaved distributed the spoils of innoncent people whose only fault was not to accept islam. Muhammed had many wives, captives, concubines and penetrated Aicha at the age of 9... I mean a man of god doesn't act like that. I'm not christian, I'm a deist, but at least in the gospels we see a man who preaches love, peace, non violence, Jesus

  • Thank you, Nonie Darwish, for speaking your heart. I loved it ! Thank be to God that you are speaking the truth freely and from your heart. I loved it, loved it, and loved it. I thank God for you.

Loading...

Alert icon
0 / 00Unsaved Playlist Return to active list
    1. Your queue is empty. Add videos to your queue using this button:
      or sign in to load a different list.
    Loading...Loading...Saving...
    • Clear all videos from this list
    • Learn more