Yasmine Mohammed is a Canadian university instructor, human rights activist and author. Mohammed, who escaped from a forced, abusive marriage to

Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

operative Essam Marzouk, became an advocate for women's rights through her non-profit organization Free Hearts, Free Minds. She is a member of the

Center for Inquiry The Center for Inquiry (CFI) is a US nonprofit organization that works to mitigate belief in pseudoscience and the paranormal, as well as to fight the influence of religion in government. History The Center for Inquiry was established in 199 ...

Speaker's Bureau and on the board of advisory for the Brighter Brains Institute. Through her initiative ''Free Hearts'', ''Free Minds'' she supports closeted ex-Muslims from Muslim-majority countries and co-ordinates an online campaign called #NoHijabDay against World Hijab Day. She also has a website and hosts an online series on YouTube called ''Forgotten Feminists.'' Mohammed has been interviewed by

Sam Harris Samuel Benjamin Harris (born April 9, 1967) is an American philosopher, neuroscientist, author, and podcast host. His work touches on a range of topics, including rationality, religion, ethics, free will, neuroscience, meditation, psychedelics ...

Seth Andrews Seth Andrews (born April 12, 1968) is an American activist, author, and speaker on the subject of atheism. He is the creator and host of ''The Thinking Atheist'' online community, podcast, and YouTube channel, as well as the author of four self-p ...

, and several news outlets from multiple countries, and in 2019 self-published the book ''Unveiled: How Western Liberals Empower Radical Islam''.

Family and early life

Yasmine's mother is Egyptian, the niece of former President Mohammed Naguib, and her father is

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

, born in Gaza. She was born in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. According to Mohammed's autobiography, her family lived a secular life until her father left when she was two, leaving her mother with three young children. Yasmine's mother sought community and support from a local mosque, where she met a man who said he would support her. He was already married, with three of his own children, and Yasmine's mother became his second wife. Yasmine was nine at the time, and states that her mother's situation improved, because her new husband was not abusive towards her like her first husband was. However, Yasmine states in an interview with Sam Harris that her step-father was physically abusive towards her and her siblings. She stated that her mother became what could be described as a "born-again" Muslim, which changed Mohammed's life. She was no longer permitted to go outside to play with her friends and she had to pray five times per day. She was forced to wear a

hijab In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...

and was beaten for failing to memorize the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

. She started attending an Islamic school that was established in the mosque. When she was 13, she told a trusted teacher about the abuse she was experiencing and showed him her bruises. The police were called and the case went to court, but Mohammed states that the judge ruled that because her family was Arab, they had the right to discipline her in that manner. She states that it made her feel that she didn't matter as much as other children due to this negligence from the Canadian authorities. Yasmine has often described the way she was raised as "evil". She started wearing the

niqāb A niqāb or niqaab (; ar, نِقاب ', "aceveil"), also called a ruband, ( fa, روبند) is a garment, usually black, that covers the face, worn by some Muslim women as a part of an interpretation of '' hijab'' (i.e. "modest dress"). Musli ...

at the age of 19, after being introduced to her future husband.

Forced marriage to an Al-Qaeda operative

When Yasmine was 20, she was forced to marry

operative Essam Marzouk, and had a daughter with him. She later escaped the marriage to protect her daughter from the threat of

female genital mutilation Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...

. She changed their names and moved to a different city, as she was worried that her daughter would be kidnapped and raised a Muslim. Even though she believed her husband was in prison she remained frightened because he was a member of Al-Qaeda. Following her escape, she secured student loans and attended the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

, where she took a history of religion class and started to examine Islam more critically for the first time.

Activism

Yasmine decided to start speaking out after she watched

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educationa ...

and

debate Islam on ''

Real Time with Bill Maher ''Real Time with Bill Maher'' is an American television talk show that airs weekly on HBO, hosted by comedian and political satirist Bill Maher. Much like his previous series ''Politically Incorrect'' on Comedy Central and later on ABC, ''Real Ti ...

''. She has criticized both Islam and the left - that she accuses of inadvertently enabling radical Islam through their work to fight Islamophobia. Mohammed is a vocal opponent to the practice of wearing a burka or hijab, as well as attempts to promote its use, viewing the hijab as "a tool of oppression, a garment that perpetuates

rape culture Rape culture is a setting, studied by several sociological theories, in which rape is pervasive and normalized due to societal attitudes about gender and sexuality. Behaviors commonly associated with rape culture include victim blaming, slut-s ...

". To protest against World Hijab Day, she promoted the hashtag #NoHijabDay as a social media extension of a campaign launched by

Maryam Namazie Maryam Namazie ( fa, مریم نمازی; born 1966) is a British-Iranian secularist, communist and human rights activist, commentator, and broadcaster. Early life Most of her early work focused on refugee rights, especially in Sudan, Turkey, ...

and the Council of Ex-Muslims. Yasmine also raised money to accommodate Rahaf Mohammed, an asylum seeker who fled to Canada from Saudi Arabia to escape her abusive family. According to Erich J. Prince, Mohammed has become a frequent commentator on Islam's relationship with the West, particularly in Canada. Yasmine was a witness at the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on November 8, 2017 regarding the inclusion of the word '' Islamaphobia'' in

Motion 103 Motion 103, also known as M-103, was a non-binding motion in the 42nd Canadian Parliament stating that the members of the House of Commons called on the Government of Canada to condemn Islamophobia in Canada. It also called on the Standing Committe ...

. She indicated that the motion's aim is "...to quell bigotry against human beings." but she argued that the term “Islamophobia” does not protect Muslims but protects the ideology of Islam. Mohammed was one of several witnesses that cautioned committee members to not be in a rush to legislate because of an "increasing public climate of hate and fear." Mohammed and other witnesses recommended that existing laws need to be enforced and strengthened to curb hatred and discrimination for all Canadians and not just one group of Canadians. In 2017, Yasmine contributed an essay called ''Unholy Alliance: Why do left-wing Americans support right-wing Muslims?'' to ''SEDAA: Our Voices,'' a platform that features writers of Muslim Heritage, where she writes about her story and issues facing ex-Muslims. According to the ''

Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...

'', Mohammed is a significant voice in the ex-Muslim community, speaking to audiences worldwide.

No Hijab Day

Yasmine is the founder of the hashtag campaign called ''No Hijab Day'' or ''Free From Hijab Day'' celebrated on February 1, a hashtag campaign to raise awareness about the girls and women who want to take off their hijabs but cannot or who have already taken it off and are facing the consequences thereof.

Free Hearts, Free Minds

Yasmine founded a non-profit organization called Free Hearts, Free Minds that helps ex-Muslims living in Muslim-majority countries with state-sanctioned death penalties for leaving Islam. The organization provides psychological counselling for people leaving Islam, especially focusing on providing services to women from Saudi Arabia and

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

individuals from the Muslim world.

Forgotten Feminists

Yasmine is also a host of the online series "Forgotten Feminists", a series interviewing women about their experiences upon leaving Islam.

Publication

Mohammed wrote a memoir titled ''Unveiled: How Western Liberals Empower Radical Islam.'' that was self-published on 25 September 2019. She received two years of rejection letters before being convinced by Sam Harris to self-publish. The memoir outlines her upbringing in a fundamentalist, Islamic household in Canada, her step-father beating the bottoms of her feet for not reciting her prayers correctly, being married against her will to an Al-Qaeda operative, her escape and subsequent activism. In an interview with

, host of ''The Thinking Atheist'' podcast, Andrews questioned her choice of title. Because not all western liberals empower radical Islam, he thought the title could have been ''Unveiled: How Many Western Liberals Empower Radical Islam''. Mohammed responded that a more accurate title for the book could have been ''How Some Western Liberals Unintentionally Empower Radical Islam'' but this would not have captured sufficient attention.

Personal life

Yasmine has since remarried and has two daughters, one from her first marriage and one from her second. She severed ties with her mother after her mother threatened to kill her because she wouldn't wear hijab anymore and because she had become a non-believer.

Bibliography

References

External links

Yasmine Mohammed at the Canadian Heritage Committee

Free Hearts, Free Minds

Interview by Andrew Bolt on Sky News Australia
3 September 2020
Interview by Triggernometry UK
23 November 2020 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mohammed, Yasmine Living people Canadian atheism activists Canadian feminists Canadian secularists Canadian critics of Islam 20th-century atheists 21st-century Canadian non-fiction writers 21st-century Canadian women writers 21st-century atheists Former Muslim critics of Islam Atheist feminists Writers from Vancouver Women's rights support from the irreligious Former Muslims turned agnostics or atheists Hijab Sexuality in Islam Canadian women non-fiction writers University of British Columbia alumni Year of birth missing (living people)