Candid conversations about religious trauma can feel uncomfortable, disloyal and even risky. However, human rights campaigner Yasmine Mohammed says now is the time to openly discuss the extremist nature of some religions and the trauma they cause for individuals, families, communities and nations. Cutting through religious and cultural identifications is extremely challenging - and even potentially life-threatening - but Yasmine says that humanistic support can be an antidote to ongoing objectification and oppression.
On this episode of Transforming Trauma, NARM Senior Trainer Brad Kammer invites human rights campaigner Yasmine Mohammed to share her experiences growing up in a fundamentalist Islamic household, including her arranged marriage to a member of Al-Qaeda and her subsequent work as founder and president of Free Hearts Free Minds, an organization providing mental health support to free thinkers and members of the LGBTQ+ community who are unable to live authentically due to religious and societal persecution.
“The religious trauma of people who grew up in Muslim majority communities is not distinct or unique from the religious trauma of people who grew up in fundamentalist Christian [or] Jewish communities,” Yasmine observes. Yet it’s widely considered taboo to address issues or enforce laws to protect folks suffering under extreme Islamic religious traditions. Thus, it becomes very difficult to acknowledge and provide support for the extensive trauma that impacts so many people living within these oppressive systems.
Yasmine says Muslims face an additional burden that folks escaping other extreme fundamentalist traditions do not: the fraught cultural relativism of many Westerners who disregard Islamic religious extremism as a private community matter rather than publicly denouncing its harmful practices.
Free Hearts Free Minds supports former Muslims at risk of persecution or execution (even in the US) for making the difficult choice to leave Islam. The organization provides 1:1 sessions, group conversations, and community connections via an online model that has reached hundreds of folks worldwide. Free Hearts' culturally competent, trauma-informed programming includes talk therapy, mindfulness techniques, and some CBT techniques to ensure that every participant has access to practices that validate their experiences and protect their new-found sense of self.
As for what folks can do to support Muslims struggling with religious trauma, Yasmine urges Westerners - particularly Western liberals who see themselves as allies to cultural and religious minorities - to consider the harm they perpetuate in the name of social justice principles. “Please do not silence us because you think that it's racist or Islamophobic for us to speak up against our traumas and oppression.” She firmly believes that human rights should remain the same no matter what religion or culture one belongs to and that we must challenge our own biases that lead us to betray people in need.
Yasmine found the courage to speak up and free herself, despite the risks from both religious leaders and Western “allies”, and is now trying to create a new coalition to advocate for those that cannot do so themselves.
Transforming Trauma is grateful to Yasmine for her courage and willingness to discuss her personal religious trauma, as well as the larger global risks of religious trauma. Her commitment to helping others thrive beyond religious extremism is an inspiration.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Unveiled: How Western Liberals Empower Radical Islam
GUEST BIO
Human rights campaigner Yasmine Mohammed advocates for the rights of women living within Muslim-majority countries, as well as those who struggle under religious fundamentalism in general.
She is the founder and President of Free Hearts Free Minds, a nonprofit charity that provides mental health support for members of the LGBT community and freethinkers living within Muslim majority-countries – where both 'crimes' can be punished by execution.
Her book, Unveiled, is a memoir/polemic that recalls her experiences growing up in a fundamentalist Islamic household and her arranged marriage to a member of Al-Qaeda. She is also the host of the podcast Forgotten Feminists- where she has conversations with inspirational women from restrictive religious backgrounds who have fought and who have overcome.
Yasmine is a co-Founder and co-Director of the CLARITy Coalition. She is also on the Board of Directors for Humanist Global Charity and for Atheists for Liberty.
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