Ask Me Anything #2

Sam addresses Twitter controversy regarding Fareed Zakaria, Dalia Mogahed, and John Esposito.What progress have you made toward becoming vegetarian or vegan?If the Islamic reformation/modernization movement doesn't succeed, what do you think should be the alternative?Do you think your reliance on hypotheticals and thought experiments has become a hindrance to making headway and discourse on important issues, in particular the thread of Islamic terrorism? Generally speaking, how big a role should thought experiments and hypotheticals play in discussing key issues?In what way should the imagined repercussions affect what you decide to publicly share? If you believe something to be true, would it be moral to withhold it? In this respect Is there such a thing as a noble lie of omission? Are there ideas you've decided against sharing? What are they? Are their views of yours that you believe don't get enough attention?Would you be willing to be ostracized from the people you love for the sake of the greater good? Should ex-Muslims like us delegate the task of critiquing religion to such people as Ali Rizvi and Sarah Haider who are able to leave the religion with fewer repercussions? Or do you believe the threat of fundamental Islam is so great that people should risk ostracism, violence, and even death to fight against it? Is it even possible to fully flourish as a human being while living your whole life under a pretense?I'll simplify your arguments against the regressive left and summarize them as: the left has missed the point so badly that they're basically responsible for smart and otherwise sensitive people to lean toward the right. This argument has always troubled me, and I saw it epitomized in the recent presidential elections in Argentina. Isn't it intellectual and politically lazy to support right-wing ideas and policy just because the left has gotten it or most of it wrong? Don't you think that people in positions like yours should also be advocating for a better left?How fast do you read?Is there anything inherently wrong with polygamy between three or more consenting adults? If so what? And if not, why call it out as an example of evil instead of the religious imperative itself?Do you think there's a possibility given advances in technology that you could have your stance changed on free will?Is killing another human being always wrong even in circumstances such as self-defense. Is there an ethics for killing?I wonder why you don't use the example of child abuse by Catholic priests as being another case of religious doctrine–in this case for celibacy having harmful repercussions in real life.