
Loading summary
Charlie Kirk
Hey, everybody. Charlie Kirk here, live from the Bitcoin.com studio. My conversation with the Apostate Prophet. His full name and his full biography is in the show description, so I hope you enjoy it. Email us, as always, freedomarliekirk.com and subscribe to our podcast that is the Charlie Kirk show podcast page. Become a member today. Members.charliekirk.com that is members.charliekirk. com Buckle up, everybody. Here we go. Charlie, what you've done is incredible here. Maybe Charlie Kirk is on the college campus.
Ridvan Aydemir
I want you to know we are.
Charlie Kirk
Lucky to have Charlie Kirk. Charlie Kirk running the White House. Folks.
Ridvan Aydemir
I want to thank Charlie. He's an incredible guy. His spirit, his love of this country. He's done an amazing job building one of the most powerful youth organizations ever created, Turning Point usa.
Charlie Kirk
We will not embrace the ideas that have destroyed countries, destroyed lives. And we are going to fight for freedom on campuses across the country. That's why we are here. Noble Gold Investments is the official gold sponsor of the Charlie Kirk Show, a company that specializes in gold IRAs and physical delivery of precious metals. Learn how you could protect your wealth with Noble gold investments@noblegold investments.com that is noblegoldinvestments.com it's where I buy all of my gold. Go to noblegoldinvestments.com so we're going to have a fun members conversation here. I have not stopped since when, Mikey? 7:30, right? I don't think I ate anything all day. So I'm going to do some active listening. This is one of the most important topics close to my heart. What is your last name? Ridvan Aydemir, who is a former Muslim. He runs a channel called the Apostate Prophet. And you are very outspoken about Islam. So welcome.
Ridvan Aydemir
Thank you.
Charlie Kirk
And why don't you take a moment, just introduce yourself to our audience.
Ridvan Aydemir
Sure. Thank you so much. So I'm Ridvan Idemir, Apostate Prophet. That's the channel that I started. I'm a former Muslim, was born in Germany of Turkish, very religious Muslim parents now live here in America, was an atheist for like 10 years or so and have recently become a Christian. So.
Charlie Kirk
Praise the Lord. So there's so many directions to go here. Why did you leave Islam?
Ridvan Aydemir
That's a very long story.
Charlie Kirk
I've had a long day, so take as much time as you'd like.
Ridvan Aydemir
So where should I start? I mean, as said, so I was always part of a family that was always very religious, that was Sunni Muslim, a very popular form of Islam. They raised me under semi strict circumstances, which are very weird from an American perspective, such as at home we weren't allowed to listen to music, for example. Can you imagine that? We were raised with the idea. This is the funny thing, I have to bring up this aspect actually, before going into it to give you a better understanding. I was a child of immigrants from Turkey to Germany. So we lived in Germany, a Christian nation. Or you could call some aspects of it post Christian.
Charlie Kirk
More secular.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah, yeah, but still, still pretty Christian. I mean, I was raised on the Christian circumstances. It's school while having Islam, you know, completely built into my mind at home.
Charlie Kirk
So you were raised by Muslims?
Ridvan Aydemir
Yes, yes. And while I am there in that Christian country, I would go to school as a little child and encounter all these wonderful, nice, beautiful people and admire the German culture, admire the western culture, admire Christianity. But at home, from my own family and their surroundings, I would learn from a very young age that you cannot trust non Muslims, you cannot trust Christians, you cannot trust Jews, is a whole different topic.
Charlie Kirk
It's more than not trusting Jews.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yes. To give you a very simple example, I think I was in first or second grade. It's very, very difficult to remember nowadays, but there was a weekend where my family took me and my siblings to a religious gathering that they would usually go to. And during that religious gathering I heard that, that in the possible near future, we Muslims will fight the Jews and we will kill them. And even the rocks and trees will say to us, oh, Muslim, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Except for one tree called the Karkut tree, which is a tree of the Jews. So this is what I heard. I also heard then that the Christians would also be among our enemies, but with them it would be a little bit more complicated. Because Jesus.
Charlie Kirk
I know, it's like the third holiest or second holiest, right?
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah.
Charlie Kirk
There is an eschatological belief in Islam that Jesus comes in the end times, Is that right?
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah, exactly.
Charlie Kirk
I wanted to get into that, but.
Ridvan Aydemir
It'S a very corrupt form of.
Charlie Kirk
But Islam does have a reverence for Jesus. Well, they don't believe he was God, but they believe he was the Messiah. Is that correct?
Ridvan Aydemir
Yes, but they also don't really know what the message Messiah is. So what they do believe is that Jesus, who is in Islam called Isa with a kind of corruption of his name, was actually just a prophet of Allah. And he came here.
Charlie Kirk
He was Muslim.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah, he was a Muslim. And he came here to deliver the Muslim message and to Ask people to submit to Islam. That's all he was. He was also the Muslim.
Charlie Kirk
Yeah, that's a bunch of crap.
Ridvan Aydemir
It is, obviously. And I mean if you go, if you go with the Christian narrative, right, if you accept that Jesus came and he was actually truthful, you can't have another message after him.
Charlie Kirk
Correct.
Ridvan Aydemir
Can't have another religion after him. And Islam comes and acts as if Jesus was simply a messenger, but his entire message was all corrupted by his followers, the Christians who became hypocrites and evil. And the actual true message is that of Islam. And according to Islam, Jesus will come back. And what he will do according to Muhammad is he will come back and he will break the cross and kill the pigs and, and then will reign as a Muslim ruler over the. Over the people. According to some interpretations, that is meant to be. So when he breaks the cross and kills the big. The pigs and abolishes a protection money imposed on non Muslims, it means that he will come to the Christians and tell them what the real religion actually is.
Charlie Kirk
Is that Sakat the tax or something? Right?
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah, it's, it's. It's the jizya.
Charlie Kirk
Oh, that's right.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah. Okay. It has a very questionable name, but.
Charlie Kirk
I was going to say so. So I have so many questions here. So you leave Islam. Yeah, because it was. Just didn't ring to make true.
Ridvan Aydemir
So I became very religious at some point in my life when I was a late teenager, became very dedicated and started reading the Quran. When I read the Quran, the problem started arising because believe it or not, Muslims will tell you that it is the best book ever written and that nobody can write a better book than the Quran. But if you read it, my friend David Wood, with whom I stream a lot, he. Thank you. People love David Wood. You should have him too.
Charlie Kirk
I will.
Ridvan Aydemir
You should invite him at some point. But he's fantastic. He likes to quote somebody who says that reading the Quran is like penance.
Charlie Kirk
You know, I don't feel that way with the Bible though.
Ridvan Aydemir
No.
Charlie Kirk
So let's, let's just start. I want to get to why you left Islam. But. So the Quran is separated in surahs, is that right?
Ridvan Aydemir
Yes.
Charlie Kirk
And there are chapters, but it's not chronological. It's the longest first. Is that correct?
Ridvan Aydemir
Correct.
Charlie Kirk
And it kind of jumps. Is there 64 of them that right.
Ridvan Aydemir
Or they're actually 140.
Charlie Kirk
Oh wow. Okay. And so the part of it is normative Christian theology, but it's all counterfeit. Is that right?
Ridvan Aydemir
You are partly right there. It has Some Christian aspects, but that's also. So it very. It very much started out as a pagan religion in Arabia that attempted to turn it into a monotheistic religion because Muhammad really was impressed by the Jews and Christians that he encountered.
Charlie Kirk
So was the. Was what is considered Islam predate Muhammad and he just adopted it as a warlord?
Ridvan Aydemir
According to some theories, yes, according to the official narrative and the Islamic narrative, which I think is quite plausible. He's the one who comes up with it. He comes from a family of polytheistic Arab pagans, but he starts going against their traditions and saying that there is only one God named Allah. So he starts this whole new religion and, and starts attacking the, the polytheists and their idols and all that.
Charlie Kirk
So fast forwarding back to. We're going to jump all over the place. You leave Islam just like the Quran. Exactly. That's all of the. The Quran is like, I'm reading this thing. I'm like, by the way, don't read it unless you're ready to be super confused. I think it's kind of dark. I mean, I could use the word demonic.
Ridvan Aydemir
It's very stupid.
Charlie Kirk
Yeah, stupid. Thank you. So you leave Islam, you're an atheist. What brought you to Jesus?
Ridvan Aydemir
It was a very long process, but for most of the time as an atheist, I was convinced that there is no God because I couldn't prove it. But I always had respect for religion. I had respect for Christianity. I always made that very clear. The thing is, over the many years after I left Islam, I tried to keep up this whole narrative, this whole charade. To be very honest now, that after leaving Islam and thinking for myself and being independent and not believing in fairy tales, that I'm a very happy person. Now the thing is, for all those 10 years, I wasn't happy. I was, I was really struggling inside. It was, it was really, it was really bad. And, and, and one of the big issues that I have always had, it was that humans seek purpose in this world. We seek a purpose in life. We do everything for a purpose. Purpose. I had accepted at a certain point that, that there seems to be no inherent purpose or meaning to life.
Charlie Kirk
So nihilistic at all.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah. And I thought, okay, I can make peace with that idea. But I never did because it's, it's incredibly.
Charlie Kirk
Well, because it's actually a contradiction. Yeah, because finding peace and no meaning in itself is a contradiction. Yeah, because that would be meaning in finding no meaning.
Ridvan Aydemir
Exactly.
Charlie Kirk
Charlie Kirk here. We know that rates are still high and that they can make refinancing or purchasing feel out of reach. But markets can shift fast and when they do, I want you to be in the strike zone. So what is the strike zone? That's a sweet spot when rates dip just enough to meet your target goal. But it doesn't last long. Make sure you're ready to strike first and save big. At Sierra Pacific Mortgage, Andrew and Todd and their team will get you set up and keep you informed so you can strike at the right time. These are the guys I trust with 40 years of experience. They are really the experts and they make it easy because they keep everything in house. Get pre qualified today. Visit andrewandtod.com, do it now to get a priority spot at the front of the line before the rest of the herd jumps in. And when the market enters the strike zone, you'll strike first and save big. Call 888-88-1172, that's 888-1172 or online at andrewandtod.com that is andrewandtod.com they help me and they'll help you. Andrewandtod.com so it, it's, it's a self defeating statement because it's like, oh, I'm going to find meaning and not having meaning. Well then you just found meaning.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah.
Charlie Kirk
So one method, definitionally, you can't escape it.
Ridvan Aydemir
Exactly. One way to go against that is to simply embrace the absurdity of it all, which I was trying to do, and to simply live with it. But it's very difficult, you know, it's, it is extremely difficult. And it was actually until I, until I looked further into the evidence for Christianity that I was quite surprised because as an atheist I often heard, and I was also under the impression that Christianity simply relies on different accounts by people who didn't witness anything, who lived long after Jesus, it's not true. And who just wrote things down about him without knowing it from hearsay. It's very funny because only when I was slowly approaching Christianity did I find out that this is complete nonsense. But so many people propagate this idiotic idea.
Charlie Kirk
Oh yeah. I mean, and Luke, for example, was a first class historian. Yeah, I mean he was a historian of the first of the first order who wrote most of the New Testament. And he was paid, Theophilus paid him to go research this stuff and be like, find out who this Jesus guy is. And he wrote basically a definitive documentary. He wrote Luke and Acts, that's all written by Luke. And he basically said o, Theophilus means lover of God. Here's what I learned. Right. And by the way, it's completely consistent with the other gospels. And so you, eventually that led you to Jesus.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah, it was also about Paul. So at that point I was seeking religion, but I was exploring other religions. So I was exploring, for example, Judaism, which I still have a lot of respect for and try to figure out and understand and all that. But in the middle of that, at that point I was like, I thought, okay, I like religion, but I don't want to go into the direction of Christianity. It's very funny. One day my wife, who actually went into the direction of Christianity before me, asked me to read something in Romans, just one little section about how Paul says I can do nothing of my own and it is all God. So I started reading that and it kind of. Originally I accepted it and decided to read part of it because I thought, come. Okay, she's asking me, I guess I'll just do it. Then I sat down and started reading it and I was fascinated by it. So I started reading, I read the entire thing, all of Romans. And then I started looking into how Paul came to his conclusions.
Charlie Kirk
Yes.
Ridvan Aydemir
And suddenly it turns out that everything I have been told about the witness accounts and about what Paul did and wrote is all a lie. Because the historical account very clearly is that he directly met and spent so much time with the disciples of Jesus.
Charlie Kirk
That's exactly right.
Ridvan Aydemir
And with the apostles, he didn't do anything on his own. He did it all together with those who were directly in the presence of Jesus, who saw all the things that Jesus did and said, who witnessed miracles. They have it confirmed to each other that hundreds of people witnessed the miracles that are recorded in this book that we now call the New Testament in the Gospels. And just going into that, I felt a little bit betrayed because I thought for 10 years now I was a skeptic. And I learned that, oh, I'm supposed to trust only first hand evidence, absolute empiricist and all that. And then I found out that I have been completely lied to about all the evidence.
Charlie Kirk
Yes, it is the most robust, historically verified faith, period.
Ridvan Aydemir
Absolutely.
Charlie Kirk
It's not even everything else is a lie. Judaism is not a lie. It's just incomplete. Okay. It's just, it's just half. It's just half the time story. But nothing else exists like it, period. Especially from a historical text standpoint. And so for you, it's so interesting. So your path to Jesus was mostly through the mind, not through the heart.
Ridvan Aydemir
It was both. I would say if it wasn't the heart, it wouldn't have been real. Yeah. And.
Charlie Kirk
But your reason led you towards Christ and that's okay. Everyone has a different path.
Ridvan Aydemir
I'm actually very. I'm actually very happy to say that this is very funny because as a skeptic, as an atheist, it was very important to me to always give. Give people the impression that everything I do is based completely on reason and logic and evidence and all that. However, the way I felt about Christianity once I started reading also had a great impact and I found peace. You know, I don't want to make a comparison now to Judaism, for example, but I looked into Judaism and I was very interested in it. I had lots of admiration for it, lots of love for it. But I tried the Jewish prayers, for example, and something felt incomplete for me.
Charlie Kirk
Incomplete is the word.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah. And this is not a dis for Judaism. But once I started reading the New Testament and I actually did my first prayer, the Christian way was very moving. You know, it brought something back that I felt had died within me so many decades ago, and it is still there. When I first went to church, I was quite overwhelmed and I have been.
Charlie Kirk
Are you. Are you Orthodox or.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yes, yes, Orthodox.
Charlie Kirk
Eastern Orthodox. It's a beautiful faith.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yes, yes. The Divine Liturgy.
Charlie Kirk
Oh, it really is what I love about Orthodox, actually. I have an Orthodox priest. Is that the right term or.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah, yeah.
Charlie Kirk
You know, clergy coming on my show on Tuesday and I'm going to ask him. It's not. I mean, I'm evangelical, but I love and correct me if I'm wrong. In Orthodox, you're very careful. You're more about clear about what God is not than what God is. Is that correct?
Ridvan Aydemir
Precisely.
Charlie Kirk
It's like very. We're not going to. It drives me nuts when people say they over ascribe definitions to God, and I think that's super prideful. So I think you start with what God isn't, and I think that that's the baseline of Orthodox faith. Is that right? It's very. A humble approach to the Lord.
Ridvan Aydemir
That is Orthodox theology, basically. That also fascinated me when I. When I found out about this, because. Me too, for the longest time. So I heard a lot of debates and discussions about, you know, whether God exists or not and the evidence for God and so on. And I know that those debates have great impact on a lot of people. I myself felt usually unmoved by much of it. It didn't appeal to me. But when I came to. When I started to understand Orthodox theology, for example, I realized that I really Love the mystery of it. So in Western theology there was a lot of attempts to describe precisely what God is and how God is and what God does. And in orthodoxy, it's rather.
Charlie Kirk
That is correct. Yeah, it's very, a very Calvinist, German lawyerly way of looking. And by the way, I think he was right about a lot. But John Calvin was like, I'm going to figure out all the attributes of God, very specific and definitionally. And he might end up being right. We might go to heaven and he might, might have crushed it. Yeah, but the problem with that is you get really wacky theology if somebody takes that premise and they have no idea what they're talking about. For example, Episcopalians like, oh, God is a woman. Right. Or God is trans, you know, so that can, that can go a really bad place very quickly, you know what I'm saying? Like in the modern era we've seen that what I think Calvin started in a pretty good spirit, grow to something pretty dark 500 years later.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah, you could, you could argue that.
Charlie Kirk
So let's get back to your Christian. Let me just kind of go through a rapid fire, if that's okay.
Ridvan Aydemir
Sure.
Charlie Kirk
But let's first go through Islam 101. Is it true that they say Muhammad is the greatest man ever to live?
Ridvan Aydemir
Yes.
Charlie Kirk
Was Muhammad a warlord?
Ridvan Aydemir
Yes.
Charlie Kirk
How many people did he kill personally or approximation?
Ridvan Aydemir
Lots.
Charlie Kirk
Thousands.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah, yeah.
Charlie Kirk
How many was he responsible for tens of thousands of deaths?
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah. Okay.
Charlie Kirk
Is it true that he married a nine year old named Aisha?
Ridvan Aydemir
No, he actually married a six year old.
Charlie Kirk
Oh, I'm sorry. Okay. And, and so, so six year old. So we got to make sure we're very clear here that there's no misinformation. So that would be pedophile.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah. Actually, if I can pause it for a second.
Charlie Kirk
No, please. And if I'm wrong, correct me. I'm not here to. I want the truth. I want our audience to have the truth.
Ridvan Aydemir
No, I want to. I like to. As disgusting as it is. I would like to pause there for a second because when we talk about a science six year old being married, first off, it's not simply marrying a six year old. It is the Prophet Muhammad, the most perfect figure for womankind. He is in his 50s and without any necessity at all, he picks and marries a six year old little girl. And then when she's nine years old, he then consummates the marriage in his mid-50s with her. And that's his third wife and at that point his second living wife. So he has absolutely no need for this. He does it just because.
Charlie Kirk
Tired of hearing that fossil fuels are ruining the planet. Well, here's what the headlines won't tell you. We're living in the safest, healthiest and most prosperous time in human history. Since 1980, global extreme poverty has plummeted from 42% to to under 10%. Meanwhile, life expectancy and incomes have soared. And this transformation didn't happen in spite of fossil fuels. It happened because of them. From powering clean water systems and food supply chains, to driving industrial growth and life saving infrastructure, fossil fuels have been the quiet force lifting billions out of poverty. So while activists blame fossil fuels for everything under the sun, the data tells a different story. Fossil fuels have made Earth a better, safer place for people to live. I'm Charlie Kirk and I just want you to know the facts. Don't be fossil fooled. Go to the full picture@oilfacts.com brought to you by NASDAQ listed Prairie Operating Company, a high growth, low cost producer of safe and responsible American energy. That's oilfacts.com check it out and get the truth. Oilfacts.com so let me, let's, let's steel man this. If, if a Islamic cleric was right here, how would they defend that?
Ridvan Aydemir
They would say a few things such as those were different times. The response to that would be okay, but isn't he, isn't Muhammad supposed to be the perfect moral example for all mankind for all times, including right now? So it doesn't matter if it was a different time. Second defense would be that she transmitted a lot of accounts of things that he did and did not do. So it was actually a very good thing for him to marry her and be so intimate with her. But seriously, we are supposed to argue that this was the great divine.
Charlie Kirk
So his legacy lived on. So that's why he raped the 9 year old. Got it. What else would they say?
Ridvan Aydemir
They would, some would say this is okay and there is nothing wrong with it because as soon as a girl shows signs of development, she is ready to breed.
Charlie Kirk
Okay. Do any of them say it's factually incorrect?
Ridvan Aydemir
If they are serious, traditional Muslim scholars, they will not say that. If they are kind of reformists or modern.
Charlie Kirk
What would the reformist say that it was she was allegorically 9.
Ridvan Aydemir
They will say that, they will say stupid excuses such as that they started counting her age only after a certain time or that there are different accounts, she might have been 10 or 8. Or you know, something else that makes.
Charlie Kirk
A huge, huge difference.
Ridvan Aydemir
A huge difference.
Charlie Kirk
So, so Muhammad, the greatest man ever to live. The greatest example was a warlord who married a six year old, raped her when she was nine and then kept multiple wives.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah.
Charlie Kirk
Now to be clear, the Bible also has plenty of stories of multiple wives and bad behavior. But this is so important. There's a difference between what the Bible describes, what the Bible prescribes. Description of behavior in the Bible does not mean prescription of the Bible. For example, Solomon having many wives is not prescribed to you. It actually ended really bad for him. He ended as a madman actually. And Ecclesiastes is like one of the saddest books ever. He's like meaningless, meaningless. All of life is meaningless.
Ridvan Aydemir
So I love that book though.
Charlie Kirk
Isn't it beautiful? No meaning. It's sad in the beginning. And then all of a sudden he finds that meaning is God. And, and there is a season for everything. There's a season for suffering, there's a season for sorrow. There's a season sees our happiness. Point being though is that people would counter just for you here. Oh but in the Christian Bible and the kicker guys, we never say Solomon is the greatest man ever to live.
Ridvan Aydemir
Precisely.
Charlie Kirk
This is the whole important thing. They hold Muhammad at a higher level than Christ our Lord.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yes.
Charlie Kirk
So I just. And would you say this is one of the strongest arguments to cross examine Islam morally?
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah.
Charlie Kirk
Okay, so let's just talk more about Muhammad. So he do that. They believe he went to heaven at some point. Is that right? In Jerusalem. So like on a horse or something?
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah, it's called the night journey. So they believe that he went that one night. He was woken up by the angel.
Charlie Kirk
Angel Gabriel, right? Oh yeah, that's Angel Gabriel. They could have used a different name.
Ridvan Aydemir
He was put on the back of a, of an animal that was bigger than a, a donkey and smaller than a horse is what it says. And he was then taken by that donkey to the farthest mosque, as it says. And then from there he was taken up to heaven where he saw all the prophets. Then later on he was taken also to hell where he saw all the people. By the way, what he saw in hell is very interesting. He saw that the majority of hell dwellers were women. That's what he said to women. And he told them this is because you people, you women are ungrateful. So you have to be more obedient to me.
Charlie Kirk
Oh that's what a convenient theology for like a Jeff think like Jeffrey Epstein with a standing army. That's basically Muhammad. Right. So okay, I just want to make sure so biographically so this Guy was a warlord. Bedouin tribes fractured. He unites these Bedouin polytheistic tribes around polytheism. Who wrote the Quran, in your opinion?
Ridvan Aydemir
So the Islamic narrative is that. That the Quran is a word for word. This is also, by the way, a huge difference.
Charlie Kirk
Yeah, that's correct.
Ridvan Aydemir
Between the Bible and the Quran. The Quran is considered the word for word, verbatim, dictated word of Allah, audible.
Charlie Kirk
Yeah, right.
Ridvan Aydemir
And he's supposed to have brought it through the words of Gabriel to Muhammad, who then recites it to the people around him, who then make notes of it. And after Muhammad dies, they decide to come together and turn all of this into one big book. That is the official account. And many Muslims are not even aware of this. They think Muhammad himself approved of it and oversaw the writing of it.
Charlie Kirk
So. And isn't that a divide between Shia and Sunni of what Muhammad said and what he didn't say?
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah, in a way, yes.
Charlie Kirk
So what is a hadith?
Ridvan Aydemir
The hadith is the traditions attributed to Muhammad, things that he did and things that he said as reported by his followers and their successors.
Charlie Kirk
So, so Muhammad creates this religion. There are five pillars of Islam. Let me see if I can get them. Right. Okay, let me see if I can get them. Pray five times a day.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yes.
Charlie Kirk
Ramadan, fasting, Hajj.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yes.
Charlie Kirk
Charity.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yes.
Charlie Kirk
And let me try to think of the last one. I'm pretty good at four, though. Right. That's not bad. What is the fifth?
Ridvan Aydemir
The Shahada, which is the creed where you say that.
Charlie Kirk
Isn't that the prayer or.
Ridvan Aydemir
No, no, no, that's. That's separate. So. Oh, you have to say the Shahada to become part of the religion.
Charlie Kirk
Okay.
Ridvan Aydemir
So I testify there is no God but Allah got it, his messenger.
Charlie Kirk
So those five, none of those are, like, necessarily offensive except the Islamic one to us, so we don't spend too much time on that. Or is that the core of their faith? Those five things, you would.
Ridvan Aydemir
So you would say that those things are the ones that. That essentially make one a Muslim, but it doesn't stop there.
Charlie Kirk
So. So then Muhammad dies, Islam grows. Yeah, and grows and grows and grows by the sword. By the sword. This is important. So how did it grow? Did it grow through conversion and love, or did it grow through conquest?
Ridvan Aydemir
This is actually one of the biggest differences between Christianity and Islam, which I think is a very important point to. To stand on here. So Christianity, we know, starts with. With Christ, God taking on flesh, becoming the lowest of us, becoming part of us and inviting us to him. It starts through suffering and his followers spread it and tell people about it. They lose their lives on this point path. And over centuries, it develops through simply preaching and being persecuted. Islam starts very differently. Muhammad starts out there in Mecca, then goes to Medina and starts his Islamic state, from which he then begins raiding and attacking others. And from then on, his. His successors, once he dies, take over that exact same attitude and start spreading Islam by attacking everyone left and right. And most of the Muslim territories in today's time are a result of violent conquests. That's right, because there's actually a very good quote that I love to bring up by Ibn Khaldun, who was a middle medieval Muslim scholar, very much respected, and he wrote in a work called Muqaddimah, he wrote that the great difference between Judaism, Christianity and Islam is that Islam is the only. Only religion that has a truly universal mission. And the leader of Islam, the Caliph, is supposed to be the one who is both the religious leader and also the military leader and the state leader who has the duty to spread the religion by will or by force. This is Islam, and that's how it spreads.
Charlie Kirk
Does it say in the Quran that you should take multiple wives?
Ridvan Aydemir
It says you can take multiple.
Charlie Kirk
Okay, so not that you should, but you can.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah, you can. You cannot take up to 1, 2, 3, 4, like tomatoes. Like.
Charlie Kirk
Got it.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah.
Charlie Kirk
Is it true that it talks very poorly about women?
Ridvan Aydemir
Yes.
Charlie Kirk
How so?
Ridvan Aydemir
Well, in chapter four, verse. Chapter four is very funny. It's called.
Charlie Kirk
In the Surah four or whatever.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah, the Surah four is called Women. And some.
Charlie Kirk
It's called women.
Ridvan Aydemir
Some Muslims will say, look, it has a chapter called Women. It must be nice to women. Well, look into the chapter. So in verse 24 of it, it says that. That Muslims may only have sex with those that they are married to and with those that they possess, which means with their sex slaves. So Islam directly allows sex slavery through war and also tells Muslims that they are allowed to have sex with them as they wish. In verse 34, it then says that. That Muslim women are to obey their husbands fully because he's superior if she disobeys or no. If. If they fear. If a husband fears, fears arrogance from a woman, he is to admonish her separate in beds. And if that doesn't help, he may beat her. And according to Muhammad's own companions, if actually, according to Muhammad's own child bride, Aisha, she said that she didn't see any other women who were suffering as much as the Muslim women, one day a woman comes in and her skin is greener than the green clothes that she's wearing. And she comes to complain about her husband, how much he's beating her. Muhammad ends up basically justifying the beating and saying that lots of women come to complain about their husbands and they are not the best women. And this is Islam's legacy. So the Quran directly allows Muslims to beat their wives and describes them as lesser beings. And you can still see this very much unfold and manifest in Muslim.
Charlie Kirk
Is it true it says to convert or kill it?
Ridvan Aydemir
Yes, there is another option. So chapter nine verse 29, right? Yeah, it says that.
Charlie Kirk
What's that word you said?
Ridvan Aydemir
Jizya. Yeah, yeah. It says directly there that those who don't accept Islam and those who don't believe in Allah and Muhammad, you are to fight them, specifically Jews and Christians and others until they are humiliated and pay protection money. So you are to convert them or to make them pay protection money. If they don't pay protection money, you can kill them. That's it.
Charlie Kirk
America's small businesses rely on TikTok to succeed. We go viral on TikTok reaching billions of young people every year. It's one of the reasons why we were able to win the youth vote. Well, TikTok helps businesses attract more customers and drive growth from small batch sellers to fast growing brands. 74% of businesses on TikTok say it's helped them scale by hiring more employees, boosting sales and expanding to new locations. Like Arizona Taco King who grew from a mom and pop taco cart to two thriving restaurants in just a year. Or Coco Asante who upgraded to a larger facility and brought on more staff letting their handcrafted chocolates reach more customers. Or Dan O Seasoning who went from a one man show to team of 45. Now supporting dozens of hard working families. With TikTok, small businesses are thriving, finding their customers and expanding. Learn more about TikTok's contribution to the U.S. economy@tiktokeconomicimpact.com TikTok economic impact.com what are the other objectionable teachings that you think the west should know? Aside from are they allowed to lie in the name of Islam? That's a common thing I hear. I'm sure you've heard it.
Ridvan Aydemir
That's a very complicated topic but you could say yes, although it is sometimes misrepresented because there is one aspect which is called taqiyah.
Charlie Kirk
Yes, that's right.
Ridvan Aydemir
So taqiyyah allows Muslims normally if they are in certain circumstances where telling people that they are not that they are Muslims. Would cause trouble. They are allowed. They are given the permission to lie about it. But that's not the only aspect where they are allowed to lie. So sometimes people think taqiyah means that they are all allowed to lie. But there are in general, without giving it a name. The Quran authorizes Muslims to simply speak half the truth, basically, in giving responses, and to always speak what in whatever way Islam benefits. And Muslims are allowed by Muhammad to deceive the enemies of Islam. And enemies of Islam are all those that are not Muslim. So.
Charlie Kirk
So Islam is rapidly taking over the West.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yes.
Charlie Kirk
Is that by accident or by design?
Ridvan Aydemir
You could say that it is by design, but then we have to have.
Charlie Kirk
A discussion about who's the designer.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah, who is the designer? What kind of designer?
Charlie Kirk
Well, let me put it this way. Is the Muslim world thrilled they're taking over the West?
Ridvan Aydemir
Yes, absolutely. When I was a child in Germany, when I was a teenager, I repeatedly heard that it's a fantastic thing that we are taking over, that our numbers are growing. And you could now say, okay, this is just something that you yourself heard. But it's not just me. Today I still hear the same thing. In fact, this is the main reason why I decided to speak out. Because after I left Islam, I had horrible deception and basically oppression of my mind behind me. I wanted to get away from it. But I look into the world and I see people saying stuff like, islam is misunderstood. It's a religion of people peace. It's not a religion of peace. It is not a p. It is not a religion that wants to coexist with you. We have today in the uk, in many other countries, we have Muslims preachers openly saying that the vision of Muslims should be to take over Western nations, that the numbers should be growing. There should be more politicians involved in the public in the UK in Canada, in Australia. Gladly. We are not at that stage in America, but we have to act quickly unless we want to also get into those situations. Because it is a duty of Muslims to establish Islam as a governing force wherever they are, or to leave. They don't want to leave.
Charlie Kirk
Do they believe in separation of mosque and state?
Ridvan Aydemir
No, they don't. In fact, in Islam, it is actually considered haram, forbidden to establish laws that are separate from whatever Allah has established. So it is considered forbidden, not allowed to have secularism.
Charlie Kirk
So the growth of Islam in the west, do you think that Christians and Westerners adequately understand it?
Ridvan Aydemir
No.
Charlie Kirk
What? And we're short on time. I'm sorry. I could talk for two hours. What keeps you up at night or worries you most about this flavor and this ascendant force of Islam.
Ridvan Aydemir
The most important thing is the ignorance of the non Muslims of those that we, that we have among us. We have lots of people speaking. We have lots of people speaking online. We have lots of people speaking about all kinds of things. I think there are some people who like us to talk about different political entities or different states, how they are trying to subvert us and so on. I think the biggest subverter of Western societies or free nations is Islam and we need to be talking about it. I think the most disturbing thing about all of this is that we have Muslim communities in Michigan, in Minnesota, in Texas, even now, elsewhere that openly speak of spreading Islam and making this. And they say, of course we don't want to offend anybody. We don't want to make it like we are subverting people. We just want to peacefully spread it and, and grow and take over. But if you allow enough power to be taken by those who want to establish Islam as governing force, you will very, very quickly lose control because they will not allow you to take it back. They will want to impose it.
Charlie Kirk
Do you think Islam is compatible with Western civilization?
Ridvan Aydemir
Absolutely not.
Charlie Kirk
So I said that. I don't know if you saw that. Got 75 million views on my tweet. People thought, oh, I just prove my point for me.
Ridvan Aydemir
Western civilization was formed and shaped by philosophers and by Christianity. Islam is anti Christianity. Islam orders the subjugation and the destruction and eventual eradication and elimination of Christianity. It orders the destruction of secular societies. We have freedom in the west, something that we value so much at this conference in America. We have freedom. We love freedom. Islam is anti freedom. One very little trivia about me. I have Turkish citizenship. I lived in Turkey for a while. Right now it's very difficult for me to get back into Turkey because despite Turkey being a secular country and part of NATO. Yeah, I have multiple lawsuits against me by the Turkish government because I dare to say things like, quote the Quran is a book of ignorance. For that, they are suing me, the Turkish government. I can't go back there. There is no freedom. There is no free speech. If you give the power, you will lose everything.
Charlie Kirk
And so just really quick to capstone that Islam being incompatible with Western civilization. But they'll say there's peaceful Muslims and what, what would you say is the, what should the Western approach to Islam be?
Ridvan Aydemir
First off, realize what you're dealing with. Realize that it is not simply a religion. Acknowledge that it is incompatible with your societies and then begin to directly address it and make sure that you do not allow them to take advantage of your well meaning attitude and your liberal politics policies of immigration, for example. If you see Islam spreading and political Islam spreading, remove it, make policies about it, get rid of it, kick it out before it's too late. And I. So here's the thing. This might be a little bit controversial, but the freedoms that we have in the west, they were established. The values that we have in the west were established. Even America was founded by people who, who had in mind that these are values that unite us, these people that. I mean, I find it very difficult to even include myself, but I will include myself as an American today. So these nations are founded in order to have people like us with our values, to live together. That's why we have freedom, because we cherish it, we value it, we can do it. They weren't meant to be offered to every single anti freedom group that comes in and wants to abolish it and abuse it in order to oppress you.
Charlie Kirk
How do you get treated by Muslims?
Ridvan Aydemir
I usually get a death penalty by, by in Islam.
Charlie Kirk
Do you get a lot of death threats?
Ridvan Aydemir
Yes, lots of them. I.
Charlie Kirk
What do they say to you?
Ridvan Aydemir
I will behead you, I will rape your family.
Charlie Kirk
This is the religion of peace.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yes. It's very peaceful. Well, once, once they, once they kill you, it's all peaceful, you know, so.
Charlie Kirk
Oh yeah. So your whole to close it out. Your name is apostate prophet?
Ridvan Aydemir
Yes.
Charlie Kirk
Do you speak Arabic?
Ridvan Aydemir
I do not. I Turkish, I study it. Yes, yes.
Charlie Kirk
Okay, so but you know, so you know the original text well enough?
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah, I studied it many years. Yeah.
Charlie Kirk
So that's why you're so dangerous.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yes.
Charlie Kirk
And you have a big platform and you know it. You know this stuff. Well, they can't argue because with me they're like, oh, that's not what it really says. It's context dependent. And honestly I kind of have a soft spot because there's so much biblical butchery with context stuff. So I'm like really careful with that, you know what I mean? I'm like a very big context guy because some people say, oh, the Bible's terrible because of something in Leviticus 19. Like okay, how much time do you have? But what you are saying is even with context.
Ridvan Aydemir
Yes.
Charlie Kirk
You're saying commands you to. Does it command you kill Jews?
Ridvan Aydemir
Yeah. In the long term? Yeah. It commands them to oppress Jews and that eventually Muslims will kill the Jewish Jews. You are supposed to wait for it.
Charlie Kirk
How can people support you? I think you're a man of great courage. I mean, this is a big fight. You're up against the great menace and it's growing. Islamism is growing.
Ridvan Aydemir
It is, it is, unfortunately. Thank you so much, first of all, for offering this.
Charlie Kirk
No, I, I, I, I saw him. You were on some interview. Who were you on?
Ridvan Aydemir
Matt Fred.
Charlie Kirk
Yeah, I like that guy. Yeah, I'm supposed to go on his show. You guys know Matt Fred? A pint with Aquinas. Yeah, he's a really smart guy.
Ridvan Aydemir
Awesome.
Charlie Kirk
And I listened to like 10 minutes of you on him and I text my team, I said, I don't know who this guy is, but he's amazing because I've, I have really started as, you know, speaking more and more about Islam. Thank you for the, and everyone's. I'm hated for 900 different things. I have real jihadis and purple haired jihadis. I have both, they both hate me. But I said I've been looking for you because you can educate me and also you can kind of do some of the, the grunt work. I don't, I can, I don't speak Turkish or Arabic. I don't read. I don't have time to study the crown. I don't want to study that crap. I know it, I know it enough. And so I think, I think really and really sincerely, your voice is incredibly important.
Ridvan Aydemir
I really appreciate that and I, and I thank you so much and I think that this should be a beginning. We should start talking about this matter very seriously. Should, should speak up more and more from here on because this is a very crucial, we don't have time for.
Charlie Kirk
Questions, but if you're okay, would you stay around and just hang with some people?
Ridvan Aydemir
Sure. Yes. Yes.
Charlie Kirk
Well, God bless you. It's the apostate prophet. God bless you guys. Thank you so much. Thanks so much for listening, everybody. Email us. As always, freedomarliekirk.com thanks so much for listening and God bless. For more on many of these stories.
Ridvan Aydemir
And news you can Trust, go to charliekirk.com.
Podcast Summary: The Charlie Kirk Show
Episode: "Why Islam Isn't Compatible With the West"
Guest: Ridvan Aydemir (Apostate Prophet)
Release Date: July 30, 2025
In the July 30, 2025 episode of The Charlie Kirk Show, host Charlie Kirk engages in a profound and contentious discussion with Ridvan Aydemir, known as the Apostate Prophet. The episode delves deep into the compatibility of Islam with Western civilization, exploring Ridvan's personal journey from Islam to atheism, and eventually to Christianity. Through a no-holds-barred conversation, the duo examines the theological, historical, and societal implications of Islam's doctrines and its impact on Western values.
Ridvan Aydemir introduces himself as a former Muslim from a devout Sunni Muslim family with Turkish roots, born in Germany. He recounts his upbringing in a strict religious household where activities like listening to music were prohibited, fostering a restrictive environment contrary to Western norms. Ridvan spent a decade as an atheist before embracing Christianity, a transition that profoundly shaped his worldview.
Notable Quote:
"I'm a former Muslim, was born in Germany of Turkish, very religious Muslim parents now live here in America, was an atheist for like 10 years or so and have recently become a Christian." [01:51]
Ridvan narrates his decision to leave Islam, emphasizing the internal conflict and lack of inherent purpose he felt during his atheistic years. He highlights the disconnect between his admiration for Western and Christian cultures during his school years and the antagonistic teachings at home that discouraged trust in non-Muslims, Christians, and Jews.
Notable Quote:
"I have always had the respect for Christianity. I always made that very clear... for all those 10 years, I wasn't happy. I was really struggling inside." [09:22]
Ridvan discusses his quest for meaning, which led him to explore various religions. Initially skeptical about Christianity's reliance on historical accounts, his critical reading of the Bible, particularly the Book of Romans, revealed inconsistencies in his atheistic beliefs. This intellectual journey, coupled with the emotional resonance of Christian prayers, ultimately led him to embrace Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
Notable Quote:
"I started reading, I read the entire thing, all of Romans. And then I started looking into how Paul came to his conclusions... I was quite surprised because as an atheist I often heard... it's complete nonsense." [11:50]
The conversation intensifies as Ridvan and Charlie dissect Islamic doctrines and historical accounts critically. Ridvan challenges the portrayal of Muhammad as a moral exemplar by highlighting controversial aspects such as Muhammad's marriage to a six-year-old girl, the permissibility of polygamy, and the doctrine of jizya (a tax on non-Muslims).
Key Points & Quotes:
Marriage to Aisha:
Ridvan exposes the Prophet Muhammad's marriage to Aisha, who was six years old at marriage and nine at consummation, labeling it as an act devoid of necessity.
"He picks and marries a six-year-old little girl. And then when she's nine years old... he then consummates the marriage in his mid-50s." [21:07]
Violence and Jihad:
The discussion touches upon Muhammad's role as a warlord responsible for numerous deaths and the Quranic injunctions to fight non-believers until they pay jizya or convert.
"So Islam directly allows ... sex slavery ... In chapter nine verse 29, it says... convert them or make them pay protection money. If they don't pay, you can kill them." [32:07]
Women's Status:
Ridvan critiques Quranic verses that he interprets as endorsing the oppression and subjugation of women, including permissions to beat wives under specific circumstances.
"In verse 34, it then says that Muslim women are to obey their husbands fully... and they are allowed by Muhammad to deceive the enemies of Islam." [30:29]
Notable Exchanges:
"The Quran directly allows Muslims to beat their wives and describes them as lesser beings." [31:58]
"Islam orders the subjugation and destruction of secular societies." [38:09]
Ridvan asserts that Islam is fundamentally incompatible with Western values such as freedom, secularism, and individual rights. He contrasts the gentle, suffering-based spread of Christianity with Islam's propagation through conquest and coercion. Ridvan warns of Islam's intent to establish itself as a governing force in Western societies, thereby undermining established freedoms.
Notable Quote:
"Western civilization was formed and shaped by philosophers and by Christianity. Islam is anti-Christianity... Islam is anti-freedom." [38:09]
The conversation shifts towards strategies for the West to address the perceived threat of Islam's expansion. Ridvan emphasizes the necessity of recognizing Islam as incompatible with Western values and advocates for proactive measures to prevent its dominance, including restrictive immigration policies and the dismantling of political Islam.
Notable Quote:
"If you allow enough power to be taken by those who want to establish Islam as governing force, you will very, very quickly lose control because they will not allow you to take it back." [36:38]
Ridvan shares the personal repercussions of his outspoken stance against Islam, including legal battles in Turkey and receiving death threats from extremist Muslims. His courage in the face of such adversity underscores the gravity of the issues discussed.
Notable Quote:
"I have Turkish citizenship... multiple lawsuits against me by the Turkish government because I dare to say things like, 'the Quran is a book of ignorance.'" [39:12]
"I usually get a death penalty by, in Islam... I will behead you, I will rape your family." [40:58]
The episode concludes with Charlie Kirk praising Ridvan's bravery and the importance of his message in combating the growing influence of Islam in Western societies. Both speakers reiterate the critical need for open dialogue and proactive measures to preserve Western values and freedoms.
Notable Quote:
"Your voice is incredibly important... we should start talking about this matter very seriously." [43:10]
Personal Transformation: Ridvan Aydemir's journey from Islam to atheism, and finally to Christianity, highlights the profound personal transformations possible through critical thinking and spiritual exploration.
Critical Examination of Islam: The episode presents a stringent critique of Islamic doctrines and historical narratives, questioning their compatibility with modern Western values.
Call to Action: Emphasizes the need for Western societies to recognize and address the challenges posed by Islam's expansion to safeguard their foundational freedoms and secular principles.
Courage in Advocacy: Ridvan's experiences demonstrate the personal risks involved in challenging dominant religious narratives, underscoring the importance of courage and resilience in advocacy.
Guest Introduction:
"I'm a former Muslim, was born in Germany of Turkish, very religious Muslim parents now live here in America, was an atheist for like 10 years or so and have recently become a Christian." [01:51]
On Struggling with Atheism:
"For all those 10 years, I wasn't happy. I was really struggling inside." [09:22]
Critique of the Quran on Women:
"In chapter four, verse 24... Muslims may only have sex with those that they are married to and with those that they possess... So Islam directly allows sex slavery through war and also tells Muslims that they are allowed to have sex with them as they wish." [30:29]
On Jizya and Warfare:
"Chapter nine verse 29... convert them or make them pay protection money. If they don't pay protection money, you can kill them." [32:07]
Incompatibility with Western Values:
"Western civilization was formed and shaped by philosophers and by Christianity. Islam is anti-Christianity... Islam is anti-freedom." [38:09]
Personal Risks:
"I have Turkish citizenship... multiple lawsuits against me by the Turkish government because I dare to say things like, 'the Quran is a book of ignorance.'" [39:12]
"I usually get a death penalty by, in Islam... I will behead you, I will rape your family." [40:58]
Call for Open Dialogue:
"Your voice is incredibly important... we should start talking about this matter very seriously." [43:10]
This episode of The Charlie Kirk Show provides a vehement critique of Islam through the lens of Ridvan Aydemir's personal experiences and scholarly analysis. While the conversation is polarizing, it underscores the importance of open dialogue and critical examination of religious doctrines in the context of contemporary societal values. Listeners are encouraged to engage with diverse perspectives to foster a comprehensive understanding of complex cultural and religious dynamics.