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In Hamed Abdel-Samad TV program Box of Islam No. 215, he listed (in thirty episodes,) the major problems of Islam. A basic and active motif in Islam has been the use of religion in the service of politics. It functioned during the caliphates of the Rashidun, the Umayyads, the Abbasids, and the Ottomans

Rather than analyzing and commenting on these problems, as I often do in my articles, I share some of the comments made by the responders to the thirty episodes posted by Abdel-Samad on his YouTube channel Hamed.TV.

This sampling shows the opinions of the literate Arab audience able to access the Internet and interact with the speaker.

Here is the list of the problems mentioned by Hamed Abdel-Samad:

• Problem 1: Separation of religion from politics.
• Problem 2: Removal of obstacles to modernization.
• Problem 3: Salafism i.e., Fascination with the past.
• Problem 4: The Authority of the Qur’an.
• Problem 5: The opposition to philosophy.
• Problem 6: The Muslim doctrine of God and its impact on society.
• Problem 7: The low view of women.
• Problem 8: The weakness of economic activities and absence of inventions.

Excerpted comments:

Professor Hamed, you are a great person! How I wish Muslims would learn from you! What a loss it will be if they don’t!

Certainly, the Box of Islam program pinpoints the source of the problems we face in Islam. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your work. We are fortunate to be enlightened by you during these difficult times.

“Un grand merci au fond du cœur Mr. HAMED ABDESSAMAD pour vos éclairages. Comme vous l'avez dit dans une ancienne vidéo. l'islam est comme une maison dont les fondations sont fissurées et les pseudo réformistes ou ceux qui défendent l'islam dit des lumières essaient de peindre la maison avec une peinture plus attrayante au lieu de détruire cette maison et construire une autre avec des fondations solides ..En fin l'islam est un danger pour toute l'humanité y compris pour les musulmans eux même...il est donc temps ,pour les musulmans, de se réveiller de ce coma des instructions islamiques qui a trop duré 1444 ans ça suffit.”

(My translation of the French text)

“A big thank you from the bottom of my heart Mr. HAMED ABDESSAMAD for your insights. As you said in an old video, Islam is like a house with cracked foundations and the pseudo reformists or those who defend Islam who try to paint the house with an attractive paint, instead of destroying this house and building another one with solid foundations. In the end, Islam is a danger for all humanity, including for Muslims themselves. It is therefore time for Muslims to wake up from this coma of Islamic instructions which have lasted too long for 1444 years. It’s enough.”

I left Islam eight years ago. Since then, my life has become much better. You are the king of Enlightenment; please don’t stop your programs. Thanks so much!

I appreciate greatly your powerful efforts, Mr. Hamed Abdel-Samad, to liberate us from myths and fables.

Your series has been both interesting and enlightening. You are building free and thoughtful generations.

Thanks professor Hamed for your enlightenment. We are living in a new age while Muslims are still in their old cave! The winds of change are blowing hard, and everything is changing. It’s the law of life.

Thanks for all your contributions to enlightening the present generation. Future Arab generations will show their appreciation of your thoughts and actions toward lifting us from our present situation. Islam will undergo a change in its present form. You were right when you said, anything built on falsehood is false!

I send you my greetings and appreciation for the great work you have been doing by enlightening the public. Your drawing attention to the major reasons for the backwardness of Muslims and their cultural and ethical subjects to which no rational person would disagree. Now, there is hope thanks to the availability of digitizing and the information available on the Internet. They are signs of the dawning of the age of Enlightenment based on science and technology Coupled with lessening the impact of religion, by making it a personal matter, and opening the door for reforming the educational system.