Egyptian YouTuber Ignites Internet Firestorm after Leaving Islam, Denouncing ‘Racism’ In It

Then, after losing all his followers, changed his mind

FILE PHOTO: Al Azhar mosque, Cairo © Reuters / Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Social media fallout has followed Shady Srour’s Facebook post where the Egyptian YouTube star announced he was leaving Islam, citing how the “racism and cruelty” of its adherents had almost led him to suicide.

“I left Islam because of racism and cruelty in the hearts of people who are supposed to believe in God but in fact, they are a bunch of insincere hypocrites,” 24-year-old Srour wrote in a post on Friday, blaming his former religion for the excessive cyberbullying which almost cost him his life late last year.

Over the weekend, the status generated over 100,000 comments and was shared across social media, with most reactions divided between staunch support and harsh opposition.

The most popular comment on the status came from another victim of bullying, TV presenter Sherif Madkour, who wrote that Srour didn’t truly understand Islam, advising him to “ignore people with shallow minds, be yourself and trust your beliefs,” adding “God be with you.”

Srour eventually backpedaled from his comments in a YouTube video where he made it clear that the bullies he had called out were not true Muslims, and that Islam itself hadn’t played a role in the hatred he had experienced.

No, I think you were right the first time!

aya 🇹🇳
@prsnlaya
 Shady Srour is one of the middle east's most prominent youtubers. Even my little cousins follow his content. He announced leaving islam and in one day his entire fanbase turned against him

Hence, the backtracking

However, he also expressed surprise at how his post had generated a massive number of threats from hard-liners enraged by the comedian’s decision to publicly insult their religion.

سارّة أسامة
@SaraOsamaYassin
 It’s not like Shady Srour, or whoever else got cyber bullied will change after people massively mock them, except for the worse. Cyber bullying is a crime. You directly or indirectly participate in an irreversible damage in the victim’s life. Please, stop.

Last October, Srour posted a video claiming that extensive cyber-bullying had left him considering suicide. That post immediately went viral, some believing it showcased the dangers of online bullying, while others accused Srour of attention-seeking. His post on Friday was his first public comment on the incident since.

With nearly 4.5 million followers and hundreds of millions of views, Srour is one of YouTube’s top earners in the region. His case has highlighted a growing trend of Egyptians turning against Islam, many suggesting the religion has played a role in the social chaos plaguing the country.

‘Any Information From US Must Be Questioned’: Le Pen Doubts Narrative Around Syrian Strikes

The Scientific Research Center in Syria's Barzeh damaged during US-led strikes.

© Monsef Memari / Global Look Press

The narrative around the US-led strikes on Syria over an alleged chemical attack should raise questions, France’s Marine Le Pen said, adding that President Macron violated international law and fell into Washington’s “trap.”

“We’ve heard many stories like that, which the Americans have been telling us for many years, starting with Colin Powell with his tiny vial, who claimed there were weapons of mass destruction, which became the rationale for the Iraq war,” the National Front leader told BFMTV on Wednesday.

Unlike Emmanuel Macron, his predecessor Jacques Chirac did not fall for the US “trap” and opposed the Iraqi war. “Everyone today admits that this war was based on a lie,” Le Pen said. “Hence, I question every piece of information transmitted from the United States.”

Since the flat-out lies that Bush used for an excuse to invade Iraq, American 'intelligence' has lost all credibility and has to be considered less as 'intelligence' and possibly more propaganda. Propaganda which allows either the government to do what it wants, or 'Deep State' to manipulate the government into doing what it wants. Either way, it is dishonest and results in American and other lives lost, but, a lot more money in the pockets of arms manufacturers. Follow the money!

Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Front,

lost to Emmanuel Macron in last year's Presidential run-offs.

The claims produced by the French authorities over the missile strikes on Syria appear to have numerous holes in them as well, the politician added. The main question, Le Pen said, is whether Macron “really bombed the factory where chemical weapons had been produced and stored,” as he claimed. While the US and its allies insisted all the targets were linked to Syria’s alleged “chemical program,” Damascus firmly rejected the accusations.

“I may not know much about it, but I go by national wisdom and common sense; when they bomb a factory where chemical weapons are stored, they run the risk of killing thousands of people living in the neighborhood,” Le Pen said, adding that no civilian casualties have been reported.

Exactly! There are ways to remove stores of chemical weapons, such as those followed in 2013; but bombing chemical weapons is not a sane way of disposing of them. It's hard to believe that anyone would think so, much less expect the public to think so. At the same time, no MSM reporter is asking that question. The OPCW should be checking the locations bombed by the three stooges for traces of chemicals, but they won't.

While the aftermath of the strikes casts doubt on the official reasoning behind them, the attack itself was a breach of international law, Le Pen believes. France’s participation in them amounted to an “act of war,” which might bear unpredictable consequences, she said.

“I think he [Macron] violated international law, there’s nothing to argue about. He speaks of the ‘international legitimacy’ that should replace international law, but I’m confused by this concept – there’s only international law,” the politician stated.

The US, the UK and France attacked Syria last week with a volley of over 100 cruise missiles, citing the alleged chemical incident which supposedly took place on April 7 in the town of Douma, as a pretext. The attack came the night before the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was set to visit the site of the purported incident with a fact-finding mission, welcomed by Damascus.

Now, today, there is another delay as an advance team from the UN deemed it unsafe for the OPCW to enter Douma. MSM is blaming the delay on Syria and Russia, suggesting it gives them time to 'scrub' the scenes and remove any evidence. But reporters were allowed in the day before yesterday and found no traces of chemicals or of chemical injuries. 

The fact that the 3 stooges chose to bomb Syria the very night before the OPCW was to go to Douma makes it obvious who has caused the delays. This is a false flag operation, almost certainly perpetrated by those who are pulling President Trumps strings, forcing him to do the opposite of what he wants to do. It's certainly not the first, and I doubt seriously that it will be the last time.

North Korea is US Stage-Managed Geopolitical Theater to Counter China - Analyst

Unfortunately, this makes a great deal of sense. 

© KCNA / Reuters

The whole Pacific Rim agenda is predicated on poor relations with North Korea and being on a war footing. The only reason the US is there is to counter China, while North Korea is just theater, geopolitical analyst Patrick Henningsen says.

The US flew B-1B Lancer bombers, escorted by F-15 fighters, off North Korea’s east coast. However, the aircraft remained in international airspace.

In a statement, the Pentagon said the mission was designed to demonstrate “US resolve and [sends] a clear message that the President has many military options to defeat any threat.”

RT discussed this situation with geopolitical analyst and founder of the news website 21st Century Wire Patrick Henningsen.

21st Century Wire has some critics. It is accused of being conspiratorial and not citing as many mainstream sources for their conclusions as some would like. But MSM doesn't publish articles on Deep State or the Military Industrial Establishment, and you would be hard-pressed to find any credible source of documented information in the western world on these subjects. 

What he says makes sense, and so, he is going to generate much criticism from those who actually think things are as they appear to be, and from those who want to remain in the shadows. As wise people always say, 'follow the money'!

RT: What message is Washington sending with this bomber deployment?

Patrick Henningsen: They are sending a message of aggression and war. It is certainly the message that Trump’s base, some of them anyway, want to hear. It is the message that the military-industrial complex in the US – all the defense contractors – they want to hear this, it is John McCain’s message, it is James Mattis’ message. This is the message of neoconservative war hawks. That is basically who he is talking to.

In terms of diplomacy, it is completely counterproductive. In terms of China relations, it is very poor form. In terms of military strategy, it is worthless, it is nothing. The other thing is, Obama would have done the same thing. In fact, Obama did exactly the same thing in September, 2016 – he flew a B-1 bomber over South Korea not very far at all, technically from where this was flown today. Of course, it didn’t get any media coverage at the time. But this is just basic US behavior, a government that is dominated by the Pentagon, by the defense industry, by these interests.

RT: Is it a sensible move given how high tensions are at the moment?

PH: The US is the problem in this. South Korea and North Korea have tried different times to initiate some kind of meaningful peace process. And almost at every turn, the US will intervene in one way or another to try to break up that sort of bilateral negotiations between the North and the South. The US has a demilitarized zone between North and South Korea with 30,000 troops and military contractors and civilian personnel based there. They have a base in Okinawa, they have a base in Japan, they have a base in Guam, they have a few bases on the Philippines. From the Korean point of view, the problem is the US. I am sure North and South Korea could eventually work this out to have a peace treaty. But that is not what is happening now. The US is intervening for one simple fact: because the whole Pacific Rim agenda is predicated on poor relations with North Korea and war footing. Otherwise, the US would have no business in the Pacific and the only reason they are there is to counter China. So, North Korea is just theater. This is stage-managed geopolitical theater. It is very dangerous what the US is doing right now, what this president is doing right now, pushing the envelope in a very negative way.

RT: How might Pyongyang react to a provocation like this?

PH: If you listen to the words of Donald Trump at the UNGA, wouldn’t you want a nuclear deterrent as well? He is threatening to destroy a country with 25 million people that live there. And it is an idiotic statement by the US president for the simple reason, if you nuked North Korea, you would also create huge nuclear contamination that would kill so many people in the South. It would make huge areas uninhabitable and parts of China. It is not going to happen. Everyone knows the US is not going to nuke North Korea. What you have here is an exact identical replay of the US relations with Cuba. The US government, though its ridiculous policies and rhetoric, threatening, sanctions and embargos, kept Fidel Castro in power for so many odd years. They are doing exactly the same thing. This is like a replay of Cuba. The US made Fidel Castro who he was, made the conditions that kept him in power. The US government is doing the exact same thing here with North Korea; it is like a replay of history. It doesn’t make sense on so many levels, but this is sort of business as usual for Washington and unfortunately, history will not be on the side of the US in this, because at some point, it has to end. They’ve been there 70 years. They’ve carved out a strip between North Korea and South Korea, which is basically a giant dollar sink for US dollars, for the military-industrial complex. There is no reason for the US to be there and there is no reason for North and South Korea to be pointing guns at each other. The only reason they are is because of the US.

My fear is that the Pentagon and the White House do not fully comprehend the deep-seated paranoia of devoutly communist countries which is that the western world is out to destroy them. It might be easier than they think to push the envelope beyond the breaking point.

It’s all about money at the end of the day. It’s about a defense budget that has been increased 20 percent to 700 billion dollars; the increase percentage alone is more than the entire annual Russian defense budget… this is about money, this is about profit.