Thank you all for the warm welcome. I'm excited to have a place where I can just be myself.
I think it's a good thing that you managed to break the shackles at this age rather than trying to cling on and giving Islam the benefit of the doubt.
Good to see young guys like you realizing the crock that is religion and embracing reason. A lot of ex-muslims left the faith (like Hassan) lot later in life and its better to have to do this at a younger age before you waste your precious time praying and believing nonsense.
Appreciate the support, guys. I'm also glad that I'm taking this step while still young. My mom's already begun to float around the idea of an arranged marriage in a few years, and the last thing I want is to ruin a young Muslimah's life by trapping her in a marriage with someone who doesn't share her faith. I can't even imagine apostasizing while raising Muslim children and the confusion it would cause.
Yet I have to tread carefully with all this too, in light of the fact that I'm still financially dependent on my parents. Both parents have taken notice of how significantly less observant I've become. Whenever I make sacrilegious comments in front of my mom, she takes it all in jest despite disagreeing with me.
My dad, however, is one of those short-tempered Punjabi fathers who in a fit of rage might kick me out of the house. In the past he has threatened to cut off college tuition when I criticized his parenting skills, so I really don't want to test him on this.
Welcome, Farhad
Hassan, months ago during the early part of my 'progressive reformist' phase, I did come across your blog and read your story in its entirety. It was too early in my journey away from Islam at that point and I was still overcome by the "I can REFORM Islam for the better!" bug. Ultimately I reached many of the same conclusions you did.
Are you agnostic or atheist now?
Still figuring that out, bro. I do know that I no longer have belief in the Abrahamic God of Islam (the compassionate and just god who will torture sinners for eternity in the fires of hell), nor do I have belief in any sort of personal god that interferes in temporal matters.
Hmm... would that constitute atheism? Or does that still leave room for deism?
More than anything else, I consider myself a humanist. A God-based system of morality is something I wholeheartedly reject. I believe that philosophy, reason, human experience, and just everyday life lessons are all that we need in order to live ethical lives. They offer more complex and nuanced worldviews than the oversimplistic notion of good vs. evil that religion advocates.
Glad you found us Farhad - was it by a random search on the internet or were you recommended by a friend?
Well, I'm on a listserv for Muslim college students and someone recently sent out a link discussing the speed of light and Quran (don't remember the specifics). Someone else commented how all of the scientific truths in the Quran should remove all doubt for those who are uncertain.
Anyway, so I just did a random google search for "scientific miracles quran debunked" and a CEMB thread pertaining to just that was the first result on the page
Please do share a detailed account of your story and also the impact among your social circle and family.
Also let us know what were the key points in renouncing your faith which I am sure was a critical part of your upbringing, as it was mine.
I will make sure to do that. It's the least I can offer to all of you for being so open about your experiences.
Topic: Greetings from a new ex-Muslim