Hello everybody,
First of all, I just wanna say that I am so glad I discovered this forum. Being an Muslim-born atheist, I have always wanted to communicate with atheists in general and ex-Muslims in particular in a forum setting. I have heard of CEMB and have watched many of Ms Namazie's videos on Youtube. I have a lot of admiration of her, for every ex-Muslim, and the for the cause of this organization.
Now let me introduce myself. I'm originally from Iraq having lived there for most of my life. I fled the country because of the war and I have settled in the UK. I was very sad to be forced to leave my country but at the same time I appreciate that there's a silver lining in that I was fortunate enough to be given the chance to live in a liberal free democratic country like the UK.
I was a believer until I was around 17/18. I have always had questioned the existence of a God/Creator but I have never had the chance to actively do any research on the matter since Internet was banned under Saddam's regime.
After the war, I began to witness, on a daily basis, the atrocities caused by religion. We were forced to abandon our house because we were Shiites living in a predominantly Sunni neighborhood. Many Sunnis suffered similarly. My barber was killed because he did "Western haircuts". My sister along with many of my female university colleagues-whether Muslim, Christian, or Mandeaen- were forced to wear hijab when driving through certain areas of Baghdad.
It was then that I began to seriously doubt my faith. After leaving in Iraq and having decent internet access, I was introduced to the guys that I'm sure all of you know and admire. Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, Bill Maher, Pat Condell, George Carlin...etc. They weren't exactly the cause of my loss of faith as much as they were catalysts. For that I feel I owe them. And so with every Youtube video, book, or article I was transformed from a typical guilt-soaked, Arab Muslim to a socially progressive, irreligious, liberal, humanist, happy, unlabeled human being. It simply was and still is the most important change in my personality and lifestyle.
I apologize for writing such a long rant but it did feel frickin' good
. I look forward to reading your replies.
Peace
(Condell's style 
)
Topic: Ex-Muslim from Iraq