Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim

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Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
OP - April 24, 2010, 01:06 PM

Hello everyone,

This is my first post; I registered today. I've known about this site for several months but haven't bothered to come here much. I've watched many of Maryam Namazie's videos on YouTube and think the CEMB are doing a great job, in particular Maryam Namazie. Her passion really comes across and she shows no fear, which is how I think we should behave--as fearless and polemical as Christopher Hitchens.

I'm in my 20's and am educated. I come from a very religious Indian family. Although I was a practising Muslim, I was very passive and concentrated instead on my education (which was thankfully a secular education). I've always been good at Maths and Science and am not dogmatic by nature. I was exposed to Atheists in the real world and started thinking seriously about the arguments on both sides. I became convinced (by Richard Dawkins etc) that there is no proof that God exists, let alone that a personal God exists. Furthermore I never liked the oppressive, barbaric and anti-freethought values of Islam.

I left Islam for Atheism mentally in 2008 and came out to my parents in 2009. I felt I had to, because my mum was getting very stressed that I was refusing to get married and I couldn't see why in the 21st century in the West one cannot be open and honest about their beliefs. Perhaps part of me also wanted to give these fanatical Muslims a reality check. They seem to take the loyalty of their followers for granted. Needless to say it was a massive shock to them and we have fallen out but I was prepared for that. I see them as victims of this virus too which only cares about propagating itself; If only they could see it that way too. It was also a risk on my part to came out to them but I calculated that they would not harm me because that would land them into trouble.
Coming out to them also allows me (and indeed them) to move on with life.

I live in Leicester and have never met any ex-Muslims in my life. I am keeping my apostasy quiet to most people.
I joined the Athiest Nexus a few weeks ago to work towards the weeding out of bad ideas (religion/superstition/pseudo-science/fascism/sexism etc) as inspired by Sam Harris among others.
My name on Atheist Nexus is Murtad Fitri

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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #1 - April 24, 2010, 01:19 PM

Welcome AteaPotist...

...
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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #2 - April 24, 2010, 01:22 PM

Welcome ateapostist, have fun here and i shall leave the other people here who were muslim (i have been an atheist my whole life) to welcome you more and ask you questions. But still welcome and have fun here. welcome home.
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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #3 - April 24, 2010, 01:44 PM

Welcome to the forum

Great intro. You did the right thing by telling your parents.

It would be great if you could tell us about your experiences with the British Indian Muslim community.
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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #4 - April 24, 2010, 02:45 PM

AteaPotist hiya and welcome...

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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #5 - April 24, 2010, 02:49 PM

Welcome
Hope you enjoy your stay here.
I've been on less than a week and I'm already addicted.

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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #6 - April 24, 2010, 04:01 PM

Welcome!
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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #7 - April 24, 2010, 04:39 PM

Welcome to the forum, Ateapotist.

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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #8 - April 24, 2010, 06:33 PM

Thanks for the welcome everyone.

Quote from: Iraqi Atheist on April 24, 2010, 01:44 PM
Welcome to the forum

Great intro. You did the right thing by telling your parents.

It would be great if you could tell us about your experiences with the British Indian Muslim community.

I wasn't born in this country, but I've lived here for several years. I'll tell you a bit about Leicester. It has people of many different cultures. The majority are gujarati Indians (Hindus and Muslims). There are also many Somalis (many who immigrated from Europe in the last 10 years). The Somalis are also religious Muslims. I don't live in the heart of the Muslim ghetto in Leicester. My area is relatively mixed (although the different communities live parallel lives without talking to each other).
There are still many religious Muslims who send their kids to Muslim schools or just madrassa (after state school). The young Muslims are very religious and many are even learned in Islam. They go to every Islamic talk in the city that sounds interesting. There are many Islamic schools and colleges in Leicester for both boys and girls. I think there are many towns up north (Blackburn, Dewsbury, Bolton etc) which have a lot of gujarati indian Muslims who are similarly religious.

The religious elite here are really trying to ensure the youth are well versed in Islamic knowledge and the religion survives the next generation. Luckily for me I had a secular education. I come from a country that is not a welfare state, so my parents--even though they were religious--knew the importance of secular education. I really feel sorry for those young men and women who were sent to Islamic schools and colleges. Theology (as Dawkins says) is a completely pointless subject. It is the study of an imaginary being--and religion is the worship of that being. I think the religious elite want people to be religious so that they maintain power and kudos in society.

Edit: typo (sorry but I'm a perfectionist!)

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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #9 - April 24, 2010, 08:08 PM

Welcome ateapotist
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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #10 - April 24, 2010, 08:17 PM

So Leicester sounds like its in the same throes of enforced segregation by Muslims - Muslims self-segregating from everyone else, that you see in the northern towns and cities, and in parts of other big cities like London and Birmingham.

And in that way lies long term misery, waste, bigotry, extremism, insularity and a tearing at the British social fabric. Insidious and self imposed segregation by the elders.

So utterly wrong, in every way.

Anyway, welcome to the forum, ateapotist.

"we can smell traitors and country haters"

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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #11 - April 24, 2010, 08:36 PM

Quote from: billy on April 24, 2010, 08:17 PM
So Leicester sounds like its in the same throes of enforced segregation by Muslims - Muslims self-segregating from everyone else, that you see in the northern towns and cities, and in parts of other big cities like London and Birmingham.
And in that way lies long term misery, waste, bigotry, extremism, insularity and a tearing at the British social fabric. Insidious and self imposed segregation by the elders.

Do you think this is being instigated primarily by the "elders", or Islamic activists their sympathisers? Some people tend to laugh off groups such as HT because they're like the SWP, ideologues chasing their vision of a utopian society. However, from my experience they're very organised at a grass roots level in many places, distributing both physical propaganda and ideas (through their infamous rants at anyone who'll listen). My suspicion is that some of these ideas may have taken root in the Muslim ghetto's encouraging self-imposed segregation and a general hardening of attitudes. Of course there are other factors such as the perception of a right-wing resurgence in the BNP and the festering situations in Iraq and Afghanistan, etc.

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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #12 - April 24, 2010, 08:44 PM

The elders set the tempo, the younger generation prolong it. And in all cases, when 12 year old girls are being bussed around Leicester in niqab, whoever their elders are, they are the ones doing that.

This really is unhealthy, it is awful.

"we can smell traitors and country haters"

Quote from: arX on May 01, 2011, 03:33 AM
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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #13 - April 24, 2010, 10:01 PM

Welcome!

I have a feeling that ghettos will become Islamic melting pots.
Islam give divine credence & weight to a ghetto style mentality. The reason it propogates so well in prisons.

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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #14 - April 24, 2010, 10:02 PM

Welcome ateapotist

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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #15 - April 24, 2010, 10:05 PM

Welcome

So once again I'm left with the classic Irish man's dilemma, do I eat the potato or do I let it ferment so I can drink it later?
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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #16 - April 24, 2010, 10:11 PM

Quote from: IsLame on April 24, 2010, 10:01 PM
I have a feeling that ghettos will become Islamic melting pots.
Islam give divine credence & weight to a ghetto style mentalit.

Its already happened / happening.

"we can smell traitors and country haters"

Quote from: arX on May 01, 2011, 03:33 AM
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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #17 - April 25, 2010, 01:11 AM

Welcome, brother in atheism.
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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #18 - April 25, 2010, 03:06 AM

Lets all do the dirty kafir dance.

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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #19 - April 25, 2010, 03:39 AM

"The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshiped anything but himself."
~Sir Richard Francis Burton

"I think religion is just like smoking: Both invented by people, addictive, harmful, and kills!"
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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #20 - April 25, 2010, 05:58 AM

I'm jigging on my prayer mat now

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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #21 - April 25, 2010, 09:20 AM

Welcome, and congratulations to you for having the courage to tell your parents. And more importantly for not being angry at your parents but understanding they too are victims of circumstance. It takes a strong person to remember that.
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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #22 - April 25, 2010, 09:34 AM

A warm welcome to you, ateapotist

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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #23 - April 25, 2010, 09:59 AM

Quote from: billy on April 24, 2010, 08:44 PM
The elders set the tempo, the younger generation prolong it. And in all cases, when 12 year old girls are being bussed around Leicester in niqab, whoever their elders are, they are the ones doing that.

The reason I mention it is because within Pariah's family there are HT activists who have succeeded in guilting her mild Sufi parents into a much more orthodox and strict interpretation of Islam, and it almost seems like a microcosm of what's going on amongst Muslims in a wider context.

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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #24 - April 25, 2010, 10:13 AM

Welcome. I am impressed with your self-reliance. I hope the rift with your parents will heal over time.

Enjoy the forum!
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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #25 - April 25, 2010, 01:11 PM

welcome jiggar (pal in indian)
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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #26 - April 25, 2010, 04:28 PM

Quote from: SE-man on April 25, 2010, 10:13 AM
Welcome. I am impressed with your self-reliance. I hope the rift with your parents will heal over time.

Thanks for the welcome SE-man.
Regarding my self-reliance, I would say I felt I'm a grown man and should not have to depend on my family. In fact, I felt they too wanted me to spread my wings and fly away; except they wanted me to get married to a Muslim so they can be proud of me, given the social pressure around marriage among Indian Muslims.
Once I was out, it was quite a liberating experience. When you've been controlled and manipulated all your life, being left alone is extremely liberating. They think they are shunning me and causing me emotional pain, but actually I couldn't stand the preaching any more. They intensified the preaching towards me because they smelt that I was leaning towards Atheism.
Now I thoroughly enjoy being eccentric and non-conformist.
You mentioned self-reliance. Much can be said about it. Ralph Waldo Emerson (a 19th century American philosopher who led the Transcendentalist movement) wrote a famous essay on self-reliance and thinking for yourself.

"Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so." -- Bertrand Russell

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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #27 - April 25, 2010, 06:41 PM

Greetings and salutations, ateapotist!

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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #28 - April 25, 2010, 06:51 PM

Welcome to the forum, I hope you'll enjoy it.

Here, have a parrot :
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Re: Hello everyone from a new ex-Muslim
Reply #29 - April 25, 2010, 07:23 PM

Hi and welcome ateapotist!
Nice intro and cool avatar.

Quote from: ateapotist on April 25, 2010, 04:28 PM
Now I thoroughly enjoy being eccentric and non-conformist.
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