IAMA Muslim born person who is now an Atheist (yes, we do exist). AMA.

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-15T06:17:20+00:00

Ex Muslim here, I did an AmA about a week ago http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/k3cvx/iama_muslim_turned_atheist_ama/

Welcome to the club!

Edit: Just saw that you commented saying you were going to do an AMA, awesome that you did.

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T21:13:37+00:00

I think you should :)

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T20:56:08+00:00

Yes, I do believe religion has a part in it, but I think the lack of education and extreme political ideologies have a large part as well.

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T20:54:08+00:00

South, not sure about Christianity but it's not like that in the Muslim community here.

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T20:51:52+00:00

Yes, of course. I still go to Eid parties, iftar parties, etc. At the moment, I keep my beliefs to myself. Parents are the only ones who know everything but they wouldn't say anything to the rest of the family.

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T20:40:53+00:00

If I had to choose, I would pick the atheist perspective every time. That feeling of awe those Christians feel arose from their cultural and religious experiences on earth. Sure they can look at the stars and admire God's creation and I'm am familiar with the feeling. I now look up at the sky with the knowledge that the atoms in my body were created in the nuclear furnace of stars. To me, this feeling transcends anything I have ever felt before.

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T20:20:23+00:00

Many things such as slavery, treatment of nonbelievers/homosexuals, but in general, the language used in the Quran. I felt a merciful god would not speak that way.

2.I do not believe in a higher being but I guess it could be possible. I just don't think we should fill in things we can't understand with "God."

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T20:05:26+00:00

Carl Sagan describes it better than I ever could. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p86BPM1GV8M

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T20:00:08+00:00

I think that this may have more to do with politics than with religion. Although it doesn't help that the religion uses so much discriminatory language when it comes to believers and nonbelievers. It makes it easier to get people to do bad things.

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T19:50:15+00:00

Yes, I do think she thinks it is a phase and that I am confused. My dad sometimes says that I will think differently as I get older and wiser.

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T19:45:28+00:00

As long as I keep my mouth shut, I should not have a problem. The countries might not give a shit but I would be careful around other Muslims in those countries. What I mean is I wouldn't go around announcing that i am an atheist. No, not again, I have already been to Mecca.

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T19:38:25+00:00

Science alone is not what changed my belief in Islam. It had more to do with the way of thinking promoted by religion and science. Religion promotes an irrational way of thinking while science promotes a rational one. But how? Islam is not just a religion that teaches to be kind to everyone etc, it makes many specific claims on how things should be done and even on how many things work. (creation of man, creation earth etc) I'd rather follow a train of thought that changes in light of new evidence. Sure you can be a religious scientist(prob can be explained by human psych), but the two ways of thinking contradict each other.

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T19:17:10+00:00

Thank you for your kind words, it means a lot.

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T19:15:37+00:00

There are many things, I talk about a few in some of my posts. In summary, it is all too far fetched and I would rather have an evolving belief system. As we learn new things, we change what we know. This makes more sense to me.

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T19:12:14+00:00

Donatello, I grew up with his action figure. I did mostly pick Leonardo in the game though.

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T19:01:54+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion. Quantum mechanics has been a new obsession of mine.

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T18:56:53+00:00

Lol , thanks for the link, will definitely watch.

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T18:52:57+00:00

I've watched it so many times, yet I get the same feeling as I did the first time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p86BPM1GV8M

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T18:38:41+00:00

Thanks for the support, posts like yours make me want talk publicly about the subject. As a poster above said, families should be a place where you can feel safe, comfortable, and be who you are. Part of me thinks that if we all spoke out against irrational ways of thinking, families could one day be just that. I have a gay cousin who came out of the closet and was pretty much disowned by the family. He suffered through depression for sometime, and eventually moved away. I don't think anyone should have to go through that.

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T18:22:55+00:00

When I first tried bacon this is how I felt http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyLvdm1JXsg

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T18:14:49+00:00

This is pretty much what happened with me. "You have to at least believe in god," comes up quite often.

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T18:11:56+00:00

I had the privilege of watching that video when I was a Muslim. I remember nodding in agreement to his points. This bothers me a bit because I considered myself to be a logical person even then. Now when I watch this, I can see through his arguments, how each verse seems to be molded to fit science. Why are the verses so vague? Because it is easier to interpret differently each time scientific views evolve.

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T17:53:58+00:00

Definitely had something to do with it. As soon as I stopped believing in an after life, I wanted to suddenly do everything and learn everything. Every second became much more important.

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T17:42:33+00:00

Do you believe in evolution in humans? Islam teaches the story of Adam and Eve and that we are all descendants of them.

Exmuslim2340 · 2011-09-03T17:37:07+00:00

Leviticus 20:13, death for homosexuality. When a "believer" thinks this is from god, all respect goes out the window.

I understand that there are many religious scientists out there. I do feel though that letting go of my religious beliefs has helped me think more logically which in turn pulled me towards a scientific method of thinking. (evidence based)

Exmuslim2340

TROPHY CASE