I can no longer sit by and be a part of a faith which is increasingly affecting both my life and my communities (Bangladeshi)in such a profoundly negative way. Over the course of the last few years I have noticed visible changes and am very saddened by it and I can only blame Islam for it. I was flicking through old pictures from my childhood and the differences between then and now are frightening. I was looking at my sisters wedding pictures almost 20 years ago, the men in suits, women wore beautiful cultural clothes, bare midriff(saree)a little bit of cleavage and hair flowing freely. I just went to a wedding in Birmingham and although the men were still in suits, the vast majority of women were either in hijab or niqab and covered head to toe. I have always been very liberal in my views toward gender equality and gay rights, but it has dawned on me for a while now that my community do not share the same values. I can no longer tolerate this intolerance, so I reject not only Islam but all other organised religions and dogmatic belief systems.