I was raised a muslim. I was really religious about it too, as a kid.
Because of just that...
I was a kid.
I only ever knew what I'd been taught by other muslims which either left out the bad stuff or somehow twisted it into good and justified it. That all too familiar phrase "allah knows best". But I’ve always had a strong sense of justice growing up. So when I first heard about some of the stuff in Sharia law at age 12, I couldn't defend it. It shocked me that something I'd been taught to believe in could have such insensitive and illogical laws. I was only 12 but still mature enough to question my own beliefs, something that many adults refuse to do.
I started questioning everything I'd ever learned. Started thinking for myself for the first time, something that you aren't taught to do and aren't really supposed to. As a result of that free thought, I concluded that I couldn't support islam. I couldn't find anything valuable or righteous in it.
But leaving islam isn't simple. With disbelievers villianised and apostates criminalised, leaving Islam is easy for no one. I feel fortunate to not live in a country where I could be killed for it. But regardless of where you live, you'll be attacked and discarded by those you trusted if you leave islam. People tell you to kill yourself, cut you off, disown you, threaten you, hurt you and treat you like you're sick in the head. All because you don’t believe in a prophet who flew to heaven on a winged horse.
Religion is considered a "sensitive subject". Why is that? It makes no sense. Religions are books, written thousands of years ago, in the hand of man, translated over and over again from dead languages, full of controversial and questionable messages pulled out from ambiguous metaphors and fantasy-like stories and are not in line with science.
And yet you refuse to let anyone criticize that? While you oppress the lgbtqia+ community, women, children, ethnic minorities and apostates? Religion strips people of their rights, happiness and identities aswell as indoctrinating people from a young age. Religion can say stuff that is unequivocally untrue and people treat it as a fact and enforce those opinions onto others. And yet blasphemy is the issue here?
“You’re disrespecting my religion”. A book doesn’t warrant respect nor necessarily deserve it. Nobody has to respect anything just because you like it. If you feel offended and attacked by someone having a different view or suggesting that you’re wrong then the issue lies with you. People need to stop putting religion on an untouchable pedestal. THAT’S what’s oppressive. Not us criticizing a religion, that you slap the label “islamaphobic” onto.
Free speech matters until it disagrees with you. Trauma matters until it’s religious trauma. Feelings matter until it’s the feelings of an ex-muslim. Being able to criticise mass ideologies and speak for yourself is not a hate crime, it’s a human right. We do not have to silence our voices or tone down our feelings to please those who hurt us. We don’t have to sugar-coat things. We don’t have to do anything just to fit muslim agendas.
I don’t want anyone else to suffer the way I've suffered or to be deluded the way I was. I don’t want anyone else’s mind to rot away, only following one perspective because that’s all they know. I don’t want to see fellow ex-muslims live in fear of their own family and friends. I’ve seen too much of it already.