I had to convert to Islam when my ex husband and I married, it was strictly for the paper work so I could attain an Iranian passport to travel to his country as his wife, we also had to perform a Muslim marriage ceremony in London as it seemed the Islamic authorities did not recognize our British marriage even back in 1978 before the Islamic revolution.
To please my husbands parents I even learned how to do namaz but one day after coming home from a friends wedding, for which I wore make-up and nail polish and therefore couldn\'t perform the namaz until I had cleaned it all off. I was standing there performing all of the days versus as a catch-up in the evening and I just saw how ludicrous the whole thing was.
Shortly after the revolution there was a day when I was told I couldn\'t go out with make-up on or without a headscarf. I tore up my Muslim certificates and put them in the rubbish bin.
I never did give in to their ridiculous rules, I was the only female member of staff at the English language institute who refused to wear the headscarf, and since I as also their only English, English teacher they shut up.
I\'m now atheist and living in the UK. I abhor the disregard Islam has for human rights especially those of women and young girls and would like to do anything I can to help fight against the abuse some Muslim women face, even if it\'s just stuffing envelopes and mailing out leaflets to support awareness. I am also totally against sharia law being introduced into the UK and would like to see all sharia law courts here shut down.