I grew up in a household where my mother was fairly spiritual and father secular. I was left to my own devices and I started to follow Sufism. It wasn\'t till my late teens did I start to actually see the difference between the Sufism I followed and the Islam which was present in the Qur\'an. However, I always felt compelled by the fear of hell, thus continued with it.

But it wasn\'t till I went to university and started to study archaeology did I realise how the whole creation story was absurd.

Over the years I picked and chose what I wanted to follow and believe but a point came where I had to be honest with myself. Did I or did I not believe in Islam. I was honest. I never really believed in a god, but now I had lost respect for Islam too.

I felt I was demeaning myself by following a religion as barbaric towards women as Islam.