I was born and raised in the UK and am of Iranian background. The first memory I have of Islam was when I was in primary school and our teachers asked everyone what their religion was (I don't remember why). I didn't know what religion was at that time so my teacher told me to go home and ask my parents then tell her tomorrow. My mother seemed suspicious and even told me that I could be any religion I wanted to but because all of my friends and classmates religion, I wanted one too so I could fit in. It was then that I was labelled as a muslim and one of the disappointments at that time was that noone would give me Haribos anymore. I didn't care much about my religion for many years but when I started secondary school, my best friend was a muslim and a very happy one at that. She always spoke so well and Islam sounded very special and unique so I looked into it and decided to officially become a muslim. Of course I am completely certain that the only reason I decided to do so was because when I searched Islam online, there were only praises and everything was positive. Muslims are very good at hiding the bad aspects of Islam and muslim apologists are even more excellent at sugar coating Islam. After the initial excitement simmered down, I was more rational. For a period of about 5 years I frequently came across something (for example a hadith or one of Islam's teachings) which horrified me but every single time, I would restrain myself and tell myself that it was just the devil whispering in my ear and putting sinful thoughts into my head. Looking back, I cannot believe how brainwashed I had been and don't know why and how I would allow myself to believe such violent teachings but I was so dedicated and loyal that I did so. Just to point something out, I am very intelligent. I go to one of the top schools in my city. I am naturally a curious thinker. But my point is that even though I am clever and think for myself, Islam is very good at manipulation. After all, reading is, simply put, a form of brainwashing. Eventually I passed my limit of how many disgusting teaching, hatred, bigotry and contradictions I could take that I left. (ISIS was also a big part because they are just following the teachings of the Quran but still it is insisted that Islam is a peaceful religion). I think you do not need to be a genius to leave Islam, you simply need to have courage. Especially because there is a death penalty for those who leave.