I really wish that more people would do things like that because it’s little things that wake us up in the end. I think if it wasn’t for that comment I’d still be misguided, ignorant, blind, and intolerant… all valid descriptions of an “extremist.” In many ways I am still like that but definitely not in the same degree that I freakishly was in the past. This site has really changed me, and the writers here inspire me to be a better person.

It is SO easy to give in and be part of the “masses.” And so tempting when it makes you feel like you belong somewhere, even if it’s somewhere you don’t want to be, it’d still be “home.” But it’s really damned wrong to live like that and I hope this site inspires other young people to change from that kind of lifestyle.

No wonder I’m more of a Universist than a Muslim. If only Malaysia didn’t make it such a pain and legal battle to undeclare your religion on your ID!

I have to say I am very surprised that this is going on almost everywhere. I thought it was only the original Wahabbis (TM) who got carried away.

SudaneseDrima, that’s an interesting idea. Why don’t you go first?

Then I left that school for another one where Islam was a mandatory course for all 12 years of schooling.

But what has to be remembered is that this is not just typical to Islamic schools, but to many religious schools. I know of people who went to Catholic schools that experienced the same forced belief through threats of hell and punishment.

We allow ourselves somehow to ignore another consciousness which means today awareness. If awareness is above religious morality it has an objective foundation, if not remains a wish.

Religion cannot be banned, but at least should finally let people contempt without layering on its pre-judgments, compulsorily or implicitly, while personhood needs to rise the foreground of our awareness, religion is a barrier.

The human spirit must be free to know. Apprehending who we are, for what purpose we exist, and how we should live our lives, is a basic impulse of human consciousness. This quest for self-understanding and meaning is the essence of life itself. The innate and fundamental aspiration to investigate reality is thus a right and an obligation of every human being. It is for this reason that the Baha’i teachings affirm that the “conscience of man is sacred and to be respected.”

To search for truth–to see with one’s “own eyes and not through the eyes of others”–is to undertake a process of spiritual discovery with a keen sense of justice and openness. It is by its very nature a process that is creative and transformative; if pursued with sincerity and fairness, it can bestow upon the seeker of knowledge “a new eye, a new ear, a new heart, and a new mind.” The rational soul is thereby awakened to the capacities of kindness, forbearance, and compassion that lie within it. Clearly, the human yearning for truth is a power that cannot be shackled, for without the freedom to know, human nature remains the prisoner of instinct, ignorance and desire.

Whatever the reason may be, we may not be able to drop our yes or no to the wills of divine, but we may be able to drop the barrier of dogma.

I personally do not believe in non-proveble divinity of any religion; religion is a human product, but I am not in a literal sense atheist. To diminish this wall that separates all religions from reality, we may actively work within our mind, not only our heart.

If there is a certain degree of divinity to prove, we better off find it out through the modern natural sciences, not through the old dusty religious books.

Believe me, this doesn’t just happen in the Middle East.

I can totally relate too. At least the lucky ones like us dared to use our minds and discovered that there’s so much more to Islam underneath all that bullshit.

Unfortunately there are a lot more people who are happy to swallow that bullshit whole!

Terrorizing children and putting them through emotional and psychological trauma should be banned in all school systems. This is not what Islam is all about.

Right on.

And Sarah, great topic. I can really relate to it.

That says a lot about your personality.

I think it’s the responsibility of eveyrone who goes through these things to be fighters. Freedom of speech and freedom of religion are not privileges, they are rights. We deserve them.

In Islam, the Qur’aan acknowledges these rights which have consequences in the afterlife. People refuse to understand this concept: In the words of our Prophet (saw) “I have my religion and you have yours.” Islam is all about good deeds, the violent consequences that it mentions is in reference to the afterlife and Judgment Day which is strictly between a person and God. No human has a right to impose these sets of beliefs or consequences onto any other human for it goes against our principles.

And I don’t like retarded bearded donkeys telling me I will burn in hell for all eternity simply because I play guitar.

When we first got cable, the only music channel I had was MSM which featured a lot of hard rock French music. I later developed an addiction for this, and I started listening to a political rock group called “Noir Desir.” My family and some friends would say “what is this DEVIL TUNE?” and my mother would always associate this with devil worshippers and Western imperialism. So on her birthday, I got her a copy of their greatest hits album. She didn’t talk to me for like a month. Man, those were good times. Fortunately she learned how to accept this, and she herself began realizing the hypocrisy of people who preach this kind of shit.

Terrorizing children and putting them through emotional and psychological trauma should be banned in all school systems. This is not what Islam is all about.

I got kicked out of my Islamic Studies class for voicing my opinion against stoning.

LOL! That says a lot about your personality. We are rebellious aren’t we? You don’t even want to know the number of times I got kicked out of my classes. Once I almost got into an actual physical fight with the Islamic teacher. He was an asshole. Apparently he doesn’t like getting called stupid Santa Claus.

And I don’t like retarded bearded donkeys telling me I will burn in hell for all eternity simply because I play guitar.

I got kicked out of my Islamic Studies class for voicing my opinion against stoning. I later began asking others about doubts and disagreements I had in the Qur’aan, and I got horrible, intolerant reactions. This experience kind of traumatized me, and made me distance myself as much as possible from Islam. For years I was this way, until I really began studying and reading about the faith.

I meet so many atheists who lost their faith because of this.

Kareem Amer also lost his faith because of the way it has been taught to him in Egypt’s most prominent religious institution (guilty of burning books and poetry claiming that it’s “un-Islamic” and thus impure.)

The way they taught Islam was disgusting.

Luckily I had parents who taught me about praying without instilling fear into me as a child.