Aint nobody's slave no more.

[mkmd555]

Today, I want to share my story of leaving Islam.
I was born in India to a devout Sunni Muslim family; I performed my share of prayers and fasting. But I knew there was something wrong, even as a child I questioned my mamoojan (uncle), a member of Jamaaat Islaami India, as follows:

“Why will my friend Anil go to hell just because he was were born in Hindu family?”

“What’s wrong with more than one God?”

His answers were stock and did not satisfy me. As I learned later in life, that I would get the same answers from Muslims around the World.

Even, as a child, praying in a mosque, I would have intrusive, automatic thoughts saying: ”F**k Allah” these automatic thoughts would make me feel miserable and repentant. I thought I was evil or just born bad. (I do not have OCD, thank you). I had an innate sense that most people were good and deserve respect.

In 1977, in medical school at 22, I abandoned Islam, in my heart. It was not only Islam but religion as a whole. God, I still believe in, kind of, Is he/she one or one hundred I do not know or care.

In 1990 I immigrated to USA. I was trained in New York, to become a psychiatrist. It was a Jewish Mecca. The Jews were kind and benevolent to me. They treated me better than I was treated by muslin in Islamic countries. A retiring Jew psychiatrist gave his flourishing private practice to me so that I can take care of his patients. I owe the Jews as much I owe the Christians who provided me a decent education in India. The Jews or Christians never, even once, asked me to convert. I can guarantee that if it was the other way round, a Jew would have been invited to learn about Islam in an islamic University.

I discovered, to my shock that religion was well and alive in USA. Even my senior supervisors believed in religion. Very few were openly atheists, although a lot were openly gay. I decided to keep my mouth shut. In USA it is not appropriate to talk religion or politics.

The Muslim community does not like me because of my anti Islamic views. I just cannot keep silent in a party where they talk about Islam in glowing terms. The attendants at these parties are medical doctors, robotic engineers, head of departments etc, but when it comes to Islam their intelligence goes down the drain, they start talking sheer nonsense. How a physicist suddenly talks about metaphysics is beyond me. All they talk is about Spain and what Islam once was. Some times, I wonder that Islam is a way of getting psychological relief, a kind of a defense.

It is pain and loneliness that you have to endure when you take the road less traveled.

I can deal with neurotics and psychotics but I feel like pulling my hair when it comes to debating with Muslims.

All I can do now is writing and contribute some funds to this site. It is very important for the apostates to contribute to this or other sites because the Muslims use their zakat to foster bulls*it.

Yours ostracized,
_________________
Born as a muslim, an apostate now.

http://www.quackwatch.org/

[mkmd555]

Hey Cyberite,
You are so comforting.
I forgot to mention that my wife is a muslima and so are my 2 teenage kids. They do not listen to me, and I do not force my views on them.

Actually the reason I want to talk to these folks is that they belong to my culture and eat the same food etc.
_________________
Born as a muslim, an apostate now.

http://www.quackwatch.org/

[mkmd555]

Cyberite:
Please do not get me wrong. I was not being sarcastic. I think, some folks give you such a nasty time on this forum, that it has become hard for you to take an honest compliment.

you wrote:

<We come into this world alone and we shall die alone. The company we keep along the road is entirely up to us. >

The above was somehow comforting to me.

Take care,
_________________
Born as a muslim, an apostate now.

http://www.quackwatch.org/

[doubtless]

I hope you are able to relax and share your thoughts with your wife and kids. I know a muslima who is in a muslim country and after having been rebuked by her own very young son couple of times for uttering "blasphemous" thoughts against Islam finds that she cannot talk about how she feels with her own family. Her husband couldnott bear to hear anything critical of Islam to begin with. Fortunately she has family outside who she can talk to over the net but with some difficulty. I have only started appreciating what lonliness means after interacting with her.
_________________
Ali Sina: "The truth is out there for those who want to see it. It is beyond doubt."

Rg Veda: "He who surveys it in the highest heaven; He surely knows - or maybe He does not!"

[mkmd555]

Dear Cyberite:
All muslims come from poor countries, where family is very important. This includes non muslim countries like China ,Korea , and most of the Eastern countries.
One of the reasons why we think in terms of family is, that we can not trust the system and the rulers in Islamic countries, so all is left is the family.
Secondly but not the least, we do not have a social security system, so one has to fall on the kith and kin in old age or bad times. This gives rise to group think and a need to be with the tribe.

I love my kids and my wife, just cant share my apostatic feelings, how strange.
_________________
Born as a muslim, an apostate now.

http://www.quackwatch.org/

[mkmd555]

Doubtless:
Thank you for the support. I feel light and validated. It is the feeling that our patients get when they know that they are not alone. Now a psychiatrist is expereincing that feeling for the first time.
MK
_________________
Born as a muslim, an apostate now.

http://www.quackwatch.org/

[mkmd555]

Cyberite:
It is true that Islam is not conducive to free inquiry but there is more to Muslim’s backwardness than Islam itself. One of the factors that come to mind is that most of the Muslim countries are also suffering a post colonial malaise. Other factors are: poor resources, a bad education system, and decaying economies, which are the result of bad planning by corrupt regimes. Once the Muslims come to USA or European countries they do a better job.

As for the Nobel prizes, did South American Countries, China, Hindus or Buddhists fare better than the Muslims?

Of course the Jews have proportionally more Nobel prizes, but it is a fact that they are European or American Jews. Europe has a better tradition of free enquiry, a much better education system and a powerful economic climate. You will argue that Saudi Arabia has money but a very poor record, well, that wretched country did not even have a high school until 1958.

Muslims can argue that Islam was progressive 500 years ago and far ahead of Europe. It appears that we have to search for deeper reasons for Muslim’s plight than Islam alone. Things are not that easy and simple to explain.

Cyberite I just completed an excellent book,” Mullahs, Merchants and militants”, by Stephan Glain. Please take a look, http://www.newamerica.net/index.cfm?pg=event&EveID=388

My problem with Islam is its injustice and arrogance.

And lastly, American do have a solid family structure and values. I know this first hand because I work with American families. Individuality and cleanliness is an American characteristic. Americans is more individualistic than Germans or English.
_________________
Born as a muslim, an apostate now.

http://www.quackwatch.org/

[doubtless]

Cybertite,

What you say has truth to it, but it is not the whole truth. Islam is definitively a large component to the state of the Islamic countries but it would be a mistake to consider it as the only "cause".

We, who are trying to engage with the world of Islam, can try to make the situation better for muslims by demanding an atomosphere where a muslim can declare his apostasy and question his faith and belief openly. I know it can be done. The muslims can be shamed into it. That would be a big step for the thinking minds trapped within Islam.

mkmd555, the role of Islam in the condition of the muslim countries looms very large. The Ottoman Sultan banned the printing press from the Islamic world on the advice of the ulema. The printing press was not introduced for 200 years because of that. Ulema also opposed the introduction of clocks into the empire for a long time. You can imagine the loss just those two examples must have caused the muslim world. In the last century, the religious leaders were against the introduction of the phone to Saudi Arabia. It was the ingenuity of a yankee engineer working for Ma Bell who overcame the objection by suggesting transmitting the Shahhada over the phone with the hypothesis that the word of Allah could not be transmitted over the work of iblis. It worked. There are many examples. In India the mughals turned against modernism decisively on the advice of the mullahs which eventually led to the victory of the East India Company. The sikhs in western India had forged ahead with modernisation by developing ties with the westerners and had imported European mercanaries for the training of the Khalsa and managed to hold off the british for an additional hundred years.
_________________
Ali Sina: "The truth is out there for those who want to see it. It is beyond doubt."

Rg Veda: "He who surveys it in the highest heaven; He surely knows - or maybe He does not!"

[nikkis34]

Psychiatry what a joke. Last I checked there were still crazy people in the world and the numbers are getting bigger, not smaller. What is that you say sir, you are hearing voices . Well here take some prescription poisons, that will make it better. Doctor I am depressed. Well here take some antidepressants. They will make you better in the short run and will no doubt make the pharmaceuticals companies very rich. But you can't fix my depression. No sir, I can only prescribe drugs. We solve your problems by turning you into prescription drug addicts. One would be better off buying a bag of cocaine on the street. At least drug dealers do not charge you for the office visits.

Now your a slave to pharmaceutical companies and some psychiatry
journal.

[doubtless]

nikkis34,

It seems you think americans have very poor family structure. I have my doubts about that as well especially after getting a glimpse of the jerry springer show. People assure me that the springer show is really really fake. Gosh I hope so.

So, more to the point, who do you think has really good family structure around the globe?

Psychiatry has advanced quite a bit. The psychotropic drugs when they work do as wonder drugs. I know people who were totally incapcitated by depression and now are fully recovered after therapy and some drugs. The science of dealing with problems of the mind is still in its infancy. There are no miracle silver bullets yet.

There was an FMRI study on cocaine use that was released and it was astounding. There is little doubt now that extended use of that drug does cause loss of brain matter especially in the thalamus and the frontal cortex. You can look it up if you are interested. It was released within the last six months.
_________________
Ali Sina: "The truth is out there for those who want to see it. It is beyond doubt."

Rg Veda: "He who surveys it in the highest heaven; He surely knows - or maybe He does not!"

[paz]

mkmd555, Welcome! Funny that I used to work for a Muslim Psychiatrist, from Pakistan.

Congratulations on leaving Islam, please do stay here & vent, that's what we're here for. {{hug}}
_________________
˙˙˙˙ǝɯıʇ ʇsɹıɟ ǝɥʇ ʎʞuıʞ slǝǝɟ ʎluo ʇı 'ʎɹɹoʍ ʇ,uop

[mkmd555]

Nikkis:
Reading your post assures me of your limited intelligence.

Millions of people are not stupid to spend time and money from their pocket to get help.
Psychiatry, you must know comprises of biological, psychological and social components. Not just meds.

Use this board for what is meant for. Islam and its follies.
_________________
Born as a muslim, an apostate now.

http://www.quackwatch.org/

[yolk]

Sounds like Nikkis needs some meds...

[gupsfu]

[nikkis34]