On the Making of an Unbeliever  

Abul Kasem    

UITE OFTEN I RECEIVE E-MAILS asking me why I have so much dislike for religion in general and Islam, my religion at birth, in particular. This question is not easy to answer. A person’s religion is the most sacred, and to some, the most valuable asset one may claim to possess. Wars are waged, genocide perpetrated, friendships broken, love turned into hatred, peace into turmoil, harmony into discord, enlightenment into darkness just because of religious difference. Nothing is more sensitive and dangerous than fomenting the religious feeling of people. As demonstrated by many suicide bombers, many believers consider their faith more precious than their own lives. Under such scenarios, it is not so simple for any one to look at his religion of birth critically. Many years, possibly decades of observations, experience, study and contemplation are required to examine one’s so-called religion of birth.  

Below, I have listed a few issues that may make an ardent believer to question his/her ‘religion of birth’, and may eventually turn him into an unbeliever. These listed concerns are not comprehensive. As the current events unfold, there will be many new aspects that may be more critical than what I have mentioned. Please spend a little time and ponder on what might turn a believer into an unbeliever.  

Four million diehard devotees (the Biswa Ijtema in Bangladesh ) from many Islamic Paradises beseech Allah in three languages (Bengali, Urdu and Arabic) for His blessings. Yet Allah keeps these countries the most corrupt, the least developed, the most crime-infested, utterly terrorised and amongst the poorest in the world. You start doubting if Allah ever understood any of those languages of prayer, especially His own language, that is, Arabic. This epidemic of prayer has been going on for decades, but Allah remains adamant. To the total chagrin of the true believers, Allah continues to bestow prosperity to the infidels. You question the fairness of Allah.  

When the Mullahs are in power in one of the Islamic Paradises (e.g., Bangladesh ) a great deluge of flood creates havoc there. The Mullahs term this devastating natural calamity as a test of Iman (faith) from Allah—just like Nuh’s flood. Curiously, when a secular government is elected to power, the same Mullahs call the raging flood a punishment from Allah for the electorate for choosing a secular government. You marvel at the capricious mind of Allah.  

When a 14-year-old boy is mercilessly flogged to death (in Iran) in the month of Ramadan for not fasting strictly to the stringent specifications of the religion you question the very authenticity of Allah’s Scripture on which this punishment is meted out.  

A 16-year-old girl (in Iran ) is raped by gangsters but she cannot prove her innocence for lack of resources to hire a competent lawyer. The Mullahs swiftly hang her in public without giving her a right to appeal. Her rapists go scot-free. You tremble in fear as you have a few teen-age daughters. You are frightened to death thinking what might happen to your young daughters if they become victims of similar rape.

Allah decides to send His soldiers to kindergarten schools to slaughter infidels’ infants (Beslan in Russia ). This action of Allah shakes the very foundation of your belief. You assume the savage perpetrators of this infanticide were not true believers. When you consult the Hadis you are profoundly shocked to learn that wanton killing of infidels’ children is religiously sanctioned. You become fearful about the safety of your own child when he/she is enrolled in a childcare/pre-school/kindergarten.  

You remember your past secret love life and suddenly learn from newspaper reports that a hapless widow in an Islamic Paradise is to be stoned to death for merely becoming pregnant and giving birth out of wed-lock to an innocent daughter. You thank yourself that none of those women with whom you had illicit sex became pregnant. You wonder what would have happened if you were caught.  

You sincerely fall in love with an infidel woman but you cannot marry her unless she embraces the ‘religion of tolerance’. You and your lover decide to flee the Islamic Paradise and immigrate to an infidel land just to exercise your fundamental human right.  

You and your wife for 12-years go on a holiday trip to a scenic beach resort (e.g., the state of Trengganu in Malaysia ). You lodge in the luxurious beach hotel Club Med. Out of blue; at the dead of night, the religious police heckle you demanding to witness your marriage certificate. Unable to produce the matrimony document, you and your wife have no choice but to be hand-cuffed and immediately whisked by the ‘guardians of Allah’ to be locked up in dingy cells. You and your distraught wife are separated and threatened with lashing until you can prove your Islamic marriage. You desperately fax to your relative to send you the original marriage certificate. Until that arrives you and your dear wife spend a few weeks in tenterhook. While all the infidel guests at the resort sleep in peace you suffer this despicable indignation because you have an Islamic (read Arabic) name. After you return to your home of infidels you promise not to set foot in an Islamic Paradise, ever.  

You visit Thailand , the land of smiles. Out of curiosity you visit a massage parlour or a Turkish bath. Inside the dimly-lit premise you spot your bearded but impeccably western-dressed Tabligi friends who were once your university mates. Astounded, you ask them what Tabligi work they are doing in such a sex joint. To your utter surprise your Tabligi friends tell you that Thai massage girls/prostitutes are halal for them. They claim that while they may have wives and children at Dar-ul-Islam (home country of Islam) but since they are in a Dar-ul-Harb (the land of warfare) or the land of infidels, it is alright for them to have sex with Thai women as these sex-kittens are like captives to the Muslims. You return home and check the Sharia book (Islamic Law) for their outrageous claim. To your complete disbelief you find that the Sharia fully supports your Tabligi friends’ claims.  

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