My Journey From A Devout Muslim To An Ardent Atheist

There was a time when I used to be a devout Muslim and offered prayers five times a day. But slowly, I started realising that religious scriptures should be taken allegorically, and not literally because there are many parts in the religious scriptures that are beyond the general explanation. One thing behind my transformation from a devout Muslim to an ardent atheist is the religions’ ultimate statement on being unable to give a suitable explanation to a question. The question of whether we should not raise a question on the existence of God.

On the other hand, science gives one solid explanation and never heckles one from raising a question about a particular subject matter. In my opinion, religious scriptures are full of fairy tales and a part of world literature itself and nothing else. Religious institutions and people affiliated to them are of the opinion that religious scriptures have come down to this earth, undergoing a divine process, whose explanation is beyond our scientific comprehension until now.

I believe Abrahamic religions (Zionism, Christianity and Islamism) are full of wonders, which the religious people belonging to their respective religions, cannot explain properly. Their explanations always have serious doubts which is why I cannot accept them.

At the age of 15, I started leaning towards atheism and decided to lead my life without having any belief in supernatural entities. My father has helped me all through my journey. The first lesson of atheism I received was from no one but my own father.

I started having serious doubts on the veracity and truthfulness of religious scriptures. The questions that I asked my seniors and people, considered to be the experts in this field, went unanswered. Sometimes, I was given answers but the scarcity of solid facts and explanations could not satisfy me.

My doubts started growing at a rapid pace. I soon began to believe that the entire story related to God is nothing but a mere hoax, sometimes used to tame a particular class of society. The staggering gap between the nature of religion and science is that science never gives one an excuse; whereas religion, on being unable to respond to a question, tends to give one an excuse, which is easily perceivable, if one has the potential of a research-based mind.

It is important to note that a research-based mind always seeks to justify a particular subject matter on the basis of true facts, which generates instant consequences or at least consequences.

Albert Einstein On Religion And Science

Albert Einstein is one of the most revered scientists of all times. Unfortunately, he is one of the scientists whose statements have been analysed without any context. One of the statements that have created a massive worldwide debate between the theists and atheists is that “science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.” This is a misinterpreted statement and often taken out of the context.

Einstein was a Jew by birth. His parents were not religious but he attended Catholic primary school and had received private tuition in Judaism. But by the age of 12, he started questioning various parts of the religious scriptures as doubtful. Einstein penned a letter on January 3, 1954, to his philosopher friend Eric Gutkind. In the letter, he stated the following, “The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this.”

Furthermore, on the question of the Jews people cited as the “favoured people of the God”, his opinion was clear. He stated that “For me, the Jewish religion like all others is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions. And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. As far as my experience goes, they are no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise, I cannot see anything ‘chosen’ about them.”

From Bhagat Singh To The Socio-Political State Of The Country: Here’s What Influenced My Decision

My process of transformation, a religious Muslim to an ardent atheist, started with a book called “Why I am an Atheist” by Bhagat Singh. Bhagat Singh scientifically explained the reasons behind why he practised atheism. He stated that holding no belief in god should not be considered by people as an act of vanity, but the supernatural entities like God, have no reality-based basis. His revolutionary struggles against the fascist British force inspired me a lot. He did not change his stance, even when he was about to be hanged to death. He remained a devout atheist until his death.

Another crucial factor behind my transformation from an ardent Muslim to an atheist was the socio-political scenario of the country, in particular, and the world in general. I looked at those countries that are religious. The religious countries are suffering more than the ones which are not extremely religious. Extremely religious countries, I noticed, produce religious bigots. They are the ones who should be held responsible for the propagation of social evils. I started feeling suffocated and I needed to be liberated from all this.

Being an atheist in a country like India is not that easy. In my opinion, India is a country where some people are religious bigots and lack the capacity to filter out the bad from the good. Here, free thinkers are targeted on a daily basis. They are blamed for inciting communal violence. They are perceived as the biggest threat to any society. But the actual truth, which I can say, with my own responsibility, is that they are the ones who keep the religious narrowness aside try to rectify everything around us.