raindropple

I would like to know why Muslims would become atheists.


Are there any atheists in here who were previously Muslim?


I see that Donald Morgan and many others are from Christian background and thus I have an idea why Christains become atheists based on what I read from there postings to the net and some articles they post?

Also would be interesting to know why Hindu's would become atheist?

Thanks for any inputs

[ August 08, 2002: Message edited by: raindropple ]</p>

ansarthemystic

A hindu told me that hinduism is so broad in scope that a hindu can have any belief or lack of belief concerning god. Therefore an atheist can still be ahindu.

Personally, agnosticism I have respect for, but I don't see why anyone would want to be atheist.

peace and blessings

Philosoft

Why don't you seek out some threads that address this very issue and see what actual atheists have to say rather than simply making up a definition that is easy to ridicule?

pinkorag

I'm Iranian, I was formerly a Muslim but a few years ago after being really non-practicing I just realized there is no god.

ansarthemystic

I did NOT make up that definition, a friend of mine did. I was not trying to ridicule the definition b/c I think it's valid, after studying hinduism for myself.

Besides I was merely stating my personal opinion.

peace and blessings

Asha'man

What an odd statement to make. In general, nobody wants to be an atheist, they have no choice. Theism has a strong emotional appeal, using both fear and hope. Atheism provides a much colder view of reality, without the comfort of a greater purpose or an all-loving, caring, justice-enforcing deity.

However, for most of us, the harsh truth of reality overrides wishful thinking. We can no longer ignore the contradictions, the hypocrisy, the cognitive dissonance required to maintain belief. So our belief goes away. We become non-believers because our intellect is stronger than the emotional appeal of theism.

As for agnosticism, it is also atheism. If you have no comprehension of god, no knowledge of god, then you pretty clearly have no belief in god. Agnosticism stresses knowledge more than belief, but both are really different ways of stating the same thing.

raindropple

Could you please explain how Islamic principles and things you knew about Islam would lead you to become an atheist?

I ask since I see on many sites why Christians become atheist, though I dont know the Ex' Muslims reasons.

Thanks

pinkorag

I think the political/philosophical changes in me led me to the path of Atheism. In my early years I was strongly anti-gay and anti-abortion. But about three years ago(I'm 15 now) my political views started taking a sharp turn to the left. I'm not talking Democratic Party left. I'm talking Socialist left. When I realized that women should have a right to abortion and gays weren't all that bad I started doubting my religion but I was still a believer. At that point I started getting into philosophy books a lot(voltaire, thomas paine, etc.) and my distaste for religion grew to the point where I became a nominal muslim but I was really just a Deist. From there it was a slow progression into Agnosticism then Atheism.

My parents were never all that religious. My mother never wore a head scarve, my father never spoke about religious values. My father came from a family that was full of mulahs. My paternal grandfather broke the line by becoming a judge instead of a mulah. My dad came to America and that influenced his ideas. I'm pretty sure he's an Agnostic now because he really doesn't care that I'm an Athiest. The worst reaction I got was from my mom who felt badly because she said she rose me up wrong. But she's accepted it.

I think what led me down the path to Atheism was even though my mom always told me about the wonders of the Koran and God, I was always a skeptic. My dad really did prefer me to read about history or physics than anything religious. There was a point in my life when I was really religious but I just fell out of it in a gradual progression. The climate I was in was probably one of the biggest reasons for my Atheism.

ansarthemystic

I personally think that in terms of what we believe, ther is choice. Therefore atheists and theists have a choice. I also feel more respect for agnostics because they are realistically not aligned with either idea(bekief or non-belief). In other words like you said knowledge is more important than belief to an agnostic, and I feel the same way. However, I still disagree with the notion that atheism and agnosticism are the same thing.

peace and blessings

ansarthemystic

Did you realize there is no god, or did you come to believe that there is no god?

peaace and blessings