By FARHANQURESHI
Updated: Sat, 24 Dec 2011 15:30:28 UTC

Hey guys I've been interested in this topic since having left Islam and comments by Professor Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris on Spirituality have always interested me.

To introduce myself briefly, I was a Muslim apologist and I debated on an academic stage with Christian thinkers and scholars such as Dr. James White, Professor David Wood, Dr. Tony Costa, Walid Shoebat (former PLO terrorist), and Muslim personality Shaykh Shaker Elsayed (of the 9/11 mosque on an intrafaith debate at the time). Since leaving Islam, I’ve been writing for Faith Freedom International and have had a few debates. However I think I need to slow down a bit and find myself.

First and foremost leaving Islam by itself was a grieving process for me because I had invested so much time, effort, energy, money, thought, passion and devotion to this religion. I really believed Islam was the ultimate reality behind existence. The reason I left Islam was after my education in Psychology, experience in Mental Health, and studying the likes of Sam Harris and others I realized something profound and yet obvious. Perhaps I never really could embrace within the depths of me the notion that people would be tormented and tortured in Hell for eternity. Based on the problem of Hell, and additionally, based on the problem of suffering and evil I could no longer believe in theology and I made the big move and came out publically an apostate of Islam after defending it and practicing it for many years. This could potentially be dangerous! I hope not, I live in a free country, you know?

In any event, after leaving Islam I had to ask myself some big philosophical and existential questions about reality. The reason I am posting here (and plan on continuing to post here) is to get your thoughts, advice and insight in finding myself in this time/space continuum if you will.

Thanks!

Farhan Qureshi

TAGGED: ATHEISM, ISLAM