Religion
Related: About this forumAllah vs atheism: ‘Leaving Islam was the hardest thing I’ve done’
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/allah-vs-atheism-leaving-islam-was-the-hardest-thing-ive-done-9069598.htmlA growing number of Muslims are speaking out about losing their faith, but it can mean being shunned by their families, or even threatened with death. Sarah Morrison meets the atheists
SARAH MORRISON Sunday 19 January 2014
Amal Farah, a 32-year-old banking executive, is laughing about a contestant singing off-key in the last series of The X Factor. For a woman who was not allowed to listen to music when she was growing up, this is a delight. After years of turmoil, she is in control of her own life.
On the face of it, she is a product of modern Britain. Born in Somalia to Muslim parents, she grew up in Yemen and came to the UK in her late teens. After questioning her faith, she became an atheist and married a Jewish lawyer. But this has come at a cost. When she turned her back on her religion, she was disowned by her family and received death threats. She has not seen her mother or her siblings for eight years. None of them have met her husband or daughter.
It was the hardest thing Ive ever done telling my observant family that I was having doubts. My mum was shocked; she began to cry. It was very painful for her. When she realised I actually meant it, she cut communication with me, said Ms Farah. She was suspicious of me being in contact with my brothers and sisters. She didnt want me to poison their heads in any way. I felt like a leper and I lived in fear. As long as they knew where I was, I wasnt safe.
This is the first time Ms Farah has spoken publicly about her experience of leaving her faith, after realising that she did not want to keep a low profile for ever. She is an extreme case her mother, now back in Somalia, has become increasingly radical in her religious views. But Ms Farah is not alone in wanting to speak out.
more at link
trotsky
(49,533 posts)Is it OK if her family hates her because she left her religion, they just can't shun her? How would you stop that?
skepticscott
(13,029 posts)of her family's hate and the way they are treating her, because their "deep and abiding faith" tells them they must. If we don't respect or "tolerate" their beliefs and feelings, we're just intolerant bigots. Or so goes the story around some dinner tables.
trotsky
(49,533 posts)Because all some people want to do is attack, divide, and silence other points of view, apparently.
skepticscott
(13,029 posts)run in the family. Which is a shame. It'd be nice if the actions matched the preaching.
rug
(82,333 posts)Because all some people want to do is attack, divide, and silence other points of view, apparently. Oh, and use personal attacks to snipe at people who have them on ignore, knowing there will be no rebuttal.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)cbayer
(146,218 posts)better off there than Somalia.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)But that's a good point too.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)I agree.
hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)cbayer
(146,218 posts)Our daughter married a Pakistani Muslim. At first, I didn't really understand what he was going to have to face from his family, but it was very difficult and very intense. He has not proclaimed himself an atheist, and I don't think he is one, but he has many things he must keep secret from his family.
In the days of Facebook, this can be very, very difficult.
At any rate, with everyone giving a little, things are working out ok. Nobody has taken such a rigid stand and everyone has compromised a bit.
I'm sorry that she does not have the same thing, but maybe over time
.