Adam (former Muslim)

This is a testimony of a Muslim leaving Islam. It was originally posted at the ApostatesOfIslam website and has been reproduced here with permission. Views contained in these testimonies are not necessarily endorsed by WikiIslam. See the Testimony Disclaimer for details.
  

Adam Personal information Country of origin    Malaysia Gender    M Age    27 Faith Information Current worldview Christianity Born or convert to Islam? Born into Islam Parents' worldview Islam

My Testimony of Leaving Islam

I was born to a Muslim father and a Hindu mother, who converted to Islam before her marriage to my father.

I learned about Islam from the age of 7 until I was 17 years old. Then I had to learn about Islam in college for 3 years.

There were many things about Islam which I did not believe. I am not saying that they are right or wrong. I am just saying that "I do not believe".

I joined a reformist group of Muslims when I was about 23. This group offered a more attractive brand of Islam to me. However I found out later that many of the tenets they believed in did not differ much from that of the traditionalist Muslims.

During this time I was also reading about Christianity and attending mass at church. I felt so comfortable in the church (as opposed to my feelings in the mosque at times, despite going there for more than 20 years). I also began to be attracted to the Gospel.

Finally I decided to leave Islam. But I found out despite the fact that legally Muslims are allowed to leave Islam in Malaysia, there are many obstructions. The National Registration Department which is empowered to register Malaysian citizens has a practice of recording the Muslims' religion on their records. And the catch? Once you are a Muslim, you cannot change that detail on the registration records.

Muslims leaving Islam also cannot register their marriages. Muslims who have left Islam and have babies cannot have their babies registered, meaning their babies have the same status as illegal immigrants. Muslims who leave Islam face the prospect of being arrested by the Islamic religious authorities. Muslims leaving Islam also face the prospect of having their children taken away from them. Muslims who have converted out of Islam and married non-Muslims also face the prospect of forcibly being separated from their spouses.

This is what is saddening me most. Why can't these people respect our choice of faith? Why must they put us through all this hardship? Why do they hate us so much? This is what I do not understand, and this is the reason I'll pray for these people that they would be able to love us (apostates) as we love them.

---

Add Your Testimony | Other Apostates | Core Article | Qur'an, Hadith & Scholars | Resources | Helpful Hints