Salim (Former Muslim)
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Testimony of Leaving Islam
I first started questioning Islam a few years ago. It wasn't Islam itself, rather the Muslim community. During Friday prayers, the Imam would perform Du'a for the struggling Muslims in Palestine. Although it seemed logical to me to pray for suffering people, I wondered why the Imam, Muslim social media or the Muslim community as a whole never showed sympathy towards non-Arab Muslim minorities persecuted by Arabs themselves. Why didn't any Imam in the mosques I have attended pray for the non-Arab African Muslims that were massacred in Darfur by Arab Muslims? Why didn't the Muslim community make this a big issue like they do with the Palestinian cause? Why didn't any Imam pray for their fellow Muslim Kurds that have getting persecuted for almost half a century by Arabs in the Middle East? Why isn't the Muslim community raising this issue?
I spoke to a few fellow Bengalis and their hatred towards Israel was baffling. Israel never did anything to Bangladesh. On the contrary, unlike Bangladesh's Muslim Arab brothers who supported Pakistan's mass killing of Bengalis for having a Hindu culture, Israel actually supported Bangladesh in the 1971 war. After doing some research, I can safely say that Arabs in Israel are way better off than Kurds in the Middle East or Africans in Sudan.
The final blow came when I heard how my uncle was racially abused in Saudi Arabia. He told me that in Saudi Arabia, Bengalis, as well as other South Asians, are labeled miskeen (beggars) and that non-Arabs Muslims from that region are not regarded very highly. It made me question the religion even more: Why do we Afghans, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Indian Muslims view Arabs in very high regard whereas they think of us as beggars and impure Muslims? Why is that Arabs consider us lower Muslims yet when they are in crisis, such as in Syria, they beg for foreign Miskeen to help them out?
I came to the conclusion that Islam is not a really a religion, but it is Arab imperialism in disguise. Although only 20% of Muslims are Arab, why is that women have to wear traditional Arab clothing (Hijab, Burka)? Why do Muslims have to pray and read their holy book in a language they don't speak nor understand? Why, as a non-Arab Bangladeshi man, should I hate a country (Israel) that has never done anything to my people? Why is it Haram to celebrate cultural holidays that aren't derived from Islam? Why is nationalism haram? Why are languages that have no relation to Arabic (Urdu, Pashto, Farsi) have Arabic scripts? Why is my first name and last name Arabic?
Islam did a great job of stripping people from their native cultures and imposing a religion that favours Arab people and Arab culture. Why else would nationalism and celebrating native holidays be haram?
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