A handful of Pakistani Muslim youths are beginning to question the existence of God and in the process giving up Islam to become atheists.Still a small number, the trend seems to be telling of pressures that the image of militant Islam has had on them. A Facebook group has been floated for Pakistan's agnostics and atheists by Hazrat NaKhuda, a former Pakistani Muslim.At last count, the group had over a 100 members. In a thread started on the discussion board on "How did you become an atheist", Hazrat writes, "I used to be a practicing Muslim. I used to live in Saudi Arabia. I have done two Hajs and countless Umrahs. Used to pray five times a day. When I turned 17-18, I realized that the only reason I was a Muslim was because my parents were Muslims".Hazrat is a young computer programmer from Lahore. Another member, posted on the discussion board: "I'm an agnostic simply because I see little or no evidence for the existence of God. Some time ago I decided that I'd never believe anything unless it has a firm basis in reason and as far as I know (and I admit I know very little and there's much to be learnt), there's little or no evidence for the existence of God."The group, open strictly to members, has young Pakistani students studying in New York University to Oxford University to the prestigious Lahore University of Management Sciences as members.One of them wrote that the moot question is not "how did you become an atheist" but "how did you become a believer". Every child is born free and pure" added another one, who loved Islamic preacher Zakir Naik and hated author Salman Rushdie, has had a change of heart too. He now thinks Naik is an "idiot" and Rushdie a genius. There are other threads on how the members "wasted" their years as theists.

More serious issues, like whether there should a column marked "no religion" while applying for passports, have also been discussed. "Last time I went to get my passport renewed, I found there is no option called "no religion". Next time I go to make my passport I don't want to put in Islam as my religion," said one member.What connects members, who range from students to computer professionals to architects, is their urgent need to question religion.