(Editor: An ex-Muslim from Fiji posted the following comments on an article here, The Islamic State, apostasy and ‘real Muslims.’ )

I am an ex-Muslim with a seriously long axe to grind. I was born into a Muslim home. As the eldest child I was supposed to carry the religious ideals of the home, and before I knew how to say “Papa,” I was sent to a Quranic teacher who taught me how to read in Arabic and recite the Quran. I was also taught how to pray etc.

I live in Fiji, and we are a largely secular state where western education is widely taught and compulsory. Thank heavens for this fact, as I was also sent to a normal school.

By the time I was 13 years old, I was brainwashed into believing that the sun literally shined out of the butcher of Mecca (Mohammed’s) ass. I was an Imam by then and led about 50 grown men in prayer.

I was taught that Islam was “it,” and everyone else was either to be converted or to be seen as almost subhuman—this, despite the fact that Fiji Muslims are regarded as very moderate.

Fortunately for me, I have an inquiring mind, and, by the time I started high school, many questions regarding my faith started coming to mind. As I started earning for myself and moved away from the controls of my parents, these questions started bothering me more and more.

I eventually sat down and read the Quran in English to understand it better and its supporting Hadiths. By the end if it all, I was so pissed that I had wasted a significant part of my life believing in this load of crap. For the life of me, I could not understand how anyone in his or her right mind could follow, let alone treat someone like Mohammed as almost a demi-God.

Quite frankly, I was ashamed, and a part of me still is for being such a fool. I soon started researching religion, and it was not long before I found this website and many others like it, which helped to clear a lot of the questions that I had.

While I am not an atheist, as I do believe that there are too many unexplained phenomenons in this world to discount a creator, I will happily admit that I simply do not know. What I do know is that the sooner organized stupidity which some call religion is removed from this world, the better.

“There is nothing rational or peaceful about Islam, and anybody saying there is is deluded and in need of serious help.”

I do hold a particular disdain for the religion of Islam, as I believe that it is as evil as it gets. Islam is, as I like to put it, Christianity on steroids. There is nothing rational or peaceful about it, and anybody saying it is is deluded and in need of serious help.

—Reaaz Ali

(The above remarks have been edited for grammar and clarity. Testimonials from other ex-Muslims are welcome here. Emphasis added.)

Further Reading

An Iranian speaks out against Islam and 35 years of oppression

How Islam failed me: An Iranian ex-Muslim speaks out about the Quran, violence & slavery

Dear Muslim: A message from an ex-Muslim

Sins of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Muslim ex-imam: ‘Islamophobia is a loathsome term for beating down Islam’s critics’

Confessions of an ex-Muslim

Islam critic Dr. Wafa Sultan’s message to America

Ayaan Hirsi Ali Saves Civilization

Ex-extremist Muslim Dr. Tawfik Hamid speaks out

Canadian Muslim activist speaks out on behalf of Pakistani blasphemy-law victim