Atheism For Muslims A guide to questioning Islam religion and God for a better future Adam Wadi Books
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Atheism For Muslims A guide to questioning Islam religion and God for a better future Adam Wadi Books
Atheism for Muslims by Adam Wadi is a very thought-provoking book that describes the author's personal account of growing up in a religious household and culture and what it was like for him to let go of his deeply rooted beliefs. I've read many of the well-known atheist authors from the late, great Christopher Hitchens to Daniel Dennett to Richard Dawkins, but none of them expressed what Wadi did in terms of the feelings of loss that is involved in separating oneself from one's belief. Wadi even used the renowned Kubler Ross model to deal with grief (five stages of dealing with loss starting with denial, anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance, not necessarily in that order. I may even have gotten the Kubler Ross order wrong.).I can relate to this in my life because unlike Hitchens or Dawkins, I am not content as an agnostic. I would like to believe. I just lost someone very precious to me a few months ago and I would give anything in the world to embrace the comforting concept of an afterlife but I just can't or rather I continue to struggle with the improbability of it all. That is a terrible loss compared to the rest of my family who all believe that this person is somewhere with the angels.
Kudos to Adam Wadi for being brave enough to write a book that will cause a great stir in his community.
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Atheism For Muslims A guide to questioning Islam religion and God for a better future Adam Wadi Books Reviews
The author was raised a Muslim. He frames this book in the context of his gradual evolution away from the blind acceptance of dogma, as he became aware of how the worst tenets of Islam could be corrupted to justify the killing of innocent human beings, as contrasted against the loving Muslim tradition in which he was personally raised.
'Atheism for Muslims' is not a vituperative rejection of his former faith, nor a the typical militant atheist screed that accuses religious people of constituting little more than unenlightened troglodytes.
There is no measurable, empirical proof for or against the existence of God, gods or goddesses, whatever form any of us may be believe He, She or They may take. This is an objective fact. When we speak of matters of faith, or religion, or even of something as broad and non-specific as spirituality, we speak of something that is very personal, and which in truth, differs as much from individual to individual as does the perception of the color red or the feeling of love.
Recognizing that religion in ages past has been used to shape and influence cultures, we also need to acknowledge that it reciprocally has also been shaped by those cultures within which it has existed and grown. There is no such thing as a pure and timeless religion. All faiths absorb socio-cultural elements of times during which they are formed. To ignore this fact is to deny history.
Whether the Christian who believes the Gospel existed outside of time with God in the form of Jesus, or the Muslim who believes the Qur'an was uncreated and eternal, the doctrines of any and all religions throughout humanity have come into being through a combination of revelation and conjugation with the context of time and place.
In the canonization of The New Testament, the teachings of Rabbi Jesus to his followers were mashed up with the ideas of Paul (who never met Jesus during his life) with the Hellenic Christ. Jesus said follow the Jewish Law (Torah). Paul said to do away with it. Jesus said he came to fulfill that law. Jesus never said to his apostles, "I am God. I am Christ. Worship Me as You Do The Father." So purportedly, according to Paul, Jesus came to him after death, and contradicted what he had told his followers during his life. Most Christians reject or ignore these because it contradicts the dogma they've been taught. Unquestioning acceptance of illogical dogma with an offhanded, 'God's will is a mystery. Who are we to question the Almighty?" implies that reason has no place in theology or religion.
You would have to ask yourself, why, if we accept that God exists, would He grant humans the ability to reason, and reveal Himself to them, only to keep confusing us? If He wants us to follow His will, how could it not be within the power of the same Almighty, All-Powerful, All-Knowing being whom we are told said, "Let There Be Light" and then simply by the power of His words alone, it sprung into existence. Rather, this leads the critical thinker (particularly one of faith) to eventually arrive at the conclusion that it was men seeking power over other men who assumed the mantle of godhood for themselves, claiming that they were speaking with the authority of God's voice, to thus assert dominion over those around them.
This journey of spiritual discovery the author recounts isn't that much different from Penn Jillette's own, as related in the latter's humorous autobiography, although Mr. Wadi's tale is more gentle, solemn, respectful and reflective.
Adam acknowledges that religion can have its benefits. He still finds some of the cultural accretions of Islam comforting, and still practices them without the elements of worship, such as the traditional Muslim greeting of "Peace Be Upon You" in Arabic (Asalaam Alaykum), or some of the Quran'ic principles a rational humanist could still support, such as to only fight when threatened.
Religion is essentially a spiritual philosophy which places one or more deities at its center. If it remained as this and this alone, with each individual able to personally interpret what their faith meant to them (this was known as 'ijtihad' in Islam), without the coercion or influence of outside authorities dictating what constituted true faith, i.e., if there were no such things as "heresies", then all religions could peacefully co-exist both with one another, and with the non-religious. Yet for too long in human history the Church and the State were one. And I am reminded of a quote I've once heard regarding this, "When Church and State are brought together, both suffer." This is what the Enlightenment tried to get us away from.
In conclusion, Adam Wadi's personal journey of discovery led him away from the Islam of his youth, to a more secularized, cultural version which brings comfort due to its familiarity. Again, he does not condemn religion wholesale. He only asks believers to question what they believe, particularly when it leads them down a path to condemn or hurt others--as for those of us who do believe in an Almighty God who created all of humanity, could not our ultimate test of worthiness to rejoin with Him be to transcend our philosophical and religious differences to recognize instead our commonalities and unite in a global community of humankind?
Unfortunately, human unity appears nowhere on our radar for the foreseeable future. Yet we cannot keep relying on a spiritual father figure as a crutch to save us from ourselves. If that is the only or primary purpose that our religions serve, then it is an immature and wrongful purpose.
Our continued divisiveness as a race implies that we are still an adolescent, temperamental species, still driven primarily by our baser passions, that we have yet to evolve beyond. Although we have evolved technologically by leaps and bounds in the last few centuries, our morality has barely evolved beyond the Bronze Age, if even that far.
If anything, radical religious fundamentalists have morally regressed back to the Stone Age. All the advances of their brains past the Neanderthal have granted them no more than the ability to rationalize their evil actions more eloquently.
In "Atheism for Muslims" Adam offers us not only former Muslims, but those of other faiths and creeds, a well-reasoned and hopeful guide that could help any and all who reflect on its content seriously to start working toward the goal of being the better human being that each of us the potential to become, yet which far too few of us have effectively nurtured, at far too often and too great a personal price.
We would do well to remember that the historical Jesus tried to bring peace and unity to his time, for which he was scapegoated and executed as a political prisoner in place of Barabbas.
I have read several books on this topic mostly from a Judeo-Christian approach. It was nice to have the opportunity to hear yet of another perspective on this topic from a viewpoint not too commonly seen - Islam. This book gives yet another insight to what I find has been most difficult for many, regardless of religious background, and that is the leaving of a tradition embedded into the psyche from childhood. Adam does a great job of not leaving the non-Muslim out of the discussion as he does a nice job referencing the challenges from all Abrahamic viewpoints when appropriate. I admire the courage Adam had in reaching his decisions about the spiritual. From what I have seen (which is limited) I am sure it was extremely challenging. If for no other reason, I recommend this book if you are a fan of the memoir. The personal story interwoven into the topic makes for a compelling read.
Adam Wadi chose to embark on an examination of his Muslim faith given to him as a child. The examination was thorough and turned him into an atheist. This was a difficult journey for him for many reasons, one of them being that the traditional Muslim approach to non-believers is extreme and violent. Clearly, he undertook this journey because he believed seeking truth was essential for his personal contribution to humanity to be a positive one. He wrote this book, then, not only because he knows how hard this journey is and believes his experience will help others who might want to set out on the same journey. It is clear also that he wrote this book because he believes that an examination of religious faith and tradition is of particular importance at this moment in time for the future well-being of our species and the survival of our planet. In particular, he shows his concern that the talent and intellect of too many of the Muslim faith, trapped in the words of an ancient text, may be going untapped in a world that sorely needs their contribution for the advancement of humanity.
For the non-Muslim reader, this book is an excellent ground-level textbook for understanding the history and current worldwide status of the Muslim religion and culture. This is in no way a harsh book; its tone is measured and scholarly with a warm heart.
Atheism for Muslims by Adam Wadi is a very thought-provoking book that describes the author's personal account of growing up in a religious household and culture and what it was like for him to let go of his deeply rooted beliefs. I've read many of the well-known atheist authors from the late, great Christopher Hitchens to Daniel Dennett to Richard Dawkins, but none of them expressed what Wadi did in terms of the feelings of loss that is involved in separating oneself from one's belief. Wadi even used the renowned Kubler Ross model to deal with grief (five stages of dealing with loss starting with denial, anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance, not necessarily in that order. I may even have gotten the Kubler Ross order wrong.).
I can relate to this in my life because unlike Hitchens or Dawkins, I am not content as an agnostic. I would like to believe. I just lost someone very precious to me a few months ago and I would give anything in the world to embrace the comforting concept of an afterlife but I just can't or rather I continue to struggle with the improbability of it all. That is a terrible loss compared to the rest of my family who all believe that this person is somewhere with the angels.
Kudos to Adam Wadi for being brave enough to write a book that will cause a great stir in his community.
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