I haven’t said much about Islam yet, mainly because I don’t know enough about it yet. I’ve been reading about Xianity and Bible history and analysis for some time and have read much of the New Enlightenment literature going back to Russell, and am starting to read about Islam. And it is not good. Unlike Xianity, Islam has not gone through any sort of Reformation, it appears circumstances are largely different. So for now I am going to defer to some of the XCLNT sources of some former Muslim, mostly women.
1. Aaayan Hirsi Ali
If you haven’t read her “Infidel“, do. Her second book Nomad is good as well. Besides her incredible personal story you get a lot of description of what life is like in some of the Islamic countries.
And for an older and more in depth view of daily life in various Islamic cultures try this one:
by V.S. Naipaul:
For current secular activism among Ex Muslims check Hirsi Ali’s website.
and I strongly the suggest another fearless, courageous woman: Maryam Namazie
and her blog.
The Islamic countries are terribly repressive and although one can claim “its not the religion, its the culture“, as with Xianity religion, it is usually the largest, strongest, most pervasive and coercive bastion of conservatism and repression in any culture. Again falling back on what Ive read the most of: US Xianity, the biggest roadblocks to progress has always been the churches and the clergy. It was the conservative Xian churches and clergy which blocked women’s suffrage and which continues the war on women with constant rape and abortion legislation in this country, it was the Conservative Xians once again who vehemently upheld slavery. All of our current science denial in the US is driven by the Conservative Xians.
Read for yourself and see if Islam isn’t the main driving force in any of the predominantly Islamic cultures of homophobia, misogyny, and science denial.
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