A Conversation With My Mother
This week, my mother dragged me along with her to visit a shrine. She wanted to pay her respects to an Islamic Saint buried there. Apparently, he was well known locally for his preaching efforts and his so-called ‘Supernatural Talent’. On our way, my mother took great enthusiasm in filling …
What It Is Like To Be A Closet Ex-Muslim Woman
The snow glows white on the mountain tonight, not a footprint to be seen. If you have read my previous blogposts, you would know that I am still a closet Ex Muslim. I have been hiding in this closet for more than 15 months. I still have to carry on …
A Short Poem
(Image Credit: Katerina Plotnikova Photography) My soul runs free, Not trapped in your ignorance, Not enclosed in your bigotry. My guilt is wiped out, My fears fly away, My tears are dried away. My zest for understanding returns, My longing for freedom prevails. You may wrap me in garbs, You …
My ‘Hijrah’ towards Humanism
It all started with a question I asked my mother one December evening. “Ma, why don’t we celebrate Christmas and decorate our house with mistletoes and Christmas trees?” I was five then, and that was when my childhood religious indoctrination started. Never did I predict that I was about to …
Predestiny or Reality?
When I was a staunch, devout Muslim, there were many Islamic concepts that I was struggling to understand. Predestination, or Taqdeer, was one of them. Belief in Taqdeer is a principle article of the Islamic faith. It is the belief that everything which happened, that happens and that will happen …
Islam’s Fetish with Gender Segregation
Disclaimer: This post is a rant. I was extremely outraged when I first read the news that UK universities are pandering to the Islamists’ request of implementing gender apartheid in universities. It is the 21st century where we are supposed to have equality. And yet, we have to deal with …
Leaving Islam – Unlearning and Relearning
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. ” — Alvin Toffler Before I start, I should let you know that I am still a closet Ex Muslim. I am still financially dependent and I fear what …
A letter to my former Muslim self
Dear Chista ‘Muslimah’, A disclaimer: This will change your life. As I sit in the backyard of a mosque and watch the Eid celebrations, I am writing this letter to you. You are going to hate me for the bitter piece of news I have brought to you, but I …