Beautiful link and how much softness is amiss in Islam

Submitted by Prasthant (United States), Apr 1, 2021 at 20:03

Dear Dr Pipes, This is to thank AVCR for posting the link to two beautiful notes questioning Islam. The first note is a letter from an ex-Muslim to Ali Sina. In this note, the author describes how much he suffered due to Islam's harshness. The second note is Sina's response to his still-suffering correspondent.

We all are aware how hard on its followers Islam can be. You cannot express your opinions, you cannot leave Islam, you must even stop loving your parents if they block your conversion to Islam, you cannot interpret Quran, you are required to follow it literally and completely. Often times you are even asked to not make friends with non-Muslims. And, you must convert others to Islam, should you ever fall in love with them or your marriage is not valid. And, should someone question Allah and Muhammad, you are supposed to k*** them.

So much softness of human life is centered around these small and big transgressions. But Muslims are not allowed to experience that softness. I love my scriptures not because they are perfect but because they were imperfect. Those scriptures were created by my ancestors to bring order to human life. It is my honor to consider their intent and ignore the literal meanings of them. This very thought is present in all religions except Islam. Ali Sina writes that we are all parts of God and tells his questioner to make a direct relationship with Jesus. He calls the scriptures fairy tales but he still vouches for his new religion. He says that we are all parts of God. And, I can see a direct link between Sina's thoughts and the four fundamental Upanishadic and Vedic instructions. And, Muslims waste their lives stubbornly sticking to a different God than everybody else's and calling everyone else a sinner.

I write because, I believe in polite questioning of Islam. That is the only option. I hope some Muslims read this note of mine. Or Ali Sina's.

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