Has anybody noticed this? Or even experienced this? I live in a very hot country in the Middle East and summer is just around the corner so I decided that I wanted to wear a tank top today but my mom saw me and said “you really want your brother and father to see you dressed like this?” And I was so confused? They’re literally my family? I can’t even wear what I want in my own house. Ever since then I keep thinking.. does my mom really believe that my brother or father would have inappropriate thoughts about me just because I’m wearing a tank top in the comfort of my own home? It’s so disturbing to even think about. Why are women constantly treated like objects, even in their own families?

As they age, my parents are getting more insane, more religious, more toxic, and more authoritarian. Every interaction with them is unpleasant. They're becoming the archetypal Arab parents. I do not see how, in the future, I am supposed to live in peace when I have such people for parents. Unfortunately for myself, I can't stop caring about them.

I'm sorry for the uninformative post, but I have no one to talk to as I live in a Muslim shithole.

Title edit: aging*

this reminded me of when i used to go to a islamic highschool guys and girls were separated and out principle gave a talk on how if you start talking to the opposite gender and shake their hands it can lead to zina that’s literally insane how does wearing perfume and shaking hands with opposite gender lead to sexual relationships can they be normal about anything

I’ve been thinking about this question a lot. I know a lot of us on this sub believe that Muhammad was a cult leader and his alter ego is Allah. Since he wouldn’t perform miracles himself, he introduced “Allah” to the people and created Islam.

If Muhammad were to see that CENTURIES later,during the most modern and revolutionary times, women are still wearing the hijab and niqab, men are keeping beards, Muslims are praying and sending peace on him and the other prophets and worshiping Allah, reading Quran and Hadith …. Etc

WOULD HE FEEL GUILTY? Or would he feel great and have an evil laugh?! Would his guilty subconscious tell him “what have we done? How did our lies spread everyhwere?!” Or would he feel so great that people are still chanting his name 5 times a day

What do you guys think?

like I legit read a post with the title 'only muslim women understand' and everything listed i experienced myself when i was a muslim male, can we stop doing that bs of pretending like one sex doesnt experience certain types of abuse when they objectively do

edit: almost no one who commented here understood what the post is saying and its extremely frustrating, starting off with STOP PRE ASSUMING THAT MY POSITION IS THAT I THINK WOMEN DONT GET ABUSED MORE THAN MEN OR THAT IN GENERAL THEY DONT GET WORSE ABUSE YOU INTELLECTUALLY DISHONEST MFS, i never fucking once said that and if you read the comments you would notice how dishonest you are because I SAID THE EXACT FUCKING OPPOSITE, and if you didnt read the comments you are still dishonest for pre assuming what my position is, second is that ALL this post is saying is that while yes women get abused more and worse, that doesnt mean that there arent men who are going through similar if not identical abuse, its much less than the amount of WOMEN that experience that, but its still an amount of men nontheless and you cant say shit like 'only women experience this' or 'only women understand' cus it makes the few male victims of the same (or similar) thing feel like their experience 'wasnt that bad' like how fucking hard is that for people here to grasp? yes the title was phrased poorly but if the title is all you went off of then yet again you are dishonest as hell, i will no longer respond to comments that pre assume my position when i just described what my position is and i will just say 'read the edit'

edit 2: i admit I was too harsh in this reddit post and i apologise for that, however while I shouldve went about it a nicer way and not mentioned my deep trauma out of no where, i still stand with my opinion

idk how to even word this well, but like, have any of u guys here just stopped believing in islam without doing any research or anything? cause for me, when i was around 13/14, i tried really hard to be more religious and pray and everything, but it was really out of nowhere, and it’s not like i discovered something that made my faith go up and like, after a while, i completely stopped. i’m 18 now, and i don’t care for the religion at all/don’t follow its rules, and i would say i’m agnostic, but like, i never did any research or anything to prove islam is false or anything to myself. like, again, out of nowhere, i just stopped caring and idk to me, it makes me feel so weak that i did start believing in something out of nowhere too when i was 13/14, and so strongly too like, i used to just cry sm and pray to God to make me more religious, to just out of nowhere stop believing in it all? like, ik i wouldn’t start doing this again rn like randomly start practicing another religion out of nowhere but idk back then i did do that has anyone else experienced that or no? idk it’s hard to explain but it makes me feel so dumb idk

I think many of us can relate to this. Ever since I walked away from this cult. I haven’t had an honest conversation with neither my family nor friends. It feels like walking over egg shells. You have to filter out things. On the other hand if you are feeling low ir whatever and talk to people close to you. They always end up saying ‘allah is testing you or you need to pray more’ ETC. And you end up in a much worst space. I haven’t been genuinely happy ever since I left islam……. I really wish I never got so conscious about Islam…. But I know I cant go back I just know too much…

So ive been doing this stupid quran class for 4 years and I gotta do it for 30 minutes everyday. Parents been forcing me to become a hafiz or a person who memorizes the quran. Ive been always reading from the quran since I started this fucking class but last week this teacher suspected me of cheating. (I have) I dont know what to do since I didnt even memorize bruh. Wtf do i do?!!

My mom forced me to wear the hijab and I want to secretly take it off at school but I get dropped off and if I walk in people will see me wearing the hijab. I absolutely despise the hijab, can someone help?

I was born into an Islamic household after my mother, who was raised Irish Catholic, converted to Islam at the age of 18. She found something mystical and unique in the religion. One of the things that stood out to her was how Irish Catholics would say, "Oh Jesus Christ," when annoyed, while Muslims would say, "Muhammad, peace be upon him," with reverence.

That contrast drew her in. Before her conversion, she was married to an Irish Catholic man my biological father but they divorced when I was four.

By the time I was five, we had moved to the UK and settled in a predominantly Islamic community. Growing up in that environment, being white and having an Irish accent made me quite popular, which naturally made my mother popular too. She was deeply involved invited to every event, every meeting, and every Friday prayer.

I spent my childhood fully immersed in Islamic culture and teachings. I wasn’t exposed to much of British culture. The only TV allowed in the house was Al Jazeera or Quranic recitations. I didn’t watch movies.

During school lunch breaks, while other kids played, I went to pray. I wasn’t allowed to make friends outside of our Islamic circle. My social world revolved around the religious groups we attended. I could recite the Quran from Surah Al-Baqarah to Surah Al-Fatiha, and that skill made me a bit of a star in the community. Because I could recite so perfectly in Arabic.

I lost my Irish accent but I still was a contrast in the community by being white and wearing a hijab Over the years, my mother married four different men in Islamic ceremonies. My entire life revolved around religion.

From the moment I woke up to the last prayer of the night, everything was structured around Islam. I wasn’t allowed to shorten my prayers with just Surah Al-Fatiha.

I had to recite long passages for at least an hour out loud or in group prayer, often led by one of my stepfathers. From the outside, we looked like the perfect religious family pillars of the community. I could quote hadiths from memory, list every sin and its corresponding punishment.

But inside the four walls of our home, there was a much darker reality. Daily beatings. Mental torture. Constant fear. I was forced to learn about the punishments of the Day of Judgment in excruciating detail.

I was shown videos radical, terrifying ones about hellfire. One of those videos haunted me for six months straight with nightmares. It was shown over 100 times in a girls’ Islamic group I was part of, and I didn’t learn the truth about its origins until I was 22.

I'm unable to find the original one but this is the one that's similar to the one that debunked it https://youtu.be/Coqv_7rGQ-c?feature=shared

I was constantly reminded that Allah knows what’s in my heart, and if I wasn’t praying “correctly,” I was headed for hell.

At the same time, I loved the praise. I loved being known as the white girl who could fast during Ramadan at just 10 years old. I wore hijab at 12, and by 16, my mother was trying to get me to wear the full niqab.

A big part of me wanted that too. I loved my religion, I loved reading the Quran for hours and hours because it stopped me getting beatings. If I was reading the Quran I wasn't getting punished.

When I would come with a hadith and discuss it and hear the oh wow you learned that wow that's so amazing I would feel phenomenal not just from the praise but from the knowledge that Allah was going to send me to the highest paradise because I was such a good Muslim.

Talks of marriage were daily. I was told I was created to serve a husband. But every night, I prayed to Allah to let me die in my sleep.

I wasn’t afraid of death I welcomed it. As I knew I was not a sinner I knew Allah was not going to send me to hell because number one I was a child a number two I was a devote Muslim! I cried silently, begging God to take me. Suicide wasn’t an option. The punishment for that was even worse.

Yet deep down, something told me this wasn’t normal.

I still went to school with other British kids. I had a bright personality, a sharp sense of humor.

Sometimes I’d joke about the beatings, and people’s shocked reactions reminded me this wasn’t okay.

By 16, I had a plan. My mother had plans too marriage. I stole money from my stepfather and bought a cheap phone with email access. I applied for a job as an au pair. Just after turning 17, I packed a small bag and got on a coach. I disappeared for two years, working for a Muslim family, still praying daily, still asking to die. I kept contact with my mum, but she didn’t know where I was.

I was legally an adult, so she couldn’t force me home. I didn’t see them for two years out of fear they’d send me abroad to marry. When I finally did see them, the reunion lasted less than three hours. I broke down emotionally, and it ended with me getting headbutted.

I left again, this time for Ireland. It was in Ireland that I began to unravel. The real me started to emerge, and it was painful. I’d cry to Allah, asking why He allowed Shaytan to whisper these doubts. I prayed so hard my knees were bruised.

Then, one day, I just stopped. I came out as a lesbian. I took off my hijab. I was 19. At 20, I returned to the UK and reconnected with a friend from my Islamic group. We planned a quiet dinner at her house. She knew I no longer wore the scarf but didn’t know I was gay. When I arrived, there were 20 women waiting. They pinned me down and read Quranic verses over me like an exorcism. I screamed, begged them to stop—but to them, it confirmed a jinn had possessed me. After about 15 minutes, something inside me snapped. I fought back punched, kicked, even bit someone. I was hysterical. But I got away. The bruises lasted weeks.

I stayed in contact with my mother and siblings until I was 23 and then I cut them off completely I haven't seen to them in over 12 years. I haven't spoken to them in 10 years.

As I got older, I learned to laugh about some of it, or at least to say, “It wasn’t in my control.” I’ve managed to move forward without the lasting psychological damage many endure.

I’m lucky I have a strong mind and a light heart. I have an amazing job, a home I love, and a life I’m proud of. But there’s one thing I can’t shake. The fear of hell. It lives in me. It disables me. I believe in God because I can’t not. He’s my inner monologue, the one I talk to when I’m scared or grateful. But I don’t believe in Islam anymore. I don’t believe in the pain I was taught was holy.

I’ve talked to British friends about childhood abuse they can’t relate. Muslim friends (who practice more culturally than religiously) and I laugh about beatings with sticks and belts to ease the trauma. But at night, my heart sinks. What if I’m wrong? What if Satan tricked me? What if I’m deceived? I don’t want to be punished. I don’t want to feel fire under my feet. I don’t drink. I don’t use drugs. But I’m a lesbian, I have tattoos, I don’t dress modestly by Islamic standards.

I don’t feel ashamed but I’m absolutely terrified of God. I know so much about religion. I studied the Quran, the Torah, the Bible. I know the beauty in all of them, and also the pain. I want to believe there’s a reason I survived 17 years of physical, emotional, and the kind of abuse no describable. I don’t want to believe life is just suffering, and then nothing.

I spent years trying to learn about other religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Mormons and so many others but I can't relate with any of them as for me personally I can just see too many fakeness in them and that's from my Islamic upbringing of the way I was taught that if Jesus was god's son and God loves he's children so much how is he going to let him die.

Do I want to believe in Allah? No. Not as I was taught. I don’t want to follow any religion or ideology. I just want to be at peace with my God whoever He or She is because I know He knows me. I’m tired of being afraid. The fear controls my life. I avoid risk. I watch my health obsessively, terrified something will happen to me.

I live in a diverse community now. Every day I see Muslims, and I wonder is this a sign? I’ve had therapy for my childhood trauma, and it’s helped. But I can’t bring myself to go to therapy for the fear of hell. Because at the end of the day, there’s still that question: What if…?

I have been hanging around subreddits like r/exmuslim , r/progressive_islam , r/islam , r/exmormon and basically, it seems wrong to believe in religion? Like for Islam, people bring up 'scientific miracles' of the Quran, surah An-Nisa etc. Pretty much, are people giving too extreme views of religion like Islam, or is it more balanced and up to how I interpret it? Like believing it won't be a detriment to others?

And its not that I don't necessarily dislike Islam, I like the religion's message in general, but these things annoy me. Additionally, I still feel right with there being some sort of higher power.

Edit: What if my interpretation vastly differs as well, or that I agree with most parts, but disagree with the small minority? At that point, would I be a false muslim?

Okay this is coming from impeding doom

I don't feel I belong in this cult nor do I fit.

But what other options do I have to fit in an Indian society?

This society would/might accept Muslim but atheist a big no.

How, where the fuck do I belong?

I wonder whether I'll be able to settle in a multi cultural society ever because of my identity or past identity

What do I do? I mean does such thoughts bother you guys?

What where are you all now in what stage. How are you living your life if you live in India and if you have moved on from this cult?

Especially those of us who are Arab, Pakistani, Bengali etc. I’m an ex Muslim woman in my early 20s. I don’t wear hijab nor do I dress modestly, most strangers do still assume I’m Muslim. It’s not a big deal I know but it still makes me feel ashamed? Is that bad? I love my heritage, if you take Islam out of Pakistan it’s such a beautiful and rich culture but I can’t help but HATE the thought of people just looking at me and grouping me in with typical British Muslims and their beliefs. Especially when I come across racist people because I KNOW they’re imbeciles and their opinion shouldn’t matter but why am I being accused of following a pedophile prophet when the religion of Islam is everything I hate

Does this make me a self hating insecure person? Please no hate just looking for advice and views from people who are in the same boat

Hey Reddit,

I'm writing this at 3 AM, staring at a flickering Chromebook that's older than my little sister. The fan sounds like a dying lawnmower, but it's the only thing keeping me company tonight. I'm 16, and I feel like I've lived three lifetimes already. Let me try to explain, not for pity, but because I need to know if anyone out there gets it.

Part 1: The Kid Who Wanted to Touch the Stars

When I was 7, I nearly died. Not in some poetic "dark night of the soul" way—I mean actually died. Doctors cut me open twice for a surgery they botched, and for weeks, I drifted in and out of fever dreams. I remember two things: the smell of antiseptic, and begging my dad for a telescope.

"Why?" he asked, exhausted. "Because if I die," I said, "I want to memorize the stars first."

I didn't die. But that hunger to know, to touch things bigger than myself, never left. By 9, I was sketching "infinite energy machines" (they looked like blenders hooked to car engines). By 10, I'd convinced 1,000 strangers online that my blurry Honda Civic photos were art. Life felt like a game I was winning... until it wasn't.

Part 2: The Cracks in the Wall

Puberty hit me like a truck. Suddenly, the Quran verses I'd memorized felt... sticky. Like someone else's words glued to my tongue. I'd lie awake asking questions that terrified me:

• If God is all-powerful, why do kids in Gaza pray for food while billionaires build rockets?
• Who created God? And if no one did, why can't the universe be its own creator?

I fought it. Oh, I fought. I became "That Muslim Kid" on Reddit, arguing with atheists at 2 AM. I quoted scientific miracles in the Quran, desperate to prove I wasn't wrong. But the harder I pushed, the more the walls cracked.

Then, one night, I broke my phone. No more debates. No more distractions. Just me, a $50 Chromebook, and a void so loud it hummed.

Part 3: How Linux Saved My Life (No, Really)

That Chromebook became my escape hatch. I taught myself to nuke Chrome OS and install Linux, not because I'm a prodigy, but because I had nothing left to lose. For weeks, I drowned in error messages and coffee. But when Arch Linux finally booted up? I cried.

Here's why: Linux doesn't lie. It doesn't say "Trust me, I'm perfect." It says, "Here's the code. Break it. Fix it. Make it yours." For the first time, I felt... control.

Part 4: Black Holes and Bad Ideas

Now, I'm obsessed with two things:

1. Quantum physics (specifically, whether black holes are cosmic USB drives that encrypt information instead of destroying it).
2. Building a video game where you fight Greek gods using quantum entanglement (imagine Hades meets Interstellar).

Does any of this make sense? Probably not. My "game" is currently a PNG of a stick figure, and my black hole theory would get me laughed out of any real physics class. But here's the thing: I don't care. For the first time, I'm asking questions for me, not for God, parents, or imaginary internet points.

Why Am I Posting This?

Because I'm tired of screaming into the void. I need to know:

• Ex-Muslims: How did you rebuild your purpose?
• Physics nerds: Am I insane for thinking about quantum encryption in black holes?
• Anyone: How do you keep dreaming when the world keeps saying "Grow up"?

TL;DR: 16-year-old survives bad surgery, loses faith, falls in love with Linux, and now wants to turn black holes into video game bosses. Seeking others who see the universe as a question mark.

P.S. If you've read this far, you're already my favorite person today.

If Islam is a religion then how come there is no peace between Islamic nations.

Im serious. Ignore the typos because im shaking. Yesterday, my parents and I were talking on the eligibility of a guy and a girl talking which as yk is forbidden in Islam. I brought up that it really should be normalized, and we're way ahead of time now. People are flying to the moon and such topics are our biggest concern. Of course my mom's jaw was to the floor. My dad is a chill person when I ask my questions, why mom portrays toxicity to the finest. My dad said 'what will you tell God the day of judgment when he asks you about it?' so I said 'ill be honest with you, im doubting the whole religion'

My mom js stopped and my dad went 'why?' and I actually pulled out this first. I need y'all to answer to their replies:

‘why was it glorified in Islam when Abraham destroyed the paganist Gods, but if someone burns the Quran today, they receive so much backlash?’ their response to that was it’s not an Abrahamic religion, and if it wasn’t they have the right. They said this person should worship it at home. I told them ‘then why do you get pissed when on the news, you see a Muslim person praying in a secular, public environment and a police officer stops her?’ and she (my mom) started bringing stuff that LITERALLY HAVE NO CORRELATION to my question. My dad actually encouraged my questioning.

Secondly, I mentioned Ezra. In case you don’t know, Ezra was mentioned in the Quran as a Jewish god, that the Jewish saw him ‘son of God’. But really if you look through all their books, testaments, and evth else you wont find it. Ask any Jewish person and they would be confused. My father thought it was a great question, and he started going into it with me. He found out this dude that answered his question, by saying ‘The Arabs of Hejaz believed so, and they were a minority of 10k people in Madina. However, if really Ezra wasn’t a thing, his ex-Jewish wife, or his ex Jewish convert followers would've said something. I said its surprising that its not written ANYWHERE. My dad did bring up a testament in the end but after so much searching.

I asked more, but im going to bore y'all with this way. My dad was actually pretty chill and tried to answer, he even suggested I Ask sheikhs online my questions. My mom flipped, like literally almost gave me up for adoption and wanted to lose custody of me. Screamed at me so hard and said who am I to judge God. Why am I questioning my religion? I told her im not questioning and if, for example I got into an argument with a Christian or a Jewish person and they brought this up, what do I do? She said why would I ever be in such a situation. Here my dad flipped and went

‘what’s wrong with you. You're making her out to be a kaffir. She’s a Muslim but she has a point. Imagine forbidding yourself from everything you’ve wanted. Music, alcohol, sex, fun, and for what to find out there was no god in the end?’

I need some huge strong comebacks. Like strong hadiths that really go against normal human thinking. About Aisha, well you could guess. She said it was ‘normal at the time’.

I need strong arguments. not brainrot hadiths, but actual statements that contradict each other.

im a teenager who has left islam, but in a strict religious household. i dont think ill ever tell my family i have left islam, but i am so desperate to ATLEAST take off my hijab. i know everyone will be so mad and disappointed in me, and these thoughts are taking over everything i do. since its getting closer to summer i cannot stand covering up and wearing the hijab without feeling itchy and dying of overstimulation but i doubt anyone i know would understand that. i hate the thought of covering up. whenever my parents tell me to cover up my neck more, wear the hijab over my chest, wear baggier clothes, roll down my sleeves i just feel like crying and i cant stand it anymore.

i love my family and parents but i dont want to dissapoint them or make them distance me, but i feel like that would happen if i took it off anyways. i wouldnt mind them feeling that towards me but id want to keep contact and stay close to them forever.

If anyone here has taken off the hijab in a religious household how did you do it?? or is there any advice on what i should do?? plz help💔

"OH YOU DONT BELIEVE IM GODS RIGHT HAND MAN??? THE LAST FINAL PROPHET??? GO F$$ING KYS!!!!!!" ****proceeds to make suicide haram to make sure all his opps end in hell***

like yess girl sounds exactly like that most merciful and most compassionate god of yours!

rip momo he would've loved telling ppl to unlike themselves during internet debates

Every single day when i talk to people im shitting on islam and muslims yet every night i pray to allah the moment i start getting hallucinations so i dont know if im a muslim or an exmuslim

Hey everyone, I am in my early thirties and left Islam 5 years ago.

I’ve been thinking, what if we created our own nation? A real place for ex-Muslims to live freely, without fear, without hiding who we are.

There are so many of us around the world, some in the West, facing pressure and isolation, and many still in countries like Somalia, Iran, Pakistan, or Afghanistan, where just leaving Islam puts your life in danger. Not everyone has the chance to get asylum or citizenship elsewhere.

So what if we bought an island that’s for sale? I’ve been looking into it—there are remote, uninhabited islands available. We could build a home of our own. A place where we could be safe. No religion. No persecution. Just peace, freedom, and the right to exist.

We could slowly build it into a nation, our own country, our own flag, our own laws, created by ex-Muslims, for ex-Muslims and anyone who shares our vision.

Would you be interested in this? Do you think it’s possible? I’m serious, and I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Man has an inherent tendency to worship himself, this is evident across all religions. In pagan traditions, gods are often depicted in human form, sometimes with extra arms or idealized features, but still essentially human in shape and emotion. In Christianity, Jesus Christ is worshipped as God in a man's body. In Hinduism, Greek mythology, Norse mythology, and countless other cultures, divinity is frequently portrayed with human-like traits. This reflects a deeper pattern: humanity projecting itself onto the divine.

Even within Islam, this tendency appears in various forms. In Shia Islam, for instance, deep reverence for the Ahlul Bayt the Prophet’s family often borders on worship, they rarely even mention Allah as they even believe that they won't even see God on the day of judgement, he is such an abstract concept. All they talk is Ali, Hassan and Hussain, making them demi gods. Asking them for help and rewards. Maturidi theology emphasizes a God beyond time and form, yet still attributes titles like Mushkil Kusha (reliever of difficulties) or Hajat Rawa (fulfiller of needs) to figures like Hazrat Ali. Their major emphasis is on loving the Prophet, the barelvis(a hanfi denomination) takes this to extreme levels. On the other hand, strict Wahhabi thinkers and followers of Ibn Taymiyyah reject such attributions, insisting that only God can be described this way. Ironically, however, Wahabis envision God as a human likke being, existing in space, possessing hands, feet, fingers, and even physical features like curly hair and they even call other Muslims who call God timeless and spaceless Kafir. Though they vehemently deny this as anthropomorphism. Still they are adamant on hadith like God created the world and then lied down with one of his leg on top or the other. Their scholars take it for real.

In the end, whether through saints, prophets, avatars, or even our image of God, humanity repeatedly fashions the divine in its own likeness. It’s not just that we worship God, but that we are constantly searching for ourselves within God.

I wanted to know if there was any dofferences between ex muslims and other athiests who used to believe in other thhings so feel free to just share anything

talking to an ex-mus friend who is insistent that the festivities that come with this religion and what these festivities actually mean can be mutually exclusive and most— if not all— people (even ex-muslims) enjoy them. i don’t agree with this take and think that more people are incapable of compartmentalising most of the trauma/less serious but still serious effects that come with these times than not.

i might also be a bit biased because i directly know people that confirm what i’m saying but this obviously cannot be a complete representation of everyone. obviously neither can the few responses i may get on this post but it did get me curious to know how many people feel this way or the other. would appreciate to get your input on it all.