I do not really mind studying the history of Islam; I actually thank those
who taught it to me. Without digging deep into it, maybe I wouldn’t have
become an atheist. But I take issue with the way Islam is favored and how
students are taught to be proud of being a Muslim. Favoritism and pointless
pride for being a Muslim is injected into the minds of children. For instance,
we were once taught a chapter related to Mehmood Ghaznavi’s attack on the
temple of Somnath. The instructor himself was laden with pride for having
the same faith as “the great warrior” Mehmood. The chapter had it stated
crystal clearly that Mehmood attacked the temple, which rightfully belonged
to the Hindu community, slaughtered the priests there, damaged the
Somnath idol, looted all the gold and gems and sent some of it to Mecca and
Medina while keeping the leftovers to himself. To a sensible, moderate and
sane person, Mehmood would be no less than a barbaric maniac; but for
Muslims, he is a hero for demolishing the idols of the Hindu community and
snatching their treasure away from them so that it could be used in the
development of cities of his Prophet Mohammad. It would not be wrong to
say that Medina has been made to progress at the cost of the blood of nonMuslims in the past.
I looked at that story and saw nothing to be proud of. I asked my teacher a
simple question: “If Mehmood can be considered correct for demolishing the
Hindu temples, why then do we criticize the Hindus for destroying the Babri
mosque in 1992? As I see it, they only made us pay for what our Mehmood
did to their priests in the past.” For asking that simple question, I got teased
for months by my classmates as they started to call me an infidel.
Well, at least they thought they were teasing me. But, to me, being a
freethinking infidel is much more desirable than being a deluded brat who
has learned to favor the most vicious of deeds of someone just for having
the same religion. Not only that, but from that point onwards, I also got
looked down upon by most of my teachers who taught me Islamic studies
for the rest of my time at school.
When I got to the 10th grade, the textbook of Islamic studies was mostly
verses and even whole chapters from the Quran, in Arabic. I did not even
know the basics of Arabic. In fact, on the main door of each classroom of my
school, there was a note that ordered, “Speak English!” And chastisement
followed any student who could not recite the Quranic chapters and verses in
Arabic.
So, growing up in Pakistan I learned that you have to learn Arabic, you have
to be fluent at reciting the Quran, you have to honor all the holy months,
you have to become a statue in honor of the Adhan and that is the least you
MUST do if you are not going to offer prayer. You have to starve yourself
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