How the atheists turned me into a Believer

NOTE: I wrote this piece back when I was still a Muslim. I have, since then, left my religion and do not agree to most or all of what is written here. However, these posts are very much part of my life and helps understand the changes I went through. That's why, I am against deleting them. 

Our beliefs are heavily rooted in our birth and so is our choice of religion. Instead of choice, I shall say it is more of a command. I am Muslim because my parents are Muslims, my friend is a Hindu because her parents were Hindus. My love for Islam used to be just that – I used to love Islam because I taught to not because I actually wanted. Then one day, I met a bunch of atheists over social media and my thoughts and beliefs changed.

I was young and like other youngsters of my generation, I was hooked with Facebook. I was constantly on the web, liking different posts, chatting with friends and what not. Facebook recommends some pages one may like at one corner of the screen. That was how I came to know of the popular (or should I say notorious) group called Atheist Republic.

Basically, the group is about the rising of atheism in modern world where atheists from all over the world share their experiences and at the same time mocks other religions. Being a conditioned Muslim, I was very much offended at their posts. So, in spite of having very knowledge, I started to have debates with them to defend my religion. Unfortunately, I learnt about my incapability the hard way. All in all, I realized that to fight them verbally I need to have a clear knowledge about my religion. So, I started my research.

To sum it all up, it was a magnificent experience. For the first time, I learnt how amazing my religion is. The more I read, the more I loved Islam; the more the world and its mechanism made sense to me. Regardless of their attitude, I can never thank the atheists enough for making me see the true side of my religion. Thanks to them, now I have upgraded to a practicing Muslim from a conditioned one.

Later on, I gave up visiting the group. I have achieved my goal of learning about my religion. Debating or proving myself to a bunch of atheists seemed a total waste of time since we are each entitled to our own beliefs. But I must admit that despite being from totally different religious backgrounds, I was and am always grateful that I came across that page.