Book Review: The Atheist Muslim

The Atheist Muslim: A Journey from Religion to Reason by Ali A. Rizvi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It is always interesting to read the narratives of ex-Muslims because of the dangers they put themselves in by openly declaring their leaving Islam. In a religion where the punishment for apostasy is death, people who no longer believe must remain silent to stay alive.

Ali Rizvi book shares the light that despite the danger, enlightenment philosophy is also pervasive in Islamic countries. As in "Christian" countries where the number of non-believers are growing, the same too is happening in Islamic ones.

The extremely violent and barbaric practices of ISIS and al-Qaeda should have turn the stomach of good moral people everywhere. However, Islamic apologists and masters of sophistry have somehow made moderate Muslims accept the "less" extreme forms of Islamic beliefs, which includes:

- women are inferior to men
- non-heterosexuals are inferior to heterosexuals
- non-Muslims are inferior to Muslims
- all other religions are inferior to Islam

Unfortunately, when these "less" extreme ideas are bought in by the moderates, it takes only a tiny push for these moderates to take one more step to extremism, which basically is:

- Islam require "true" Muslims to enforce their beliefs on everyone else for the sake of Islam

Atheism books written by ex-Muslims can better counter the pro-Islam arguments offered by the imams, the clerics, and the apologists. When Sam Harris or Christopher Hitchens writes about Islam, the clerics can often use the excuse that outsiders do not understand Islam and are in no position to debate them. The clerics cannot offer the same flimsy excuse when debating ex-Muslims. Ali Rizvi's book provides the critical counter-points from one who is well versed with the core texts of the Islamic tradition.

It is very important that more moderate Muslims be encouraged to "tame" the bigotry and violent teachings of Islam. In Western societies, governments no longer follow the extreme teachings of the Old Testament, thanks to the Age of Enlightenment. Islam sorely needs a similar awakening in the 21st century.

Unfortunately, Ali Rizvi's book can probably be only published and sold in non-Islamic societies. His book will probably be banned in Muslim countries, and can only be distributed clandestinely.

Recently, even the governments of moderate countries like Malaysia and Indonesia appear to be swaying dangerously towards Islamic extremism. Because the Muslim voters are taught to believe in the superiority of Islam over everything, politicians need to bolster their Islamic credentials to win the Muslim voter ("whoever is more Islamic is the superior person"). This is very bad state of affairs because many Islamic practices are more harsh, more brutal, and more barbaric, and cannot be in any sense superior to non-Islamic practices. However, without the appropriate counter points, many of these moderate Muslims are not learning to be more critical of the dubious arguments offered by the clerics. Hopefully, more alternative voices will come out and make a stand, and slow and halt the perpetuation of bad ideas under the name of Islam.


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