Faith & Doubt
1 min
I Left Islam at 21. I Came Back at 33.
It wasn't philosophy that pulled me away. It was pain. And it wasn't theology that brought me back. It was grief.
Revert journeys. Identity struggles. Faith found, lost, and found again. Unfiltered voices from your brothers and sisters across the world.
In Egypt, a divorced woman is a tragedy. I decided to be a plot twist instead.
It wasn't philosophy that pulled me away. It was pain. And it wasn't theology that brought me back. It was grief.
When the factory closed, our community hall became the beating heart of the neighbourhood — Muslim and non-Muslim alike.
When the neighbourhood changed, our tiny mosque became the place everyone came to — for everyone who needed it.
Everyone in my secular humanist community thought I'd lost my mind. I'd never been more sane.
It wasn't science that pulled me away. It was exhaustion. And it wasn't theology that brought me back. It was grief.
I've answered 'do you have to pray five times?' approximately four hundred times. Here's my actual answer.
In Uganda, everyone assumed I was born Muslim. Actually, I found Islam at 27.
When the factory closed, our community hall became the only institution that stayed — regardless of faith.
When the pandemic hit, our converted shop became the place everyone came to — regardless of faith.
In UK, everyone assumed I was born Muslim. Actually, I found Islam at 25.
They said wearing my faith openly would hold me back in politics. I wore it anyway. They took me seriously regardless.
Our first year nearly ended because of whose family to visit for Eid. What saved us was an imam who understood listening instead of lecturing.