Abandoned by the Left: The Silent Struggles of Ex-Muslims in France

I am a French ex-Muslim and 40 years old now. I was born in Africa, and at a very young age, I immigrated to France. Since France welcomed me with open arms and taught me so much in various subjects (cultural, academic, and scholarly, gastronomy, French thinking, and many more), I have genuinely absorbed French culture and proudly espoused the value of laïcité.

I didn't grow up in a religious household. In stark contrast to religious doctrine, my parents raised my siblings and me with the principles of reason and enlightenment and nurtured us with humane values.

I got acquainted with a Muslim student I met in high school. He used to discuss Islam, his faith, with me at length. Being an inquisitive young guy, I was susceptible to indoctrination and fell for it while searching for the meaning and purpose of life as well as what would happen to me once I died.

This man belonged to the Suleymancis Sufi order and was from a small Turkish hamlet. He did, in fact, frequently promote his faith. In his opinion, the best kind of Islam was the “Turkified Islam” among the numerous sects of Islam, which was the authentic representation of Islam—a religion of justice and truth, both here on Earth and in the hereafter.

I remained a devout Muslim for almost 20 years until my Turkish friend began using subtle coercive tactics to try to persuade me to believe in a particular branch of Islam known as Suleymancis. Regardless of whether I am a Muslim or not, he told me that I would burn in hell if I disobeyed him. It was at this precise moment that I felt compelled to delve further into the religious discourse with a critical perspective, where followers appear to mete out Jinnah (paradise) in exchange for complete mental and bodily submission.

After we had fallout as friends, I started to do some research and discovered the numerous and multiple inconsistencies in the Islamic creed, the illogical rules/concepts, and other things that made me realize the true nature of religious dogmas. All of my research led me to reject Islam.