by Khaled Hammad
A Journey Through Hell Fire
Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. Part 3 is here. Part 4 is here. Part 5 is here. Part 6 is here. Part 7 is here. Part 8 is here. Part 9 is here. Part 10 is here.
Part 11 is here. Part 12 is here.
There is also a poem by Khaled.
Part 13 is here. Part 14 is here. Part 15 is here. Part 16 is here. Part 17 is here.
Breaking free from Islam Between Halal and Haram
A Journey Through Hell Fire
Chapter 18: “New Blood”
Hinduism
After the Christian god failed to reach my mark, I looked into Hinduism and Buddhism. However, I took Hinduism more seriously, thanks to Vishal, a Hindu colleague who worked with me as a shift manager in a Beefeater restaurant. I learned about Hinduism from Vishal and visited one of the Hindu temples in London with the same big, wide-open heart that was ready to receive any signal from any god. It never happened. In fact, the Hindus, with all due respect, did not differ much in the way they pray to the way Muslims do. The only difference I could gather was that Muslims pray to an idol that you cannot see or decorate your living room with. The fact that Hinduism is a polytheistic religion did not really bother me, as Abrahimic religions have helpers as well. They are called Angels: one for wind, one for heaven, one for recording your sins, and even an evil helper called Satan.
Buddhism
Buddhism was almost a good solution. However, I asked myself, How did Buddha figure out what would happen after death? It was a mere revelation from a mindless god who is not personal and does not care much about his creations. How did Buddha get this revelation, then? And what do you mean by an impersonal God? That is not what I expect from Mister God anyway. I want a personal God that can understand my aches and pains, direct me in life and punish all the evil people in the day of judgement.
It took me long, scary nights on my own, longing to get back to God, trying to get on with life after it had become seemingly meaningless, purposeless, unjust and completely random, but I got there at the end.
In January 2011, The Egyptian revolution took place to topple Mubarak’s regime, which had lasted for around 30 years. I was living on Hayling Island at the time. However, that did not stop me from travelling to London to participate in demos in front of the Egyptian embassy. It was a struggle, but I felt obliged to help my country of origin. With the revolution, something significant took place. A new generation was on the rise. I was in my 30s, and they were in their early 20s and younger. They were fearless; They made use of social media. I started to see them leading a parallel revolution that interested me.
What was it?
[To be continued.]