I am a Jordanian Arab from a Muslim family born in 1989. In 2010, I decided to leave Islam after becoming fed up with all the jihadist violence and intolerance and persecution of non-Muslims. What made my decision final was the realization that this violence and hatred is enshrined in the verses of the Koran and Hadith.

From 2010-2012, I was an atheist, though I continued to seek the truth regarding God and religion, even visiting Buddhist temples in Amman.

I was a university student at the time, and announced my newfound atheism through social media, which immediately turned many friends and colleagues against me. They felt I was backwards in my thinking, and I came to feel the same about them.

In 2011, I created a group on Facebook under the name “Russian Defense League.” The group advocated preventing the Islamization of Russia. I am half-Russian and was born in the former USSR. The aim was to ally with other European “defense leagues,” and through partnership with a like-minded Canadian of Russian descent, we gained many followers.

But back to my journey...