Best Advice I Received

Some of the best advice I received about raising children as an atheist parent, came from a fellow ex-Muslim atheist who left a comment to the post below, who has, in fact, done just that: He raised his children to grow up to become rational, enlightened human beings.

I also raised my kids who were being corrupted by religious propaganda. I raised certain questions about the ridiculous concept of heaven and paradise and the kids developed some skepticism against religion. By the time they were in universities all of them turned towards rational philosophy. Now they are married and are free from any religious beliefs.

MORAL: Create doubt in their minds but don’t force anything. They would explore themselves and it would be OK. Give them books of Karen Armstrong and others to read.

-Najeeb Khan

Being an Atheist Parent: Let Them Choose

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. How would I, an ex-Muslim atheist, want to raise my children? Like most Pakistani atheists, I am married to a Muslim spouse who is very sensitive about my atheism.

It goes without saying that I will not be able to keep pretenses about Islam with my children. That would be unauthentic and wrong. Perhaps it would make sense to let my children be indoctrinated with Islam. If nothing else, they would be better adjusted, socially. However, I need to earn my sleep at night and indoctrinating my own children with a known falsehood would be morally problematic for me.

I have therefore come to an agreement with my spouse: She will guide and advise them as she prefers, as Muslims, and I will not contradict her messages to them, until they are at least of an age where they can judge for themselves. Then it will be up to them whether to debate me to death, or see the light.

My duty would be to instill an innate sense of skepticism, an appetite for objective inquiry. I am positive, that Islam itself, with its teachings and its history, will do the rest!

This blog is back

It has been a long while since I last posted here. I stopped mainly because of too many things happening in my personal life, and then I sort of forgot about it. Then I checked this blog’s email today and I’m blown away by the number of people urging me to stay on and write. My life has gotten busier over the last couple of years, so while I can’t promise to write regularly, I do promise to keep it updated as much as I can.