Muslim Upbringing

IBA highlights a series of posts by the "Avenging Apostate" who describes his Muslim upbringing. I think it's important to see these first-hand accounts to truly understand the mentality of our Islamist enemies (I had mentioned Isaac Shrodinger's accounts for the same reason). Here are a few of the Avenging Apostate's quotes:

Everyday, I would dream of killing some Jews and going to paradise. It was not about the virgins at the time, I must admit, I learned about the virgin stuff later. Rather, it was all about being close to Mohammed, who is praised more in Islam than Allah.

Now all I had to do was wait till I was 15 because, for some reason, the Jihadi groups in Pakistan that sent jihadi recruits to Palestine and Kashmir didn't take kids younger than 15. Even my mother didn't object to me going to Palestine, even though she loved me (and still does) a lot. I was certain I would go there eventually. I knew I would kill someone and then get killed, I wanted to get killed, I wanted to follow Mohammed in everything he taught and did. One of the prayers Mohammed is said to have taught is, 'Allah, give me the status of a martyr' and a martyr was a one who fought other people for Allah's sake and died. (part 3)

Mullahs discouraged reading translated Korans and told us that it was even better to read it, if we didn't understand it, because blind faith brings a person closer to 'Allah'. (part 5)

I read the Koran completely, more than once, and I didn't find it spiritual at all. In fact I found it to be a tyrannical-political system – created for the sole reason of getting power and subjugating others. (part 5)

I hope it goes without saying that I don't subscribe to his claim that Allah spoke to him, nor do I endorse or agree with his conversion to Christianity -- but despite those parts of his story I think there is value in reading about his childhood and upbringing.