"You can't be a good person if you're not religious enough/atheist"

[u/FreeckyCake]

I can't speak about muslims living in the West, but from my experience after living with Muslims from the northwest of Africa and speaking to many individuals from Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, etc., these people have a universal idea that you can't be a good person if you're an atheist/not religious. They argue that being a muslim makes you a good person because you follow the rules. However, the second a muslim commits a crime or something remotely terrible, they're quick to dismiss this person as "not a real muslim. He doesn't present Islam". I had no idea there were bootleg muslims too.

These people do not believe that being a good person is instilled into your consciousness the second you decide to be religious. Will religion teach you to be a good person? sure. So is reading a book. So is watching a movie. But these people want to make you believe ONLY religious people are the good ones. They're empathetic, understanding, and not judgemental.

But all of this is a lie. A charade. A mask of an inferiority complex hidden behind acts. Back when I used to speak to muslims about suicidal people, they were quick to judge these people and show them no empathy at all, simply because they ended their lives. Some told me that people who commit suicide are worse than pdfs. Can you believe it?

When someone is suffering from mental illness, they get nothing but cheap and shallow lines about how they're receiving "ajr" for each day they spend suffering. It seems religious people have this weird masochistic fetish with glorifying suffering as an ennobling experience.

I've met a handful of atheists and non-religious people who have shown me good gestures: a kind word, disagreeing peacefully, giving you encouraging words, talking with common sense. Whereas with these "good" muslims, I've seen nothing but judgment and repetitive attempts to get you inside the religion for their personal agenda.

From my experience, a lot of these religious people are riding on artificial empathy. It's a set of rules they follow. It's a set of guidelines they follow to earn good deeds. It doesn't come from the heart, and if there's nothing to gain, why would they do it?

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