my favourite atheists

 The atheists whose thinking is most interesting to me are internet commentators Ridevan Aydemir, Sarah Haidar, Harris Sultan and Abdullah Sameer.

I suppose my regard for them is based on the fact that their well argued public professions of atheism require per se a significant amount of integrity, principle and courage since all are former Muslims.

Within Islam it is not rare for those leaving the religion to be murdered.

If I was to try and answer the atheism of those whom I most respect, I would do it in the following way.

It is strange to me that in leaving Islam because of a perception that violence is inherent to it, you should choose a philosphy of life which comports more violence than any religion.

The atheistic communist Chairman Mao killed a hundred million Chinese people.

The atheistic communists Vladimir Lenin, Joe Stalin and their cohorts in the Russian Communist Party killed a hundred million more in Russia, South America, Asia and Africa.

The atheist Pol Pot wiped out a quarter of the population of Cambodia though we might attribute his murders to his sponsors Mao and the Russians.

I don't want to double count anybody.

Than there's the hundred million murders that go with Western atheism, the abortions, euthanasias and assisted suicides which only became possible as official government policy when the peoples of our nations began to turn their backs on God.

So I would counsel Sarah, Ridevan, Abudllah and Harris, whom I admire more than any other people on earth, to be cautious in what they are embracing by accepting and endorsing atheism.

It is a long way down from Mount Oympus.