Something I’ve wanted to talk about for so long. As perfect as Islam is, our community isn’t.
I tend to hear things like :
– the reason why you’re depressed and anxious is because you have weak faith
– you shouldn’t be depressed you should thank God for everything you have
– you just need to pray more
– some people have it so much worse
It may be controversial as some people reading this may agree with those points. But when someone is in a bad mental state, diagnosed with a serious mental health problem – they need you to be there for them, they need you to support them and reassure them that everything will be fine rather than tell them they have weak faith as it genuinely could drive someone to giving up on faith. Battling things like depression and anxiety is scary, you lose yourself completely, you forget who you are – you can’t keep up with anything and sometimes you’ve lost yourself so bad you can’t keep up with your religion, but you still believe in God and you hold onto belief because you know it will get better. If you see someone who has opened up about their mental health and is struggling with their faith, don’t make them feel guilty, because they aren’t struggling for fun. Mental health may effect your relationship with religion but it is not the reason for a persons diagnosis! It’s the 21st century – we know all about hormone imbalances, traumatic experiences and so many other factors! As supportive people we remind those suffering to take it step by step and it will get better, we don’t judge or bring up sensitive topics. If your struggling, God is so merciful and sees our struggles, keep going it will slowly get better. Lastly, if you know someone struggling, be there for them, check up on them, no matter how much they change, they’re still the same person deep down, encourage them to get medical help as well as to remember God and ask for help and ease. I could go on forever but I’ll leave it at that.

Joram van Klaveren, also called ‘the crown prince of Wilders’, was a famous critic of Islam. As a former member of the Dutch Parliament and a representative of the Party for Freedom, he submitted numerous bills related to Islam, such as those calling for the closing of mosques, for removing the Quran from parliament and for banning Islam from the Netherlands.

In order to reinforce these thoughts and opinions, he — as a Christian — began to write a book critical of Islam. During the process of writing, however, he found an increasing number of matters that challenged his views of Islam. In this book, Joram describes his personal and theological journey and the development he has undergone.

During this journey, questions arose such as: does God even exist? Is the God of the Quran the same as the God of the Bible? Does Islam teach people to hate disbelievers and oppress women? How did Joram’s negative view of Islam develop? What emotional and social struggles did he have to face? And where has this journey eventually led him?

A must read for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.