Growing up in a strict Muslim community in south-east London, Alom Shaha learnt that religion was not to be questioned. Reciting the Qur’an without understanding what it meant was simply a part of life; so, too, was obeying the imam and enduring beatings when he failed to attend the local mosque.
But Alom was more drawn to science and its power to illuminate. As a teen, he lived between two worlds: the home controlled by his authoritarian father, and a school alive with books and ideas.
Alom tells his story in The Young Atheist’s Handbook, and here he tells us what it was like to grow up in a strict, religious community, why the ‘religion versus science’ debate is an oversimplification and why the idea of a God just doesn’t make sense to him.
The Young Atheist’s Handbook is a charming blend of memoir, philosophy and science, in which Alom explores the questions about faith and the afterlife that we all ponder. This is a book for anyone who wonders what they should believe and how they should live. It’s for those who may need the facts and the ideas, as well as the courage, to break free from inherited beliefs. In this powerful narrative, Alom shows that it is possible to live a compassionate, fulfilling and meaningful life without God.