Ayaan Hirsi Ali writes about the details of her life growing up in Somalia, as a Muslim. Then, she escapes to Europe to avoid a pre-arranged marriage. There, she details how her mind transformed from a Muslim who believed in Islam to an atheist. Since the murder of Theo Van Gogh, she began living her life under cover. She continues to speak out for the rights of women in the Islamic world.

Before reading this book, I always felt that there was something not quite right about religious explanations as to how human beings, animals, plants and all life came to being, regardless of whether one takes The Book of Genesis literally or metaphorically.

Richard Dawkins opened my eyes to a rich, yet simple and satisfying explanation to how life evolved from its simplest forms. As a non-scientist, this was a good introduction for me to be interested in genetics and biology. The explanations here make it easy for one to understand evolution. This book is a wonderful and surprising eye-opener.

Religions have survived for thousands of years and their arguments have evolved to survive that long.

There is something odd about religions and religious doctrines and ideas. There are many things not fitting in. Not many of us are able to articulate what we feel and why we feel the way we feel when confronted with convoluted religious logic, arguments and explanations to what happens and why they happen in the natural world.

Reading this, I remember thinking: Finally there is someone out there with a mind, schooled and trained in science, brilliant and intelligent enough to be able to tackle the complexities of arguing against the idea that personal gods can exist.

Following the release of the film: The Passion Of The Christ, we should take this opportunity to remember what it was that Jesus Christ may have died for. Perhaps we can re-think and re-learn the message He had been trying to tell us two thousand years ago.

I came to a point in my life where I really wanted to know whether there was a god. It seemed painful and sad to think that there is nothing beyond this life, but what if there is indeed no Heaven, no God and no Hell? If God does not, then how should I live my life? If he does not exist, then how does that tie in to everything I know to be true? For most of my life, I did not feel compelled to answer these questions for myself. But last year, I really wanted to seek what is true. This book is a result of that pursuit.

Based on what I have read and understood, I cannot see how a supernatural being that exists beyond time and space can exist. I am also more inclined to believe the following:

1. There is no Heaven, there is no Hell and there is no life after death.
2. Morality, religion and gods are products of our own cultures. They exist only in our minds. They arise because we recognise that there are certain behaviours and actions that we are comfortable with. We, therefore, define what is moral. In the absence of laws and law-enforcement agencies, our ancestors used the concept of God to get people to act morally. Without modern scientific knowledge, our ancestors used religion to explain natural phenomena. Without structures to control and mobilise their societies, ancient leaders created their gods and built religions around them.

On the 24^th of November 2008, the U.N. passed a draft resolution against defaming religion. It was sponsored by the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). They want nations to pass legislation against blasphemy. At this point in time, it is optional for each member nation of the U.N to adopt this resolution. In the next few months, however, the OIC will be pushing for its enforcement worldwide. What do you think about the U.N passing an anti-blasphemy law? Do you think it's a good thing or a bad thing and why?