A Syrian native and student of Islam who is now an atheist will address the Tulsa Atheists organization at 1 p.m. Sunday at Agora Coffee House, 4959 S. 79th E. Ave.
Sabri Husibi was born and raised in Damascus, Syria. As a young man, he attended Quran school to develop a deeper understanding of Islam. The school is for men studying to be imams.
Instead of strengthening his faith, he said, what he learned undermined his faith, as he discovered that the Quran was written by men and altered over the centuries.
“The more I learned, the more paradoxes I saw,” he said.
Husibi said his rejection of Islam was cemented during mandatory military service in the Lebanon civil war in which more than a million people died, a war he says was religiously motivated.
He said al-Qaida, which is respected by many Muslims, has been responsible for 2 million deaths.
He also rejected other religions at that time and became an atheist.
Judaism, Christianity and Islam share 80 percent of their beliefs, he said.
After becoming an atheist, Husibi felt a sense of relief “that these silly stories cannot control me anymore,” he said.
His conversion to atheism cost him friends and family members in Syria. Eventually his clothing business failed “because no one wanted to deal with an atheist,” he said.
In 1998, at age 35, Husibi moved to Tulsa, where he now buys and sells cars.
He said he loves the freedom of American society and the respect and understanding of the people.
“I came here for freedom,” he said. “I love this country more than anyplace else. I love Tulsa Of all the people I’ve met, Americans are the best people. They’re really nice people.”
By BILL SHERMAN World Religion Writer
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