What does it mean to be a Muslim? What does it mean to be an atheist? What does it mean to not want to be a Muslim at all?
These are questions that I have struggled with throughout my admittedly short life. My relationship with my “religious identity” is one of mostly violence. My parents are secular, they are atheist and an inter-religious couple. They never brought me up as either Muslim or Hindu. In fact, I did not even know that such divisions existed until my first day of school. I introduced myself to a boy in nursery and I said my name, “Zafar Habib” and immediately what was meant to be a handshake turned into my hand being grabbed and my fingers being bent forcibly backwards until I screamed.