Reason on Faith

Sohail Ahmad, better known online as Reason on Faith, was an ex-Muslim YouTuber who made videos questioning and challenging Islam.
Sohail was originally from the community. He describes himself as an agnostic atheist or agnostic deist. In 2015, Sohail joined Ex-Muslims of North America. In 2016, he began blogging under the alias Reason on Faith. He revealed his real name in May 2019.
==The Things We Think but are too Afraid to Say==
During the 1990s, Soheil wrote down religious questions, with pre-emptive rebuttals to apologetics. These became a privately shared book titled The Things We Think but are too Afraid to Say, gathering counter-arguments to Islam. The book was publicly released in May 2019, presenting everything contained in the 1998 Edition, an additional preface, grammatical improvements, and newly hyperlinked references.
At the age of seventeen, Soheil became active in preaching at his high school. To be more effective, he researched issues for which Islam was criticized, and "encountered numerous issues," primarily related to gender inequality. As an active member of the religious community, Soheil had access to their leadership, including the "Amir and Missionary In-Charge of Canada", and the "National Secretary of Canada," and had discussions with them.
Soheil first began writing the book in early 1992. In early 1998, it was ready for limited release. The National Secretary knew that Soheil was working on this book, and that he would receive a copy. A few weeks before the National Secretary would have received his copy, Soheil had given out copies to other Muslims.
Shortly after the copies were distributed, the National Secretary contacted Soheil, and asked why some people had already received a copy. He had thought that the book was only for senior officials to review, and was upset. The community representatives who received copies forwarded them on to the National Secretary, after Soheil's peers revealed the book's existence. A few days after the community learned of the distribution, at the request of the National Secretary, Soheil retrieved all the copies. The National Secretary asked Soheil's father to hand over all of the copies. Soheil later learned that the books were taken from his house, and agreed to this decision, but "felt a sense of loss."
A few weeks after obtaining his copy, the National Secretary finished reading the book. Soon after, he visited Soheil, and they talked about the book. He conveyed "a mix of surprise and displeasure" that Soheil had approached the book from the perspective of an outsider, and stated that he did not have answers to the issues raised. He suggested that Soheil could have some private views and convictions, which Ahmadiyya Islam would not officially recognize. After several months, Soheil "began to accept" the lack of a response, and ceased various religious practices, which his parents noticed. After the conversation with the National Secretary, there were no further discussions with any officials about the book. No written replies or rebuttals were attempted.
Soheil's father occasionally asked the Amir about answering the book, and was told that Soheil was questioning Islam in general. He was later reportedly told that the book contained allegations that Muhammad had raped his youngest wife. The concept of rape is discussed in Chapter 2, but the Amir "misrepresented the contents". Soheil explained the situation to his father, who was disappointed with the Amir, who they realized had not "even opened the book." After another few years, the Amir indicated that the book was not worth responding to, describing Soheil as "a lost cause," in Urdu.
==References==
Category:Commentary YouTubers
Category:Canadian YouTubers
Category:Users who joined in 2016