When a self-assigned so-called man of religion like Mr. Qardawi appears on TV and pollutes the waves with his non-sense, it is only natural for people to run away from religion, because what they hear, see and read by the “official” Islamic “leaders” is in simple terms, ugly, unacceptable, and unconvincing.
Why would a modern man or woman believe in an Islam “drafted” by a bunch of Salafi men who make you feel sick in your heart with the kind of logic they display, the ugly religion they market, and that fanaticism they support?
It is normal, very normal, to see a lot of today’s young generation (and a little bit above young) very wary to surrender themselves to a religious thinking that doesn’t sound “quite right.”
The religious leaders in this time and age are accountable and responsible for destroying the true meaning of Islam, they are responsible for every atheist and skeptic who has a good heart: who has been looking all his/her life for the truth, finding it difficult to enter the door of religion because at the door he/she finds those self-assigned guardians who speak on behalf of Allah, throwing people as they wish into a vicious cycle of anger, violence and hatred, by claiming it is in the name of Islam.
Allah is beautiful, Sayyidna Prophet Mohammad is beautiful; they have nothing to do with today’s ‘ulama’ (religious leaders). Those are polluted spirits that roam the earth. May Allah rid us of all shapes of hypocritical religion.
Damascus ~ By Mark Archer ~ The Financial Times
50% Syrian 
Skeptics are by no means the by-product of fanatic preachers. The prophet himself failed to convince a considerable number of his day’s intellectuals (e.g. Al-Shanfara, who saw no miracle in the eloquent Koran), close relatives (e.g. Abu Jahl), and tribal leaders (e.g. Abu Sufian, the father of the Umayyad Dynasty, who only eventually embraced Islam under the influence of the Prophet’s hefty booty offering from his last raid, or ghazwa).
Just remember that enlightenment, divinity, or higher spiritual emancipation does not belong to the (spiritually) ignorant mases; it is, as has always been, an individualistic business. This is why we only have ONE Buddha, Christ, Mohammed, etc.
Good to see you again Yaak. I once – thought I – was skeptic, and did announce at an earlier age that I was an atheist, this was a direct result of our “Islamic Religion” curriculum. The way our teachers taught us (and never led by example because they were the worst gossipers) was horrific, our school bookshop sold (and played) cassettes by some Saudi Sheikhs who spoke about hell fire and how our skins were going to be burnt… I believed in my heart of hearts that Allah was grander than that, he was beautiful and merciful, and forgiving, and no way those people, who weren’t great people really, were conveying the right picture. I therefor rejected religion and looked elsewhere…. when I got more into Sufism (because of my late grandmother, Allah Yir7amha), I started to understand that most of the things I rejected as a kid/teenager were actually twisted, and being “muslim” was a spiritual matter, and ritual was a path… I so believe today, judging from the people I meet, that they too are going through the same dilemma. The “religion” they see on TV is not fathomable, they cannot just commit themselves to religion the way it is presented. I can relate, and therefore it is from this place of understanding one must have faith that if mainstream religion disappears, those people will certainly follow the true path… that is because in their hearts they have the seeds.
Today’s shiekhs are nothing like Prophet Mohammad, especially the Wahhabis, they are weak, no light radiates from their presence; you think people with compasses in their hearts can’t pick up on the hypocrisy, ego, and fabrications? They can. And those who do, will never follow religion from a Wahhabi source. They will follow a pure source, given the chance, and you never know when Allah provides this clarity.