Whitby psychiatrist imagines no religion

Dr. Khalid M. Sohail holds up his new book,
'From Islam to Secular Humanism'.

Crystal Crimi, Staff Writer Sep. 21, 2001

WHITBY - If someone were to ask Whitby psychiatrist Dr. Khalid M. Sohail if he believes in God, the former Muslim would say 'No' and his book 'From Islam to Secular Humanism' would explain why.

His book is about a personal journey of leaving religion and traditions he had been brought up with and his struggles as a non-believer, which finally ended with inner peace.

"Right now I don't follow any religion," said Dr. Sohail. "I call myself a humanist - it means that human beings are more important than any tradition or religion."

He said the purpose of his book is not to preach or express his philosophy, but to share his experiences and struggles with other people, in turn hoping they will share their own.

"Being brought up in a very religious, traditional, conservative environment I did not have the choice of critical thinking, question the taboos, question the myths and the traditions," he said. "I felt that I did not have equal rights or opportunities growing up in a religious environment if I was not a believer. I kept that inside for a very long time."

He describes leaving religion as "leaving the highway of tradition and finding the trail to the heart".

"I feel there is a group of people who are outsiders who never follow the traditional part and connecting with other outsiders - it is very significant for them to have that kind of support," said Dr. Sohail.

His own beliefs started to disintegrate when he was a teenager in medical school, learning about science and being introduced to more logical and rational explanations.

"I started to question the role of this divine intervention and as I studied more and more I felt that life, personal life or universal life around us follows certain laws of nature," he said.

"When I grew up in Pakistan, there was no rain for a few weeks and it was very dry, very humid, very hot and these hundreds of people came and they were praying to God to have rain," Dr. Sohail added. "I was saying according to the laws of nature that 500 or 5,000 people could pray and it's not going to change (the dry spell)."

Dr. Sohail hopes his books will open up dialogue between believers and non-believers in a way that isn't angry or bitter so people can learn to accept the beliefs of others even if they don't agree.

Although he has been writing since 1984, 'From Islam to Secular Humanism', which took him 10 years to write, is his first book published in Canada. His poems, short stories, and essays, published in English and other languages, are all somewhat biographical and he plans on writing other books from his family perspective and from a psychiatric view about his journey.

The doctor came to Canada in 1977 and, in 1984, moved to Whitby, where he has a practice as a psychotherapist in Whitby. 'From Islam to Secular Humanism' can be purchased at Chapters bookstores.