Those who are suspicious of organised religion often point to the way it is used to justify antisocial acts, including violence and cruelty. Some atheists might go further and suggest that faith is prima facie evidence of irrationality, if not madness. But philosophically, faith rests on reason and doubt, not the psychotic certainties attending certain kinds of mental illness. For Jimmy, his introduction to Islam had provided an exit route from the chaos, loneliness and pain of his life up to that point, and it had been good for him, at least initially. He had found a ready-made, protective
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