Armin was born and raised in a Muslim country. He was taught in school that the only way to avoid hell was to believe in Allah and Muhammad as his prophet, pray five times a day and not sin, which proved to be much more difficult than he expected when he became old enough to start noticing girls. Studying history and biology made Armin doubt the existence of God, and by age 18 he was an atheist. Given that he still lived under an Islamic regime, he intended to keep his thoughts to himself. However, after witnessing firsthand the crimes committed in the name of God, he decided to speak out.