Ex-Muslim: Leaving Islam

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the UK, with the number of Muslims almost doubling in the last few years from 1.5 million in 2001 to 2.71 million in the latest census, 2011. A small but increasing number of people are also choosing to leave the religion and many say doing so has led them to be rejected by their family and friends and - in some cases - threatened with violence. Benjamin Zand spoke to ex-Muslims.

On Leaving Islam

Unveiling Islam
THE DAILY CALIFORNIAN – THE SOAPBOX: If someone had told me six years ago that I would leave Islam and end up an atheist, I would never have believed him.

I was born and raised as a Muslim. I grew up in a Muslim country — Pakistan — surrounded by other Muslims who were convinced that their religion was the one true religion. My family, in particular, followed moderate Sunni Islam, which is a more liberal approach based on the “Sunnah,” or Prophet’s teachings. That was the path I set out on. But now, as a Muslim apostate and atheist, my journey couldn’t have led me any further from what I once knew to be true.

Until I was 14, I simply accepted everything I’d been told about Islam. I was taught that being born into a Muslim family is a blessing and is the greatest gift that Allah can bestow upon someone. I initially thought the Sunni path I followed was the one true path, just like my Shia, Bori and Ismaili friends adhered to the teachings of the sects their families followed. I noticed how everyone around me claimed to have a monopoly on the truth, which made me question who was actually right. I started to view Islam — and religion in general — as something dogmatic, irrational, unscientific and, most of all, completely sexist.

A feminist since age 10, it’s always been hard for me to reconcile my feminism with my faith. Even though the Pakistani society in which I grew up was sexist, my family has always been very progressive. As a result, I never accepted the male superiority and traditional gender roles that were part of my society. For most of my teen years, I felt torn apart by my contradictory beliefs. On one hand, I was a radical feminist who supported gay rights. But on the other hand, I was a practicing Muslim whose religion was clearly homophobic and placed men above women. » | Shanzeh Khurram | Staff | Friday, May 29, 2015

Allah vs Atheism: ‘Leaving Islam Was the Hardest Thing I’ve Done’

Amal Farah, banking executive

THE INDEPENDENT: A growing number of Muslims are speaking out about losing their faith, but it can mean being shunned by their families, or even threatened with death. Sarah Morrison meets the atheists

Amal Farah, a 32-year-old banking executive, is laughing about a contestant singing off-key in the last series of The X Factor. For a woman who was not allowed to listen to music when she was growing up, this is a delight. After years of turmoil, she is in control of her own life.

On the face of it, she is a product of modern Britain. Born in Somalia to Muslim parents, she grew up in Yemen and came to the UK in her late teens. After questioning her faith, she became an atheist and married a Jewish lawyer. But this has come at a cost. When she turned her back on her religion, she was disowned by her family and received death threats. She has not seen her mother or her siblings for eight years. None of them have met her husband or daughter.

“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done – telling my observant family that I was having doubts. My mum was shocked; she began to cry. It was very painful for her. When she realised I actually meant it, she cut communication with me,” said Ms Farah. “She was suspicious of me being in contact with my brothers and sisters. She didn’t want me to poison their heads in any way. I felt like a leper and I lived in fear. As long as they knew where I was, I wasn’t safe.”

This is the first time Ms Farah has spoken publicly about her experience of leaving her faith, after realising that she did not want to keep a low profile for ever. She is an extreme case – her mother, now back in Somalia, has become increasingly radical in her religious views. But Ms Farah is not alone in wanting to speak out. » | Sarah Morrison | Sunday, January 19, 2014

Wilders Calls on Muslims to Leave Islam
NIS NEWS BULLETIN: NEW YORK - PVV leader Geert Wilders has called on Muslims throughout the world to leave Islam. He made his call in a speech in New York, to promote his English-language book Marked for Death.

Wilders claims that his book explains that Islam is a “totalitarian ideology” and is an encouragement to freedom-loving Muslims to turn their back on Islam. “I support those who fight for freedom in the Islamic world completely. The Arab, Turkish, Iranian, Pakistani and Indonesian peoples have enormous potential. If they could free themselves of the yoke of Islam, if they could stop seeing Mohamed as their role model and if they could break away from the rancorous Koran, then they could achieve amazing things,” Wilders said in his speech. » | Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Walid Shoebat – Why I Left Jihad. Ex-Muslim Militant Speaks Out
Part 1:



Part 2:

Six Million Muslims Leave Islam Every Year


Here is the transcript in Arabic (العربية) and here it is in English.

Fathima Rifqa Bary


Runaway Cites Fear of Father over Leaving Islam
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: Police doubt city man a threat to teenage Christian convert

A Northeast Side 17-year-old who ran away, saying that her father would kill her for leaving Islam, is in state custody in Florida.

But Sgt. Jerry Cupp of the missing-persons unit of the Columbus police special-victims bureau, disputes Fathima Rifqa Bary's allegation. He said her father, Mohamed Bary, appears to be a loving parent who knew about her conversion to Christianity months ago.

The New Albany High School cheerleader, who goes by Rifqa, disappeared on July 19, prompting fears that she had been abducted, Cupp said.

Authorities soon found that she was staying with a married couple who pastor a church in Orlando.

"She was petrified that her dad would kill her," said the Rev. Beverly Lorenz, who leads Global Revolution Church in Orlando along with her husband, the Rev. Blake Lorenz.

Mrs. Lorenz met the girl through a Facebook prayer group. Lorenz barely knew the girl, she said, but took her in when she called from a borrowed cell phone in Florida. >>> Meredith Heagney | Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Read the story at Pamela Geller’s website, Atlas Shrugs >>> | Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Hat tip: Robert Spencer

Plan Targets Shariah Ban on Leaving Islam
WORLD NET DAILY: Christian ministry calls for recognition people can choose religion

With Shariah law cited as the source of justice in most of the Islamic world, and new encroachments by the drastic religious rules into the West, a Christian ministry has launched a campaign to do away with punishment for apostasy, the act of leaving Islam for another religious faith.

The effort launched by the Barnabas Fund said in addition to those in other religions, there are brave Muslim voices already calling for the apostasy law to be abolished

"Although only Muslim leaders can make this happen, we as Christians can help the process, by speaking up for freedom of religion and belief and by encouraging others to do the same," said Patrick Sookhdeo, the international director of the fund. >>> © 2008 WorldNetDaily | Friday, December 19, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (US) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (US) >>>

The Great Wafa Sultan: Why I Left Islam

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (US)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (US)