8/12/2019 Leaving Islam Behind is a Scary Prospect for Britain's Ex-muslims - By Hussein Kesvani

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/leaving-islam-behind-is-a-scary-prospect-for-britains-ex-muslims-by 1/4

LEAVING ISLAM BEHIND IS A

SCARY PROSPECT FOR BRITAIN'S

EX-MUSLIMS By Hussein Kesvani

The East London Mosque in Whitechapel, England. 

Islam is Britain's fastest growing religion by a long shot. According to one survey, thenumber of converts to the faith in the country jumped from 60,000 to 100,000 between2001 and 2011—nearly two-thirds of them were women and 56 percent of them werewhite.

Media outlets have awarded the conversion phenomenon a generous amount of  column inches over the past few years, because Western people converting to areligion that's been demonized in the West for decades is clearly an interestng story,especially when the phenomenon includes many prison inmates apparentlyconverting because they believe they'll end up receiving better food and treatmentduring their incarceration.

Less acknowledged, however, are the number of Muslims who have decided to leaveIslam. This is partly because it's difficult to derive data that specific from census reports,but also because—as former Muslim Shahid Abbas* tells me over Skype—"Many youngpeople won't define themselves as agnostic or atheist, usually out of fear they’re doing

something morally wrong." Shahid told me that from his own experience he'd estimate

8/12/2019 Leaving Islam Behind is a Scary Prospect for Britain's Ex-muslims - By Hussein Kesvani

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/leaving-islam-behind-is-a-scary-prospect-for-britains-ex-muslims-by 2/4

that "around 20 to 30 percent" of UK-based Muslims have atheistic or agnostic

tendencies.

Shahid, a 19-year-old economics student, is one of them. Born into a devout Muslimfamily—his father is referred to as "Hajji" (one who has made a pilgrimage to Mecca)

and his mum works as a Qu’ran teacher in an Islamic school—he told me that he forcedhimself to suppress his doubts about the religion when they arose in his early teens,even choosing to spend all of his free time studying Islamic texts in an effort to bindhimself to the faith. "Growing up in that kind of environment put a lot of pressure on me,"he said, "especially as I was always reminded of my family’s reputation. My dad waseven encouraging me to become an Imam."

Shahid lost his belief in Islam when he took a philosophy course in college. "Afterstudying a lot of continental thinkers, as well as more contemporary work about scientificrationalism, there came a point when I realized how flawed Islamic justifications were,"he said. "I tried to talk about these concerns with the Islamic society, and even the localImam. But both were very dismissive—they said that the Shaitan [devil] was trying to

manipulate me."

Maryam Namazie of the Council of Ex-Muslims in Britain. 

That lack of dialogue forced Shahid to find other ways to fill the spiritual void left in hislife, namely his university's humanist society, in which he now plays an active role.However, despite his hobby as a secularist debater, he still hasn't told his family he's leftthe faith for fear that they'll "disown [him] or worse." That's a story that is "all toocommon among the UK's ex-Muslims," according to Iranian-born journalist and humanrights activist Maryam Namazie.

Maryam, now a spokesperson for the Council of Ex-Muslims in Britain (CEMB), left

Iran in 1980, shortly after the Ayatollah Khomeini came into power and tore down

8/12/2019 Leaving Islam Behind is a Scary Prospect for Britain's Ex-muslims - By Hussein Kesvani

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/leaving-islam-behind-is-a-scary-prospect-for-britains-ex-muslims-by 3/4

decades of secular rule in the process. "It was the first time I saw just how political Islamcould be," she said.

While Maryam said she was "astonished" when she found out how many Muslims

there are with atheistic, agnostic, and secular tendencies, she admitted that it's tough for

groups like the CEMB to attract them, as most are afraid of airing their beliefs in public."Muslims are not homogeneous," she said, emphasizing that they don't want theiridentities to be defined by restrictive labels. Unfortunately, due to fears like the possibilityof their families disowning them, they often end up falling into line publicly rather thanadmitting their true beliefs and doubts.

 At a CEMB event I attended earlier this week, Maryam noted that the fear of definingyourself as an "ex-Muslim" is still prevalent. However, she also highlighted the progressthe group has made since its inception in 2007—it now boasts over 400 members and anetwork of affiliated groups all over the world.

 A member of the assembled press pack asked Maryam if her group was a front for

"militant atheism and Islamophobia," and she replied that "the CEMB doesn't act as thevoice of any group—we aren't like Islamist organizations who feel they have the right tospeak on behalf of all Muslims." She added that while most of the CEMB is run by ex-Muslims, every effort is made to respect the diversity of the people who approach themfor guidance. "We are there for people who have left Islam, [as well as] Muslims who arecurrently questioning it."

She then introduced me to a number of CEMB members, who shared their experiencesof "coming out" as ex-Muslim with me.

Maha Kamal. 

US-born 28-year-old Maha Kamal grew up in a religious family in America, but showedsigns of apostasy at a young age, which culminated in her getting kicked out of her localmosque for trespassing onto the side reserved for male worshipers. After she "came out"in high school, her parents disowned her. She has put herself through college and

confidently told me that she has "no regrets," although she admitted that the situation

8/12/2019 Leaving Islam Behind is a Scary Prospect for Britain's Ex-muslims - By Hussein Kesvani

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/leaving-islam-behind-is-a-scary-prospect-for-britains-ex-muslims-by 4/4

may be a lot more difficult for British ex-Muslims as they're often stuck in smaller, more

tightly-knit communities and lack the opportunity to leave it all behind for a life abroad. The same warning was expressed to me by Muz, a 24-year-old software engineer. Headvised me that anyone wishing to leave Islam should "pick their battles carefully—

remembering that families do come first and that leaving Islam is just as much an issuefor them as it is for you."

Muz wasn’t ostracized by his parents, but he told me that family and culture are thebiggest obstacles that prevent people coming clean about their belief: "The fear of losing

your family is by far a greater consequence than any form of cultural isolation." But it’s not just familial sensitivities that ex-Muslims should be concerned about. AsHalima, a 28-year-old student, told me, "It’s also important that you’re financially stableand you have a good support network." Halima's story was one of the most remarkable Iheard, a transition from being militantly devout to losing her faith entirely over the courseof a decade.

When she was a Muslim, Halima played an active role in Dawah (proselytizing), andbecame a supporter of the Islamist group Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HT) in London beforeeventually became disillusioned with the brand of strict Salafism that continues todominate the group. Initially simply searching for an alternative way to practice her faith(including converting to a different denomination of Islam in her teens), she eventuallyfound solace after communicating with ex-Muslim groups online.

Regardless of her current situation and the changes she's made in her life, Halimaremains cautious about professing her personal beliefs to her family. "I haven’t told myparents yet, but hopefully I will when the time is right," she told me. "Plus, my sister is

active in HT, and they still know who I am. And I'm sure some in that group wouldn’t betoo pleased if they found out [about my choice to leave Islam]."

Britain’s ex-Muslims are growing in number, but even with a greater presence theyremain on the fringes of the UK's national discourse on Islam, much to thedisappointment of many secularist campaigners. Ignoring their crises of faith can havetragic consequences. In September, a CEMB member named Irtaza Hussain took hisown life shortly after  citing his loss of religion as a considerable source of distress.CEMB spokesperson Nahla Mahmoud received death threats from Islamists afterappearing in a televison interview about Sharia law.

 As I headed home from the event, another ex-Muslim—a student from Pakistan—

thanked me for taking the time to interview them. "We don’t want to dominate any type ofdebate or tell people what they should and shouldn’t believe," she said. "We just wantour voices to be heard."

By: Hussein Kesvani

Oct 17 2013