Thread by @ex_africa

1/ We've seen many posts by Muslims asking why #ExMuslims keep talking about Islam. So we wrote this thread to address the misconceptions around #ExMuslims.

The next time someone asks this question, point them here.

#AMSA #Thread

2/ "You've left Islam, so why keep talking about it? Why not just move on with your life?"

This one is common. The short answer is: many of us would love to move on with our lives. Only we can't because the people around us won't let us

3/ For us in Muslim communities, we're surrounded by Islam.

Our friends are Muslim, our families are Muslim, some of us are even married to Muslims. Coming out means telling people we care about. Depending on the community, we could get ostracized completely or physically harmed

4/ It's not as simple as "moving on with your life".

If you stop going to Mosque, people will notice. If you stop praying or fasting, people will notice. Islam is a public religion, so acts of faith are public.

Keeping our apostasy secret is why many of us live a double life

5/ So what happens if we come out?

Some of us came out and it went ok. We face judgment, but we can still live our lives. Some of us came out and lost everyone we cared about. For those of us living with parents, coming out may mean getting kicked out the house with no support

6/ So many of us prefer to stay in the closet. In South Africa, you are unlikely to get killed for leaving Islam. But in many other countries, this is definitely the case.

So it's not as simple as "moving on", if people will punish you for trying to do so.

7/ "Ok but that's not religion, that's culture"

It's both. As much as apologists try to claim otherwise, Islam teaches that people who leave Islam should be killed. Some claim this only applies to treason. However, in many Sharia countries, apostasy carries the death penalty

8/ This is not a practice of fringe lunatics. This is a mainstream Islamic teaching, endorsed by the four major Sunni Madhabs

This website presents a mainstream view of Islamic scholars:
islamqa.info/en/answers/142…

9/ This is a ruling from a famous South African Mufti supporting the killing of apostates.

Bear in mind that South Africa is a Constitutional Democracy that supports freedom of speech, freedom of religion, gay rights etc.

askimam.org/public/questio…

10/ "But why do you need to identify as an #ExMuslim? Why are you so obsessed with Islam?"

Another one I see a lot. And the short answer is: we're not.

11/ Many of us are also skeptics, humanists, atheists, agnostics, activists, feminists etc. We have a wide range of interests including food, literature, politics, philosophy etc. We don't organize for those because nobody is trying to kill us for tweeting about Bitcoin

12/ In fact: Islam is what gives us this label. Islam calls those who leave the religion 'Apostates', or 'Murtads'. This is intended to be a derogatory term. Calling ourselves #ExMuslim is a way of reclaiming that label. Those who leave Islam deserve a place in society too.

13/ "You just have abusive families. That's why you left Islam"

Another common misconception. Some of us do, in fact, have abusive families. But many of us have great relationships with our families. The main reason many of us stay in the closet is so as not to hurt these people

14/ In many cases, our families ostracize us because that's what the religion tells them to do. Islam outright tells them to kill us, but it's because they're good people that they choose to ignore this and ostracize us instead.

15/ There are guenuine cases where people have abusive families which has influenced them into leaving. In some cases this is culture, but in many cases it is religion. It's best to ask the person what they experienced, instead of telling them why you think they left

16/ For instance: if you are a gay person in an Islamic community you are likely to be cut off or killed. This is a mainstream Islamic teaching that influences the culture.

islamqa.info/en/answers/386…

17/ "Ok that's all fine, but why do you need to criticize Islam?"

This is the one we hear the most often from Muslims. Many of them would like nothing more for us to leave and never speak about Islam ever again. That's not going to happen.

Here's why:

18/ Firstly: everyone has the right to criticize ideas they don't agree with. In South Africa, we fought and bled for these rights.

Without criticism of ideas, injustices will stay unchecked and a free society cannot function

19/ Muslims routinely criticize other religions, other cultures, other moral systems, the "West", even apostates. The Qur'an itself criticizes many other peoples and faiths. And all of this speech is protected.

But somehow when we turn that criticism around it's "Islamophobia"?

20/ Just as there are injustices perpetrated against Muslims, so too are there injustices perpetrated by Muslims and in the name of Islam

If we're unhappy about the way Islam treats apostates, homosexuals, and women, why should we have to shut up about it?

21/ Things are never going to change for the better in these communities if we don't have honest discussions about what the problems are. And as many of us grew up in these communities, and are still part of them, surely we have as much right as anyone to speak frankly about them

22/ Many of us would love to live in a world where Muslims and ExMuslims can peacefully coexist, as is the case with people who leave other faiths. But this will never happen if only one side has a voice, and the other side fears for its safety

23/ So if we're critical, it's because we want things to change.

If you're a Muslim, you may not agree with what we're saying, but please respect our right to say it. Just as we have respected, and continue to respect, the rights of Muslims to express their views peacefully

24/ If you see a Muslim asking these questions, please link them here. And if you managed to read to the end, thank you for your time

THE END