Ex-Muslims are publicly flaunting their rejection of Islam as never before: a steamy tell-all memoir tops the country’s best-seller lists. One video (with 1.5 million views) shows a copy of the Koran ripped into pieces; another video shows a woman in a bikini cooking and eating bacon; and blasphemous cartoons of Muhammad.
Beyond such provocations, ex-Muslims work to change the image of Islam. Wafa Sultan went on Al Jazeera television to excoriate Islam in an exalted Arabic and over thirty million viewers watched the video. Ayaan Hirsi Ali wrote a powerful autobiography about growing up female in Somalia and went on to author high-profile books criticizing Islam. Ibn Warraq wrote or edited a small library of influential books on his former religion, including Why I am Not a Muslim (1995) and Leaving Islam: Apostates Speak Out (2003).
Behind these individuals stand Western-based organizations of ex-Muslims that encourage Muslims to renounce their faith, provide support to those who have already taken this step, and lobby against Islam with the knowledge of insiders and the passion of renegades.
Together, these phenomena point to an unprecedented shift: The historically illegal and unspeakable actions among Muslims of open disbelief in God and rejection of Muhammad’s mission has spread to the point that it shakes the Islamic faith.
To non-Muslims, this shift tends to be nearly invisible and therefore is dismissed as marginal. When it comes to Arabs, Ahmed Benchemsi notes, Westerners see religiosity as “an unquestionable given, almost an ethnic mandate embedded in their DNA.” The Islamist surge may have peaked nearly a decade ago but the eminent historian Philip Jenkins confidently states that, “By no rational standard can Saudi Arabia, say, be said to be moving in secular directions.”
To help rectify this misunderstanding, the following analysis documents the phenomenon of Muslims becoming atheists. The word “atheist,” along with the organization Ex-Muslims of North America, in this case, refers to Muslims “who adopt no positive belief of a deity,” including “agnostics, pantheists, freethinkers, and humanists.” Atheist emphatically does not, however, include Muslims who convert to Christianity or to any other religion.
Two main factors make it difficult to estimate the number of ex-Muslim atheists.
First, some of them prefer to stay within the bounds of Islam to retain a voice in the religion’s evolution and especially to participate in the fight against Islamism, something they lose on leaving the faith. There is a phenomenon whereby Muslims “make a tactical decision not to break with religion completely, presenting themselves as secularists, ‘progressive’ Muslims or Muslim ‘reformers.’ They feel more can be achieved by challenging oppressive religious practices than by questioning the existence of God, since they are unlikely to be listened to if they are known to be atheists.”
The path of reform, however, is fraught with dangers. The eminent Egyptian authority on Islam, Nasr Abu Zayd, insisted he remained a Muslim while his opponents, perhaps motivated by financial considerations, deemed him an apostate. His foes succeeded in both annulling his marriage and forcing him to flee from Egypt. Worse, the Sudanese government executed the great Islamic thinker Mahmoud Mohammed Taha as an apostate.
Second, overtly declaring oneself an atheist invites punishments that range from ostracizing to beating, to firing, to jailing, to murder. Families see atheists as blots on their honor. Employers see them as untrustworthy. Communities see them as traitors. Governments see them as national security threats. The idea of an individual atheist as a threat seems absurd, but authorities realize that what starts with individual decisions grows into small groups, gathers force, and can culminate in the seizure of power. In the most extreme reaction, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia promulgated anti-terrorist regulations on March 7, 2014, that prohibit “Calling for atheist thought in any form, or calling into question the fundamentals of the Islamic religion on which this country is based.” In other words, free thinking equates to terrorism.
Indeed, many Muslim-majority countries formally punish apostacy with execution, including Mauritania, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Afghanistan, Malaysia, and Brunei. Formal executions tend to be rare but the threat hangs over apostates. Sometimes, death does follow: Mubarak Bala, was arrested in Nigeria and disappeared for his blasphemous statements. In a case that attracted global attention, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini called on freelancers to murder Salman Rushdie in 1989 for writing The Satanic Verses, a magical-realist novel containing disrespectful scenes about Muhammad. Vigilante violence also occurs; in Pakistan, preachers called on mobs to burn down the houses of apostates.
This external pressure at least partially succeeds, notes Iman Willoughby, a Saudi refugee living in Canada: “the Middle East would be significantly more secular if it was not for heavy-handed religious government enforcement or the power mosques are given to monitor communities.” Fearful of trouble, more than a few ex-Muslims hide their views and maintain the trappings of believers, making them effectively uncountable.
Nonetheless, Willoughby observes, “Atheism is spreading like wildfire” in the Middle East. Hasan Suroor, author of Who Killed Liberal Islam? notes that there’s a tale “we don’t usually hear about how Islam is facing a wave of desertion by young Muslims suffering from a crisis of faith . . . abandoned by moderate Muslims, mostly young men and women, ill at ease with growing extremism in their communities. . . . Even deeply conservative countries with strict anti-apostasy regimes like Pakistan, Iran and Sudan have been hit by desertions.” That tale, however, is now more public: “I know at least six atheists who confirmed that [they are atheists] to me,” noted Fahad AlFahad, a marketing consultant and human rights activist in Saudi Arabia, in 2014. “Six or seven years ago, I wouldn’t even have heard one person say that. Not even a best friend would confess that to me,” but the mood has changed and now they feel freer to divulge this dangerous secret.
Whitaker concludes that Arab non-believers “are not a new phenomenon but their numbers seem to be growing.” Professor Amna Nusayr of al-Azhar University states that four million Egyptians have left Islam. Todd Nettleton finds that, by some estimates, “70 percent of Iran’s people have rejected Islam.”
Turning to survey research, a WIN/Gallup survey in 2012 found that “convinced atheists” make up 2 percent of the population in Lebanon, Pakistan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan; 4 percent in the West Bank and Gaza; and 5 percent in Saudi Arabia. Revealingly, the same poll found “not religious” persons aremore numerous: 8 percent in Pakistan, 16 percent in Uzbekistan, 19 percent in Saudi Arabia, 29 percent in the West Bank and Gaza, 33 percent in Lebanon, and 73 percent in Turkey. Conversely, a GAMAAN poll found that just one-third, or 32.2 percent, of born Shi’ite Muslims in Iran actually identify as such, plus 5 percent as Sunnis and 3.2 percent as Sufis.
The trend is upwards: a Konda survey in Turkey found that atheists tripled from 1 to 3 percent between 2008 and 2018, while non-believers doubled from 1 to 2 percent. Arab Barometer polls show a substantial increase in the number of Arabic-speakers who say they are “not religious,” from 8 percent in 2012-14 to 13 percent in 2018-19, a 61 percent increase in five years. This trend is even stronger among people between the ages of fifteen and twenty-nine, among whom the percentage went from 11 to 18 percent. Looking country by country, the largest increases occurred in Tunisia and Libya, with middle-sized ones in Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, and Sudan, and almost no change in Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, and Iraq. Yemen stands out as the one country to count fewer non-religious persons. It is particularly striking to note that about as many Tunisian youth (47 percent) as Americans (46 percent) call themselves “not religious.”
Atheism among Muslim-born populations has historically been of minor importance. It appeared especially negligible during the surge of Islamism over the past half-century. As recently as twenty years ago, atheism among Muslims was nearly undetectable. But no longer. Atheism has turned into a significant force with the potential to affect not just the lives of individuals but also societies and even governments.
It enjoys such potency because contemporary Islam, with its repression of heterodox ideas and punishment of anyone who leaves the faith, is singularly vulnerable to challenge. Just as an authoritarian regime is more brittle than a democratic one, Islam, as practiced today, lacks the suppleness to deal with internal critics and rebels. The result is an Islamic future more precarious than its past.
Daniel Pipes is president of the Middle East Forum. Follow him on Twitter @DanielPipes.
Image: Reuters.
FAQs
Are Arabs losing their religion? ›
Arabs are increasingly saying they are no longer religious, according to the largest and most in-depth survey undertaken of the Middle East and North Africa. The finding is one of a number on how Arabs feel about a wide range of issues, from women's rights and migration to security and sexuality.
Is atheism rising in the world? ›...
Turkey.
| Year | Atheism in Turkey |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 2.2% |
| 2013 | 2.2% |
| 2014 | 2.5% |
| 2015 | 2.9% |
A 2017 Pew Research Center survey of U.S. Muslims, using slightly different questions than the 2014 survey, found a similar estimate (24%) of the share of those who were raised Muslim but have left Islam. Among this group, 55% no longer identify with any religion, according to the 2017 survey.
Which religion is growing fastest? ›...
Contents
- 1.1 Buddhism.
- 1.2 Chinese traditional religion.
- 1.3 Christianity.
- 1.4 Deism.
- 1.5 Druze.
- 1.6 Hinduism.
- 1.7 Islam. 1.7.1 Modern growth. ...
- 1.8 Judaism.
Atheists in Islamic countries and communities frequently conceal their non-belief. Religiosity in the Arab world is seen to be essential for morality and atheism is widely associated with immorality.
How long will Islam last? ›In more than 15 ahadith found in the Sahih of Imam Bukhari, Sunnan of Imam Abu Dawwud, Jamii of Imam Tirmidhi and others, the prophet (saws) said Islam has a specific lifespan on earth, these Ahadith state Allah gave Islam 1500 years then relatively soon after this He would establish the Hour, we are now in the year ...
Which country is most atheist? ›Relative to its own populations, Zuckerman ranks the top 5 countries with the highest possible ranges of agnostics and atheists: Sweden (46-85%), Vietnam (81%), Denmark (43-80%), Norway (31-72%), and Japan (64-65%).
Are Christians decreasing? ›And while it's still the dominant religion, the country's Christian majority has been shrinking for decades. Now, a new study from Pew Research Center shows that as of 2020, the number of Americans who identify as Christian is about 64%. Fifty years ago, that number was 90%.
Why do people convert to Islam? ›Individuals are motivated to convert for many reasons: some relate to personal transformation and identity, others to external social and political factors. Theological explanations are often given, and many converts consider themselves destined or called by God to turn to Islam.
How many Hindus convert to Islam every year? ›Conversion row: 'Every year over 8 lakh Hindus become either Christians or Muslim' A Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader has made an astonishing claim about religious conversion of Hindus. Guwahati: A Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader has made an astonishing claim about religious conversion of Hindus.
How many Muslims are converts? ›
In other words, they gain as many new followers as they lose to other faiths. This is definitely not true of Christianity on the whole in America. Muslims are losing 23 percent of those raised in their faith, but 23 percent of their adult adherents are converts.
Which religion is most powerful in the world? ›- Christianity (31.2%)
- Islam (24.1%)
- Irreligion (16%)
- Hinduism (15.1%)
- Buddhism (6.9%)
- Folk religions (5.7%)
- Sikhism (0.3%)
- Judaism (0.2%)
Hinduism. the Bhagavad-gītā, truth is Krishna himself. This is confirmed by Vyasa as stated in the verse, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ultimate abode, the purest, the Absolute Truth.
Why did Islam spread so quickly? ›There are many reasons why Islam spread so quickly. First Mecca was connected to many global trade routes. Another important reason was their military conquered lots of territory. A third factor was the Muslims fair treatment of conquered peoples.
Why is Christianity declining? ›The decline in the United States is primarily due to people leaving Christianity and choosing to have no religious affiliation, by contrast, few of the people leaving Christianity in the United States choosing to convert to other religions.
What does the Bible say about atheists? ›According to Psalms 14 and 53 the man who says there is no God is corrupt, is a liar, and never does good. It is no surprise that the Apostle Paul cites portions of these psalms in order to make his point that no human is righteous and that none seeks for God (Rom 3:10–12).
Is there any atheist in Saudi Arabia? ›The God Delusion is big in Saudi Arabia. Three million copies of Richard Dawkins's bible of atheism were downloaded in the kingdom—one of twelve Muslim-majority states where the statute books prescribe the death penalty for apostasy. It is difficult to gain an accurate estimate of the number of atheists in Saudi.
What does Hinduism say about atheism? ›Some Hindu scriptures condemn atheism, often outright stating that it is sin, and that people of good morals should not associate with or allow such people in their nations. They also often associating atheists with negative traits, such as uncleanliness, poisonous, and cruel.
How many countries convert Islam? ›In how many countries is Islam the main religion? There are about 50 countries in the world where the majority of the population is Muslim. Among them are about 30 countries with a majority Muslim population, where more than 90% of the inhabitants belong to Islam (see list below).
Why did prophet Muhammad cry for us? ›He loved his ummah a great deal, and was very concerned about their salvation on the Day of Resurrection, hoping that Allaah would honour them with His Paradise. He would weep because of the depth of his fear for them and his compassion towards them.
What is the last minor signs of qiyamah? ›
- The sending of the Prophet;
- The death of the Prophet;
- The appearance of fire in the Hijaz, (which appeared in the mid-7th century AH)
- Splitting of the moon;
- A form of death, which will kill thousands of Muslims;
Top 10 Least Religious Countries - Public Perception
A survey of over 16,000 people's personal perceptions chose Australia as the least religious country in the world, followed by Sweden and Germany.
Legal status, rights and laws. Atheism and irreligion are not officially recognised in India. Apostasy is allowed under the right to freedom of religion in the Constitution, and the Special Marriage Act, 1954 allows the marriage of people with no religious beliefs, as well as non-religious and non-ritualistic marriages ...
What percent of Israel is atheist? ›Some 20% of Israeli Jews do not believe in a deity, and some 15% claim to observe no religious practices. Israeli Arab society is much more religious, with any degree of secularity barely acknowledged.
Will religion ever go away? ›For all of these reasons – psychological, neurological, historical, cultural and logistical – experts guess that religion will probably never go away. Religion, whether it's maintained through fear or love, is highly successful at perpetuating itself. If not, it would no longer be with us.
Will religion decline in the future? ›Depending on whether religious switching continues at recent rates, speeds up or stops entirely, the projections show Christians of all ages shrinking from 64% to between a little more than half (54%) and just above one-third (35%) of all Americans by 2070.
Which religion will be the largest religion in 2050? ›By 2050, “the number of Muslims will nearly equal the number of Christians around the world,” if current population growth trends continue, Pew found in 2015. If it happens, for the first time in history, both faiths will have equal standing.
How many Americans convert to Islam every year? ›25,000 Americans convert to Islam per year. The conversion rate of Americans has become 4 times more since September 11. In more recent years, there has been significant conversion to Islam in the state, federal, and local prisons of the United States. According to J.
Can Muslims drink alcohol? ›However, the dominant belief in Islam is that, not only is the consumption of alcohol in any of its forms forbidden, but Muslims should avoid even indirect association with alcohol.
Why did Indians converted to Islam? ›A third theory commonly advanced to explain Islamization in India is what I call the Religion of Patronage theory. This is the view that Indians of the premodern period converted to Islam in order to receive some non-religious favor from the ruling class—relief from taxes, promotion in the bureaucracy, and so forth.
Which religion is most converted in India? ›
- Hinduism is an ancient religion with the largest religious grouping in India, with around 966 million adherents as of 2011, composing 79.8% of the population. ...
- Islam is a monotheistic religion centered on the belief in one God and following the example of Muhammad; it is the largest minority religion in India.
The king who saved Hinduism - Sambhaji Maharaj Samadhi.
Which is the fastest growing religion in Japan? ›- Islam Becomes The Fastest-Growing Religion in Japan.
- Mosques in Japan.
- Islamic Circle of Japan.
- Videoclip of the Tokyo Mosque.
- Islamic Center Japan.
- Aljazeera English video – Japanese Muslims preparing for Hajj.
- Tokyo Iqra International School.
- Ramadan in Japan.
According to the data revealed by the Pew Research Centre, about 100,000 Muslims abandon Islam each year and roughly the same number convert to Islam every year. 55% of the Muslims who quit Islam prefer to follow no religion while 22% specifically adopt to become Christians.
Which is the fastest growing religion in China? ›Beginning in the early nineteenth century, Protestant missionaries attracted small but influential followings, and independent Chinese churches were also established. It is estimated that Christianity is the fastest growing religion in China.
Which religion is the most persecuted? ›| Group | Probability that a religious lives in a country where persecution of the group occurred in 2015 | Number of countries where the group was persecuted by the government in 2015 |
|---|---|---|
| Jews | 99% | 43 |
| Hindus | 99% | 14 |
| Muslims | 97% | 106 |
| Other religions | 85% | 44 |
Islam-The Most Beautiful Religion.
Which is older Islam or Christianity? ›Christianity developed out of Second Temple Judaism in the 1st century CE. It is founded on the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and those who follow it are called Christians. Islam developed in the 7th century CE.
Is the Middle East becoming less religious? ›In late 2019, the research network Arab Barometer released the results of new polling surveys that show that there has been a decline religious faith and trust in religious parties across the Middle East and North Africa.
Why is Christianity declining? ›The decline in the United States is primarily due to people leaving Christianity and choosing to have no religious affiliation, by contrast, few of the people leaving Christianity in the United States choosing to convert to other religions.
Is Christianity growing or shrinking? ›
The U.S.'s Christian majority has been shrinking for decades. A Pew Research Center study shows that as of 2020, about 64% of Americans identify as Christian. Fifty years ago, that number was 90%.
In which countries Islam is growing fast? ›- India. Islam is the fastest-growing religion in India. ...
- China. ...
- France. ...
- Germany. ...
- United Kingdom. ...
- Italy.
...
Population growth rate.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 172,200,000 | +24.6% |
Conversion row: 'Every year over 8 lakh Hindus become either Christians or Muslim' A Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader has made an astonishing claim about religious conversion of Hindus. Guwahati: A Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader has made an astonishing claim about religious conversion of Hindus.
Why Islam is the most beautiful religion? ›Islam is a beautiful religion which talks about equality, about peace and compassion. Most of the Islamic texts are written in Persian, which is an extremely rich language, the ground for some of finest and deepest prose and poetry, literature which has a profound impact on the being.
Why are people converting to Islam? ›Individuals are motivated to convert for many reasons: some relate to personal transformation and identity, others to external social and political factors. Theological explanations are often given, and many converts consider themselves destined or called by God to turn to Islam.
Is Christianity allowed in China? ›Chinese who are over the age of 18 are only permitted to join officially sanctioned Christian groups which are registered with the government-sanctioned Catholic Patriotic Church, the China Christian Council and the Protestant Three-Self Church.
What are the least religious countries? ›- Estonia - 60.2%
- Japan - 60%
- Hong Kong (China) - 54.7%
- China - 51.8%
- South Korea - 46.6%
- Latvia - 45.3%
- Netherlands - 44.3%
- Uruguay - 41.5%
According to The New York Times, 25,000 Americans convert to Islam every year.
Is religion in decline globally? ›...
‹ back.
Why are people leaving the Catholic Church? ›
When asked to explain in their own words the main reason for leaving Catholicism, upwards of four-in-ten former Catholics (48% of those who are now unaffiliated and 41% of those who are now Protestant) cite a disagreement with the Catholic Church's religious or moral beliefs.
Will religion decline in the future? ›Depending on whether religious switching continues at recent rates, speeds up or stops entirely, the projections show Christians of all ages shrinking from 64% to between a little more than half (54%) and just above one-third (35%) of all Americans by 2070.
Why did Islam spread so quickly? ›There are many reasons why Islam spread so quickly. First Mecca was connected to many global trade routes. Another important reason was their military conquered lots of territory. A third factor was the Muslims fair treatment of conquered peoples.
Will Islam become the largest religion in the world? ›Over the next four decades, Christians will remain the largest religious group, but Islam will grow faster than any other major religion. If current trends continue, by 2050 … The number of Muslims will nearly equal the number of Christians around the world.