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By T C Sreemol and Himanshi Dhawan
Birthdays, weddings, funerals…there is a long list of family functions that Kerala-based Noorjahan KM misses every year. “I still regard them as my family but once I left Islam, they began to see me as blasphemous, branding me a ‘follower of evil spirits’,” she says.
The 48-year-old former school staffer who now works as a political party worker in Kottayam is among a growing number of Muslims who have renounced Islam in recent years.
Despite the social isolation, Noorjahan is firm about her decision to leave the faith. Wearing the hijab, discrimination against women and the dogma surrounding the religion gradually nudged her towards atheism.
“Over the years, I parted ways with Islam when I realised that its doctrines are illogical. It blatantly discriminates against women and treats them as secondary citizens,” says Noorjahan, who is also raising her daughters outside of any religion.
A 2017 Pew Research Center survey reported that there are about 3.5mn Muslims in the US of which 100,000 abandon Islam each year, while roughly the same number convert to Islam. Similar trends prevail in Western Europe, where conversions in and out of Islam appear roughly to balance out.
This might be not as common in India but anecdotally, there is evidence to suggest that some among the educated are abandoning the faith for its rigidity and dogma while the poor may be shying away due to fear of persecution. Others find the treatment of women and the LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and others) community discriminatory.
Hasan Suroor, the author of Who Killed Liberal Islam, says he knows a lot of Muslims who have turned atheists. “Some of my own close family members have ceased to be practising Muslims — generally giving up on the idea of god — though they continue to call themselves Muslims and tend to get worked up when Muslims or Islam are attacked,” he says.
“But, yes, there’s sufficient anecdotal evidence that young Indian Muslims are turning away from Islam — put off by its rigidity [resistance to change citing ‘immutability’ of sharia] and the strain of homophobia, misogyny and intolerance towards not only non-Muslims but even believers who don’t follow the hardline and austere Salafi Islam propagated by the Saudis,” he adds.
Practices like halala and male domination were issues that Siddharth Chaturvedi (earlier Sadaqat Quraishi) was perturbed by. The 32-year-old says he studied the Quran and other texts deeply but his questions remained unanswered, creating a wedge between him and his religion.
“When I asked questions or encouraged clerics to argue with me, I was met with threats of ex-communication from the community,” he says.
Chaturvedi runs a YouTube channel called @ExMuslimSameer where he encourages questions about Islam and its practices. Having suffered from ex-communication from his family, he provides a support group for those who would like to convert and face a backlash from their families and community. He converted to Hinduism last year.
A safe refuge
A similar support group and platform for those who have renounced Islam is seeing an increase in popularity in Kerala. Ex-Muslims of Kerala, which was started in 2020, has become a forum to air thoughts and questions and seek help from threatening calls and social media abuse.
“More than belief, it is social commitment, democratic values and rising scientific temperament which encourage many to walk out,” says Liyakkathali CM, president of Ex-Muslims of Kerala, who had to approach the police when he received threatening calls after leaving his religion some years ago.
Liyakkathali says that when people renounce Islam, they are caught in a double bind. They face ostracisation from their former community and continue to be targets for Islamophobia.
Suroor says homophobia too is driving many young Muslims to renounce Islam. Assamese queer Muslim Nasreen (uses one name) who identifies as they/them remained a closeted gay till they were 17 years old. Though brought up in a liberal Muslim home where rules on hijab and reading the namaz were relaxed, they felt a backlash from relatives when they came out.
“I tried to reconcile my sexuality and my faith but found it too restrictive. It was a struggle not to hate myself if I stayed a religious person,” they say. They no longer believe in the doctrines that are laid down in Islam.
Former journalist Shamla Cheenikkal, who is also a member of Ex-Muslims of Kerala, recalls a visit by clerics to her home that snowballed into a controversy.
“As my mother was speaking to them, I came out with my head uncovered. I was immediately reprimanded. I asked what was wrong in showing my hair. Neither my mother nor the clerics had an answer. Annoyed, my mother asked me to leave the house as she wanted to protect the family honour. I did. Later the issue was resolved and I returned home. But the news of the incident spread like wildfire and everyone blamed me,” Cheenikkal recalls.
Not everyone faces a pushback from their families. Some have progressive parents who give them the courage to walk out of the religion. Safiya PM, general secretary of Ex-Muslims of Kerala, grew up in a family that was not overtly religious. “When I studied the Quran, I found that it treats women as inferior, which I could not accept,” she says.
Fausiya Mallissery, a 62-year-old retired school headmistress from Malappuram who discontinued practising Islam in the 1980s, also had a supportive family. She had a ‘progressive’ father, while her husband EA Jabbar had walked out of the religion decades ago.
“I found Islam was highly discriminatory towards girls in those days. I used to follow religious practices only to convince my family members until I became independent. Once I got a job, I dropped the pretence,” she says.
Noted writer MN Karassery, who calls himself agnostic, says that people abandon Islam due to various factors including education, adverse experiences in their personal life, love affairs and intellectual approach.
Among the younger generation of Muslims, especially women, religious constraints can often become too much to bear. He cites the instance of purdah. “It is because of social pressure that they cover their faces. It is part of fascism. By covering your face, you are denying the social life of a woman,” he says.
By T C Sreemol and Himanshi Dhawan
Birthdays, weddings, funerals…there is a long list of family functions that Kerala-based Noorjahan KM misses every year. “I still regard them as my family but once I left Islam, they began to see me as blasphemous, branding me a ‘follower of evil spirits’,” she says.
The 48-year-old former school staffer who now works as a political party worker in Kottayam is among a growing number of Muslims who have renounced Islam in recent years.
Despite the social isolation, Noorjahan is firm about her decision to leave the faith. Wearing the hijab, discrimination against women and the dogma surrounding the religion gradually nudged her towards atheism.
“Over the years, I parted ways with Islam when I realised that its doctrines are illogical. It blatantly discriminates against women and treats them as secondary citizens,” says Noorjahan, who is also raising her daughters outside of any religion.
A 2017 Pew Research Center survey reported that there are about 3.5mn Muslims in the US of which 100,000 abandon Islam each year, while roughly the same number convert to Islam. Similar trends prevail in Western Europe, where conversions in and out of Islam appear roughly to balance out.
This might be not as common in India but anecdotally, there is evidence to suggest that some among the educated are abandoning the faith for its rigidity and dogma while the poor may be shying away due to fear of persecution. Others find the treatment of women and the LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and others) community discriminatory.
Hasan Suroor, the author of Who Killed Liberal Islam, says he knows a lot of Muslims who have turned atheists. “Some of my own close family members have ceased to be practising Muslims — generally giving up on the idea of god — though they continue to call themselves Muslims and tend to get worked up when Muslims or Islam are attacked,” he says.
“But, yes, there’s sufficient anecdotal evidence that young Indian Muslims are turning away from Islam — put off by its rigidity [resistance to change citing ‘immutability’ of sharia] and the strain of homophobia, misogyny and intolerance towards not only non-Muslims but even believers who don’t follow the hardline and austere Salafi Islam propagated by the Saudis,” he adds.
Practices like halala and male domination were issues that Siddharth Chaturvedi (earlier Sadaqat Quraishi) was perturbed by. The 32-year-old says he studied the Quran and other texts deeply but his questions remained unanswered, creating a wedge between him and his religion.
“When I asked questions or encouraged clerics to argue with me, I was met with threats of ex-communication from the community,” he says.
Chaturvedi runs a YouTube channel called @ExMuslimSameer where he encourages questions about Islam and its practices. Having suffered from ex-communication from his family, he provides a support group for those who would like to convert and face a backlash from their families and community. He converted to Hinduism last year.
A safe refuge
A similar support group and platform for those who have renounced Islam is seeing an increase in popularity in Kerala. Ex-Muslims of Kerala, which was started in 2020, has become a forum to air thoughts and questions and seek help from threatening calls and social media abuse.
“More than belief, it is social commitment, democratic values and rising scientific temperament which encourage many to walk out,” says Liyakkathali CM, president of Ex-Muslims of Kerala, who had to approach the police when he received threatening calls after leaving his religion some years ago.
Liyakkathali says that when people renounce Islam, they are caught in a double bind. They face ostracisation from their former community and continue to be targets for Islamophobia.
Suroor says homophobia too is driving many young Muslims to renounce Islam. Assamese queer Muslim Nasreen (uses one name) who identifies as they/them remained a closeted gay till they were 17 years old. Though brought up in a liberal Muslim home where rules on hijab and reading the namaz were relaxed, they felt a backlash from relatives when they came out.
“I tried to reconcile my sexuality and my faith but found it too restrictive. It was a struggle not to hate myself if I stayed a religious person,” they say. They no longer believe in the doctrines that are laid down in Islam.
Former journalist Shamla Cheenikkal, who is also a member of Ex-Muslims of Kerala, recalls a visit by clerics to her home that snowballed into a controversy.
“As my mother was speaking to them, I came out with my head uncovered. I was immediately reprimanded. I asked what was wrong in showing my hair. Neither my mother nor the clerics had an answer. Annoyed, my mother asked me to leave the house as she wanted to protect the family honour. I did. Later the issue was resolved and I returned home. But the news of the incident spread like wildfire and everyone blamed me,” Cheenikkal recalls.
Not everyone faces a pushback from their families. Some have progressive parents who give them the courage to walk out of the religion. Safiya PM, general secretary of Ex-Muslims of Kerala, grew up in a family that was not overtly religious. “When I studied the Quran, I found that it treats women as inferior, which I could not accept,” she says.
Fausiya Mallissery, a 62-year-old retired school headmistress from Malappuram who discontinued practising Islam in the 1980s, also had a supportive family. She had a ‘progressive’ father, while her husband EA Jabbar had walked out of the religion decades ago.
“I found Islam was highly discriminatory towards girls in those days. I used to follow religious practices only to convince my family members until I became independent. Once I got a job, I dropped the pretence,” she says.
Noted writer MN Karassery, who calls himself agnostic, says that people abandon Islam due to various factors including education, adverse experiences in their personal life, love affairs and intellectual approach.
Among the younger generation of Muslims, especially women, religious constraints can often become too much to bear. He cites the instance of purdah. “It is because of social pressure that they cover their faces. It is part of fascism. By covering your face, you are denying the social life of a woman,” he says.
