[HuffPo] #ExMuslimBecause: Thousands of Former Muslims Are Speaking Out After Paris-and It's Amazing

[ericson00]

Here's a great article from Huffington Post, which I don't always agree with on these kinds of thing:

Where are all the secular liberals in the Muslim world?

I've lost count of how many times I've heard this question. The answer is both unsurprising and heartbreaking. In Muslim-majority countries, they are often being lashed and imprisoned for blogging, hacked to death in open daylight, or sentenced to death for writing poetry. Here in the West, they are often being disowned from their families, ostracized from their communities, and even murdered by their own families in "honor killings."

A few points to keep in mind as you read further:

1. Being part of Muslim families and communities, ex-Muslims not only receive the same bigoted treatment as other Muslims, but are also persecuted (often severely) by Muslims who consider them heretics and apostates.

2. Ex-Muslims often find themselves caught between the anti-Muslim bigotry of the far right that demonizes all Muslims, and the apologism of the far left that conflates any legitimate criticism of Islam with "bigotry" or "Islamophobia" -- à la Ben Affleck's tantrum on Bill Maher's show last year. Criticizing Islam (an idea) and demonizing Muslims (a people) are very different things.

3. Many ex-Muslims feel betrayed by their liberal counterparts in the West. The fight against Islamic jihad should come from a position of moral strength, not xenophobic bigotry. This is a fight that liberals should take on themselves before it's hijacked by the far right.

Beautiful piece, and even better tweets in the article. Check it out and discuss!

[CJCRANE]

1. The problem is Salafism. This ideology wasn't popular in the secular regimes

until the west and our allies toppled those regimes.

There was an interesting documentary on Al-Jazeera about the Iraqi intellectual scene which was completely devastated after the invasion of 2003.

[Yorktown]

2. Agree: there's a need to create foster homes/zones for apostates in the West

Let's encourage departure from religion.

[Fumesucker]

3. There are plenty here on DU who agree with Affleck that any criticism of Islam is "racist"

Leaving some sects of Christianity in the US can be difficult enough, I can't imagine how alienating and frightening it must be to leave Islam while in an Islamic nation.

[ericson00]

4. this idiocy that Affleck demonstrated must be fought

for all the reasons the article says it must be.

[CJCRANE]

6. It wasn't as much of an issue in secular Iraq, Libya, Egypt and Syria

where you had various religions coexisting and a secular intellectual community.

The problems happen when you tear down the secular governments and institutions and replace them with islamism and sharia law.

[pampango]

5. Muslims, like most folks, hate religious fanatics and government repression. n/t