Why do people reject Islam?

[SplodgeWaddler]

Just curious really. A lovely colleague of mine used to be a Muslim but was quite vocal in telling us she was no longer a Muslim. It was a clear, decisive rejection of the religion and not just a lapse of faith.

Has anyone done similar, I'd love to know your reasons.

There were many Muslim girls at my school, some of whom had massively restricted prospects in life. One girl (who was a bit wild) told us she was worried that she was going to be forced into an arranged marriage. She just didn't come back one day, she was under 16.

Things do seem to have moved on since then though but there still seems to be huge variation.

Yes it is very fair to say that most, if not all, religions screw up with sexuality. But gay men aren't threatened with flogging, prison or the death scentence in Christian countries. They also aren't tied up and thrown off of high buildings. Although there is still some prejudice in Christian countries, it pales into insignificance when compared to Islamic attitudes.

Spot on.
Asalam alaikum. EID MUBARAK ❤️

They shouldn't revert to islam just to get married. They should revert because they beleive in islam/one God/Allah.

You won’t get nowhere with this thread OP because every time a question about Islam is asked you’ll get accused of having an agenda or being racist.

No (since that's how you like to start your posts).

A thread phrased the way you are suggesting might be a lot of things but it wouldn't necessarily be goady, would it.

I called the thread goady because the OP posits the question as though she is genuinely interested to discuss the issue with a disingenuously open question, then tried to siphon the discussion towards the angle of what she was really suggesting.

Goady is when a poster tries to provoke discussions they don't have the courage to set out their own views on openly.

I always wonder how such op's don't realise everyone can see them coming. It is an approach that isn't conducive to adult discussion of an issue

So what happened to these women once they got home? It sounds like they only had the freedom to live as they wished once they were a long way from their communities, and so presumably had to re-cover themselves etc once they were back. That doesn't sound like a great way to live. Do you think they're still able to live as they choose, or was their New York holiday their one taste of freedom? Plus of course, what about those who never get the chance to leave their communities. They might also want to go to house parties in the Bronx but aren't even allowed to the shops without supervision.

Well clearly, people would be surprised/not impressed because in islam this is abnormal.

Its like saying ok, what if a nun goes out, gets totally bladdered, goes to a nightclub, grings against a guy and then has sex with him after. What would be the reaction of the sister group? Same thing. Its not normal for them to do that, nor is it normal for us.

Muslim women generally don't go out clubbing, casual sex encounters, consuming alcohol. Yes, there are some who do, but its their life and im not going to judge. Only God can judge.

Most people don't tend go around informing unsuspecting strangers that they have fallen from grace and require redemption

Well, plenty do, though. I'm sure I've had that message from Christians a few times (mostly evangelical undergrads when I was a student). And I've definitely heard it loads of times from Christian preachers in the media.

And regarding "revert" I've only ever heard it used to refer to people who have converted to Islam (exactly as the word 'redeemed' might be used by someone who converted to Christianity). I've never heard 'revert' used to berate anyone who hasn't converted, or to 'inform unsuspecting strangers' about any aspect of Islam.

It feels very much like you have a need to find pretexts for your anger.
I'm sure that dogmatic atheists could manage to get themselves as angry about the word redemption as you are about revert. It's a skill!

Not at all.
Men and women are equal in islam.
Women also have rights from over 1400 years ago to work, to own businesses and properties, to have their whole monies to themselves, to keep their own surname rather than their marital name.
Im a muslim and I dont feel less than my Muslim brothers or my own Muslim husband.

If you see, something from example Afghanistan, they actually go against Islam in their treatment of women. And are very backward and culturally strange. They dont represent my faith at all

She also 'won't get nowhere' if she don't come back...

Lots of love to the Muslims on this thread. It must be depressing to have to put up with some of the hostility here.

I hope you all had a lovely Eid yesterday.

Is this Alyssa Grenfell by any chance? If it isn’t, you should watch her channel too, it’s excellent.

It's her!

Id be surprised if any of my children wanted to leave our faith as its so important in our everyday life. I certainly wouldn't disown them but i would encourage them in a positive way to come back to islam as we are all one together as a family unit.

Thats because in islam, revert means to come back to the original faith. Convert means to go.to any religion

Well I’m certainly not accosting all and sundry and telling them they’re reverts and need redemption. I used the word revert for those that have joined Islam, because in its essence it means that the person was born with an innate natural faith in one god.

Although this thread just seems to be about bringing out all the ignorance and naivety about Islam without acknowledging that the faith is a spectrum of practices and beliefs.

In the way some posters write it’s like they’ve heard the chatter and blindly accept and repeat repeat repeat the sweeping generalisations about how women are locked and boxed in the religion.

Yes of course people leave the religion, yes of course some are shunned, yes of course some people live their lives that don’t align with the religion but Islam doesn’t say shun those that leave the religion, or are making life choices that don’t align. Islam says be kind.

Sincerely though there are many cultural practices that are not part of Islam, if like many posters your knowledge of the differences are limited you will not be able to disentangle religion and culture and you’ll post and just come across as islamaphobic.

I knew more people who have converted/reverted to Islam than have left. Mostly women so they can marry. Even though I've also been told that Muslim men can marry out of the faith.

A nun has chosen to be a nun. It's not something you're born into, it's something you have to make a very determined effort to achieve. You can't just rock up and get a wimple, it's an awful lot of work to make sure it really is the right path. And even so I rather suspect the sister nuns wouldn't abuse, attack or disown her. I imagine they would be concerned and if the nun explained she no longer wanted to be a nun and wanted instead to live a secular life, she would be assisted to leave and sent on her way with kindness and prayers.

Again, if you had a daughter and she decided this is how she wanted to live, would you and your community shrug and accept that as her choice, and wish her well?

Really? Not my experience at all. I have had many muslim co-workers over the years and all of them drink, have boyfriends/girlfriends (certainly having sex before marriage), some had FWBs/ONS, some did drugs, the women wore what they want, etc. Maybe it’s location / class dependent - this is all London professionals in 20s through to 40s.

I dont know where you got that from, but a woman most certainly can talk to God. Through prayer, through communication and asking (duas) etc, through reciting quran and worship.

Muslim women are not priests correct. However there are many amazing Muslim women who hold public debates, seminars, conferences and talks about islam.

As someone who has never had any involvement with any religion I find your comment quite depressing and very restrictive for your children. Why can’t they lead independent lives free from coercion?

I have met many Muslims, both socially and at work.

I also worked a lot in Tripoli Libya (which was a more liberal society for women than others). Some were more of a 'light touch' to the faith, others are more conservative. The women had a lot of tales to tell! One quit a previous job her boss rang her father to tell her to come back. Another had (an arranged) marriage to a US based muslim man who forbade her to wear a one piece swimsuit that her Libyan family were Ok with.

In this country it is a mix. I have seen muslim women mixing with others quite freely. Others who are made to walk 5 steps behind their husband and barely integrate.

So for very muslim women who is in sight - how many are kept out of sight?

You are describing an extreme fundamental oppressive regime not the Muslim faith. You need to stop equating the two. It's like suggesting all Catholics sexually abuse children.

Homosexuality is a sin in a few religions not just islam.

That sounds like a far better version of Islam, @Judgejudysno1fan. But why are there so many misogynist versions?

IMO if men genuinely believe that women & young girls need to be covered & kept inside because men are incapable of resisting their bodies, then it’s the men who are the problem & they should be restrained & ideally castrated. Without anaesthetic.