Leaving Faith Behind: The journeys and perspectives of people who have chosen to leave Islam

February 10, 2018 Article

For over 20 years, Fiyaz Mughal OBE, the Director of Faith Matters has worked with faith communities. Having successfully set up national projects, like Tell MAMA, which he left in January 2017 after completing the set up and expansion of the project, he has been engaged in an area of work exploring the reasons why people leave the respective faiths that they were born into. He has also been exploring the fluidity of people’s identities and outlooks and how they can develop new identities. 

His latest book is entitled, ‘Leaving Faith behind: The Journeys and Perspectives of People Who Have Chosen to Leave Islam’. You can purchase the book through this LINK.

Fiyaz Mughal also stated the following in relation to the completion of the book:

“Why did I co-edit and put this book together? Well, part of my identity remains as a Muslim though being a Muslim does not mean that I feel defensive of my faith nor do I feel that people cannot and should not question any belief. People have the right to question belief and religion and sometimes vocally so, but they do not have the right to harass and intimidate people.

What is also a fact is that for numerous reasons, some people leave faith and reject it. This happens in every faith and the degree to which this happens is led by numerous reasons. This is also the case with Islam and these personal experiences are things that should be explored and the reasons why.

 

 

“Do I agree with people leaving Islam – well, people have a choice as to how to live their lives and they make their own decisions. Have I left Islam – no and I find much beauty in it but there are things that I think need to be interpreted in a modern context if the faith, like any other faith, is to remain relevant to a younger generation.

I also want to add that people who leave Islam do so because of a range of reasons and experiences and these experiences are their personal ones. Who am I to question or undermine them, but I can listen and reflect and ensure that I protect their right to speak up, just as I would expect other’s to protect my right to.

 

 

“With Aliyah Saleem, my co-editor, we have put these experiences of people who have left Islam in this book and which I hope you will reflect on when reading. I believe that by speaking, listening and reflecting, we can all learn from each other. For Muslims reading this post – I ask one thing. Let us reflect on some of these stories and they should not cause anger or fear. They are experiences that should make us, I hope, want to reach out, engage and talk about these issues with others. In fact, there is nothing to fear, and ignorance, which causes fear is the greatest facet that we must all challenge”.

 

The post Leaving Faith Behind: The journeys and perspectives of people who have chosen to leave Islam appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Aliyah Saleem, Book, Faith Communities, leaving Islam, non-believer, Opinions, Rejecting faith

Muslim woman assaulted in unprovoked attack at Stratford station

February 10, 2018 Article

A Muslim woman was subjected to an unprovoked assault from a female passenger when exiting a train at Stratford Underground station in broad daylight.

The assault happened during the morning rush hour at around 9:06 am on February 7.

The woman, who wears the hijab and abaya, was repeatedly pushed by the perpetrator who muttered ‘for f*** sake’ multiple times in her direction, as the train departed from Ilford Underground station.

Upon exiting the train, the perpetrator then shoved her again, causing her to almost fall into the gap between the train and platform edge. When the Muslim woman asked her to wait, the woman replied: “No I can’t f****** wait, you f****** b*tch.’

She then punched the Muslim woman in the stomach, a second punch aimed again at her stomach hit her bag instead.

A Tell MAMA caseworker reported the incident to the British Transport Police (BTP) on her behalf after being given the consent to do so. She was grateful for the additional support from our staff.

In a statement to Tell MAMA, the woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “The feeling I’m experiencing is nothing short of anxiety. This woman managed to make me feel unsafe throughout the five minutes that I was standing next to her and the fact that she had the nerve to get physical was appalling.

“This feeling of being unsafe has stayed with me which is quite difficult to deal with considering I use public transport to get to university. It’s quite sad how this woman will probably go about her day-to-day life as if this was no big deal but to me it’s had a massive impact and I feel like I have to watch my back purely based on the fact that someone may have an issue with the way that I look and dress i.e. in a headscarf and an abaya, and that isn’t right.”

The number of assaults reported to Tell MAMA in 2016 rose by 62 per cent, with 120 verified reports, up from the 74 verified reports in the previous year. A minority of perpetrators were female (19 per cent).

A separate incident reported to Tell MAMA recently is also being investigated by the BTP.

You can get advice through our confidential and free helpline on 0800 456 1226. Or through our free iOS or Android apps. Report through our online form. Or contact us via WhatsApp on 0734 184 6086.

The post Muslim woman assaulted in unprovoked attack at Stratford station appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: Abaya, assault, BTP, hate crime, Hijab, News, TFL, underground