Friend,

Each month, the Secular Coalition for America highlights the work of one of our 19 amazing member organizations. This month, we’re taking a look at the Ex-Muslims of North America, who recently launched a new project which we are excited to share with you.

Ex-Muslims of North America (referred to Ex-Muslims hereon) advocates for the acceptance of religious dissent and the human right to leave religion without fearing death or punishment. They are a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit that promotes secular and humanist values.

Leaving Islam and speaking about it could mean death or imprisonment in 35 countries. Ex-Muslims pioneer many ambitious projects aimed at reducing the discrimination faced by those who leave religion. 

Their latest project, the Persecution Tracker, is a first-of-its-kind tool designed to catalog global incidents of violence and persecution against religious minorities and freethinkers at the hands of states and Muslim extremists. It aims to influence policy by illustrating to politicians, lawmakers, and the general public the scope and severity of blasphemy and apostasy laws. The tracker features an interactive map that details the punishment for apostasy and blasphemy in Muslim-majority countries and a detailed database that warehouses and catalogs cases of persecution. The tracker can be accessed from their site at https://persecution.exmuslims.org/.

The laws that demonize apostates and marginalize dissent are almost exclusively justified using religious texts. To combat this, we have to humanize apostates and educate the public about religious intolerance. Ex-Muslims of NA's Mini Documentaries video series on YouTube aims to humanize apostates through their personal stories and their lives after leaving religion. In addition, their Normalizing Dissent Tour, which can also be found on YouTube, presents ex-Muslim speakersacross university campuses speaking about leaving Islam and engaging with the audiences.

On an individual level, the organization also provides aid to ex-Muslims in life-threatening danger. Unfortunately, this is all-too-common an occurrence with apostates who leave Islam. Most of these stories are kept secret to ensure the safety of the victims, many of who have been threatened with death or torture by their own friends and family members. Such was the case for Mahad Olad who, at 19, Ex-Muslims aided in fleeing gay conversion therapy in Kenya.

Under the pretense of a family vacation, Mahad’s mother flew him across the world to be reformed by a group of Islamic clerics. According to his mother, the clerics would make him Muslim and straight again. Thankfully, Mahad was able to contact us before being moved to a ‘reeducation camp’. With the help of local atheists and the cooperation of the US embassy in Kenya, Ex-Muslims were able to orchestrate a rescue in the dead of the night and provided his flight back to the US. While the practice is still widespread in Somali communities, the subsequent news coverage of our rescue led to a crackdown on the practice within Kenya. 

The number of Christians leaving their religion in the US has been rapidly accelerating over the past decade. Muslims too are abandoning their faith in near identical numbers. Religious individuals who were once divided by their faith are now united in a commitment to champion secularism both at home and abroad. Ex-Muslims hope to bring about a world where everyone can follow their conscience, where blasphemy and apostasy laws are distant memories of the past.

To learn more and support the work of Ex-Muslims of North America, click here. You can also follow their advocacy on Facebook and Twitter.

Highlighting the work and views of our member organizations is a vital part of Secular Coalition's mission to increase the visibility of nonthesists. To join us in our mission, please click the “I want to help!” button below. Every dollar goes to fighting for our shared secular values and is greatly appreciated.  Also, you can check to see if your employer participates in a matching donation for non-profits program by clicking here.