A very helpful list from this article:
Khalil, Mohammad Hassan and Mucahit Bilici. ‘Conversion out of Islam: A Study of Conversion Narratives of Former Muslims’ in Muslim World, Vol. 97, Jan. 2007.
Intellectual/Ideological Motivations
1. The status of women in Islam.
2. The contradiction between Shari‘a and human rights.
3. The problematic nature of the Qur’an.
4. The character of the Prophet and other Muslim leaders.
5. Islam as illogical and unscientific (e.g. vis-à-vis the theory of evolution).
6. The eternal damnation of good non-Muslims.
7. The unnecessary, strict rules and expectations of Islam.
8. Islam as not universal, but rather Arab-centric.
9. The dubious historicity of the Qur’an and Hadith.
Social/Experiential Motivations
1. Encounters with bad, cruel Muslims.
2. Muslims as oppressive.
3. Muslims as backward.
4. Muslim ill-treatment of women.
5. Muslim ill-treatment of non-Muslims.
6. Muslims in a state of illusion regarding their own religion.
10 comments:
The eternal damnation of good non-Christians.
This is a very good list.
Back when I was Muslim, deep down I felt a cognitive dissonance; I had a mental image of trying to tie two ends of rope together that were simply too far apart and I couldn't pull them together.
i dont know why you guys left the true and last religion .I think Allah has put a diseases in your hearts or made you blind.
The true and last religion is Christianity. Islam is the innovation.
Ahmar,
If it is Allah's fault that we are not Muslims, then there's not much we can do about it, is there?
Both of you are complete ignorant of the tenents of Islam,and have shown absolute foolishness.Its a pity you have left the religion of peace.May HE guide you back and give you guys hidayah is my only sincere prayers.Remember you only have this lifetime to repent otherwise to burn in eternity in fire that is 70 times hotter than the wordly fire,and you never know when yuor lifetime may come to an end:can be the next minute.please repent NOW,HE forgives all as long as it is with sincerity
Dear Anonymous,
Ignorant of the tenets of Islam? How could you know that? Actually I have spent many years of my life studying Arabic, religion, history, and the Qur'an.
What do you find in Islam that you love? Truth? Rules for life? A loving God? There are reasonable people out there who have looked at Islam and Christianity, and decided to leave Islam for Christianity.
You may not agree with them, but at least respect them as human beings.
Anon, I greatly appreciate your concern for my soul, which I’m sure is not just your good deed for Ramadan (may it be accepted). You are not among those who relish souls being lost which is a more common reaction. That’s one major difference that led me to reject my native faith, that in Islam Allah is given as much glory whenever reprobates are condemned to Hell than if they were saved. Christianity reveals that this is not the case. Killing apostates to send them to Hell is considered honorable.
I agree fervently that Hell is a terrible destination and tragic ending to any life no matter how great it was here. Anyone who deliberately and knowingly steps away from the truth will be eternally damned.
But it is Islam that is the false religion, that basically sets up Zeus to be the God of Abraham, that contrary to its name brings never-ending rage and misery to its adherents. As GK Chesterton once said, grass does not grow where Islam sets foot. If you are living in the West or are a rich person in a Muslim country you think it’s great but that is because you’ve never lived in an Islamic country like I have.
Dear Mahsheed, may i ask you, what do you found in Christianity that made you convert from Islam?
"Dear Mahsheed, may i ask you, what do you found in Christianity that made you convert from Islam?"
Dear Arzu,
To clarify, I didn't convert directly from Islam to Christianity. I lost my faith in Islam first. My faith fell away like sand falling through my fingers, the more tightly I held on the faster it slipped away. And I was very sad and saw that the rest of my life would be very long and difficult without religion.
Unlike many if not most Muslims who lose their faith (it seems to me), I didn't lose my faith in God or religion in general. I thought back to my life-long love of Jesus, and thought I could solve my religion problem by "switching prophets", though at the time the actual doctrines of Christianity seemed crazy to me. So I started with the Unitarians who had the most compatible beliefs to mine as they have no Christian doctrine whatsoever.
I started investigating and reading books about Christianity and the Bible of course, and the exact opposite process happened whereby faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, PLUS intellectual assent to orthodox Christian doctrine settled on me like snowflakes falling on me.
Then I only had to choose between Orthodox and Catholic Church, and I chose the latter.
I hope that answers your question.
God Bless,
Mahsheed
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