Support Ex-Muslims of North America

As much as many religious believers seem to hate atheists, what they often hate even more are atheists who were once part of their religious faith and then left it behind. I've lost count of the number of Christians who have insisted that I was "never a real Christian" and point to my walking away from Christianity as if that somehow proved their absurd claim. I suppose they have to do this, to some extent, to shield themselves from the reality that they too could one day be an ex-Christian.

The situation is much worse for former Muslims, often labeled apostates by those who continue to follow Islam. Not only are they more likely to receive death threats from practicing Muslims, but they often find little support from those on the regressive left who cannot seem to comprehend that Islam is not a race and that criticizing Islam is neither "gross" nor "racist." Somehow, many regressive leftists are willing to overlook all sorts of atrocities when committed by Muslims out of a misguided belief that all cultural values are equally good. This leaves many ex-Muslims without the sort of allies they imagined they might have among secular progressives.

This is why I want to make sure you know about Ex-Muslims of North America, an organization that describes its mission as follows:

Ex-Muslims of North America advocates for acceptance of religious dissent, promotes secular values, and aims to reduce discrimination faced by those who leave Islam.

Simple, effective, and all too necessary.

You may have heard of their president, Muhammad Syed (@MoTheAtheist) and watched some of the interviews with him. You've probably also heard of Sarah Haider (@SarahTheHaider), their Washington D.C. Director of Outreach. She gave a memorable presentation at the American Humanist Association's 2015 conference and a great interview with Dave Rubin for his show soon after the AHA presentation.

I believe that Ex-Muslims of North America is an organization worth supporting. One of the ways we can support them - in addition to donating money and time - is by helping to spread the word about their existence. We can let people know that they are out there. There are still far too many Muslims who have never heard of a group like this and have not realized that leaving Islam is an option. In addition, there are plenty of former Muslims who have managed to leave Islam but are in need of support and unsure where to find it. Spreading the word about Ex-Muslims of North America may help them and help a worthwhile organization grow.

You can find Ex-Muslims of North America on Twitter and Facebook. I hope you will join me in boosting awareness of their organization.