We do not choose religion or religion ourselves but it is given to us by birth.
In such a situation, if someone separates himself from that religious identity then it is not easy. But there are some people who believe in Islam all over the world, who are turning their backs on this religion.
Not only this, it has been given the name of a movement and they call it Ex-Muslim Movement. Apart from countries like India, America, Britain, this type of movement is gaining momentum in many Muslim majority countries also.
These people say that we believe that some things of Islam are not right and hence we cannot follow that religion.
48 year old Noorjahan from Kerala, who left Islam, has also given similar reasons. She had told in the conversation that things like compulsion to wear hijab, discrimination against women and fanaticism in the name of religion made her disillusioned with Islam. Then she moved towards atheism because it seemed more logical to her.
Noorjahan had said, ‘In the last few years, I have severed ties with Islam. This is because some things in it seem illogical to me. In this, women are discriminated against and they are considered second class. She says I have daughters and I am not teaching them any religion.
Let us tell you that this ex-Muslim movement is gaining momentum at a time when it is being said that in the next 10 years, there will be the largest number of people following Islam in the entire world. A report by Pew Research Center has said that by 2035, the world will have the largest number of Muslims.
According to a 2017 Pew Research Center report, there are 35 lakh Muslims in America, but 1 lakh of them are leaving Islam every year. However, there are similar number of people who are adopting Islam every year. A similar situation is being seen in the countries of Western Europe also.
‘The Internet is to Islam what the press was to Christianity’
Among the people who have distanced themselves from Islam, there is also a section of people who came to it from some other religion. However, it is interesting that just as people who leave Hinduism, Christianity and other religions call themselves atheists, those who leave Islam do not.
These people are creating their own identity and calling themselves ex-Muslims.
Iranian-origin writer and rights activist Maryam Namazi says that the reason for this is also the rapid access of information through the Internet. He says that Christianity was affected by the advent of the printing press. In the same way the Internet will affect Islam.