Why Does Allah Hate Homosexuals?
Not a week goes by without seeing a news story about a gay person being killed in a Muslim-majority country, whether it’s teenage boys being hung from a crane in Iran1 or men being stoned in Iraq2. Brunei has even put into effect a new law which allows death by stoning for …
Letter to God
A letter I wrote just before I stopped believing in Islam for good: Dear God, Do you even exist? Or am I wasting my time just like I did with all the praying and fasting. What kind of a god burns a Buddhist in hell for eternity? Especially since faith …
An Open Letter to Closeted Ex-Muslims
To my closeted ex-Muslim friends, It’s summer time, a time when a lot of you have to go back home and into the closet again. And it’s difficult and damning, especially for women and LGBTQ individuals. I have something to say to you in this situation: I’m sorry for what …
The racism of the white wolf who cried Islamophobia
There’s a bee in my bonnet. Let’s talk about the racism of the white wolf who cried Islamophobia. I’m tired of a certain faction of Western liberals, especially white guys, Westsplaining about how anti-Muslim bigotry and Western colonialism and imperialism and international geopolitics provide *essential context* for understanding the …
A Tirade of Snark to My Clueless Muslim Critics
Herein I unleash the snark. I can’t always wax gently lyrical. Context: My last blog post was about having conversations regarding sex and virginity with family, a musing exploration of the disconnect in exchanging ideas while trying to understand each other. This morning I approved a new comment on the …
Sex and Virginity When Consent is Not a Consideration
[Content note: Sexual assault, rape] I’m trying this new thing where I blog more frequently, and allow myself to post shorter pieces. I’ve tended to stick to long-form essays because with them I can delve into an in-depth exploration, tussle with details, fan out layers of nuance. And I will …
Ex-Hijabi Interviews and the Underrepresentation of Ex-Muslim Women
[UPDATE: The Huffington Post has published the Ex-Hijabi interviews; find them HERE.] A few weeks ago, Valerie Tarico, a psychologist, author, and journalist, released a piece in the Huffington Post entitled “Is the Hijab A Symbol of Diversity or a Symbol of Oppression?” While I was glad to finally see …
What it is like to be an Ex-Muslim woman
Life and love post-hijab… …wherein also I reveal a bunch of my faces [Content Note: Body image, dissociation, mental illness, also small spoiler from Disney’s Frozen] More from the ‘what it’s like to be a…’ series here, here, and here. Some nights, I wish for remnants of that old Muslim …
ExMuslim Women Bear Witness for International Women’s Day
Happy International Women’s Day, everyone! For the occasion, my friends and colleagues from the Ex-Muslims of North America have been working very hard to create a powerful, moving compilation of Ex-Muslim’s women’s voices, a category of voices often hidden, marginalized, and discounted. Read their words about how they view their …
Share your story: Voices of ExMuslim Women: Solidarity on International Women’s Day
EDIT: Happy International Women’s Day! The project is up. Choice excerpts here and the whole 7-part compilation here. The voices of women are underrepresented in the secular community as a whole, and especially among representations of ExMuslims. In an effort to make our voices and stories heard, here is an …