Preface
Over the years I have come to know and know of many ex-Christians most of whom were well-churched, their numbers including former ministers, apologists, missionaries, theologians etc. Why should such people leave Christianity? These people are the best versed in Christianity and yet they leave despite so much personal and professional investment in their religion, enjoyment of their time as believing Christians and social pressures to stay. How can this happen if the evidence for Christianity is so good? If supernatural Christianity is true, shouldn't they have known better?

But what if the history and philosophical and moral implications of the various branches of Christianity are very different from that which is traditionally taught? The painful fact for many Christians is that through research and thinking this is the conclusion to which they often come. Why else should all these people leave, contrary to their world-view, culture, professions, and heavy investment in Christianity? Why would God go to the trouble of incarnation and crucifixion only to allow genuine seekers to find Christianity untenable, or give "spurious" experiences and "incorrect" interpretation to those who spend so many years trying to be Christians? From our research and testimonies it is apparent that Christianity is not what we once thought it was.

I hope that these collected stories and resources will be of comfort to new deconverts. There is no "exit counselling" from the church and usually our Christian friends just want to find out "where we went wrong" rather than really listen and explore with us. It can be a great thrill to find fellow travellers in what is usually a very lonely journey with often few or no sympathetic people to turn to. I thought I was the first to deconvert from a genuine heartfelt Christianity until I discovered a few hints in books, some friends with similar stories and then the voluminous accounts on the Internet!

I hope to keep these pages fresh as I am still in the process of collecting stories and links and discussing this subject with various interested parties. Discussing religion can of course be very contentious and although primarily a resource for ex-Christians it is inevitable that some believing Christians, or others with different opinions, will surf here and wish to criticise this site. I have tried to avoid too much scornful material, although sometimes emotions rise in some of the reported on-line discussions - I am not from Vulcan! But if you think I have not been fair or really have missed something then I'd like to know. All criticism is welcome as long as it is not a knee-jerk at just reading a little of what I have to offer as such criticism is less interesting and causes too much repetition.

Why did we leave Islam?
“I felt stifled by constantly having to cover up. That may be all right for some Muslim women, but not for me. Also, I felt restless and bored sitting in Mosque,I donÕt know Arabic, so why should I sit in Mosque and be bored?”– Illyria, Canada

“Martial rape, being controlled. Not able to think on your own. Misogyny. hijab. Also more importantly I have a five year old son and I do not want him thinking that everyone who is not a muslim is a 'Kuffar' and should be hated and killed.”– Vivian

“Because of what it preaches - violence, concept of Hell, Punishment, fear- overrides any other human needs like Love and caring for others.it's always about doing This or that or else... Rituals even in the prayers And fasting, korban etc. And the treatment of Women.... It's a cult alright.”– Malayfreethinker

“I divorced a brother that tried to if not almost killed me. And I met someone who is now my husband and knew that it was true love I saw in him.”– bonuke, USA

“ It's neurotic to belive and follow regulations that are tailored for 7th century even they would have been working back then.. Islam is based on the thought that a person shall get perfect by deeds and constant halal/haram asssesments. You need islam everywhere even in your bed and in the toilet. The good deeds for their part don't even count as "good" but neurotic (praying in arabic, washing, eating in some manner, walking in one manner, denying some normal or enjoyable things as listening to music). In addition some of those rules and even ideals are against human rights, lack individual freedom, the ideal of equality of both sexes in decision making. Furthermore, islam inspires people to be suspicious and intolerant, even rasistic towards other religions and encourage to so called narrow thinking. There is no pure and unconditional love, love and hate is for the sake of allah and hence, love's not free and real but must follow Allah's rules. I really dislike animistic habits the effect of which has no logicalexplanation, I cannot accept unequality and suppression of sexes and praising of martyrs, and cannot categorize people according to their religion and limit anybodys or my own freedom. Also, I don't think sex must be related to each and any communication and cloth. I want to be me, praise my Lord with music and singing, be independent, express myself, make decisions...etc..”– Friend, Finland

“I personally left Islam because, to put it simply, it was grim. ”– Anonymous, USA

“If you truly follow Islam, that means you must live in fear of hellfire all the time. Even though Islam dictates every aspect of your life, it fails to promote the most important values, like honesty, respect for all of humanity, individual choice and accountability, love, and I could go on. ”– Eva, USA

“Their teachings goes against many human rights.”– Elixx

“I find the whole idea of God nonsensical. Plus Darwin made a convincing argument for evolution.”– Ron Jeremy, Malaysia

“Because Islam is not for me whether it right or not.”– Juniper, Malaysia

“Because I am no longer comfortable in it, and I discovered that I am more comfortable as a Christian, as Christian teachings made more sense to me than Islamic teachings.”– Adam, Malaysia

“The main reasons I left Islam are because I found out that it allows wife beating, sex with prisoners of war and sex with children and I cannot accept a prophet who allows this. Other reasons include the intolerance of other religions, an imperialistic foreign policy and the belief that all non-Muslims are going to hell.” – Ben Rukhsana, Britain

“Islam didn’t make sense in many ways, and then I saw the so-called "miracles" of Quran are exaggerated stories. By knowing these 2 facts, I knew Islam was not a religion from God, but a creation of mankind. I believe Islam is not right for me, because I believe humans are born free, and for Allah to impose laws on us is unfair. Sure, breaking the speed limit is also a law but it helps protect other innocent civilians. Following Islamic rules like eating Halal food, Prayer and Hajj doesn’t protect or benefit people in any significant way.” – Sheraz Malik, USA

“Islam is suffocating. Everyone, up to and including god is watching your every move. Did you pray five times today? Did you fast today? Been a good slave to Allah lately? To be fair, a lot of other religions are somewhat like that, because religion, when used as a method of crowd control, requires oversight.” – Amin, Canada

“Islam is based on barbarism, male chauvinism, racism [in favor of Arabs], censorship, lack of freedom of thought and terrorism.” – Hale, USA

“Islam is not a religion of peace, as I erroneously believed before; it is an extremely fascistic doctrine perpetuated by the Arab imperialists.”- Abul Kasem, Australia

“I left islam because it did not fulfill, or go along with my desire for love of the world. Ethically the concept of hell started my kufr.”– Abu Lahab, USA

“It's oppressive, restrictive, anti-humanism, stagnent, anti-progress, anti-joy, anti-women, and very violent and dicriminatory in practice.”– Ampbreia, USA

“I left Islam because of glaring intellectual inconsistencies within the Quran and the Hadiths; because of the judgmental and angry way Islam deals with problems both internal and external.”– Bean, USA

“Because I became convinced that what Isa said in the Bible was true.” – Anonymous

“I started to realize how much hate there was in Islam. Especially after September 11th. I couldn't believe the support from a large number of Muslims for Osama bin Laden had for his crimes. Overtime, I started to have doubts about certain hadiths and ayats - later I found a website of other stories of people who left Islam. I looked closer at the ayats of scientific proof, I researched the "Satanic versed"... Everything just piled up against Islam... I just woke up...” – Anonymous

“I learned that according to Islam, non-believers are going to hell no matter what, which is not fair, it is a religion that is hard to follow and time consuming. Plus, as I women I couldn't accept the need to wear the veil (Q 4:31) and that men can beat women (Q 4:34).”– Murtad Mama, Canada

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Originally posted by primak:

“I divorced a brother that tried to if not almost killed me. And I met someone who is now my husband and knew that it was true love I saw in him.”– bonuke, USA

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Women!

I also think Christians and Muslims should not mix and try to find common ground, sometimes I think many of us were meant to be separated.

I simply find it interesting that it is always Christians who get so defensive about a Muslims point of view. Read the topic of this room, and look at the answers given by non-muslims. I know, I used to be the same way until I started to use logic and let go of my pride. I wish all of you the best of luck, no matter what your religious preference.

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Originally posted by angelwings:
At least if a person decides to leave there Christian faith, they are not persecuted
or tracked down to be killed as in Islam, Christians do not need to go into hiding
fearful for there lives, yeah right, great religion.

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