Council of Ex-Muslims of New Zealand
We have the right to follow the religion of our choice, or no religion
The first group of issues that we need to consider are whose of a personal nature. The person of greatest interest to anyone is themselves, so there’s a whole load of interesting stuff to consider in this area.
There are a few basic questions:
How did any of us end up the way we are?
What are the influences on Muslim identity and faith?
How do we define ourselves?
Why do some Muslims reject Islam?
Why do any Muslims remain faithful to Islam?
Obviously the topic is huge and we cannot hope to cover it fully here. The aim here is to suggest a few areas that we think are worthy of consideration and point readers in the direction of further sources of information.
How do Muslims (or Christians etc) reconcile their faith with the evidence from Science? Muslims also have problems in Western countries reconciling their faith with many of medieval punishments meted out under Islamic (Sharia) law. If you were to ask this question of a Muslim (or anyone with strong faith in any of the major … Read more…
When thinking about their faith, Muslims typically focus their attention exclusively on the events of the last 1400 years (since the prophet Muhammad) and get picky about really trivial details, rather than considering the wider picture. Here is another challenge to Muslims: Consider the vast ages of time prior to Muhammad. The chart below shows … Read more…
Once indoctrination has taken root within an individual, any attempt to expose fallacies, ‘rock the boat’ or even what might start out as a purely rational discussion with that individual about alternative points of view, will typically evoke anger; a subconscious attempt to turn it into an argument and to ‘win’ that argument – at … Read more…
1.6 bn People can’t be wrong can they? Islam is the fastest growing religion Muslims love quoting the fact that ‘Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world’ and there are 1.6 billion Muslims and growing. The implications are that … It’s great to be on the winning team; Islam must be ‘right’; Praise … Read more…
Having realised that Islam is not for you any more, you would be sensible to tread very carefully and possibly fear for your life. NZ Muslims are generally a little more open to differences of opinion than others around the world – but you cant take that for granted, so take care who you say … Read more…
Below are a selection of quotes and phrases that will hopefully encourage and inspire us to investigate, to consider, to action… Quote Author Notes The one who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. Those who walk alone are likely to find themselves in places no one has ever been before. … Read more…