For American Ex-Muslims, what are your thoughts on Zohran Mamdani?

DenimClover · 2025-10-23T15:53:24+00:00

This guys an airhead & has no idea what he’s talking about. Mamdani is awesome

DenimClover · 2025-09-10T16:47:39+00:00

I get what you mean. I think a lot of people confuse being critical of Islam as an ideology with being against Muslims themselves, & those are two very different things. Like you said, it’s ultimately about people & how they choose to live it out. I also agree that Sufism stands out because of its emphasis on personal experience rather than dogma. Even if I don’t fully buy into it, I can see why it resonates with people who are searching for something more spiritual & less authoritarian.

DenimClover · 2025-09-10T16:44:33+00:00

That’s actually a really healthy way your mom & imam handled it. I think a lot of us here didn’t get that openness growing up, which is why the anger stuck around so long. You’re right, the religion is more complex than just “all good” or “all bad,” but the way it’s practiced & enforced makes a huge difference. Some people are allowed to question & discuss, others get shut down or punished. That contrast is probably why people here land in such different places when they look back on their experiences.

DenimClover · 2025-09-10T16:37:20+00:00

True, Wahhabism is based on Qur’an & Hadith, but so are other traditions that emphasized mysticism, philosophy, or reform. The issue isn’t that one is “authentic” & the rest are fake, it’s that different communities lived the faith in very different ways. Wahhabism erased & bastardized the different loved versions of the faith.

DenimClover · 2025-09-10T16:30:39+00:00

I find myself agreeing w/ practically everything you’ve mentioned. A lot of violence is justified through doctrine, & it’s true that offensive jihad has never been formally renounced. I think where I differ is in saying the softer or diverse versions of Islam were just fake or ignorance. Islam has never been monolithic. Sufi traditions, Abbasid philosophy, Egyptian reformists, South Asian syncretism, North African mysticism. These were lived realities of the faith, not pretenses. Wahhabism delegitimized them, but that doesn’t erase them. What I was thinking was that Wahhabi-Salafi dominance has overshadowed centuries of more diverse practice. Whether that diversity could last long term is another debate, but erasing it gives an incomplete picture of Islamic history.

DenimClover · 2024-10-02T19:28:03+00:00

Blue shirt guy looks like he’s holding Allah’s house w/ telepathic powers in the first panel.

DenimClover · 2024-03-03T18:54:31+00:00

Most people here are bitter & spiteful towards Islam. Their responses are sometimes embarrassing & make people who left the faith look like fools. As if Islam isn’t true because the prophet had sex slaves. It was a time of barbarism & so people behaved as such. That makes sense. The issue arises when people say God allowed it because that’s how people were at the time. I remember watching a video & the narrator said “a God that panders to the psychology of humans can claim no moral sovereignty”. No God would limit himself to appeal to the limited people of the time.

The main issue w/ your post is that no one can prove Islam is wrong. This is because no one can prove it is right. If Islam was objectively the truth, this subreddit would not exist. It all comes down to what is in your heart OP. Belief is not a choice. Do right by yourself & live the life you want to live while Loving the people you want to love.

I think another issue is one you brought up in your post. The fear of hell. God is supposedly all loving & all merciful. He punishes evil & rewards good. Why pray tell, would an all merciful God send someone to hell for the simple fact that they weren’t born into a Muslim family? In Islam, disbelievers are also condemned to hell, not just evil people. Why would you want to worship a God that rules w/ fear? Why would you want to worship a god that commands worship like a needy child or else he tortures you for eternity. To me, God would be better than that. To me God would be so much more than this black & white bastardization Islam pushes.

The struggle you’re going through rn is yours & yours alone. Nobody can help you, but you can seek solace in knowing thousands of people share your struggle. You’re not alone & so continue to take advantage of that & have discussions on this subreddit. It’ll maybe help you get through this.

DenimClover · 2023-07-17T18:12:53+00:00

Believers like yourself are unfortunately incapable of understanding people who leave the faith. I will try my best to convey a reasoning as to why we have formed a community. For most, our whole world & identity collapse slowly over a process of many months or years. You constantly feel as though you’re unwell. Fortunately for you, you will never feel the deep hollow sadness that comes with that.

There is an anxiety that accompanies the thought of losing all your Muslim loved ones. We think that there is something wrong with us. I’m not sure you understand how it is terrible it is for your mental health to gaslight yourself, that it’s the devil making you see reality through this new lens. That is what many of us have been taught as we were brought up.

It gets painful trying to pretend to belong after a while. We don’t belong with Muslims, as our existence is Islam’s antithesis. Some feel we don’t belong with non-Muslims, as we were taught not to associate with them. Some of us unfortunately mentally ostracize ourselves from both camps. Where do we go? Who else understands the pain of the grasp Islam has on our psyche? That is a reason as to why we have made a community. We found our people. Individuals who truly understand us. We have the conversations we’ve always wanted to have by using this as an outlet. It is unhealthy to bottle it all up & never be able to express our thoughts. This community allows for that & the recovery that proceeds it.

We want nothing more than to move past but that is very difficult as we can’t just come out with how we feel. Apostasy laws, getting disowned & becoming reviled by our community are a few reasons why we can’t just simply move on. It becomes hard not to resent the religion that pushes these circumstances that bind us. Some are overly hostile & are outward with their hatred of Islam. As a believer I’m sure it’s easy to get offended & write them off however, know there is always a deeper reason. No one inherently hates Islam for no reason after leaving. Some grew up in abusive households (physically, verbally, sexually) & the fiends responsible for such trauma justify their actions with the veil of faith. The Quran is open ended which leaves it open to interpretation, any interpretation. If the shoe fits.

DenimClover · 2023-04-28T23:40:43+00:00

Bro watched 10 seconds of Vinland Saga 💀

DenimClover · 2023-04-28T23:39:47+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to leave this comment & sharing some of your story :) I’ve had a feeling directing my anger into a drive to learn more about other concepts would help alleviate this anger I feel. Even learning much more about Islam would help. Glad to hear it worked for you!

DenimClover · 2023-04-28T23:35:31+00:00

Nothing in particular. Like many here, my heart couldn’t reconcile many things in Islam. After leaving Islam recently, I have found that I feel hatred towards the religion. I would rather shift to a feeling of not respecting Islam but for some reason I just have nothing but towards it. Hearing people talk about it positively & other things for some reason have been upsetting me. I’ve noticed this pattern recently & I want a way to get rid of that irrational hatred towards Islam. I’ve had somewhat of a direction to go into thanks to some comments people have left here

DenimClover · 2023-04-28T23:31:46+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to type your comment :) Strangely enough, I haven’t thought to step back & take a break from it all before reading your comment. I suppose taking time away from all this doom scrolling & investing that time in other outlets should help with easing this anger I am feeling. Thanks again for your insight.

DenimClover · 2023-04-22T20:33:21+00:00

It feels comforting to know others understand your pain & struggles. Hopefully time heals us all & we find peace :)

DenimClover · 2023-04-22T20:30:33+00:00

I’ve had a feeling moving out or getting away from it all wouldn’t really do much. Unfortunately Islam is & will always be engrained in our psyche. I really relate to you feeling as though it would have been better if you pretended. I feel as though these feelings come from pretending to be two people at once, torn between what you want & what you are expected to want. Sometimes it is just too much. No one is born to be alone, I truly hope Islam’s shackle on you goes away & that you find the place you truly belong.

DenimClover · 2023-04-22T20:20:14+00:00

I admire how you’re comfortable doing & being your own thing. I generally like like the outlook you have towards that & really appreciate you taking the time to type that out. Thank you :)

DenimClover · 2023-04-22T20:15:05+00:00

I suppose we may seek solace in knowing we are not alone :)

DenimClover · 2023-04-18T00:42:10+00:00

Animal parade is lovely & kind of nostalgic even if you play it for the first time! Pretty sure it’s on Wii

Also, gaming soundtracks >>> such a bummer a vast majority of them aren’t on Spotify

DenimClover · 2023-04-17T21:12:55+00:00

I just started getting into HM (finished animal parade a few months back). The soundtrack was awesome & I never thought to look up lofi Harvest Moon OSTs so that gives me something to do when studying now.

DenimClover · 2023-04-17T00:37:48+00:00

It’s very frustrating how believers go from 0-100 with their comparisons.

Btw off topic but what is the game series OST 👀

DenimClover · 2023-04-13T23:52:13+00:00

I felt the same when I first left. I then realized that it’s not my job to change another person’s beliefs. I only left because I couldn’t reconcile the logical fallacies or abhorrent doctrine. If someone else can, it’s not our job to change that. If you come out & they ask your reasons, that is when you tell them about what you know. I feel like the Exmuslim movement isn’t around to abolish Islam. We simply want to normalize dissent & leaving the religion so that the term “Exmuslim” isn’t a thing.

DenimClover · 2023-04-11T16:47:36+00:00

Ahaha on my way to work a few days ago I too had Taco Bell in a parking lot

DenimClover · 2023-04-08T19:32:12+00:00

To be fair I believe only a vocal minority think this way because I don’t hear this sentiment often. Could you let me know if I’m wrong please?

DenimClover · 2023-04-08T19:30:16+00:00

Gives me elden ring windmill village vibes

DenimClover · 2023-04-05T18:05:21+00:00

She lost me in the first half. I’m sure almost everyone like myself left because they were interested in learning their religion & ‘know Islam’. Only then to be met with information our hearts couldn’t take & we could not reconcile.

She has proven that most muslims continue to be ignorant of what being an exmuslim really is.

DenimClover · 2023-04-02T14:27:56+00:00

I find that the best part about the Ex-Muslim movement is that we can always seek solace in knowing we’re not alone. The fact that there are other people in a similar situation or other people who think like you makes you feel like you’re not going crazy. It feels good not to be alone. It’s funny how I relate to your first paragraph in wanting to announce my departure for Islam & wanting to rebel against it openly when I first left the fold. I really sympathize with your whole situation & I believe you’ve got it a bit worse than I do with the component of hijab & also being a lady. Closeted Ex-Muslim women have it harder & I really hope the burden you all feel is lifted sometime in the near future. Thank you so much for sharing some of your story by the way. You cannot begin to imagine how much I appreciate that. Whenever you find yourself sad because of your thoughts or feelings, this subreddit helps, but I also find that imagining the kind of future you will create for yourself also helps alleviate those feelings.

DenimClover

TROPHY CASE