Nonbelievers, Apostates, and Atheists in the Muslim World

Nonbelievers, Apostates, and Atheists in the Muslim World offers a contemporary, cross-cultural look at nonbelief and nonreligion in Islam. Providing historical, conceptual, statistical, and ethnographic data on nonbelievers from Morocco to Egypt, Turkey, and Bangladesh, it explores the unique nature and challenges of nonreligion for Muslims.

It includes 11 chapters by experts on nonbelief, nonreligion, and atheism in an array of Muslim-majority countries. The book features multiple disciplines and offers both ethnographic and statistical information on this important, growing, but neglected population. It explores the unique nature of nonreligion in Islam, illustrating that nonbelief is specific to a particular religious tradition. It also examines how ex-Muslims navigate complexities and dangers of their societies?especially for women?and how nonbelief and nonreligion do not equate to atheism or the total repudiation of religion or of Muslim identity.

This book is an outstanding resource for scholars and students of nonbelief, atheism, secularism, religion, and contemporary Islam.

Introduction: On Being a Nonbeliever in a Muslim Society Jack David Eller 1. Patterns of Disbelief: Anti-Religious Discourse in the Heartlands of Islam, Past and Present Brian Whitaker 2. Mapping the Landscape of Non-belief, Freethinking and Secular Muslimness in the Arab World Sebastian Elsässer 3. Once a Muslim, always a Muslim? Lena Richter 4. A Critical Juncture? Atheism in Bangladesh and its (Dis)connections Mascha Schulz 5. The Secular-Religious Divide in Iran: An Analysis of GAMAAN’s Online Surveys Pooyan Tamimi Arab and Ammar Maleki 6. The Cognitive Landslide: Pathways of Egyptian Atheists Anthon Jackson 7. Impious Camouflage: Egyptian Atheists Posing as Negligent Muslims Wael Al-Soukkary 8. Impoliteness and Religionormativity: Arab Atheists on Talk Shows Natalie Khazaal 9. Shoe-ing the Atheist: Emotional Responses towards Nonreligion in Egypt Karin van Nieuwkerk 10. Leaving a Home that Won’t Leave Her: A Mētic Understanding of Ex-Muslim Women’s Experiences Dania Ammar 11. Did Political Islam Fail? The Discursive Construction of Atheism and Nonreligion in Turkey Pierre Hecker Conclusion Natalie Khazaal Index

Jack David Eller is a cultural anthropologist and Head of Anthropology of Religion with the Global Center for Religious Research, USA. He specializes in religion and nonreligion and authored Introducing Anthropology of Religion and Cruel Creeds, Virtuous Violence: Religious Violence across Culture and History.

Natalie Khazaal is an Associate Professor at Georgia Tech, USA, and an American Council of Learned Societies fellow. She has published on Arab atheists’ use of pseudonyms, engagement of gender during television appearances, and embedding atheism in literary works.