Former Muslims Address Islam on Capitol Hill

Subject: txt islm -
The Muslim call to prayer was heard on Capitol Hill Friday, Sept. 25 at the “Day of Islamic Unity” in Washington, D.C., but the day before, former Muslims announced that they do not feel safe announcing they have left the faith, even in the United States.

According to Nonie Darwish, author of “Now They Call Me Infidel” and one of the founding members of new organization Former Muslims United, there are thousands of apostate Muslims “in hiding” across the U.S. Darwish also said that the number of Muslims leaving Islam is increasing because there is a new generation of Muslim Americans “who are revolting against their parents’ radical Islamist views.”

Darwish’s appearance came the day before the “Islam on Capitol Hill” event which – though touted as expecting a crowd of 50,000 or more – was only attended by about 3,000. Darwish said that the launch of Former Muslims United was not planned to coincide with the event. “They have the right to gather and express their views, and we have the right to gather and express our views,” she said.

Darwish called it “a little outrageous” for Muslims to claim victim-hood. “I lived as a Muslim in America for a very long time and I was never afraid; I don’t know what [Abdellah] is talking about,” Darwish told HUMAN EVENTS on Tuesday. “Nobody discriminates against Muslims. They are free to build mosques as much as they want, they are walking on the streets and nobody bothers them. … I don’t see anybody that’s running away from America and going back home. They have more rights in America to practice Islam than many other countries.”

[snip]

“This is a national threat, but it affects us personally. People like me, and others, who left the Middle East, came to America, running away from the oppression of Sharia, only to find people calling it a religious right in America,” she told HUMAN EVENTS. She suggested that adding a statement specifically about Sharia law to the immigration application would be a good place to start addressing the problem. Even something as simple as declaring “if you believe in Sharia Islamic law, please state if you want to live under it” would help, she said.

READ MORE