Ex-Muslim activism in Kerala

Ex-Muslim activism in Kerala is a social phenomenon that has been on the rise since 2021, when it began to develop from discussions on social media platforms into a broader movement in society at large. The Facebook community "Ex-Muslims of Kerala" originated from a broader atheist group, then branched off in 2019 as support for the movement gained traction from numerous Kerala ex-Muslims. On 9 January 2022, the organization "Ex-Muslims of Kerala" announced its formation.

The stated intent of the organization is to offer a platform and support to those who stopped practicing Islam, and work to reduce discrimination faced by those who leave Islam. It is the first organization of its kind in India and focuses on activism in the Malayalam language of Kerala. It seeks to protect the human rights and dignity of ex-Muslims and ensure the right to religious freedom promised by the Constitution of India, and to legally challenge human rights violations perpetrated in the name of traditions of faith or practices.

Ex-Muslim day
Beginning in 2022, Ex-Muslims of Kerala has observed 9 January as "Ex-Muslim Day". On 9 January 2021, E A Jabbar, a critic of Islam, had a public debate about the scientific miracles in the Quran with the Salafi preacher M. M. Akbar.

Challenge:
On 9 January 2021, E. A. Jabbar and popular Islamic scholar and the director at Niche of Truth, M. M. Akbar debated on the topic, whether Quran is scientific or not. A rationalist organisation―Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham―arranged the venue and stage to have this debate.

In response to this challenge during the debate, M. M. Akbar claimed that the Quran states there are several phenomena in the deep sea, unknown to Arabs of that era, citing Qur'an 24:40: "[24:40] Or ˹their deeds are˺ like the darkness in a deep sea, covered by waves upon waves, topped by ˹dark˺ clouds. Darkness upon darkness! If one stretches out their hand, they can hardly see it. And whoever Allah does not bless with light will have no light!"

However, E. A. Jabbar countered by asserting that people at the time were indeed aware of them. E. A. Jabbar further argued that the Quran used this as a simple example only to convey a different scenario, one that would be easily relatable to the Arabs of that period. He also cited a verse from the Bible that demonstrated similar knowledge.

Major Arguments for Leaving Islam
Ex-Muslims assert that leaving Islam does not necessarily mean becoming an atheist. Ex-Muslims are individuals who have left Islam; they may be agnostic, follow another religion, or be atheists. The term "ex-Muslim" refers to people who believe that Allah is a creation of Mohammed and view Islam as insubstantial. They often argue that it is implausible for a 'god' to reveal verses to a single man living in Arabia in a local language for all of humanity. To non-Muslims, this idea may seem stupid, but to Muslims, it is a fundamental belief, often instilled from a young age

Ex-Muslims argue that the debate is not about the existence of a god or whether a god is necessary for the creation of the universe, as illustrated by the concept of Brahman in Hinduism. Instead, they contend that the Allah described in the Quran lacks the qualifications to be considered a god, asserting that calling Allah a god is a humiliation to the god, if one exist. They explain that "Allah is just a fake ID of Muhammad," and claim that Allah was merely one of the tribal gods of the Qureshi tribe in Arabia, who had three daughters named al-Lat, Al-Uzza, and Manat. They also point out historical figures like Musaylima, a contemporary of Muhammad, who also claimed to reveal divine words and was considered to have more poetic verses than Muhammad.

Ex-Muslims further argue that Muhammad cannot be a timeless role model for humanity. They explain that the Quran, which contains verses Muhammad claimed were from Allah, is merely a compilation of statements in non-chronological order made by Muhammad in various contexts. They note that the verses from his time in Mecca are softer in tone, while those from his time in Medina, after he had gained power, are more violent. They cite incidents such as the genocide of the Banu Qurayza tribe (argument of an agreement is a Taqiyya), Muhammad's permission for his followers to have sex with captive women in front of their husbands (included in Quran as a verse from allah, and is in Sahih hadith), his marriage to his son's wife, and his marriage to a Jewish girl named Safiyya after killing her father and brothers and his marriage to a 6-year-old Aisha when he was 53 years old, arguing that these actions do not serve as an eternal role model for humanity.

Additionally, they argue that the Quran, being a collection of Muhammad's statements (claimed to be from Allah), is not a book that humanity can follow eternally. They highlight many inhumane aspects within the Quran, such as the promotion of slavery, the sanctioning of beating one's wife if she is suspected of disobedience, killing of non-Muslims (Hindus, Christians, and Jews) — a verse that Islamists falsely claim (Taqiyya) is limited to wartime situations but in reality is not - it is released after conquering Mecca giving 4 months waiting period for non muslims, mathematical inaccuracies in the division of inheritance arise from the ignorance of fractions by Mohammed, and inclusion of derogatory verses directed at specific individuals from Muhammad's time in a book meant to be followed by humans for eternity.

Ex Muslims in Kerala also hold the view that the period in Mecca before Muhammad's revelations (before Islam), which Muslims now refer to as Jahiliyyah, was actually the golden period for Saudi Arabia and the Arabs. During that time, the Arabs of Mecca were peace-loving, decent, democratic, and always ready for compromises. This can be seen from Islamic hadith. For example, when Bilal, a famous black slave in Islam, humiliated the Kaaba temple by urinating and defecating on it, the Meccan polytheists (mecca Mushrikites) did not behead him. Even after this act of desecration on their sacred temple, they approached his master to address the issue. In contrast, the reaction of Muslims today to similar actions against mosques might be far more severe.

Meccan polytheists (mecca Mushrikites) only complained to Muhammad's uncle after a verse was revealed that said, "the Meccan polytheists (mecca Mushrikites) and their gods will go to hell." They did not take action against Muhammad when he continuously spoke against and humiliated their gods in the Kaaba temple.

There are numerous examples of compromises made by Meccan polytheists (mecca Mushrikites) as documented in Islamic hadith. When Ali Abbas was going for the Aqaba agreement, the Meccan polytheists (mecca Mushrikites) assured the people of Medina that Muhammad's life was safe with them. They insisted that if he came to Medina, his life should be protected as they would protect their own women and children. At that time, Ali Abbas was a polytheist and only later became a Muslim.

When Muhammad went to Taif from Mecca, the locals anticipated trouble and chased him away by throwing stones. However, the owners of a farm, who were Meccan polytheists (mecca Mushrikites) and relatives of Hind, saw this and expressed their disapproval. They believed that what people of Taif had done was wrong and treated Muhammad as their own. They sent a servant with grapes to offer him hospitality.

It was these people whom Muhammad later killed at the Battle of Badr. Badr was a one-sided massacre intended to loot the caravan and wealth of the Meccan polytheists. The Meccan polytheists (mecca Mushrikites) had not acted against Muhammad; they only responded when their trade caravan was attacked, quickly assembling with whatever weapons they had. It was not a planned army.

Another instance of the Meccan polytheists' (mecca Mushrikites) tolerance is when a Christian tribe requested to place a statue of Mary in the Kaaba. The polytheists (mecca Mushrikites) agreed, saying that adding one more idol to the 360 idols of the Kaaba temple did not matter to them, demonstrating their secular and democratic values.

A common misconception propagated by Muslims is that during Jahiliyyah, girl children were killed and buried. However, Khadija, Muhammad's first wife, became a powerful businesswoman during this period. After her father's death, she single-handedly managed a business empire. It was after the advent of Islam that women's freedoms were curtailed, and they became more subjugated. The practice of hijab, for instance, was introduced after Umar saw Sauda defecating openly and reported the incident to Muhammad, leading to the revelation of the verse mandating hijab for Muslim women.

It is also said that the verses of the Quran were pre-written and kept in heaven before being revealed to Muhammad. Yet, these verses often correspond to incidents in Muhammad's life, raising questions about their divine origin.

Ex Muslims argue that Islam is a religion spread through 'sword', leaving no room for debate or argument. They claim it lacks a philosophical foundation. In Kerala, Islam has grown significantly due to the caste system within Hinduism, where lower-caste individuals converted to other religions to escape societal discrimination. These conversions occurred without the converts reading the Quran and Hadith, motivated primarily by the desire to evade the caste system.

It is asserted that no one from Arabia came to debate the Bhagavad Gita versus the Quran to convince and convert people. In regions like Malappuram, during the Mappila Rebellion, many Hindus were reportedly forced to convert to Islam. Consequently, many Muslim families in Malappuram trace their lineage back to this period.

A similar situation occurred in North India during the Mughal period, where conversions were either forced or motivated by the desire to escape the caste system or gain other benefits. This substantial Muslim population eventually demanded separate Muslim countries, leading to the creation of Pakistan and Bangladesh, asserting they could not coexist with Hindus.

They also suggest that the increasing Muslim population poses a threat to the nation and its democracy. This population growth is attributed to a higher birth rate rather than conversions, as claimed by some Islamists. For example, in Kerala, a Hindu couple may adhere to a two-child policy, while a Muslim couple may have three or four children on average. They argue that if Muslims constitute almost 40% of the population, there could be demands for a separate Muslim country or attempts to overthrow India's democracy to establish a Muslim nation. It is like a time bomb.

They also claim that Islamic teachings mandate the death penalty for apostates (Murtadd), a rule allegedly taught in Kerala's madrasas by the 12th grade. It is claimed that nearly every family in Kerala has at least one ex Muslim, either pretending to be a believer (Munafiq) to avoid persecution or having publicly announced their departure from Islam.

Backlash against ex-Muslims
While Clubhouse discussions are publicly viewable, many ex-Muslim Clubhouse users said that they felt confident enough to express their views on the app, but choose to use pseudonyms in an effort to conceal their identity to avoid targeted harassment and retaliation.

In one example of social ostracism, after leaving Islam, Ex-Muslim Arif Hussain Theruvath's wife left him and denied him access to his children. In an effort to avoid social and financial backlash associated with Ex-Muslim activism, some ex-Muslims flee Kerala. Outside of Kerala, there have been instances of persecution; in one such case, Dubai sentenced Abdul Khadar Puthiyangadi to three years in jail for activism done exclusively in Malayalam language when Puthiyangadi was in Kerala.