Activism Fatigue among Former Muslims: Tired of Talking about Islam
This empirical article presents an ethnographic, longitudinal and comparative study on nonreligion in urban Morocco and the diaspora in Western Europe. Central to the article is the question of why most former Muslims, despite their wish to change the status quo, refrain from activism. Drawing on 50...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
Journal of Muslims in Europe
Year: 2025, Volume: 14, Issue: 1, Pages: 83-105 |
| Further subjects: | B
Atheism
B activism fatigue B Moroccan diaspora B anti-Islam sentiments B non religion |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | This empirical article presents an ethnographic, longitudinal and comparative study on nonreligion in urban Morocco and the diaspora in Western Europe. Central to the article is the question of why most former Muslims, despite their wish to change the status quo, refrain from activism. Drawing on 50 in-depth interviews conducted between 2019 and 2023 with young, educated, middle- and upper-class atheists and agnostics, the study shows that the motivation not to engage in the debate can be manifold. In Morocco, legal, professional and social risks discourage open expression of nonreligion, while many feel fatigued by repetitive debates and negative responses. In Europe, where anti-Islam sentiments are prevalent, former Muslims often avoid the topic of leaving Islam for a different reason, namely, to prevent bolstering negative stereotypes about Muslims. This article aims to compare the various motives for non-engagement that emerge within the different minority and majority settings. |
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| ISSN: | 2211-7954 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of Muslims in Europe
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/22117954-bja10118 |
