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Book Review of Why We Left Islam: Former Muslims Speak Out

Why We Left Islam: Former Muslims Speak Out
tripleguess avatar reviewed on + 48 more book reviews


This was an interesting book, and a quick read. Some of the essays are not the greatest examples of polished writing, but then they aren't supposed to be. They are what they are: a real person's testimony of what they went through, in their own broken words.

Some of the stories could be upsetting if you are not ready to read about horrible things happening to people who did not deserve them. I had decided beforehand that I would not get worked up about these and so I was okay, but don't go into this expecting a Bambi retelling.

I appreciated learning about the Sunna and Haddith. I didn't know that these existed or that they were as binding as the Quran.

I have to strongly agree with some of the assessments in the afterword. I do and have felt pressure to be ashamed of my European heritage and my Christian faith, as though they were dirty places to be from. But I am not ashamed of them; I am proud of them.

I am passing this book on because it is a one-read type of title, not a classic to be treasured and memorized, and because I think other people need to see this. However I think there is something in here for anyone interested in the current debate about Islam, and some of the testimonies featured include names and biographies or other writings for follow-up study.