What happens if muslim converts to christianity

In a less religious family, the convert may be taken to the imam, who may lead the family in beating the believer. If the convert is a woman, her family may force her to marry a Muslim cousin to avoid shame and scandal. Many have been restrained with ropes, burned with acid or hot oil, and subjected to electric shocks. Sometimes families commit converts to mental institutions, thinking that leaving Islam is a sign of insanity.

Others are forced to leave the home, family, and the community they know. In all cases it is a perilous passage. Following Jesus definitely costs a former Muslim. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. I discovered that the source of the intense response does not lie within the parents, but within what their religion dictates.

Defending Islam replaces any concept of human rights. Free thinking is basically eliminated. The Quran says that killing infidels will earn a Muslim a place in heavenly paradise, but Allah is the one who makes that final decision. The society they have always called home now thinks of them as traitors. To reject Islam is seen as treason and those who do are called infidels. With a bit more humility, I returned to ask E a few more details.

This should have been my first question because a smile spread across her face and her eyes lit up. She remembered the peace that flooded her being. The discovery that Someone loved her, had a purpose for her life, and valued her as a woman were wonderful memories.

She then gave me a Bible that I hid under my mattress. I would rip two pages out each day, lock myself in the bathroom to read them, memorizing as much as I could. I would then rip up those pages and flush them down the toilet. Then one day, I said prayers to accept Jesus with my cousin in the marketplace.

I had never felt such joy, love and peace in my life! She was concerned and curious so she took me to a witch doctor for some answers. That is when the horror began. I moved my chair closer to her and tried to comfort her by placing my hand on her knee.

She changed positions in her chair and grasped her head in her hands. This was real life, not something from a book. These memories were devastating. I could not go to work, visit friends, or have any relationship with my family. I was totally alone and no one spoke to me. No one ate with me, talked to me or touched my things because, according to Islam, I was unclean. Thankfully I discovered a radio station that taught the Bible, and I secretly listened. My body was in a prison, but my spirit was free!

E shrugged her shoulders, raised her eyebrows, and gave me a slight smile. They were glad to get rid of me so they gave their consent. After the marriage, my husband and I both confessed we were Christians! It was wonderful to pray, learn, and serve with someone else.

We especially prayed for our families. God even gave us a son. I was able to lead my older sister to the Lord and my younger sister accepted Christ after she was healed from a serious illness. But those who leave Islam may ultimately influence the faith more than converts do. There are about 3.

The data suggests that about , of them abandon Islam each year, while roughly the same number convert to Islam. Altogether nearly a quarter of those raised in the faith have left, with Iranians disproportionately represented.

Similar trends prevail in Western Europe, where conversions in and out of Islam appear roughly to balance out. In the U. Apostates challenge their former faith in three principal ways: publicly leaving, organizing with other ex-Muslims, and openly challenging the Islamic message. Overtly apostatizing is a radical act that can lead to execution in some Muslim-majority countries, including Iran.

Even in the West, apostates often meet rejection by families and friends that can turn violent. Accordingly, conversions out of Islam tend to be cautious or hidden, as in the cases of British author Salman Rushdie and pop star Zayn Malik. Yet other converts make a point of leaving publicly and encourage others by their example—even if it places them at great risk. Such organizations also provide mutual support in the face of intense hostility and raise troublesome issues—with female genital mutilation among the most prominent in recent years—thereby becoming some of the most credible critics of Islamism.

Ex-Muslims living in the West have developed an impressive reach into traditional Muslim communities in their countries of origin. Through books, radio, television and especially digital platforms, they spread savvy messages in Arabic and other local languages. They denounce Islam and help atheists flee to the West.

Converts to Christianity often engage in religious disputation or eloquently explain their spiritual voyages. Converting, organizing, proselytizing—thus do vocal ex-Muslims in the West send shock waves to their countries of origin, especially where Islam is historically protected by custom from criticism or even irony, or where repression and punishment render anti-Islamic views illegal.

Anxious authorities ban Christian proselytizing and censor ex-Muslim voices.