Opinion – Exposure: Islam’s silenced victims, the ex-Muslims

The world appears determined to protect Muslims from wrongful persecution, non-religious, atheist and those seeking to flee the faith have been abandoned to the violence of their communities and families. Namazie’s heart-wrenching film seeks to tell the story of those whose voices are all to readily ignored by those who plead they’re persecuted

Exposure: Islam’s Non-believers

Many people of this day and age have long since affixed the term ‘Terrorist’ to be synonymous with a candid caricature; in the 80’s and 90’s, the IRA presented an all too advertised target of the word. Now written and burnt into our dictionaries and collective thoughts; Islam takes up the mantle: with politicians making their metaphorical bones in attacking Islam for this justification of terrorist activity. Thinkers like Ayaan Hirsi Ali, pointing out the justifiable correlation of the religion of the prophet and violent tendencies.

Many practitioners would then counter with the narrative of ‘Not all Muslims’; with many being complacent towards terrorism, it is an easy critique to make by right wing politicians and the general public; who see the complacency as their permissive attitude towards violence. Advocates have since attempted to dissuade this mode of thinking; Quilliam Foundation and others strive to de-radicalise and destigmatize the climate of ‘us vs them’ that has remained prevalent since the Bush administrations ill-fated thinking. One such thinker is Maryam Namazie: representative of the Ex-Muslim Council of Britain.

Namazie originally born in Iran in 1966; forced to flee with her family due to the Iranian revolution of 1979 that installed Ayatollah Khomeini as supreme Islamic leader in Iran, set up the Ex Muslim Council to act as a support group for those too afraid to leave the Islamic faith: providing them with support, community, as well as helping them to flee in some instances. Her opinion, while seen as extreme enough to be barred from universities and misrepresented as ‘Islamaphobic’. She ceaselessly works with members of a growing Secular, skeptical and atheist population living in Islamic dominated countries. Her work was epitomised in a 46-minute long documentary film, unironically dubbed: ‘Exposure’.

Following in the work of Namazie, as well as her volunteers: the film observes the work they do within the Islamic communities of the UK, as well as on an international field. And sheds light on the almost schizophrenia that persists within its communities; outwardly united under the religion of the prophet, preaching fraternity and peace. But deeply repressive, hateful of outsiders: and psychologically, as well as openly physically harming those that make their skepticism clear. It makes the incontestable statement that the sons and daughters of devout Muslims, are all too often placed under a sword of Damocles; between living a lie, of being ostracised by their family and community. Or, in many tragic occurrences within the film, and as observable in news reports: brutally murdered.

“I feel like when you leave Islam: your intelligence gets attacked… They make you feel like you’re stupid for making such a decision” – Sadia, recipient of help from, and vehement volunteer for the Ex-Muslim Council of Britain.

These occurrences are all too real, and all too frequent, not just in the UK, but across the world: where, undeniably, the stakes run far higher. Namazie, through the film, presents the creation of a growing underground ‘resistance’ movement of atheists, intellectuals, bloggers, who strive to show the world the conduct of these countries towards their people. With recent news from Pakistan, regarding blasphemy laws: an online writer: Azmat Ali, makes a terse analysis of the acceptance of ‘non-religious’ people within Pakistan:

“Intolerance, especially in matters of religion, are extreme”.

These free-thinking, underground individuals reside in secret, and overtly online; as a community of international writers, advocates, speakers and volunteers: making the stated mission to help uncover their stories, to make the world hear the plight of their brothers and sisters living under this theocratic hammer, one left hovering precariously, with pushes for Facebook to remove material deemed ‘Blasphemous’ by Pakistani officials.

“The Internet and Social Media is our battleground… Our numbers are growing each and every day.” – The words of a blogger, living in hiding for his thoughts and statements.

Despite adherents to the law debating that no such deaths have occurred under the law, reports from international news sources counter these claims. Not mentioning the violation of international law that it represents.

The repression that these individuals live under is witnessed, not just through repeated conversations with residents of Bangladesh, Pakistan, Tunisia and Algeria: But of the reported murders of writers, lecturers and bloggers throughout the film. The underlying messages are ones of a truly divided consensus within Islamic society, but of one repressive and brutal to those outspoken in their views: views of which, fundamentalists across the globe exhort, with considerable support from ‘the regressive left’ as: ‘Islamaphobic’.

Living under the current of society for these people, often shields them from the tumultuous tide of repression from fledgeling governments, seeking stability; as is Bangladesh’s story, told with the tragic fate of many atheists, condemned by its government to be arrested illegally, and murdered by angered mobs. The 2013 Shahbag protests are referenced, both by Namazie, as well as by the individuals who fled or know people killed in the outpour of violence. Here, the movie hits shyly on underlying reasons for attacks on atheists within Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The humanity cannot help but be felt; expressed in every word from those living and those who have lived under the anachronistic and repressive dogmatism of Islam; Sadia, who’s heart-wrenching account presents the viewer with the consequences of ostracism: her brother, who was an outspoken atheist, left dejected by his community and family, resorted to drug dependency as an escape from the psychological pain, ended with the loss of his life. Proving that this skepticism, also indirectly leads to the suffering of countless individuals, making the recipients mental pain too much to bear, and giving those who cared about them scars of which will never heal.

For those that are complacent to Islam, and the people who make up its faith: Exposure presents a candid glimpse into its domain; a composite of the passive public, an overt fundamentalist section, vocally, politically and technologically dominant. As expressed through representatives of Islam and their broadcasts via internet video casts, as well as their transit to mosques and madrassa’s across the world. And more so, their unabashed hatred of those speaking out against Islam; with these internationally travelling representatives of their faith extolling members to operate outside of the law, in advocating for the deaths of writers, bloggers and intellectuals from as Pakistan and Bangladesh, to the urban areas of London and Rochdale, flagrantly ignoring international law in the process.

Exposure provides anyone with the tragic story of people living under a repressive system that shames and shuns on the lesser scale and violently suppresses on the further end. True bravery is what I come to define individuals such as Namazie, Sadia as well as the justifiably anonymous members of the Atheist and secular Ex-Islamic community as having. The feature makes no fabrications as to the dangers they face, of the struggles they carry, but of the hopes, they hope to strive for.

Exposure is a necessity to see, from the politically / religiously complacent to the men and women ensconced every second of their days in social affairs. It’s a film that epitomises Islam in 46 minutes: as Hirsi Ali once stated, a religion in dire need of reform, through its rising underground intellectuals and closeted Atheists, bears the marks of progress. But walks a winding road to progress it stumbles to make the first steps on.