Afterword: narrating ex-Muslim lived experiences

Abstract

Research on apostasy has previously focused on leaving Christianity, and to some extent Judaism and New Religious Movements (so called “cults”), in the North-Atlantic hemisphere. In addition, most previous studies have been conducted in an English-speaking context, thus excluding possible insights from other linguistic and cultural contexts. More recent theoretical developments in apostasy research questions the linear understanding of the process of leaving religion (i.e. switching from one religion to another religious or non-religious position). In this essay, which serves as an afterword to this special issue, I argue that if we want to further our understanding of the lived experiences of former Muslims, we need to theoretically develop how the autobiographical story functions as narrative, where we locate agency in the narrative analysis, and how we can better understand the dynamics between the apostate, their former religious group, and the societal context in which apostasy takes place. In addition, in line with the contributions to this special issue, we must be attentive to the colonial legacies that affect the perception of Islam in many European countries.