Muslim converts to Christianity

[cathopologist]

I have come across many testimonies on the internet and video feeds of “former Christian converts to Islam” rhetoric. But not one single Muslim proselytizer is willing to admit the failure of keeping Muslims faithful to Islam.

List of famous some Muslim converts to Christianity:

1. 
   *]Magdi Allam - Italy’s most famous Islamic affairs journalist
   *]Hussain Andaryas - Afghan Christian activist and and tele-evangelist
   *]Josephine Bakhita - Roman Catholic saint from Darfur, Sudan
   *]Abo of Tiflis - Christian activist and the Patron Saint of the city of Tbilisi, Georgia
   *]The Shihab family - Prominent Lebanese noble family. The family originally belonged to Sunni Islam and converted to Christianity at the end of the 18th century.
   *]Hassan Dehqani-Tafti - Anglican Bishop of Iran from 1961 to 1990
   *]Ghorban Tourani - Former Iranian Sunni Muslim who became a Christian minister. Following multiple murder threats , he was abducted and murdered on November 22, 2005
   *]Jean-Bédel Bokassa - Central African Republic Emperor (from Christianity to Islam back to Christianity)
   *]Mark A. Gabriel- Egyptian Islamic scholar and writer
   *]Lina Joy - Malaysian convert to Christianity. The desire to have her conversion recognized was the subject of a court case in Malaysia
   *]George Weah - Liberian soccer player (from Christianity to Islam back to Christianity)
   *]Nazli Sabri - Queen consort of Egypt.
   *]Begum Samru - Powerful lady of north India, ruling a large area from Sardhana, Uttar Pradesh
   *]Abdul Rahman - Afghan convert to Christianity who escaped the death penalty because of foreign pressure
   *]Ahmed the Calligrapher - 17th century Christian martyr and official of the Ottoman Empire
   *]Emir Kusturica - Bosnian filmmaker and actor
   *]Daniel Ali- Iraqi Kurdish Christian author, speaker and Islamic scholar.; evangelizes in Catholic, Protestant and Messianic Jewish circles
   *]Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky - Russian officer of Circassian origin who led the first Russian military expedition into Central Asia
   *]Umar ibn Hafsun - Leader of anti-Ummayad dynasty forces in southern Iberia. Hafsun converted to Christianity with his sons and ruled over several mountain valleys for nearly forty years, having the castle Bobastro as his residence
   *]Aurelius and Natalia - Christian martyrs who were put to death during the reign of Abd ar-Rahman II, Caliph of Córdoba for apostasy
   *]Johannes Avetaranian - (born Muhammad Shukri Efendi), Christian missionary and Turkish descendent of Prophet Muhammad
   *]Paul Mulla - Turkish scholar and professor of Islamic Studies at the Pontifical Oriental Institute
   *]Daveed Gartenstein-Ross- Counter-terrorism expert and attorney (from Judaism to Islam to Christianity)
   *]Malika Oufkir - Author, activist and former prisoner of the Moroccan Royal Family
   *]Mohammed Hegazy - First Egyptian Muslim convert to Christianity to seek official recognition of his conversion from the Egyptian Government
   *]Ubayd-Allah ibn Jahsh - Brother of Zaynab bint Jahsh, the wife of Prophet Muhammad and one of the male Sahaba (companions of the Prophet)
   *]Jabalah ibn al-Aiham - last ruler of the Ghassanid state in Syria and Jordan in the seventh century AD. After the Islamic conquest of Levant he converted to Islam in AD 638. He reverted to Christianity later on and lived in Anatolia until he died in AD 645
   *]Constantine the African - Baghdad-educated Muslim who died in 1087 as a Christian monk at Monte Cassino
   *]Abraham of Bulgaria - Martyr and saint of the Russian Orthodox Church
   *]St. Adolphus - Christian martyr who was put to death along with his brother, John, by Abd ar-Rahman II, Caliph of Córdoba for apostasy
   *]Al-Mu’eiyyad - Abbasid prince and third son of Abbasid caliph, Al-Mutawakkil. He was converted to Christianity along with his three confidants by St. Theodore of Edessa, accepting the name “John” upon baptism
   *]Shams Pahlavi - Iranian princess and the elder sister of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran
   *]Fadhma Aït Mansour - Mother of French writers Jean Amrouche and Taos Amrouche
   *]Imad ud-din Lahiz - Prolific Islamic writer, preacher and Quranic translator
   *]Marina Nemat - Canadian author of Iranian descent and former political prisoner of the Iranian government. Born into a Christian family, she converted to Islam in order to avoid execution but later reverted to Christianity

 

[Sister_Amy]

Of course there are Muslims who convert to Christianity.

There was a man early in Islam (forget if it was during the lifetime of Muhammad or the khalifate of 'Umar) who actually left Islam to be a Christian. Funny story actually.

The question really is mostly… so what??

 

[cathopologist]

The question really is mostly… so what??

Muslim proselytizers have always claimed that once a Christian becomes a Muslim, it is very unlikely they will revert back. But as the list proves, this isn’t the case. Its not so much a matter of “so what”, rather a question of “why”?

 

[Sister_Amy]

Muslim proselytizers have always claimed that once a Christian becomes a Muslim, it is very unlikely they will revert back. But as the list proves, this isn’t the case. Its not so much a matter of “so what”, rather a question of “why”?

You know about 60% of people who convert to Islam, end up leaving Islam in the first year. This is a statistic that I learned from Muslims. So I don’t think that “Muslim proselytizers” like you say are claiming that it’s unlikely Christian converts to Islam never go back to Christianity. Especially in the face of the statistic I just shared.

I don’t know the people in your list though–if they are Muslim->Christian or Christian->Muslim->Christian??

So is your question why do people leave Islam in the first place, or why do converts to Islam end up leaving it? There are subtle differences in the answers, I think.

 

[cathopologist]

You know about 60% of people who convert to Islam, end up leaving Islam in the first year. This is a statistic that I learned from Muslims. So I don’t think that “Muslim proselytizers” like you say are claiming that it’s unlikely Christian converts to Islam never go back to Christianity. Especially in the face of the statistic I just shared.

I don’t know the people in your list though–if they are Muslim->Christian or Christian->Muslim->Christian??

So is your question why do people leave Islam in the first place, or why do converts to Islam end up leaving it? There are subtle differences in the answers, I think.

Not from what Muslim friends have told me. They actually boast about how Christians end up leaving their religion for Islam and never consider reverting. My Muslim friends are generally nice guys, but their bragging puts me off for the most part.

I think there are various reasons why Muslims leave Islam. But what is most perplexing is why most converts to Islam leave the religion after a while. I mean, they obviously knew what they were getting themselves into, correct? They had to attend religious classes, dialogues, etc. prior to their conversion.

 

[MugenOne]

I’m curious if there any Christian converting to Islam gets killed by by their fellow Christians?

 

[cathopologist]

I’m curious if there any Christian converting to Islam gets killed by by their fellow Christians?

Yes, in fact that happens unfortunately. 1% of the time. The other 99% is spent in hiding from the law and the press and of course, Jihadists.

 

[Sister_Amy]

Not from what Muslim friends have told me. They actually boast about how Christians end up leaving their religion for Islam and never consider reverting. My Muslim friends are generally nice guys, but their bragging puts me off for the most part.

I think it’s little more than that–bragging.

I think there are various reasons why Muslims leave Islam. But what is most perplexing is why most converts to Islam leave the religion after a while. I mean, they obviously knew what they were getting themselves into, correct? They had to attend religious classes, dialogues, etc. prior to their conversion.

No, they usually don’t know what they’re getting themselves in to. They don’t have to attend any religious classes, any dialogues, or do anything at all except declare the shahadah. Islam is not like Catholicism… you don’t have to take a class to be Muslim. At my mosque we have classes for non-Muslims and classes for new Muslims and classes for everyone on family law, transactions, islamic history, qur’an, etc. Education should be lifelong.

Some converts come to the classes–usually the ones who do end up staying with Islam. Some just learn about Islam elsewhere and come to the mosque to say Shahadah, never get involved with Muslims and eventually just leave. (Seriously, I think this is the effect of Shaytan, personally.) Some learn about Islam and then have to face serious trials afterwards, like divorce or marital troubles, their family expels them, their children turn against them, they lose their job, and so on, and so they end up leaving the faith. Sometimes they have a bad experience with a Muslim (who is obviously not practicing Islam) which gives them a bad taste. There are lots of reasons people leave Islam, I know it and I’ve seen it. But usually it’s more related to worldly struggle and less because they actually lose faith in Islam. Losing faith in Muslims however is quite common.

It’s a common story that a sister will convert and then get married and have a bad marriage, and then she gets divorced and leaves Islam along with the marriage, even though more likely it’s cultural differences than religion which drove them apart.

But anyway. It happens.

And, strangely enough, they aren’t killed! lol… (Neither should they be.)

 

[Sister_Amy]

I’m curious if there any Christian converting to Islam gets killed by by their fellow Christians?

My brother-in-law threatened to call the cops on me for trespassing when I tried to visit my family.

He also threatened my parents and sister to not let them see his wife/kids (my sister and niece and nephew) if they let me visit them, because I converted.

It’s certainly not being killed but immensely painful all the same.

 

[cathopologist]

No, they usually don’t know what they’re getting themselves in to. They don’t have to attend any religious classes, any dialogues, or do anything at all except declare the shahadah. Islam is not like Catholicism… you don’t have to take a class to be Muslim. At my mosque we have classes for non-Muslims and classes for new Muslims and classes for everyone on family law, transactions, islamic history, qur’an, etc. Education should be lifelong.

Actually, i do have a Chinese-Muslim (formerly a Buddhist) friend who attended Islamic classes, Qur’an study, etc before he uttered the Shahada. Its common practice here for Muslim wannabe’s to attend religious classes first, before converting.

It’s a common story that a sister will convert and then get married and have a bad marriage, and then she gets divorced and leaves Islam along with the marriage, even though more likely it’s cultural differences than religion which drove them apart.

But when asked why they left Islam, they always cite their dislikes for what the religion teaches and its practices. Now i know this may not sound very nice, but this is what i have been told personally by ex-Muslim converts.

 

[Lapell]

Maybe there ARE Muslim proselytizers who would claim that anyway. It doesn’t mean the majority of Muslims would say the same thing…
Also, maybe those guys don’t care much about statistics!

You know about 60% of people who convert to Islam, end up leaving Islam in the first year. This is a statistic that I learned from Muslims. So I don’t think that “Muslim proselytizers” like you say are claiming that it’s unlikely Christian converts to Islam never go back to Christianity. Especially in the face of the statistic I just shared.

I don’t know the people in your list though–if they are Muslim->Christian or Christian->Muslim->Christian??

So is your question why do people leave Islam in the first place, or why do converts to Islam end up leaving it? There are subtle differences in the answers, I think.

 

[jen_fla]

taken from a site from apostates of islam:

apostatesofislam.com/

"Why Mohammed was not a prophet:

One who claims to be a messenger of God is expected to live a saintly life. He must not be given to lust, he must not be a sexual pervert, and he must not be a rapist, a highway robber, a war criminal, a mass murderer or an assassin. One who claims to be a messenger of God must have a superior character. He must stand above the vices of the people of his time. Yet Muhammad’s life is that of a gangster godfather. He raided merchant caravans, looted innocent people, massacred entire male populations and enslaved the women and children. He raped the women captured in war after killing their husbands and told his followers that it is okay to have sex with their captives and their “right hand possessions” (Quran 33:50) He assassinated those who criticized him and executed them when he came to power and became de facto despot of Arabia. Muhammad was bereft of human compassion. He was an obsessed man with his dreams of grandiosity and could not forgive those who stood in his way. Muhammad was a narcissist like Hitler, Saddam or Stalin. He was astute and knew how to manipulate people, but his emotional intelligence was less evolved than that of a 6-year-old child. He simply could not feel the pain of others. He brutally massacred thousands of innocent people and pillaged their wealth. His ambitions were big and as a narcissist he honestly believed he is entitled to do as he pleased and commit all sorts of crimes and his evil deeds are justified. "

 

[Booklover]

taken from a site from apostates of islam:

apostatesofislam.com/

"Why Mohammed was not a prophet:

One who claims to be a messenger of God is expected to live a saintly life. He must not be given to lust, he must not be a sexual pervert, and he must not be a rapist, a highway robber, a war criminal, a mass murderer or an assassin. One who claims to be a messenger of God must have a superior character. He must stand above the vices of the people of his time. Yet Muhammad’s life is that of a gangster godfather. He raided merchant caravans, looted innocent people, massacred entire male populations and enslaved the women and children. He raped the women captured in war after killing their husbands and told his followers that it is okay to have sex with their captives and their “right hand possessions” (Quran 33:50) He assassinated those who criticized him and executed them when he came to power and became de facto despot of Arabia. Muhammad was bereft of human compassion. He was an obsessed man with his dreams of grandiosity and could not forgive those who stood in his way. Muhammad was a narcissist like Hitler, Saddam or Stalin. He was astute and knew how to manipulate people, but his emotional intelligence was less evolved than that of a 6-year-old child. He simply could not feel the pain of others. He brutally massacred thousands of innocent people and pillaged their wealth. His ambitions were big and as a narcissist he honestly believed he is entitled to do as he pleased and commit all sorts of crimes and his evil deeds are justified. "

Here’s another interesting quote from that site:

We are ex-Muslims. Some of us were born and raised in Islam and some of us had converted to Islam at some moment in our lives. We were taught never to question the truth of Islam and to believe in Allah and his messenger with blind faith. We were told that Allah would forgive all sins but the sin of disbelief (Quran 4:48 and 4:116). But we committed the ultimate sin of thinking and questioned the belief that was imposed on us and we came to realize that far from being a religion of truth, Islam is a hoax, it is hallucination of a sick mind and nothing but lies and deceits.

 

[jen_fla]

Here’s another interesting quote from that site:

We are ex-Muslims. Some of us were born and raised in Islam and some of us had converted to Islam at some moment in our lives. We were taught never to question the truth of Islam and to believe in Allah and his messenger with blind faith. We were told that Allah would forgive all sins but the sin of disbelief (Quran 4:48 and 4:116). But we committed the ultimate sin of thinking and questioned the belief that was imposed on us and we came to realize that far from being a religion of truth, Islam is a hoax, it is hallucination of a sick mind and nothing but lies and deceits.

there are many interesting quotes from this site:

"What is our goal?

We are apostates of Islam. We denounce Islam as a false doctrine of hate and terror. However we are not against Muslims who are our own kin and relatives. **We do not advocate hate and violence. Muslims are the main victims of Islam. Our goal is to educate them and let them see the truth. We are against Islam and not the Muslims. **We strive to bring the Muslims into the fold of humanity. Eradicate Islam so our people can be liberated, so they can prosper and break away from the pillory of Islam. We would like to see Islamic countries dedicate more time to science and less time to Quran and Sharia. We would like to see them prosper and contribute to human civilization. We would like to see the draconian laws of Islam eliminated and people are treated humanely. We strive for freedom of beliefs, for equality of gender and for oneness of mankind.

Mankind’s biggest challenge:

Today the humanity is facing a great danger. Islamic fundamentalism is on the rise and the hatred is brewing in the minds of millions of Muslims. This hatred must be contained or there would be disastrous consequences. **We believe that the education is the only answer. Muslim intellectuals must realize that Islam is a false doctrine and they must let the rest of Islamic world know the truth. Islam is a religion that thrives on the arrogant assumption that it is the most logical, the most scientific and the most perfect religion. While the fact is that it is the stupidest doctrine — the most backward and absurd belief. **Once the truth about Islam becomes common knowledge, it will be weakened and the Islamic fanaticism will lose its fangs. Hundreds of billions of dollars are being expended to combat Islamic terrorism, yet no effort is made to contain the ideology behind this terrorism. It is our belief that Islamic terrorism will not be eliminated unless and until the ideology behind it is exposed and eradicated. This is what we intend to do."

---

while i do agree with what these ex-muslims are saying, it also has made me more aware to watch how i word things. sister amy, i think some of my comments might have been offensive to you and if so, i do apologize.

while yes, i do think the quran has some beautiful parts to it, i can not ignore all the blatant contradictions and evil that mohammed taught. please know that when i come across in anyway that is rude, it is NOT directed at you, but towards islam.

 

[Sister_Amy]

Actually, i do have a Chinese-Muslim (formerly a Buddhist) friend who attended Islamic classes, Qur’an study, etc before he uttered the Shahada. Its common practice here for Muslim wannabe’s to attend religious classes first, before converting.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with it, and I would obviously recommend it. I’m just saying it’s not required or anything, and not everyone does it. In fact, I’d say most don’t.

But when asked why they left Islam, they always cite their dislikes for what the religion teaches and its practices. Now i know this may not sound very nice, but this is what i have been told personally by ex-Muslim converts.

It’s not what I have been told, nor do I think you have asked every single convert. But more importantly, what people cite is dislike for what they think the religion teaches, and not what it actually teaches. I mean that. If you go look at these sites advocated by jen fla and booklover, you can see for yourself that it’s always the same arguments that get hashed out repeatedly. Kind of boring really.

But if you go to a Muslim site, like islamqa, islamonline, islamicity, sunnipath, or some other mainstream Muslim site (these are the biggest), you will not find these teachings that seem to bother the ex-converts. In fact, you’ll see Muslims and non-Muslims both writing in asking about these same subjects, and you’ll see what Islam actually teaches.

But instead of relying on the actual Muslim sites for these alleged Muslim teachings, jen fla and booklover (for example, others here do that as well) are referring to sites of non-Muslims, and not authentic Muslim scholars. Now, I think that is pretty telling.

The response of jen fla or booklover or someone else is going to be that the Muslims are just lying, concealing the unhappy truth.

But my response to that is that Muslims also consult these Muslim sites (which I mentioned) for information about Islam. It only makes sense then for the Muslim scholars to tell Muslims the truth, right? And if the scholars online are lying, then you’d figure maybe if you would go ask a sheikh in person and he’d tell you something different. But of course, jen fla and booklover aren’t actually going to ask a sheikh in person or visiting a mosque to hear what’s really preached inside.

But I go. And I’ll tell you, it’s the same message of Islam. The one I talk about here, can point to on this sites and in my own classes with scholars.

So what the converts out of Islam say bothers them are not (most of the time) ACTUAL teachings of Islam, only misunderstood perceived teachings, and are usually false.

(ps I didn’t mean to single out jen fla or booklover or anything, it’s just that in this very thread they’d made a point to start posting “apostacy stories” and “apostacy websites” as if to bolster your claim, but it’s nothing but a bunch of hullaballoo if you ask me.)

 

[inJESUS]

It is rather strange to say that Muhammad did nothing but evil. The same references that show the evil part are the same sources that show other good things. We see the bad of Muhammad because we have a higher standard to compare with in life and teaching be it Jesus or even His apostles, but Muslims do not have this standard to begin with so it is relativism…Muhammad cannot be even compared to Paul who is hated by Muslims for whatever reason… Muslims believe in Jesus but where are Jesus’ actual teachings in Islam? nowhere. Muhammad as a man had his share of morality and immorality…converts to Islam learn the basics, the rituals and are happy with them but it takes time to read the inside of Islam in detaiils, something many Muslims do not know so i can understand why some would convert then leave and others don’t…Muhammad’s problem is much worse than his character…it is his ideologies that oppose/distort all divine scriptures and tradition that must be assessed first.

 

[Isa_Almisry]

Yes, in fact that happens unfortunately. 1% of the time. The other 99% is spent in hiding from the law and the press and of course, Jihadists.

Oddly enough, I know of an instance in Jordan (i.e. a Muslim country).

I know far, far, far more cases where they offer up continual prayer for them.

And every Christian in the Middle East I know knows at least one Muslim who converted and was baptized.

 

[Isa_Almisry]

There’s certainly nothing wrong with it, and I would obviously recommend it. I’m just saying it’s not required or anything, and not everyone does it. In fact, I’d say most don’t.

It’s not what I have been told, nor do I think you have asked every single convert. But more importantly, what people cite is dislike for what they think the religion teaches, and not what it actually teaches. I mean that. If you go look at these sites advocated by jen fla and booklover, you can see for yourself that it’s always the same arguments that get hashed out repeatedly. Kind of boring really.

But if you go to a Muslim site, like islamqa, islamonline, islamicity, sunnipath, or some other mainstream Muslim site (these are the biggest), you will not find these teachings that seem to bother the ex-converts. In fact, you’ll see Muslims and non-Muslims both writing in asking about these same subjects, and you’ll see what Islam actually teaches.

But instead of relying on the actual Muslim sites for these alleged Muslim teachings, jen fla and booklover (for example, others here do that as well) are referring to sites of non-Muslims, and not authentic Muslim scholars. Now, I think that is pretty telling.

The response of jen fla or booklover or someone else is going to be that the Muslims are just lying, concealing the unhappy truth.

But my response to that is that Muslims also consult these Muslim sites (which I mentioned) for information about Islam. It only makes sense then for the Muslim scholars to tell Muslims the truth, right? And if the scholars online are lying, then you’d figure maybe if you would go ask a sheikh in person and he’d tell you something different. But of course, jen fla and booklover aren’t actually going to ask a sheikh in person or visiting a mosque to hear what’s really preached inside.

But I go. And I’ll tell you, it’s the same message of Islam. The one I talk about here, can point to on this sites and in my own classes with scholars.

So what the converts out of Islam say bothers them are not (most of the time) ACTUAL teachings of Islam, only misunderstood perceived teachings, and are usually false.

(ps I didn’t mean to single out jen fla or booklover or anything, it’s just that in this very thread they’d made a point to start posting “apostacy stories” and “apostacy websites” as if to bolster your claim, but it’s nothing but a bunch of hullaballoo if you ask me.)

I knew a Muslim atheist (yes, such things happen, like Jewish atheists) who defined Islam as “what Muslims don’t do” because she said, “whenever you point out something wrong with what Muslims are doing, no matter what, they say ‘Oh, but that’s not true Islam.’” I can verify the accuracy of that statement.

 

[Irenaeus07]

It is rather strange to say that Muhammad did nothing but evil.

Well I am an ex-Muslim and I don’t think Muhammad was evil or bad, in fact I believe he was sincere. I just believe Muhammad was educated by non-trinitian Christian monks. So when he had his opening with the divine it was distorted, because he had a distorted belief system. But in terms of his character, I believe Muhammad was upright and honest and trustworthy.

While I was Muslim I met some very beautiful Muslim, I met some upright scholars in Islam, I’ve met some upright Muslim, with noble character. I have more good things to say about Islam than bad things, for me, Islam isn’t for me, it doesn’t fit my worldview.

There are two differences major differences between a Muslim and Christian, one is the belief system and the second is the ritual practices. Other than that, they both teach to be upright and honest, don’t steal, don’t commit adultery, don’t lie etc etc.

Be just in your evaulation.

Irenaeus

 

[cathopologist]

It’s not what I have been told, nor do I think you have asked every single convert. But more importantly, what people cite is dislike for what they think the religion teaches, and not what it actually teaches. I mean that. If you go look at these sites advocated by jen fla and booklover, you can see for yourself that it’s always the same arguments that get hashed out repeatedly. Kind of boring really.

No, obviously i cannot ask every convert as not all converts from Islam are friends of mine. It’ll be rather rude to ask them impromptu questions like that.

Amy, no worries. I know which apologetic sites are credible and which aren’t. Sometimes the anti-Islamic links reminds me of those from the anti-Catholic sites such as Alpha and Omega or Jack Chick’s. Interestingly, a few years ago i made an investigation on the websites; answering-christianity.com and answering-islam.org. Both shared the same IP address and were registered to the same owner. Oh, also, be careful of such sites. If you have a good AV, it will detect them as malware prone sites. Interesting, isn’t it?

Please do forgive jen-fla and booklover. I don’t think they mean to do this deliberately but perhaps out of sincerity because they feel they have the duty to “expose the dangers” of some Muslim practices and beliefs. Whilst not always agreeing with their methods, some of the stuff they post is pretty convincing.