Nonbelievers, Apostates, and Atheists in the Muslim World

Nonbelievers, Apostates, and Atheists in the Muslim World offers a contemporary, cross-cultural look at nonbelief and nonreligion in Islam. Providing historical, conceptual, statistical, and ethnographic data on nonbelievers from Morocco to Egypt, Turkey, and Bangladesh, it explores the unique nature and challenges of nonreligion for Muslims.

It includes 11 chapters by experts on nonbelief, nonreligion, and atheism in an array of Muslim-majority countries. The book features multiple disciplines and offers both ethnographic and statistical information on this important, growing, but neglected population. It explores the unique nature of nonreligion in Islam, illustrating that nonbelief is specific to a particular religious tradition. It also examines how ex-Muslims navigate complexities and dangers of their societies--especially for women--and how nonbelief and nonreligion do not equate to atheism or the total repudiation of religion or of Muslim identity.

This book is an outstanding resource for scholars and students of nonbelief, atheism, secularism, religion, and contemporary Islam.

Jack David Eller is a cultural anthropologist and Head of Anthropology of Religion with the Global Center for Religious Research, USA. He specializes in religion and non-religion and authored Introducing Anthropology of Religion and Cruel Creeds, Virtuous Violence: Religious Violence across Culture and History.

Natalie Khazaal is Associate Professor at Georgia Tech, USA and an American Council of Learned Societies fellow. She has published on Arab atheists’ use of pseudonyms, engagement of gender during television appearances, and embedding atheism in literary works.