Activism Fatigue among Former Muslims
Tired of Talking about Islam
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6437014 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lena Richter (0000-0003-4521-3029, Radboud University Nijmegen, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 83-105 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-24 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Muslims in Europe (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2211-792X • E-ISSN: 2211-7954 |
| Publisher | Brill (PUBLISHER • NL) |
| DOI | 10.1163/22117954-bja10118 |
| OpenAlex | W4406786624 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 20 |
This empirical article presents an ethnographic, longitudinal and comparative study on nonreligion in urban Morocco and the diaspora in Western Europe. Central to the article is the question of why most former Muslims, despite their wish to change the status quo, refrain from activism. Drawing on 50 in-depth interviews conducted between 2019 and 2023 with young, educated, middle- and upper-class atheists and agnostics, the study shows that the motivation not to engage in the debate can be manifold. In Morocco, legal, professional and social risks discourage open expression of nonreligion, while many feel fatigued by repetitive debates and negative responses. In Europe, where anti-Islam sentiments are prevalent, former Muslims often avoid the topic of leaving Islam for a different reason, namely, to prevent bolstering negative stereotypes about Muslims. This article aims to compare the various motives for non-engagement that emerge within the different minority and majority settings
Political economy · Political science · Sociology · Education and Islamic Studies · Gender Studies · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence
Former Muslims in Europe
Small acts, kind words and “not too much fuss”
Queering Iran, digitally
Protected by the Emotions of the Group
Challenging Secularities, Challenging Religion
Yawning in the face of God
Following Fatigue, Feeling Fatigue
Bullets and Bulletins
Listening as a citizenship practice post-Arab Spring
Political Activists as Free Riders
Muslims by Ascription
Media, Racism and Islamophobia
Religious diversity at the contours of Moroccan Islam
Talking Back
Subjects of Debate
Heteronormativity in the Lives of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Young People
Arab Non-believers and Freethinkers on YouTube
The Journal of Homosexuality
Symbolic ethnicity and symbolic religiosity
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |