Science and Reason
The greatest and most consequential innovations in human history have never resulted from religious piety.
Human progress is driven by scientific inquiry and rational thought, not religious orthodoxy. Advances that improve human life come from questioning, experimentation, and evidence-based reasoning.
Within Islam, religious doctrine is often treated as immutable and beyond challenge, limiting space for free inquiry into the natural world. In many Muslim-majority countries, this translates into policies that restrict scientific education or subordinate it to theology.
More broadly, Islamic orthodoxy has historically resisted ideas that challenge scripture, even when those ideas are grounded in evidence. Scientific truths almost always begin as heresies, and protecting the freedom to question remains essential for progress.
What you need to know
Countries where Islam is the state religion
27
Muslim-majority countries where criticizing religion and/or leaving Islam can be punished by law
37
How we address this issue
WikiIslam
Our maintenance of WikiIslam is aimed at providing an objective, but skeptical, resource on Islam, including its historic relationship with science and gender equality. Free from the gatekeeping of religious authorities, it encourages readers to draw their own conclusions, however “blasphemous” they may be.
Apostate Report
Our Apostate Report, a survey of hundreds of American and Canadian ex-Muslims, offers a glimpse into the experiences and beliefs of apostates in the West—from encounters with misogyny to their science-based objections to religious belief.
Mini-Documentaries
Our mini-documentaries spotlight the experiences of real ex-Muslims and their encounters with rejection, abuse, and sexism as a result of questioning and leaving Islam.
What we advocate for
Ex-Muslims of North America advocates for the following policy actions in defense of the right to blaspheme:
States that do not clearly separate religion and government must secularize.
In all countries, educational curricula should be based on a naturalistic understanding of the world.