S01E07 - ‘It’s Not Just about Faith’: Narratives of Transformation When Moving Out of Islam in the Netherlands and Britain

This scholarly article by Maria Vliek examines the personal narratives of individuals in the Netherlands and Britain who have transitioned out of Islam. Moving beyond a narrow focus on "loss of faith," Vliek identifies four distinct thematic trajectories—religious break, social break-away, the entrance, and unconscious secularization—to describe how participants negotiate their changing identities. The study utilizes Dialogical Self Theory to show that these transformations are shaped not only by theology, but by complex political, social, ethnic, and gendered contexts. Vliek observes that while British narratives often center on a definitive "ex-Muslim" identity supported by organized groups, Dutch accounts frequently involve a more gradual or passive distancing from religion. Ultimately, the research emphasizes that the process of leaving Islam is a multifaceted transformation of the self rather than a simple rejection of religious dogma.(Vliek, Maria. 2019. “‘It’s Not Just about Faith’: Narratives of Transformation When Moving Out of Islam in the Netherlands and Britain.” Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations 30(3):323–44. doi:10.1080/09596410.2019.1628459.)