From Faith to Faithlessness

Reviewed by: Ruqaiyah Hibell, The Islamic Foundation

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Books Reviewed

Former Muslims in Europe: Between Secularity and Belonging, by Maria Vliek. London/New York: Routledge, 2021, 207pp. ISBN: 9780367698591.

Conversion to Islam in the Premodern Age: A Sourcebook, edited by Nimrod Hurvitz, Christian C. Sahner, Uriel Simonsohn & Luke Yarbrough. Oakland: University of California Press, 2020, 355pp. ISBN: 9780520296732.

Muslim Women in Britain 1850 -1950: 100 Years of Hidden History, edited by Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor & Jamie Gilham. London: Hurst, 2023, 264pp. ISBN: 9781805260400.

Islam and Muslims in Victorian Britain: New Perspectives, edited by Jamie Gilham. London/New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2024, 264pp. ISBN: 9781350299634.

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Through Allah’s guidance people continue to be drawn to Islam. This attraction stems from deeply within the soul which awakens to the holistic and multifaceted dimensions of the faith that appeal to different aspects of one’s personal spiritual psyche. Islam’s spirituality infuses all aspects of life and exists as a dynamic and energising force which confirms the divine revelations and wisdom of ancient times, paves a righteous path for the present day and charts a godly future. Such magnetic attraction is displayed, for example, through beautiful architecture and design, in the serenity and simplicity of a faith pared back from superfluous adornment. Powerful and melodious recitations of the adhān and the Qur’ān strike hearts and awaken an ache and longing for the next world and the divine. Each soul aspires to fulfil its divinely attested earthly purpose before reaching its final destination to rest under the shade of Allah.

Sharing the beauty of Islam is a source of pride and great joy to many Muslims. Islam is frequently portrayed as the fastest growing faith in the world. Numerically, this may be the case due to a steady stream of people embracing Islam and, in some countries, higher than average birth rates, although this is not a uniform phenomenon across nations with majority or minority Muslim populations and, within some states, Muslim birth rates remain at replacement levels or below, such as in Iran and Tunisia.

Proud claims regarding ever rising levels of religious adherents can be qualified by the undocumented and frequently hidden numbers of people who embrace Islam and, for a variety of reasons, are unable to sustain their commitment and lapse from actively practising the faith, via whatever form of lapse or abandonment, with some rough estimates as high as 50% for people who have formerly embraced Islam. Other detracting factors can include those born as Muslims who consciously or less consciously do not practise their faith or outrightly abandon Islam, whether or not this is revealed or remains unspoken or invisible. For some, Islam remains a cultural attachment rather than a religiously infused practice.

The rising population of faithful Muslims is conspicuous, particularly in the western context, where adherence to religious belief, in general, is constantly subjected to ridicule and considered anti-scientific, peculiar, old-fashioned and regressive, although recognition of ‘spiritual existence’ continues to grow. The sanity of those who adopt or adhere to religious practice is at times questioned. This is notable whereby rising rates of internationally sanctioned Islamophobia sets global trends to mock, denigrate, persecute, neutralise or eliminate Muslims and Islam. This is evident in the on-going genocide in Palestine, violent persecution in India, concentration camps in China, expulsion, rape and mass murder in Myanmar, brutal wars in Syria and Yemen, through to lower intensity baiting and provocation to targeting and demeaning Muslim populations in France, Austria and beyond. However, within these contexts, strange anomalies arise: while quantifiable figures are not available, it is reported that many people have embraced Islam since the onset of the Israeli war in 2023, strikingly impressed by the dignity and grace with which many Palestinians have faced this dire situation, displaying fortitude, resilience and serenity that emanates from a deep faith and trust in Allah and His divine decree.