This Pride Month, Ex-Muslims International stands in unwavering solidarity with LGBTQ+ ex-Muslims across the globe—those who are not only criminalized for who they love and who they are, but also for what they no longer believe. #ExMuslimPride
For LGBTQ+ individuals who have left Islam or are questioning their faith, life is not just difficult—it can be dangerous. In many Muslim-majority societies, queer identity and religious dissent are both seen as moral crimes. There are 57 Muslim-majority countries in the world today. Among them:
- At least 12 countries criminalize and punish apostasy (leaving Islam) and blasphemy with the death penalty, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Mauritania and Afghanistan.
- Over 30 Muslim-majority countries criminalize homosexuality, and
- At least 6—including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Mauritania, Yemen, and Afghanistan—impose the death penalty for same-sex relationships.
LGBTQ+ ex-Muslims are at triple risk: for who they are, who they love and for what they believe. They are silenced, erased, threatened, and punished—by the state, by their families, and by religious authorities.
Even in the diaspora, many LGBTQ+ ex-Muslims are forced to live double lives. In families where Islamic doctrine dominates, being queer is seen as a sin or a sickness, and apostasy is a source of shame or violence. They are cut off from support networks, denied safe and affirming healthcare, education, housing, and work. Their access to freedom, safety, and opportunity is limited by discrimination and deeply rooted cultural and religious homophobia, transphobia, and bigotry.
They are told: you cannot be gay and Muslim. And if they leave the faith: you cannot leave and live.
This criminalization is grounded in centuries-old interpretations of Islamic scripture. Traditional jurisprudence (fiqh) frames same-sex relationships as forbidden, trans identities as invalid or punishable, and apostasy as a crime—often a capital one. These views have been codified into law and enforced with devastating consequences.
Religious homophobia and apostophobia are deeply intertwined. The same doctrines that denounce queerness as sinful often cast doubt, dissent, and unbelief as threats to divine order. In many Muslim communities, this dual rejection fuels practices like conversion therapy—justified by scripture, and often carried out by imams, families, or so-called “healers”—to forcibly “correct” both sexual orientation and loss of faith.
These coercive acts are not fringe; they reflect mainstream religious teachings that conflate deviation from heteronormativity and from Islam as moral collapse. In countries where Islamic law governs, this ideology is codified with deadly consequences: the death penalty is imposed for both homosexuality and apostasy in places like Iran and Saudi Arabia. This violent synergy between religious dogma and state power is not about “faith”—it’s about control.
But LGBTQ+ ex-Muslims exist. We resist. We love. We survive. And we deserve to thrive.
This Pride Month, here’s how you can support LGBTQ+ ex-Muslims:
- Listen and believe our stories—even when they challenge your worldview.
- Share and uplift the voices of LGBTQ+ ex-Muslims online and offline. Visibility saves lives.
- Support or volunteer with organizations that provide shelter, asylum, mental health support, and legal aid to persecuted ex-Muslims and LGBTQ+ individuals in Muslim communities.
- Call out homophobia, transphobia, and bigotry—even when it’s cloaked in “cultural sensitivity.” Human rights are not negotiable.
- Advocate for secular protections and refugee policies that explicitly recognize the persecution LGBTQ+ ex-Muslims face.
- Create safe, affirming spaces for questioning individuals—especially in immigrant, refugee, and diasporic communities where these conversations are most silenced.
To be queer and ex-Muslim is to be doubly marginalized. But we are here, and we are not alone. Pride is not just celebration—it’s resistance. And for LGBTQ+ ex-Muslims, pride is radical survival.
This June, we invite you to not just wave a rainbow flag, but to stand with us—for safety, for freedom, and for the right to be, live, and love—without fear.
Pride Mubarak!
In Solidarity,
Ex-Muslims International
