'Weronika Lenartowicz profound interviews with 80 ex-Muslims in Germany and Sweden reveal much of importance, especially the tragic truth that while leaving Islam gained [ them] the longed-for freedom, they did not gain a sense of safety in Europe but constantly fear for their lives. When will Europe's non-Muslims heed this cry of anguish and protect this, its most vulnerable population?' - Daniel Pipes, President of the Middle East Forum
'The increasingly common phenomenon of Muslims, particularly in the West, growing disenchanted and leaving Islam has been insufficiently studied and its larger implications left unexamined. However, where fear (whether of jihadi reprisals or political ostracism) has hitherto prevailed, Weronika Lenartowicz has now courageously dared to shed light on why Muslims are leaving Islam, the consequences of their doing so, and what the significance of this could be for the future of Europe and the world at large. This all-important study should be required reading for policymakers and human rights advocates of all political persuasions.' - Robert Spencer, author of The History of Jihad and The Critical Quran
Mirror imaging is the practice by which some people project their concepts and language onto another peoples reality, and then interpret the others reality through their prism own their own projections. It is the trap by which many active measure campaigns are waged to great success.
Weronika Lenartowiczs Leaving Islam: Ex-Muslims and Zemiology is one such work that seeks to cut through such linguistic traps and practice of mirror imagining. In Leaving Islam, Ms. Lenartowicz transcends the dangers of self-referencing in the context of apostasy. For example, using the commonly recognized term apostasy for both its Western understanding and the Islamic, Lenartowicz exposes the chasm between how a Westerner understands such a concept, an antiquated term for many, to the harsh realities that a Muslim faces when choosing to leave Islam, a violation of Islamic law that requires the community to take direct action as a capital offense.
It is highly instructive to review the perspective of interviewees and their view on Islam, a very consistent overview of what leads to leaving this Islam, as well as a similarly consistent set of concerns and fears for its consequences. These observations make for useful inquiries into calls to improve the areas and the effort to protect apostates, as well to rethink immigration policies in the context of protecting the culture and national security. - Stephen C. Coughlin is an attorney, a decorated intelligence officer and specialist on Islamic law, and Senior Fellow at the Center for Security Policy
'Any discussion of individuals leaving Islam can be considered controversial, and may attract unwanted attention. The material is extremely timely. Interest in the subject is growing substantially at the government and NGO-level, while in universities it is growing cautiously. The subject area is not yet widely taught, but is beginning to be better addressed.' - Mateusz Stpie, Professor, Department of the Sociology of Law, Jagiellonian University, Poland
'The content is global as this is simply the nature of one of the main research problems under scrutiny today. Considering huge immigration from Muslim countries we should expect that acts of leaving Islam may happen any time anywhere and that the population of ex-Muslims would grow.' - Ryszard M. Machnikowski, Professor and Dean of the Faculty of International and Political Studies at the University of Lodz, Poland
