A few weeks ago I had a conversation with Mufassil Islam on my YouTube channel. Mufassil is a former apostate, and a famous one, who later converted back to Islam. He had a video challenging ex-Muslims to a debate so I offered to have a conversation with him. However, In this article, I would like to discuss the response Mufassil got from the audience.
I always felt that once a person leaves Islam you can never go back. At least not the same way. Something has to change. I know people that have gone back to Islam but it’s always different. They don’t take the stories literally anymore. Or they are perennialist now and think there are goodness and truth in all religions. And I think that is very true here. In the spirit of trying to understand Mufassil’s new position on Islam, I agreed to have a discussion with him. Straight up this was a great conversation. Mufassil was polite and respectful.
Now the problem is despite his friendly approach, he got nothing but abuse from my audience. 
Comment after comment people attacked him, calling him mad, calling him delusional, a crackpot, an opportunist, a fraud, a mole, a jihad plant. Some were saying that he converted back to the religion for personal benefits like a woman or because his dad has land in Bangladesh.
NOW, WHO DOES THAT REMIND ME OF? WHAT DOES THAT SOUND LIKE? That sounds exactly like what I’ve been hearing about my decision to leave Islam. The stupidest attacks like “oh he didn’t want to pray and fast”. That I left Islam for a mortgage. Blah blah blah blah. I find this so incredibly stupid. Just shut up. Stop attacking people. Attack arguments. Mufassil is a human being that deserves the same respect and decency as anyone else. If you don’t agree with him, respond to what he’s saying not belittle and demean him.
By the end of the conversation, I realized that the Islam he follows is not orthodox Sunni Islam, but rather a sort of reformed version. He is taking precedent from the Hanafi school of thought that actually prefers the Quran over hadith and he considers many of the hadith suspect, especially if they contradict the Quran. He even said there are no miracles. This reminds me of the approach of Mufti Abu Layth. A more rational approach to religion. I support both of them and the reason why is because their religious views are more humanistic, more in line with secularism and human rights.
Mufassil said he does not agree with apostasy killings because they are not in the Quran. He struck me as a perennialist, as he said even Hindus, Christians, and atheists could go to paradise if they are sincere truth seekers. If anything, what he’s doing is a net positive for the Ummah. Whether he’s successful or not, wouldn’t you rather there were a thousand people who agree with him and adopt a rationalistic humane approach to Islam?
I made a video a year ago where I said the very same thing I will say now. Leave him alone. It’s his right to believe or disbelieve. What kind of hypocrite attacks someone for converting back to Islam while whining about freedom of religion? WHO CARES what religion he follows. Look at his arguments. He is not following a dogmatic version of Islam. If you truly believe in freedom for apostates and freedom to leave Islam, you need to be consistent and accept his decision to return to Allah. I don’t buy his arguments, but I respect him as a human being.
Why are people like this? Because we are tribalistic. We see atheism, Christianity, and Islam as teams to join or leave. When someone leaves our team, we get mad. We wanna abuse them. We don’t realize we are doing the exact same thing that is done to us every day. But alas that is how humans are. My friends, we need to be more enlightened.
You can support your friend in becoming Muslim and also remind him gently that Islam is nonsense. It’s possible to do both. That’s how my father treated me when I converted to Sunni Islam. He thought it was a bad decision, yet he was there for me when I needed to go to the mosque. And then one day I finally realized he was right all along about so many things he said. Yet he never forced it on me.
You don’t have to buy everything he says. You don’t have to agree with him. But at least be respectful.