comment by Jerry Gordon

How sore is the subject of apostasy within the Dutch Muslim community?

Very sore. That is obvious from the reactions I get; mosque leaders proclaim that I am an incestuous monster and a dickhead.

Also, I have received over three hundred e-mails from ex-Muslims. This is a gigantic problem. Muslims who renounce their religion loose their family and friends. Islam is not a religion, it is a sect. It doesn’t even let go off its followers.

I have read the most heart-breaking stories imaginable, for instance from an Iraqi guy who told me: ‘Ever since I left Islam, I have a major conflict with my parents, whom I haven’t seen for two years. I have lost all of my friends and family’.

I know many people who have moved abroad because they couldn’t cope with life in The Netherlands, because their communities’views are so strict. A girl wrote to me that she cries day and night because her parents don’t allow her to fall away from her belief and force her to wear a headscarf. That hurts. I have to admit that I am touched by stories like these.

Rotterdam Times Ehsan Jami April 03 2008, EuropeNewsInterview by Lula Ahrens

The controversial PvdA politican and founder of the Committee for Ex–Muslims Ehsan Jami (22) dominated the headlines this summer. Jami, who has called prophet Mohammed a “criminal” and Islam a “sect”, went into hiding after he was allegedly assaulted by three men of immigrant descent on 4 August.

He currently receives the highest possible level of protection from the government. That means that it is virtually impossible for the media to contact him. The Times spoke to him a week before the dramatic series of events enfolded – a remarkable coincidence. Ehsan Jami on Islam, emancipation, “Allah’s PvdA” and the effects of his controversial initiative on his personal life.

The Central Committee for Ex-Muslims supports lapsed Muslims, but you also target the Islam itself.

The aim of the committee is to support lapsed Muslims. Apart from that, my personal aim is to break taboos within Islamic belief. I want to raise the womens’ rights issue and promote the acceptation of Islamic gays. In short, I want to dedicate myself to the integration and the emancipation process of Muslims. Those are the issues I really want to fight for. Muslims are not pitiful; their own responsibility must be pointed out to them. That is not a rightist theme, it is a neutral theme. This is about our constitution. The PvdA has very weak knees when it comes to this issue, and delivers a completely wrong message.

Nevertheless, you stand up for the PvdA leadership. Why PvdA?

I am a social liberal, and want to help the less fortunate. I am liberal regarding integration and emancipation issues. The PvdA has no straightforward story. They are constantly abreast of things. I want to formulate a clear stance and defend that. Do I want to reform the party in that sense? Yes, I do.

How sore is the subject of apostasy within the Dutch Muslim community?

Very sore. That is obvious from the reactions I get; mosque leaders proclaim that I am an incestuous monster and a dickhead.

Also, I have received over three hundred e-mails from ex-Muslims. This is a gigantic problem. Muslims who renounce their religion loose their family and friends. Islam is not a religion, it is a sect. It doesn’t even let go off its followers.

I have read the most heart-breaking stories imaginable, for instance from an Iraqi guy who told me: ‘Ever since I left Islam, I have a major conflict with my parents, whom I haven’t seen for two years. I have lost all of my friends and family’.

I know many people who have moved abroad because they couldn’t cope with life in The Netherlands, because their communities’views are so strict. A girl wrote to me that she cries day and night because her parents don’t allow her to fall away from her belief and force her to wear a headscarf. That hurts. I have to admit that I am touched by stories like these.