List of former Muslims

Part of an unorganized religion or no religion

Became non-religious

• Mustafa Kemal Atatürk – Turkish field marshal, statesman, secularist reformer, and author. Sources point out that Atatürk was a religious skeptic and a freethinker. While his specific religious views are unclear, he was a non-doctrinaire deist. According to Atatürk, the Turkish people do not know what Islam really is and do not read the Quran. People are influenced by Arabic sentences that they do not understand, and because of their customs they go to mosques. When the Turks read the Quran and think about it, they will leave Islam. Atatürk described Islam as the religion of the Arabs in his own work titled Vatandaş için Medeni Bilgiler by his own critical and nationalist views.
• Nyamko Sabuni – politician in Sweden
• Safdar Hashmi – Indian Communist playwright and founding member of Jana Natya Manch.
• Sajid Javid – British politician
• Zayn Malik – English singer of Pakistani and English-Irish descent and boy band One Direction.
• Mansiya V.P. – Bharatnatyam exponent from Kerala, India. Non-conformist on religious front but believes in God.
• Luai Ahmed – Yemeni-Swedish journalist, columnist and influencer considered as a controversial critic of the radical Islam and the anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel inherent in it. He is affiliated with Sweden Democrats, a Swedish right-wing nationalist party. Ahmed is openly gay and considers himself Zionist.
• Nas Daily – Israeli-Palestinian vlogger, he identifies as a non-religious Muslim.

  Became deists

• Ahmad Kasravi – notable Iranian linguist, historian, and reformer.
• Ehsan Jami – former politician and founder of Central Committee for Ex-Muslims.

  Became agnostics">Agnosticism">agnostics

• Alyque Padamsee – Indian theatre personality and ad filmmaker. He was the father of Indian advertising. He was agnostic.
• Fareed Zakaria – Indian-American CNN host. He is a self described secular and non practicing Muslim. He added: "My views on faith are complicated—somewhere between deism and agnosticism. I am completely secular in my outlook."
• Ibn al-Rawandi – early skeptic of Islam.
• Ibn Warraq – British Pakistani secularist author and founder of the Institute for the Secularisation of Islamic Society.
• Kia Abdullah – British novelist and travel writer. In 2020, she stated that she identifies as an agnostic and a secular Muslim.
• Orhan Pamuk – Turkish novelist and screenwriter. Describes himself as a cultural Muslim while not believing in a personal connection to God.
• Seema Mustafa – Indian journalist, Political Editor and Delhi Bureau Chief of The Asian Age newspaper.
• Sohail Ahmed – Former radical Islamist. He now describes himself as a cultural Muslim who rejects the truth claims of Islam.
• Wafa Sultan – Syrian-born American psychiatrist and controversial critic of Islam. She describes herself as a "Secular Humanist"
• Dr. Younus Shaikh – Pakistani medical doctor, human rights activist, rationalist and free-thinker.

  Became atheists">Atheism">atheists

• Abdullah al-Qasemi – one of the most controversial intellectuals in the Arab world because of his radical change from defending Salafism to defending atheism and rejecting organized religion.
• Afshin Ellian – Iranian-Dutch professor of law, philosopher, and poet.
• Ahmed Harqan – Egyptian human rights activist and outspoken atheist.
• Ahmed Sharif – Bangladeshi humanist book seller, human rights activist and secular humanist.
• Al-Ma'arri – blind Arab philosopher, poet and writer.
• Alexander Aan – Indonesian atheist and ex-Muslim of Minang descent, who was attacked by a mob and arrested in 2012 for posting "God does not exist" and other antireligious writings on Facebook, attracting international attention.
• Ali A. Rizvi – Pakistani-born Canadian physician, writer and ex-Muslim activist
• Ali Soilih – Comorian socialist revolutionary; president of the Comoros.
• Ali Dashti – Iranian rationalist and member of Iranian Senate.
• Ali Sina – pseudonym of the founder of several anti-Islam and anti-Muslim websites.
• Aliaa Magda Elmahdy – Egyptian internet activist and women's rights advocate.
• Aliyah Saleem – British secular education campaigner, writer and market researcher, activist and co-founder of advocacy group Faith to Faithless.
• Anwar Shaikh – British author of Pakistani descent.
• Armin Navabi – Iranian-born atheist and secular activist, author, podcaster and vlogger, founder of Atheist Republic
• Aroj Ali Matubbar – self-taught Bangladeshi philosopher
• Arzu Toker – German-speaking writer, journalist, publicist, translator of Turkish descent, cofounder of the Central Council of Ex-Muslims in Germany.
• As'ad Abu Khalil – Lebanese professor of political science at California State University, Stanislaus. He describes himself as an "atheist secularist".
• Asif Mohiuddin – Bangladeshi blogger and secularist
• Ayaz Nizami – Pakistani Islamic scholar became atheist, founder of realisticapproach.org. an Urdu website about atheism, and Vice President of Atheist & Agnostic Alliance Pakistan He is currently detained under the charges of blasphemy and could face the death penalty.
• Ayman Odeh – Israeli politician
• Aziz Nesin – popular Turkish humorist and author of more than 100 books.
• Barack Obama Sr. – Kenyan senior governmental economist, and the father of 44th U.S. President Barack Obama.
• Bisi Alimi – Nigerian gay rights activist based in the United Kingdom
• Catherine Perez-Shakdam – French journalist, political analyst and commentator; formerly a convert to Islam, born to a Jewish family
• Bonya Ahmed – Bangladeshi-American author, humanist activist and blogger, wife of Avijit Roy; hacked to death after receiving threats related to his promotion of secular views.
• Cenk Uygur – American political commentator of Turkish descent and the main host of the liberal talk radio show The Young Turks.
• E. A. Jabbar – Indian ex-Muslim, orator, writer, retired school teacher of Kerala. Editor of Yukthiyugam Malayalam Magazine
• Ebru Umar – Dutch columnist of Turkish descent, critic of Islam and of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
• Enver Hoxha – Communist dictator who declared Albania the first atheist state, and who has been identified as an "arch-atheist".
• Fatima Sana Shaikh – Indian actress
• Faik Konitza – Albanian stylist, critic, publicist and political figure that had a tremendous impact on Albanian writing and on Albanian culture at the time.
• Faisal Saeed Al Mutar – Iraqi-born satirist, human rights activist, writer, founder of the Global Secular Humanist Movement.
• Farhan Akhtar – Indian actor, singer, songwriter, playback singer, producer and television host.
• Fauzia Ilyas – founder of Atheist & Agnostic Alliance Pakistan
• Hafid Bouazza – Moroccan-Dutch writer.
• Hamed Abdel-Samad – German-Egyptian political scientist, historian and author.
• Hassan Bahara – Moroccan-Dutch writer.
• Humayun Azad – Bangladeshi author, poet, scholar and linguists.
• Inkulab – Tamil rationalist poet/writer and Marxist activist. Born as Sakul Hameed.
• Irfan Habib – Indian historian.
• Ismael Adham – Egyptian writer and philosopher.
• Ismail Kadare – world-renowned Albanian writer.
• Ismail Mohamed – Egyptian atheist human rights activist, host of The Black Ducks programme.
• Javed Akhtar – noted Indian writer and lyricist.
• Kacem El Ghazzali – Moroccan-Swiss writer and activist.
• Kanan Makiya – Iraqi-American academic and Islamic and Middle Eastern scholar.
• Kareem Amer – Egyptian blogger.
• Kumail Nanjiani – Pakistani American stand-up comic and actor.
• Lounès Matoub – Algerian Berber Kabyle singer.
• Maryam Namazie – Iranian communist, political activist and leader of the British apostate-organization Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain.
• Massin Kevin Labidi – Dutch atheist activist of Tunisian descent, known for criticism of Islam.
• Mina Ahadi – Iranian-born pacifist, founder of the German apostate-organization "Zentralrat der Ex-Muslime".
• Mirza Fatali Akhundov – 19th century Azerbaijani playwright and philosopher.
• Muhammad Syed – Pakistani American speaker and political activist. Co-founder of Ex-Muslims of North America.
• Nahla Mahmoud – Sudanese-born British writer, secularist, environmentalist, and human rights activist, and spokesperson for the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain.
• Parvin Darabi – Iranian born American activist, writer and woman's rights activist.
• Pelin Batu – Turkish actress and television personality
• Rahaf Mohammed – Saudi Arabian refugee in Canada whose January 2019 flight attracted international attention and involved diplomatic intervention.
• Ramiz Alia – Albanian communist leader and former president of Albania.
• Rana Ahmad – Saudi Arabian refugee in Germany, author, women's rights activist and founder of the Atheist Refugee Relief.
• Razib Khan – Bangladeshi-American writer in population genetics and consumer genomics.
• Sagopa Kajmer – Turkish rap musician, songwriter, record producer and DJ
• Salman Rushdie – British-Indian novelist and essayist.
• Sam Touzani – Belgian actor, TV presenter, choreographer and comedian with Moroccan roots, critic of both the far-right and Islamism.
• Sarah Haider – American writer, speaker, political activist and co-founder of Ex-Muslims of North America.
• Sarmad Kashani – seventeenth-century mystical poet and sufi saint, arrived from Persia to India, beheaded for assumed heresy by the Mughal emperor, Aurungzebe. Sarmad renounced Judaism, briefly converting to Islam and then Hinduism. He later denounced all religions and rejected belief in gods.
• Sofia Ashraf, Indian rapper and actress.
• Sibel Kekilli – German actress of Turkish origin, known for her role as 'Shae' in Game of Thrones. Kekili was raised as a Muslim, but does not belong to any religion anymore, and although she stated she respects all religions, has criticised the physical mistreatment of women in Islam.
• Sherif Gaber – Egyptian political activist and blogger.
• Taslima Nasrin – Bangladeshi author, feminist, human rights activist and secular humanist.
• Turan Dursun – Turkish author and Islamic scholar. He was once a Turkish mufti and later authored many books critical of Islam.
• Urfi Javed, Indian actress and model.
• Valon Behrami – Kosovo-born Swiss professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for English club Watford.
• Waleed Al-Husseini – Palestinian philosopher, essayist, writer, blogger and co-founder of .
• Yasmine Mohammed – Canadian-born human rights activist, founder of Free Hearts, Free Minds and author of Unveiled: How Western Liberals Empower Radical Islam.
• Zackie Achmat – South African anti-HIV/AIDS activist; founder of the Treatment Action Campaign.
• Zara Kay – Tanzanian-Australian activist, founder of Faithless Hijabi.
• Zineb El Rhazoui – Moroccan-born French journalist and former columnist for Paris-based satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
• Zoya Akhtar – Indian director and screenwriter.