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Kerala Minister Shaji's Prophecy: Muslim Women Challenging Islam
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News18•30-09-2026, 17:10
Kerala Minister Shaji's Prophecy: Muslim Women Challenging Islam
- •Kerala Minister KM Shaji, an IUML state secretary, noted a "dangerous" trend of Muslim girls following atheist pages, urging community bodies to "guide" them.
- •While surveys like Pew India's 2019 and 2025 show low rates of religious switching in India, the article suggests these might be misleading due to a culture of silence around apostasy.
- •High female literacy and college enrollment in Kerala empower Muslim women to challenge orthodoxy, with many seeking personal freedom from practices like burqa and easy talaq.
- •Ex-Muslim groups and social media platforms are thriving, with prominent women like Jasla Madassery and Jamitha Teacher leaving Islam, reflecting a growing pattern.
- •The article posits that online curiosity among young women, influenced by global events like Iranian protests, could lead to significant social and political changes not yet captured by surveys.
Key Questions Answered
Minister KM Shaji expressed concern that Muslim girls form a large share of followers of atheist pages in Kerala, describing it as a dangerous trend and urging community bodies to guide them constructively.
Pew Research surveys showed that 95 percent or more of Indian adults belong to the faith they were raised in, with only about one in a hundred individuals raised Muslim leaving their religion.
Former Muslim women in Kerala have bluntly pointed to inequality within Islamic texts and daily life as their reason for leaving the faith, utilizing social media platforms and YouTube channels to connect.
