Faith to Faithless, with Imtiaz Shams | Chichester Humanists

 Registration is closed for this event
December 21st, 2021 19:00   --   20:30

Leaving a religion – apostasy – sometimes comes at a cost: rejection from family, loss of community, guilt, existential crisis, etc.

Apostate – a person who has renounced their religious beliefs.

Faith to Faithless is an organisation that gives support to apostates from all religious backgrounds, but particularly those who have left or are in the process of leaving a high-control religion or cult.

In this talk, join Chichester Humanists to hear from Faith to Faithless co-founder Imtiaz Shams, on his journey within Islam, and finally out of it. He will describe the difficulties faced by himself and the other apostates he came across in his work building Faith to Faithless.

Imtiaz Shams is a serial entrepreneur who has been using his experiences to help apostates who leave conservative religions. In 2012, he began creating ‘underground railroad’ networks for ex-Muslims around the world. In 2015, he co-founded Faith to Faithless, an organisation working to reduce the stigma faced by apostates of all religions. It has been featured on the BBC and in Vice, the Guardian, and The Times, and has helped thousands find a place for themselves in a world that often dehumanises the non-religious. Faith to Faithless later became a part of Humanists UK. Imtiaz currently serves as its Chair.

Imtiaz believes humanism is vital in the fight to bring happiness to apostates who face discrimination from their families, their community, and the state. He has a management degree from the London School of Economics. He tweets at @imtishams.