This Week’s Updates Have Arrived

This week’s Unbelief Brief looks at the sobering aftermath of failed resistance and the consequences of unchecked theocratic rule. We examine Iran’s shift toward deeper totalitarian control, the risks posed by escaped ISIS detainees amid conflict in Syria, and the regional instability that follows when ideology overrides human rights. We also share EXMNA Insights from a recent discussion with EXMNA's President, Muhammad Syed, on moving past political distractions to focus on what truly matters: supporting those who leave Islam and strengthening secular alternatives that offer safety, meaning, and dignity.

Unbelief Brief

The extraordinarily bloody “uprising” in the Islamic Republic of Iran appears to have failed, and with it, most short-term hopes that the Iranian people might finally be liberated from theocratic authoritarianism. Reports indicate that the nation’s leadership is seeking to extend its global internet blackout indefinitely, severely restricting the transmission of information into and out of the country. This will allow the regime to oppress its citizens and enforce its brutal Islamist vision with even greater impunity than previously.

Iranians deserve to live in a free society where they determine their own destiny. It is plain that the majority no longer see the mullahs’ rule as either competent nor legitimate, and the regime does not have the consent of the governed. Regardless, any possibility of fundamental change to the system in a positive direction has been dimmed for the time being.

Meanwhile, Kurdish forces have abandoned one prison and one camp holding ISIS detainees in northeastern Syria. At least 120 prisoners have reportedly escaped. The number may be higher, with Kurdish forces claiming as many as 1,500 escapees, with a small number reportedly being re-captured. This comes as Syrian government forces have made advances into Kurdish-controlled regions, seeking to reintegrate these areas into Syria proper. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) claim they have abandoned the facilities in response to “international indifference” on the matter, while the Syrian government has accused them of attempting to manufacture a crisis.

The US claims it is facilitating the transportation of these prisoners out of Syria and into Iraq. Nonetheless, the matter of how much chaos the escaped fanatics can cause still hangs in the air. The possibility of situations like this to cause renewed instability is, in part, why some cautioned against unrestrained optimism following the fall of the Assad regime. For now, the hope is that the remaining escapees can be quickly apprehended and re-incarcerated without doing extensive damage. 

EXMNA Updates

EXMNA President Muhammad recently joined The Babylon Project for a wide-ranging conversation on what matters most: supporting people leaving Islam and making their voices harder to ignore. He argues that the left/right noise is a distraction compared to the real work—helping ex-Muslims come out safely, building community, and shifting the conversation in the places where the stakes are highest. The episode also digs into why “reforming” Islam keeps running into a wall, and why EXMNA focuses instead on strengthening secular alternatives that meet the needs that religion once filled.

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Until next week,

The Team at Ex-Muslims of North America

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