Critical Findings · Post-Thesis Independent Analysis
Feelings of Muslimness are fluid, they are constantly changing, strengthening or weakening, and they can be affected by outside influences, for better or worse. Sometimes that "worse" results in our convert brothers and sisters leaving Islam.
Findings drawn from the 257 American female converts to Islam who completed both the quantitative and qualitative strands of the Feeling Muslim study · University of Georgia · IRB-approved.
From the Study
"Feelings of Muslimness are more than just fleeting feelings; they either work to build and strengthen the foundation of our Muslim identities or to weaken and erode it. So, the more converts receive positive nurture and care around their Muslimness, the greater the likelihood that their Muslimness, their state of being Muslim, will hold and strengthen."
Karla N. Kovacik · Feeling Muslim: Why It Matters presentation
New Finding · Slide 26
Every single respondent answered this question; there were no N/A responses. This matters: it shows that feelings of Muslimness at the moment of conversion are something every convert registers clearly, one way or the other. And the results revealed that these feelings are not static.
"This told me that these feelings of Muslimness are not static; they are something that can change, for better or worse." The fact that 53% did not feel Muslim instantly means that for the majority of converts, Muslim identity must be cultivated, and that cultivation depends heavily on what happens next.
The Pattern
Convert enters Muslim community: feeling uncertain, seeking belonging
Experiences isolation, rejection, lack of support, or cultural barriers
Feelings of Muslimness are repeatedly hindered: identity weakens
Fear. Doubt. Shame. Depression. "Am I still Muslim?" And sometimes, leaving Islam
Outside Influences · 80.54% Affected
An overwhelming 80.54% of respondents said yes: there were outside influences that either nurtured or hindered their feelings of Muslimness. These are their themes, in their own words.
When feelings are hindered
"Why am I going through this?
Why am I Muslim?
Am I still Muslim?"
When feelings are nurtured
"What can I do to nurture others?
Why did I wait so long?
I'm so glad I'm Muslim."
"The emergence of these themes reiterated that feelings of Muslimness are fluid. They are constantly changing and growing, strengthening or weakening, and they can be affected by outside influences, for better or worse. And sometimes that 'worse' results in our convert brothers and sisters leaving Islam."
Karla N. Kovacik · Feeling Muslim: Why It Matters presentation · Slide 31
The Most Critical Finding
Question 38 of the survey read: "Have you ever thought about leaving Islam? If no, please answer 'No'. If yes, please explain what led to these feelings." The responses revealed something far more significant, and far more heartbreaking, than even the raw numbers first suggested.
of 257 American female converts said yes: they had thought about leaving Islam.
of the 257 women had, in fact, thought about leaving Islam: a truly devastating statistic.
"Of the almost 70% of women who wrote 'No' that they had not thought about leaving Islam, a majority answered with a hard 'No' and did not go further. However, a significant percentage of that same group answered, 'No, but…' and went on to express that the thought had, in fact, entered their minds before, which changed the overall statistic drastically."
Karla N. Kovacik · Feeling Muslim: Why It Matters presentation · Slides 41 to 42First published in Project Lina: Bringing Our Whole Selves to Islam · Daybreak Press · October 29, 2020
The "No, but…" effect
Scholarly Note
The shift from ~30% to 42.8% is not a data error, it is a methodological insight. In a closed yes/no question, respondents who answered "No, but…" were technically reporting "no." But their elaborations told a different story: the thought had entered their minds, even if they did not identify it as seriously considering leaving.
This is the kind of nuance that only emerges from mixed-methods research, where qualitative responses are allowed to complicate, enrich, and sometimes overturn what quantitative data first appears to show. It is also why this study's open-ended questions were as important as its statistical ones.
Nearly half of American female converts to Islam have, at some point, considered leaving. That is not a statistic that can be set aside. It is a call to action for every Muslim community in America.
"Growth in grace is accomplished by slow degrees, and not per saltum... Why does the formation of an infant take nine months? Because God's method is to work by slow degrees."
Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī · Mathnawī · Book VI · tr. Reynold A. Nicholson
What Can We Do
Nearly 43% of American female converts have thought about leaving Islam. The data is clear. The question now is what Muslim communities choose to do with it.
A Note of Care
Some of these voices speak from deep loneliness, and some from despair. If they echo something in you, please know that you are not alone and that help exists within our community: the Khalil Center (Islamically integrated psychotherapy and spiritual care), Dr. Mazen Atassi and Maria Bachiri of Forward to Health (wholistic, relational, somatic-based counseling through the Re-membering the Heart method, healing the inner wounds beneath psychological, emotional, physical, and spiritual disturbance), Ruh (online therapy with Muslim clinicians), Naseeha (a Muslim mental health helpline), and Rabata’s Convert Care (one-on-one care sessions for convert women, in English, French, and Spanish). In the United States, calling or texting 988 reaches the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at any hour. Reaching out is not weakness; it is sunnah to seek the healer.