if a person changes his religion from
Islam to any other religion the
punishment should be death I was
attacked from nowhere I didn't see it
coming
I knew I had to get out or that was it
what do you think your brother will do
if they found out you and aces killing
me
this is Nisa Hussein a father of six in
November last year he was going to his
car when this happened two hooded men
brutally beat him to the ground he was
left with broken bones and hospitalized
he says he was attacked because he left
the faith of Islam and converted to
Christianity since then he says he's
faced continual harassment from his
local Muslim community in the north of
England in the months leading up to the
attack mr. Hussein placed hidden cameras
around his home filming what he felt was
threats against him and his family do
you feel like it's been an active
religious hate campaign to cleanse you
out this engine yeah without a shadow of
a doubt actually because as soon as my
conversion seems to spread like wildfire
and then before you know it you're
shunned isolated and then treated with
contempt at a 2000 onwards had three
cars written off the almost daily abuse
intimidation harassment bricks thrown
through the bay window swore that's
battered my wife especially with my
daughter's been intimidated harassed and
then things are escalated to such a
degree that you literally are having to
flee For Your Lives actually the attack
was actually very sudden and I just saw
this thought just swing this pickaxe
handle straight from my head and I put
my hand up to block it actually and my
hand suffered fractures and a real
backwards and ended up falling and then
being concussed being pummeled and I
suffered a fracture to my kneecap we
have lived with death threats and
threats to our welfare and safety I
never really in visited it would come in
such a fashion just outside my front
gate
Nissa Hussein is one of many Muslims
choosing to leave Islam around the world
people who leave the Islamic faith can
face state persecution and also violence
at the hands of their local communities
so informal networks have come together
linked by social media to help X Muslims
who are in danger vice news has gained
access to the london-based group faith
to faithless it started by me thinking
that was the only one in the world who'd
left Islam because I didn't know you
could do that and quickly I realized
online at least that that's not true as
I started meeting one person 10 people
20 people I realize how many people
there were and then it kind of it did
snowball it just went like you know so
what kind of problems are you dealing
with emotional abuse people being kicked
out by their families a lot of
psychological trauma as an example this
Ramadan that just finished I had to deal
with five different attempts at suicide
and just just in one month but on the
extreme side it's things like kidnapping
forced marriage risk from their family
or the wider community
although faith to faithless is very
private Sarah is one person prepared to
speak openly
she says she lost her faith around the
age of 12 and things came to a head two
years ago so when I was 17 I had a
boyfriend my first boyfriend
and unfortunately my parents found out
quite early on into the relationship as
well and basically my parents threatened
me with they're gonna pull me out of
college they're gonna marry me off it
felt like lockdown I knew I had to
either get out or that was it so I
didn't really have anywhere to go they'd
already taken away anything I could use
to contact anyone else but luckily while
I was actually looking for a way to kill
myself actually I found my old phone
which had some old numbers and I left I
literally ran out the house through
fields as far as I could
now I talked to my family and I kind of
feel like we don't need each other
anymore and we're never going to be
quite right again so that's quite
difficult but yeah I have had quite a
few suicide attempts since unfortunately
since leaving your parents leaving yeah
when you were back down the 17
it's mainly loneliness feeling lonely
feeling like no one wants you know
as serious as the situation can be in
the UK for X Muslims living abroad the
repercussions can be even worse a
comprehensive report released by
humanist organization stated that in 13
countries across the world all of the
Muslim states apostasy carries the death
penalty and in other countries like
Bangladesh and Tunisia people who have
left the faith are often attacked by
extremists MTS shows me messages from
one case he handles a young syrian
atheist call rana
she says she comes from a very religious
family who live in Saudi Arabia I think
I first spoke to her actually about a
year ago she was having some troubles
and she wanted to get out after her
family made her attend the Grand Mosque
in Mecca she secretly took this photo
and sent it to a Facebook site for
atheists where it was posted when she
first did that when she was certain
Southey that went completely viral she's
now on the run and has escaped as far as
Turkey MTS's Network is helping her as
she's desperate I'm good you took a
photo that said ain't this Republic yes
Republic its website under Facebook and
this was therefore an unbeliever
deferred for Xbox Lima Christian it's
just any kind of religion the Kaaba the
most holiest place was in the short why
did you decide that that morning or that
day what made you post that photo so
this message I want to say I am NOT
Muslim I never believed it but I am here
I don't have choice to come here I can't
tell my mother I am a Muslim or they can
tell my father my family I am a Muslim
is very strict on the one day when he
think I have boyfriend in Saudi Arabia
she would like a machine in my room to
make recording so he put a secret tape
in you try to beat he hit you he beat
you what's the last thing that your dad
or your brother said to you they said we
will come to you we will find you
so Rana you're in Turkey now what are
your plans next thank you so much for
talking to us
Imtiaz his group and the Atheist
Republic in America set up a
crowdfunding site for Rana and raised
five thousand dollars to help support
her in August we flew out with Imtiaz to
meet her
so mta's and i are on our way to meet
wanna for the very first time to see
what we matthias can do to try and help
her we've asked her to meet us in
one of the largest port towns off the
coast of the Mediterranean he's Mia was
very close to the Greek borders so very
close to Europe but actually lana is
still in day
so nice to finally meet you she's
changed her appearance because she's
nervous the local Syrian population may
find out who she is
this is Ronis flats it's through the
crowdfunding that she's been able to pay
rent on this place but she doesn't have
long we have a three weeks cerana can
you show me around run out all this
stuff here you packed with you from
Saudi no only Maya buyer and t-shirt
what's the plan
if I get any feyza i can't go to your
room she says her family knows she's in
Turkey but they don't know that she ran
away because of her atheism what do you
think your parents will will do like
your dad or your brother will do if they
find out you're an ASIS killing me maybe
looking serious over lunch Rana shows me
a video she recorded of her first day in
Turkey and you were saying you want to
sit down what did you say your dream was
what other dangers of living here what
are you really worried about a my family
no I am they know I am here it's very
dangerous because I think my brother
will be come here if he didn't kill me
he will back me to Saudi Arabia and
you've got the Syrian community here so
it's also very dangerous please I will
not speak with any Syrian people here
and I changed my look to don't look like
like a Syrian girl or a doctor Imtiyaz
is trying to find a refugee charity that
can help runner in Turkey but she's
thinking of having herself smuggled
illegally into Europe despite the
dangers so we spoke to some people who
work in this field area the problem with
illegal is that because you go into the
ocean sometimes or through the truck
a lot of people die you know that I'm
sure but also you're a woman and is a
very very different danger for women you
know I understand if you don't have a
choice you don't have a choice
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when I was in Saudi Arabia I dream talk
alone in the street like a normal people
like all girls dream about that in Saudi
Arabia walking home without
khabar without a job without hip-hop can
you tell me why you're doing this why is
it so important to you I only want to
live like a normal baby without afraid
someone maybe you know I said you are
atheist and can you without afraid your
family it's no you are not a believer is
there anything that you miss about Saudi
Arabia my family I know they are now
world about me I'm some my big brother
that want to kill me but I missed my
time with my family I miss my family a
mother food and I hope one day I can
when I come here the first day I only
stand up in the street and take another
one
higher honor Kiyomi hey you sound
you sound exhausted it's October now and
Rana skypes MTS she says he's getting
desperate and has decided to be smuggled
into Europe have you spoken to anyone
about other routes out of Turkey and you
guys trust the people who are gonna take
you know yes or maybe her heading down
to Jeremy there's a lot of risk there
but at the same time there's also risk
of things like self-harm she's been
feeling very suicidal and you can
understand because she don't have a job
she have money she's got a month left on
rent a couple of weeks later Rana starts
sending us videos she takes on her phone
tomorrow or after tomorrow I will you go
to Europe I feel afraid
it's dangerous trip but I didn't have
choice
[Music]
today I leave my house
[Music]
the smugglers take her to a beach on the
coast of Turkey but that's all we hear
from Rana for a while after a few days
she makes contact again so the last we
heard from Rana was two days ago
I've just got messages come through on
Facebook she said that she was at the
beach and four boats had set off for
Greece and she was supposed to be on the
fifth boat and apparently the moment she
was supposed to get on that boat the
police came she needed me here we are
skiff for him they say about different
she so it looks like she's gonna be in
Turkey for a while longer
in November we get more videos from Rana
she's trying to cross into Europe once
again they're driven to a beach and left
there alone it was very cold and now
relied on the tyre tour myself the
smugglers turn up and Ranas secretly
films as she hands over the money
she's made it to a small Greek island
first and then on to a vote to Athens
over the next two months Rana continues
to send us updates she travels through
Macedonia Serbia Slovakia Croatia
Austria and finally into Germany and I
fly out to see her so this is Rev on has
ended up in Cologne in Germany it's New
Years Eve she's in a refugee camp about
an hour from here and she's on her way
to meet us now
hi Rana it's poppy can you hear me now
hello I've seen you stay there stay
there
you've made it you left Saudi Arabia you
left Turkey and now you're here
what does it feel like you're in this
market listening to this after
everything that you've been through and
everything you sacrifice how many
[Music]
Ronna has now applied for asylum in
Germany but many more people around the
world face persecution like grief Badawi
and ashraf fired in prison in Saudi
Arabia charged with apostasy meanwhile
MTR says that since we started filming
with him last year he receives four more
cases every week and his group faith to
faithless is about to start a tour of
British universities where X Muslims
will come out and share their stories
[Music]