If you have begun to wonder whether the man in the white robe is who he said he was, if you have started reading the Gospels quietly, or turning over questions you cannot ask out loud, then before anything else we want to talk about your safety. This page is sober on purpose. We would far rather you were careful than brave.

How much danger you are in depends entirely on where you are and who is around you. In some parts of the world what you are doing carries no real risk at all. In others, leaving Islam is treated under the law as a grave offence, and even where the law is silent the pressure from family and community can be crushing: rejection, the loss of work, of a marriage, of children, and in the worst cases physical harm. It is worth being clear about where that threat comes from. It is not ordinary Muslims, the great majority of whom are gentle and reasonable people. It comes from specific legal regimes, from organised extremists, and sometimes, painfully, from those closest to the seeker. Only you can read your own situation, and you should read it honestly rather than hopefully.

Protect your privacy before you do anything else

Before you breathe a word to a single person, secure how you read and write. Our full Safe Place Pledge sets this out in detail, but the essentials are not complicated:

  • Use a VPN or the Tor Browser. Either one hides what you are reading from anyone watching your network.
  • Browse privately. A private or incognito window keeps these pages out of your device's history.
  • Use a separate email and a pseudonym. You never have to give your real identity to read, to ask a question, or to talk with us.
  • Move to an encrypted channel for any real conversation, such as Signal or another end-to-end encrypted app.
  • Clear your history afterward, if you were not already browsing privately.

There is no rush, so go slowly

A dream, or a first encounter with the Gospels, can leave a person feeling they have to act right now. They almost never have to. Experienced workers among Muslim-background believers consistently advise the opposite of haste: take your time, grow in understanding, and let conviction settle quietly before it ever costs you anything. You can follow Jesus in your own heart long before you say a word about it to anyone. Whom you tell, and when, and how, is entirely yours to decide with care, and it is not a thing that should be forced out of you by a single rush of feeling.

Choosing who to tell, and when

When the time does come, begin with the safest person you know, if there is one, someone who has already shown you that they can hold a confidence and will not put you in danger. In a great many situations the wisest first conversation is not with anyone in your immediate community at all, but with someone outside it who can listen and pray with you at no risk to you. That, in part, is what we are here for.

You are not walking this alone

Many thousands of people have travelled this exact road before you, including some whose stories come out of places as hard as Iran. If you would like someone simply to listen, to answer your questions honestly, and to go only as far as you want to go, you can write to us privately. We will never share your information without your permission, never publish your story without your explicit consent, and never sell or track anything about you. And if you are still sitting with what your dream might have meant, you can begin here.

Common questions

Can I follow Christ secretly for now?

Many believers in hostile settings live quietly for a long time, growing in faith in private before they disclose anything to anyone. Your own circumstances, not someone else's timetable, should govern that choice.

What if my family already suspects something?

Put your safety first, secure your privacy, and consider talking it through with someone outside the situation who can help you think clearly before you say anything at home. You can reach us in confidence.

Where are the practical safety steps spelled out?

Our Safe Place Pledge lays out exactly how this site protects you, and how to protect yourself, while you read and write.