Sarah Haider

Sarah Haider is an American writer, public speaker, and political activist. She cofounded the advocacy group Ex-Muslims of North America (EXMNA), which seeks to help former Muslims. She is the former executive director for EXMNA.

Personal life Haider was born in Karachi, Pakistan in a Muhajir Twelver Shia family. Her family moved to the United States when she was seven years old and she was raised in Houston, Texas. She was a devout Muslim as a child. In a 2017 interview with the blog Gene Expression, she said of her religious participation:

She became an atheist at the age of 16.

Her father has since become an atheist as well. Haider described the journey to atheism with her father to the Reason Rally in 2016 as a long series of debates spanning over a decade. However, it was not until her father discovered Facebook groups of other Pakistani atheists that had active members who were his age that he felt comfortable leaving Islam. She now advises ex-Muslims to find their family secular peers to make them more comfortable leaving religion. She currently lives in Washington, DC.

Activism

In 2013, Haider and Muhammad Syed co-founded Ex-Muslims of North America (EXMNA), an advocacy organization and online community which aims to normalize religious dissent and to helping create local support communities for those who have left Islam. They have stated that Islamic "apostates live with a level of threat that influences every aspect of life," because when someone leaves the faith they often lose their community and social support including their mosque, their friends, and even potentially their family. This is the reason why EXMNA believes that it is very important to normalize dissent in religious communities and why they have created a network of social support for those who chose to leave Islam. Due to the fear of apostates being "outed," EXMNA has a lengthy screening process to ensure the security and safety of EXMNA members. She argued in the negative, that it has not failed, alongside Grimes and against Anna Khachiyan and Louise Perry.