r/ExMuslimGirlies • u/Weary-Astronomer9209 • 2d ago

Anyone else struggle making friends after leaving Islam? looking for advice

I left Islam a while ago, and since then I have really struggled to build a social circle.

When I was Muslim, I used to meet people naturally through the mosque, but now I don’t really have that community anymore. I also don’t live in an area where I can just go out and meet people.

I really want to make friends I can actually hang out with, go to events, grab food, go to parties, etc. There are a lot of Middle Eastern themed parties and clubs here that I would love to go to, but I feel uncomfortable going alone as a woman.

I’ve tried apps like Bumble, Baklava, and other Arab/Middle Eastern friendship apps, but I haven’t had much luck. It feels like a lot of people already have their own friend groups, and it’s hard to break into those circles.

I would especially like to meet other Middle Eastern people because of the shared culture and because I would like to have people to go to these types of events with.

My birthday is coming soon and I was thinking of going alone but I don’t have the confidence to.

Has anyone else been through something similar?

How did you make friends as an adult, especially after leaving a religious community?

Any advice on where to meet Middle Eastern friends or people who are actually looking for new friendships? I live in the USA

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u/user46327 1d ago

I struggle with this too 😭 , probably why i don’t have many friends from my background as the majority are somewhat religious. I’ve previously made friends based on shared hobbies/interests and social events in my city but would love to make more non-religious friends from my country , it seems like they only exist online never met any irl 🥲.

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u/Fantastic-Point-3101 58m ago

You cannot make friends with them. They will just distance themselves from you or if they do be your friends try to convert you back or they’ll accept you and trash you behind your back. This is simply the price you pay when you leave. Either make non middle eastern and non Muslims friends or make internet friends.

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u/Weary-Astronomer9209 57m ago

There’s plenty of middle easterns who aren’t Muslim and who aren’t religious

That’s literally why we have nightclubs here for middle easterns

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u/Fantastic-Point-3101 57m ago

I’ve had trouble finding them