Who the Council of Ex-Muslims is#
The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB) was formed in 2007 to break the taboo around leaving Islam, to draw attention to the situation of ex-Muslims, and to challenge apostasy and blasphemy laws. It describes itself as standing for freedom of conscience and expression, equality and secularism, and against bigotry, racism and extremism. It is not a registered charity: it is a company limited by guarantee, registered at Companies House in 2012.
Its timeline describes support for hundreds of people afraid of being outed, harmed or sent back to danger, through one-to-one support, support groups and meet-ups, and letters of support for apostates seeking asylum.
Support groups and how to join#
Its groups run online in the evening on Wednesdays each month: a main mixed group, a women's group and a psychoeducational group, led by a counselling psychologist, with a short pre-joining session for newcomers. If you have never been to a session, CEMB asks you to email first; the address is on its contact page, which also has a web form and a London postal box. Membership is free and open to atheists and agnostics. The join form keeps your details private and lets you use a pen name if you do not want your name known.
In April 2026 CEMB warned that falling donations meant it might have to close. Its July 2026 post says new monthly donors and a grant mean it can continue its work for another year, and it was still listing events in October 2026.
Leaving to Live, its guide#
CEMB publishes nothing about changing your name. Its free guide, Leaving to Live, written by the psychologist who leads its groups and launched in September 2026, covers concealment and living a double life, shunning, coercive control, grief and identity, with chapters on putting safety before openness and on honour-based harm. The guide says it is not a substitute for individual legal, safeguarding or emergency advice.
If leaving Islam goes with a change of name#
Some people want to drop a name given at a conversion or at birth; others keep their name and change nothing. The law takes no view: no organisation will ask why you changed it, and anyone aged 16 or over can make a deed poll with GOV.UK's free wording. Changing your name after converting to a religion covers the rules on the name itself, which work the same in either direction.
The guide's point about safety first fits a name change well. A new name on bank cards, payslips or post can be noticed by people at home before you are ready. An ordinary deed poll is private, but enrolment publishes your old and new names and your address in The Gazette. Changing your name to stay safe sets out what is and is not public, and the order that keeps things quiet.
If you are in danger from family or community, call the police. Organisations working on honour-based abuse and forced marriage are listed with the domestic abuse and safety charities, and Faith to Faithless runs a helpline for people leaving any high-control religion.
This page describes what the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain publishes on its own website, read on 26 October 2026. It has not reviewed this page, and listing an organisation here does not mean it recommends this handbook or any deed poll service.
