What the jahannam (hell) are Haram Doodles?

Launched in March 2022 by Sammy, Haram Doodles is a collection of forbidden doodles, comics, stories and memes created in collaboration with courageous ExMuslims using a feminist, humanist, sometimes cheeky, approach.

Haram Doodles are freely and publicly available online and in protest of Islam and its strict rules and restrictions on freedom, gender, sexuality, critical thinking, science, art and life itself.

Sammy, the doodler behind Haram Doodles, is an ExMuslim atheist, artist and activist who grew up in the U.S. as a first-generation South Asian Muslim immigrant. She left Islam over a decade ago because she's a woman.

With a coalition of ex-Muslims and activists, she organized the first ever "ExMuslim Awareness Month" in 2022, an event now in its fourth year. She volunteers with the Ex-Muslims International coalition and is a 2025-2027 Borgenicht Fellow.

You can find Haram Doodles on Instagram, TikTok, BlueSky and X.

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Haram Doodles helped organize the first ever ExMuslim Awareness Month in December 2022

With a coalition of ExMuslims and ExMuslim activists, leaders and organizations, she organized the first ever ‘ExMuslim Awareness Month’ in December 2022 following ‘Islamophobia Awareness Month’ in November. ExMuslim Awareness Month is now observed annually to honour ExMuslims, celebrate dissent, and demand our freedom from Islam.

Haram Doodles is proud to be part of the Ex-Muslims International coalition.

Please download (right-click, save) and share these doodles freely. Tag on Instagram as @haramdoodles, on X or Twitter @haramdoodles and/or mention this website, HaramDoodles.com.

Why "Ex" Muslim? Who are these ExMuslims?

The "Ex" makes it publicly known that we left Islam despite the religion forbidding, discouraging and threatening punishment for apostasy.

This 7th century religious control on freedom of and from religion is what influences Muslims to implement apostasy and blasphemy laws in their homes and countries. Ask any Muslim what Islam says about people who criticize, abandon, mock or disbelieve Islam.

ExMuslims and atheists are considered perhaps one of, if not, the worst enemy of Islam. Apostasy and blasphemy in Islam are not ok and punishable, even by death depending on the country.

Check out this persecution map tracking "hate and violence motivated by Islamic intolerance" from the ExMuslims of North America.

Since Islam was formed and gained power to colonize people and lands, Islamist Muslim leaders in Muslim homes, communities and governments have upheld, institutionalized and perpetuated the divinely sanctioned hate and harm for people who choose their freedom to question, disbelieve and leave Islam.

Meanwhile, ExMuslims are regular people, LGBTQ+, women and men like you and me, who no longer believe or follow Islam. Islam calls us murtad (an apostate, one who gives up faith) in Arabic.

ExMuslims leave for various reasons, like women and LGBTQ personally experiencing gender bias, misogyny, sexism, patriarchy and homophobia in Islam. Many of us start feeling extremely suspicious and things not making sense along our journey out of Islam, especially when we're told we can't ask questions, be curious or think critically.

On our journey out of Islam, ExMuslims may become atheists, agnostics and sometimes convert to other religions. Unfortunately, Islam teaches lessons of distrust, influences hate, and threatens harmful consequences for anyone who questions, criticizes, mocks, or leaves Islam. When an entire religion (cult + power + time) for our death and punishment for apostasy, blasphemy and freedom, why wouldn't we ExMuslims speak up?

Read our stories on exmuslim.me.

ExMuslims are not safe...

Especially from the very Muslims who are indoctrinated to hate, ostracize, and even harm us. Muslims will take it upon themselves to actively shut down any critique of Islam, calling it "islamophobia", and can be intolerant, hateful and violent towards ExMuslims and atheists, just for not believing. Muslims take it extremely personally if and when we speak up about: our journey leaving Islam; when we try to deconstruct Islam; our collective and individual religious trauma; the inequities, illogical explanations, inequalities and challenges in Islam; absurd, nonsensical beliefs; archaic 7th century practices; and harmful Islamic culture. They'll also question why we can't let go of Islam if we no longer believe? Well, we speak up about Islam beacuse collectively and honestly, ExMuslims just want to be safe, live in dignity, be free to leave Islam without any hate or harm.

Islam has literally been stuck since the powerful, privileged and patriarchal men of 7th century Arabia came up with this religion for men and their benefits. And now in 2022, Muslims refuse to make changes, or even let people criticize or challenge the religion, be themselves or leave peacefully. These haram doodles are created to raise awarness of ExMuslims, and in hopes of a world where people are not hurt for questioning, disbelieving and leaving Islam.

Why is it haram to draw or paint faces or people in Islam, especially none of Allah or any of the prophets?

Aniconism in Islam, or the absence of living beings in art, exists in hadith, because apparently Mohammed said so to some guy in the 7th century who passed it on to some other guy who wrote it down.

Mohammed was afraid of idolatory at the time he was forcing everyone around him to become Muslim. And now, in the 21st century, some Muslims have taken the "no drawings of Mo or people" rule way too far. One of the unfortunate downsides to this artistic restriction in Islam is that Muslims end up taking away a child's curiosity and imagination to dream and create with a sense of humanity, while restricting adults to never explore art to its fullest glory. Heck, it's even caused Muslims to enact violence to defend aniconism in Islam (i.e. Charlie Hebdo).

Narrated Said bin Abu Al-Hasan:
Said bin Abu Al-Hasan narrates a conversation between a panicked man who makes his living by making pictures with Ibn 'Abbas. Ibn 'Abbas relays the message heard from the Prophet that whoever makes a picture will be endlessly punished by Allah until he is able to put life into it - though he declared that would never be possible. The Hadith reports Ibn 'Abbas further advised the panicked man to make pictures of trees and any other inanimate objects.
— Muhammad al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Bukhari
Reference (English Book) Vol. 3, Book 34, Hadith 428
Reference (Arabic Book) Book 34, Hadith 172

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