Secrecy and disclosure marking Somali Muslim conversions to Christianity

With the rapid growth in Muslim migration to the West over the last two decades, reports of Muslim conversions to Christianity have become more common. To discuss how these conversions are taking place, at least in one particular case, RW interviewed (by email) Matyas Bodi, the recent author of How Somali Muslims Become Christians in Europe (Routledge). Bodi is a research fellow in Freedom of Religion or Belief at Regent’s Park College, University of Oxford. 

RW: You study conversion to Christianity in the diaspora of Somali Muslims in your recent book. Among Muslim national groups, are Somali Muslims unique in their patterns of conversion?

Bodi: One of the defining features of Somali Muslim communities is the close intertwining of religious identity, ethnic identity, and clan membership. Within these communities, there is a widespread assumption that to be Somali is to be Muslim. Conversion to Christianity may therefore be understood as a rejection of one’s family, clan, and Somali identity. A convert may risk exclusion from their family and clan and, with it, the loss of the support those networks provide. The severity of persecution faced by Christians in Somalia is reflected in the country’s position on the 2026 World Watch List, published by Open Doors, an organization supporting persecuted Christians. Somalia ranks second worldwide and highest among Muslim-majority countries. According to the organization’s country report, converts whose faith becomes known may be disowned by their families, assaulted, or killed. Threats can come from their own relatives and clan members as well as armed extremist groups.

That ranking concerns conditions within Somalia, but opposition to conversion can also take extreme forms in the diaspora. One participant living in Sweden told me that her relatives had abducted her, taken her to another European country and held her captive for four months in an attempt to force her to return to Islam. Other participants described family rejection, threats, and physical violence. Migration had therefore not, in itself, removed the risks associated with conversion. These experiences help explain why openly identifying as Christian can be so difficult: converts may face danger from the very people closest to them. 

Nevertheless, I would not regard the underlying patterns of conversion from Islam to Christianity described in my book as uniquely Somali. I compared the processes identified in my research with the memoirs of 10 converts from other ethnic backgrounds and found similar patterns. Responses to conversion within Somali Muslim communities can, however, be particularly severe.

RW: You are interested in developing a theory of conversion from Islam to Christianity. How does your theory differ from theories of conversion in general?

Bodi: One important difference lies in the evidence on which my theory is based: I developed it from the accounts of people who had converted from Islam to Christianity. John Lofland and Rodney Stark’s model (1965) and Lewis R. Rambo’s model (1993) are among the most frequently cited theoretical works in conversion studies, but neither was developed from research on this particular form of religious change. While some previous theorizing on conversion does go into the stages that lead to this religious change, they do not develop explanations of the recurring patterns of behavior within those stages or they only focus on internal changes in this process. My theory explains these internal changes while also giving considerable attention to their expression in people’s actions and relationships. My participants’ accounts did not always follow the sequence proposed by those who have studied Muslim conversion to Christianity; for example, I found that disillusionment with Islam often preceded their initial engagement with Christianity.

The most significant difference, however, concerns the relationship between conversion and disclosure. Becoming a Christian and being open about it with one’s family or community are separate matters. Earlier models discuss social difficulties, but do not explain in comparable detail how people become ready to disclose their convictions or how they respond to the social pressure that follows. To my knowledge, my book is the first to explain conversion from Islam to Christianity and the disclosure of that conversion within a single theoretical framework.

RW: One of the main findings from your research is that there is an element of risk that converts feel, as the penalty for conversion in traditional Islam is damnation and sanctions by the Islamic community. How much does this figure in the patterns of conversion among Somalis, such as converts not being stable in their new Christian faith?

Bodi: These risks were central to the accounts I studied, although their relative importance varied between individuals. Some were most afraid of divine punishment. Others were more concerned about losing their families and communities, or about physical violence. One interviewee told me that, before converting, he had feared hell more than death itself. Embracing Christianity meant confronting an unsettling possibility: what if the teachings of Islam were true after all? Such fears can be powerful deterrents to conversion, and the social consequences can continue to shape a person’s religious life long afterwards.

We must, however, distinguish between abandoning Christian belief and going back to concealing it. Someone who resumes presenting themselves as Muslim has not necessarily lost their Christian convictions. One participant, for example, moved away after a violent attack and concealed his Christian identity in his new surroundings. He responded to pressure from the Somali community by becoming secretive again; he did not abandon his faith. What looks from the outside like wavering belief may therefore be a response to threats. Religious conviction and openness about that conviction are distinct.

Sustained pressure can nevertheless contribute to a return to Islam, or to leaving Christianity and becoming non-religious. The missionaries I interviewed highlighted isolation and the absence of meaningful support from a Christian community as factors in some converts’ return to Islam. Sunday services alone may not compensate for losing a network of relationships that once permeated everyday life. For others, however, social pressure deepens their rejection of Islam and strengthens their determination to remain Christian.

RW: You note that there is a stage of secrecy, where the new convert will keep their conversion secret from their family and community, but do you see this as a temporary stage? 

Bodi: It depends on the individual. For some, secrecy is temporary; for others, it becomes a lasting way of life. Conversion typically takes place before Muslim relatives and acquaintances become aware of the change. Embracing a new faith does not, in itself, mean being ready to tell others about it. Some converts reconcile themselves to continuing to present as Muslim despite their Christian convictions. They believe that secrecy protects both themselves and their loved ones, and that disclosure of their new religion would cause even greater suffering. Yet this can create considerable inner tension: they want to live honestly but fear the consequences of doing so. Missionaries I interviewed also described cases in which converts had turned to excessive drinking in an attempt to ease the strain of living a double life.

Other converts gradually begin preparing to disclose their faith. I describe several patterns of behavior through which they do this. They may deepen their Christian convictions and build supportive relationships. They may seek financial independence or move out of a shared home to reduce their dependence on those whose rejection they fear. Through tentative conversations, they may try to make their relatives more receptive to Christianity while gauging how they might react if they disclosed their new religion. These steps can help them become ready to reveal their conversion but offer no guarantee. Preparation may stall, fears may intensify, and secrecy may continue indefinitely. Even people who have already disclosed their faith may subsequently conceal it in other relationships following threats or violence. My theory therefore does not assume that every convert will eventually become open about their faith.

RW: How much do you think these patterns of secrecy and then being more open about their conversions have been affected by the Internet and online involvement?

Bodi: The Internet can influence this process in two directions. First, it can make secrecy more bearable. Converts can join online Somali Christian communities where they can discuss their faith, form relationships, and even engage in evangelism with a degree of anonymity. They can do all this while their Muslim relatives remain unaware of their conversion. This is particularly important for Somali Christians scattered across different countries, who may have few opportunities to meet other Somali Christians locally. Online participation can provide fellowship and support without immediately requiring them to face the possible consequences of disclosing their new faith. In this sense, the Internet can make continued secrecy more sustainable: converts can live as Christians in some relationships while still presenting themselves as Muslim in others.

At the same time, those relationships and online resources can encourage greater openness. Online accounts by other Somali converts can show those worried about disclosing their faith how others in the same situation have dealt with similar fears. These stories can offer encouragement, while online communities can strengthen both Christian convictions and supportive relationships. This may help converts reach a point where they feel able to tell their Muslim loved ones about their new faith. The Internet’s influence therefore depends partly on how it fits into a person’s life: it can help them cope with concealment or prepare to move beyond it.

RW: You see the dynamic of incentives and deterrents among Somali converts. Is this changing and perhaps different in a place like the U.S.?

Bodi: My primary research participants were Somalis living in the United Kingdom and Sweden. As I mentioned earlier, in the final phase of the study I also examined the memoirs of 10 non-Somali converts from Islam to Christianity living in several countries, including the United States. I looked for patterns of behavior that did not fit the theory I had developed. All 10 accounts were consistent with it, and I found no need to introduce new theoretical categories. This supports the theory’s applicability beyond the population I originally studied. Further research would nevertheless be needed to establish how fully it explains conversion and disclosure in the American context and whether any refinements would be necessary.