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Escaping the grasp of Islam

Born in Turkey and raised a Muslim, Derya Little was taught what to think about Allah, Muhammed, the Quran, men, women and everything else. But as she grew older, Little immersed herself in reading about Islam, coming to the conclusion that it was a worldview based on fear and submission that paved the way to the abhorrent treatment of women in Islamic countries. Then, with the belief that all religions, including Islam, evolved into a means to control the masses, Little made a risky decision following her parents’ divorce — she rejected her family’s Islamic faith and became an atheist.
Escaping the grasp of Islam
Religion News LLC

SAN FRANCISCO – Born in Turkey and raised a Muslim, Derya Little was taught what to think about Allah, Muhammed, the Quran, men, women and everything else. But as she grew older, Little immersed herself in reading about Islam, coming to the conclusion that it was a worldview based on fear and submission that paved the way to the abhorrent treatment of women in Islamic countries. Then, with the belief that all religions, including Islam, evolved into a means to control the masses, Little made a risky decision following her parents’ divorce — she rejected her family’s Islamic faith and became an atheist.

It was just the beginning of Little’s unique faith journey, which eventually led her to become an Evangelical Christian, then, finally, a Catholic, which she chronicles in her new book, FROM ISLAM TO CHRIST: One Woman’s Path Through the Riddles of God. 

During Little’s stormy adolescence, while she was an atheist, she encountered a Christian missionary and tried to convince her that there is no God. Instead, Little ended up converting to Christ. Later, while attending a Turkish university and serving as a Christian youth minister, Little began to compare the teachings of Protestantism and Catholicism, and during her doctoral studies in England, she made another life-altering decision by joining the Catholic Church. It was a decision that continues to have a profound impact on her life today.


Her inspirational story provides a window into both Islam and modernity. It shows that grace and the mercy of God know no bounds. In FROM ISLAM TO CHRIST, Little also provides tips on how to discover the joy of spreading Catholicism, imploring her readers to “strive to give future generations a more faithful, more on-fire and more attractive Church.”

“Little has done the world a service by writing this courageous book,” Kathryn Jean Lopez, senior fellow, National Review Institute, says of FROM ISLAM TO CHRIST. “On her journey from Islam to atheism to Evangelical Christianity to Roman Catholicism, we show how the Divine Physician brings a healing balm to many open wounds people live with today.”

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For more information, to request a review copy or to schedule an interview with Derya Little:

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