Around 12, she began having doubts about the truth and ethics of religion, especially the condemnation of homosexuality, but her questioning was branded "corruption" and she felt repeatedly repressed to "not pollute the minds of other girls".

[8] Finding the lessons in Urdu difficult, however, after two months[6]: 3:31  she transferred to the Al-Huda Institute's campus in Pakistan to complete the course and, segregated and isolated from her family, she found herself "sucked in" by the repetition and religious zeal.

[9]: 2:02 Back in Britain, where Saleem was no longer in a religiously restricted environment and had free access to books, media and television, her earlier doubts resurfaced.

[12] Saleem claimed that pupils were only taught various Islamic subjects from a fundamentalist perspective, indoctrinated them with anti-gay, anti-Christian and anti-Jewish views, and had no geography, history, art, sport or music classes.

The school's management attempted to appeal the decision, while Saleem urged the Department for Education to "move swiftly now to protect these pupils.

[18] Saleem and Shams began by holding "coming out" events at universities, where ex-Muslims and other apostates could tell their stories in the presence of peers who had also been through deconversion.

[21] In late 2015 and early 2016, Saleem recorded two videos offering strategies for Muslim or ex-Muslim women who no longer want to wear the hijab – she herself had worn a headscarf from the age of 11[22] – but are wary of the negative social consequences they may face for doing so.