In her speech to the American Humanist Association, Sarah Haider pointed out that
The tragedy of the Eastern past isn't that we haven't given birth to reformers but that the violence of our oppressors has eliminated us, time and again. So, here's the deal. Simply find reformers that resonate with you, and give them a little oxygen, simply by propagating their ideas, or, if more active support is your style and interest, by all means. Don't like Ayaan Hirsi Ali? That is fine, there are so many more. Try Raif Badawi, Bonya Ahmed, Taslima Nasreen, Tarek Fateh, whom I've mentioned in previous diaries. There are many more out there, I will post more.Afraid that you might support some seemingly liberal person who turns out to be quite different? That's fine, support the particular expressions of their ideas, such a particular essay or speech.
There is a caution, from Aparna Sanyal:
Too often, Western commentators approach texts by liberal writers elsewhere statically, as though they themselves were standing at some historical finish line. Don't be that commentator. You are a fellow runner in this race, which is towards whatever humanity's destiny is going to be.By helping propagate these voices, you do several things. Among the most important is that you increase your own awareness, you find allies in the globe-wide struggle for humanist values, and the people around you become aware of something beyond the monolithic orthodox Islam. For those who are scared, it actually makes Islam less scary to have this awareness, even while they may remain skeptical of the religion of peace.