Atheism: a Phenomenon in the Islamic Arab World

Please note: Communio Messianica only represents former Muslims who now follow Christ, also called Muslim Background Believers (MBBs). In this article by Harun Ibrahim, Chairman of the Ruling Council of Communio Messianica, takes a look at another group that has left Islam: atheists. Even though their views are very different from those of MBBs, there are similarities in the situation of both groups.

Atheism has raised a sharp debate in the Arab region, especially on social media which has allowed for more freedom of speech in recent years. Because it was seen as taboo to discuss in earlier years, the precise number of atheists in the world cannot be accurately accessed, though some religious groups have managed to estimate some numbers.

 

According to statements made by the Egyptian Al Fatwa institute in January of 2014, there are about 900 atheists in Egypt. Some estimate thousands, and others up to two million. In the same year, Saudi media has reported a study by Wayne Gallup International Research Foundation, showing 5% of Saudis say they are atheist. With a population of 29 million, that's just under 1.5 million. There are a growing number of studies that show an increase in the number of people calling themselves atheists in Islamic countries.

 

Atheists platforms in the Arab world media

 

Arab atheists use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and blogs as a means of communication among themselves. These platforms give several options to the user not to disclose their identity whenever someone searches the social network for the word ‘atheist' in Arabic. There appears to be thousands of pages on Facebook and Twitter accounts that belong to ‘atheists' from the Arab world that have attracted many followers. 

 

Facebook has several pages calling for Arab atheists to join:

 

- Tunisian Atheists (30 000 followers)

- Sudanese Atheists (two pages for the same group of 7000 followers)

- Syrian Atheists (15 000 followers)

- Egyptian Atheists (more than 10 sites and a million followers)

- Saudis Atheists (several pages with more than a million followers)

 

It is considered that Saudis and Egyptian atheists are the most active according to Al Muslim Electronic Newspaper, which affirms that the Saudi atheists outnumber the rest by a million.

 

On Twitter, followers of those that have declared their atheism exceed hundreds of thousands (for example, over 12 000 follow the 'Arab Atheist’) and the owners of these accounts hold various discussions around their desire to destroy ‘The Myth of Religion Using The Mind,’ while some post anti-Islamic comments and pictures such as torn photocopies of the Koran and graphics that are anti-Islamic.

 

Some say they focus on using the intellect to spread knowledge, while others say their tweets target those who are thinking of becoming atheists. There are also those that consider themselves ‘atheists and infidels’ who publish posts that claim that the Islamic message encourages violence against other religions.

 

On YouTube, some Arab atheists have established many channels that attract thousands of subscribers. Usually, the owners of such channels publish video clips that are against Islam; some use the title 'Myths of the Islamic Religion.’  A number of Arab youths have launched an Internet TV channel known as ‘Free Mind.' This secular TV channel aims to provide news that is free from the dominant religious and governmental censorship to nations in the Middle East and the world in general.

 

Further, we notice that most critics of Islam have an Islamic background themselves. There is a distinct difference between atheists from Islamic and Christian backgrounds. The ex-Muslim atheists attack the Islamic religion whereas, the ex-Christian atheist does not attack Christ, but rather the existence of God and the behaviour of the church.

Why do some Arabs abandon their religion?

 

Some of the most relevant reasons that have pushed some Arabs to abandon Islam are:

1. The violence that is practised by radical Islamic groups. This led them to question the principles of Islam.
2. The life of Muhammad and his prophetic biography is seen as using God as a means to justify Mohammed’s personal benefits.
3. The Islamic train of thought is illogical e.g.  Muslim scholars claim that in the Qur’an there are miracles that can be scientifically proven, but this is untrue.
4. The discovery of the real face of Islam, which is supported by Christian media critics of Islam who have exposed and revealed its true nature.

 

The Egyptian Dar-al-Ifta* has confirmed that the most convincing reason to leave Islam for atheism is the violent practices of terrorists and the militancy of Islamic groups like the Takfiri groups, who brutally slaughter in the name of Islam and misrepresent Islamic teachings. This, coupled with the stand of Al Azhar towards ISIS, paints a grim picture of brutality that repels Islamic youth and causes them to embrace atheism.

 

Secular, atheist or non-religious?

 

In the Arab world, the understanding of the following concepts are difficult to grasp as they are all unacceptable to different sectors in Islamic-influenced societies.

 

• Atheism
• Secularism
• Non-religious

 

According to the website of the Egyptian ‘Daily News,’ the Egyptian Dar-al-Ifta divides ‘atheists' into three groups and defines them as:

 

1. Those that do not object to Islam as a religion but refuse ‘Islam in policy’and call for a secular state (for example the Egyptian thinker and author Mister Sayyid M. al Qimni).
2. Those that totally reject Islam as a religion.
3. Those that have converted from Islam to another religion.

 

This is not factually correct and it is important that the reporters are aware of the differences. However, the general Islamic public deems all 'atheist groups’ as they are defined above to be infidel groups.

Persecutions and enmity:

 

Religious critics and bold atheist advocates are in danger, their situation is somewhat similar to the situation of Muslims that have converted to Christianity.

 

Many have been imprisoned in most of the Arab countries. It was reported in the media that a twenty year old Saudi youth was sentenced to death for posting a video clip showing himself tearing up a copy of the Qur’an. The video has been taken down by Youtube.

 

Raif Badawi is the creator of a website called Free Saudi Liberals, which is not online anymore. Badawi was arrested in 2012 on a charge of ‘insulting Islam through electronic channels’ and several charges, including apostasy and was brought to court and sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1000 lashes.

 

In 2014, the Egyptian court sentenced a student called Karim Ashraf Mohammed al-Banna to three years of imprisonment with a charge of disrespecting religion and reciting phrases that show contempt and dishonour of the godly being, by posting comments on Facebook. 'Human Rights Watch’ described his imprisonment as part of a governmental campaign to combat atheism and any form of opposition.

 

In January of 2015, the Egyptian Ahmed Hargan who declared his atheist thoughts in one of the TV channels, went to a police station in Alexandria to file a case against a number of people who abused him and his wife because of their beliefs. There are similar stories of Arab converts having these experiences in several Arab countries.

 

In June 2015, the Egyptian Ministry of Youth together with the Egyptian Al Azhar Foundation, launched an initiative to counter extremism and atheism. In a press statement, Sheikh Ahmed Turki, who is one of the initiators, said that the purpose was to equip the youth with scientific arguments that will cause them to face the atheists’ allegations. Further, he added: ‘Atheism is a national security issue … if they (atheists) rebel against their religion, they will rebel against anything else.’

 

This is also what happens to converts from Islam to Christianity: they often suffer from severe persecution. Although the converts are harmless and merely want a chance to worship whom they believe in, it turns into a National Case of Security. In conclusion, we can derive from the information above that the law against contempt of religion is a mere title that has nothing to do with the content of the law. It does not respect all religions, instead it is a law in favour of the Islamic religion only.

Other reactions:

 

Recently, the issue of atheism has raised a debate on Arab Television stations and for the first time a program bringing atheists together with Muslim religious men has been aired. When the broadcaster asked the atheists for the reasons behind their abandoning Islam they did not cite a lack of faith. The Muslim religious men considered their reasons to be either personal, psychological problems, adolescent instability or mental illness.

 

Other debates were prompted in programs that hosted both parties. The Egyptian media sometimes describes these efforts by the state and religious institutes as a ‘War on Atheism.’ This shows a bias from the broadcaster supporting the Islamic view.

 

There are questions that must be discussed:

 

1. Do we as Christians have organisations that can serve in this area and on the social networks?
2. Does the content that we presently broadcast and publish give solutions to the core questions people are asking or do we preach sermons that only resonate with ourselves?
3. Is it possible to provide effective and practical solutions? Should we reconsider what we present?

 

It is worth mentioning that a large number of converts from Islam to Christianity have passed through the same road. They left Islam and spent a period of time doubting before they found Christ the Saviour and their lives were changed.

 

Many secularists have told me: ‘I am not an atheist, I am a non-religious person. I have an opinion on the personality of God and his existence, and I do find a great resemblance between myself and many converts. It is evident when I talk to converts, I find a picture of the kind of God that I was imagining.’

 

Although these words have encouraged me they have also troubled me, because if this person cannot see God in Christian believers and the church except when we kiss and hug them, then I dare to ask:

*Egypt’s Dar al-Ifta is a governmental, non-profit organization that offers Muslims advice and guidance by issuing Fatwas (legal edicts that clarify the Islamic law).

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