Ex-Muslim atheists find support online
Apostates who are open face isolation, arrest
Rafat Awad fervently preached Islam at his university, encouraging his fellow students to read the Qur’an and pray. But throughout, the young Palestinian-born pharmacist had gnawing doubts. The more he tried to resolve them, the more they grew.
Finally he told his parents, both devout Muslims, that he was an atheist. They brought home clerics to talk with him, trying to bring him back to the faith. Finally, they gave up.
“It was the domino effect — you hit the first pin, and it keeps on going and going,” Said Awad, 23, who grew up in the United Arab Emirates and lives there. “I thought: It doesn’t make sense anymore. I became a new person then.”
An openly self-described atheist is an extreme rarity in the Arab world. To outright declare oneself an atheist can lead to ostracism by family and friends, and if too public, can draw retaliation from Islamist hardliners or authorities.
Still, this tiny minority has taken small steps out of the shadows. Groups on social media began to emerge in the mid-2000s. Now, the Arab Spring that began in early 2011 has given a further push: The heady atmosphere of “revolution” with its ideas of greater freedoms of speech and questioning of long-held taboos has encouraged this opening.
One 40-year-old Egyptian engineer, born a Muslim, told The Associated Press he had long been an atheist but kept it secret. The 2011 uprising in Egypt and its calls for radical change encouraged him to look online for others like himself.
“Before the revolution, I was living a life in total solitude. I didn’t know anybody who believed like me,” he said. “Now we have more courage than we used to have.”
He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, harassment or troubles with his family. His “going public” is strictly online.
Even the Internet is not entirely safe. In most Arab countries, being an atheist is not illegal, but there are laws against “insulting religion.”
Last year, Egyptian Alber Saber, a Christian who identifies as an atheist, was arrested after neighbours complained he had posted an antiIslam film on Facebook. Though he denied it, he was sentenced to three years in prison for blasphemy and contempt of religion. Released on bail during appeal in December, he moved to France.
Similarly, a Palestinian atheist, Waleed al-Husseini, was arrested in 2010 in the West Bank for allegedly mocking Islam on the Internet. He was held without charge for several months and later fled to France.
Still, the online space is flourishing. There are 60 Arabic-language atheist Facebook groups — all but five of them formed since the Arab Spring. They range from Atheists of Yemen, with only 25 followers, to Sudanese Atheists with 10,344 followers. An Arab Atheist Broadcasting outfit produces pro-atheism YouTube clips. There are closed groups, like an atheist dating club in Egypt.
Some draw negative comment. One responder, calling himself Sam, maintained that “attacking Islam has become the cheapest flight ticket to Europe,” a reference to those who have fled their Muslim homelands.
It is not clear whether the increasing online activity reflects that numbers have risen or simply that more are emerging from isolation. In any case, atheists remain a tiny minority. The Arab Spring uprisings fuelled the debate in the region over the role of religion in society and politics, but even secular activists are quick to distinguish themselves from atheists.
Disillusion with the post-revolution rise of Islamists, who demand strict implementation of religious rules, has also prompted some to reassess their beliefs.
The online venues give those questioning their faith a space to go through what can be a traumatic process. Many describe years of depression and isolation. The atheists interviewed by AP said online access to like-minded people gave them courage. All said they were surprised to discover other ex-Muslims out there.
Mohammed, a 26-year-old Egyptian, says his family has no idea he considers himself an atheist, even though he has participated in the earliest Arab atheist forums online.
“There are people who say we should be brave and speak out. That’s just talk,” said Mohammed. “I could fight to say what I think, but I won’t be able to stay with my family.”