Although I despise the death cult of Islam with the sort of passion that can only come from being familiar with it and from living alongside it’s more retarded and violent adherents, I try not to hate and do not hate, every individual who was brought up in Islamic culture. I’m justifiably wary of them and rarely trust anything that comes out of the mouths of believing Muslims when it comes to matters of religion, but I don’t hate them as a bloc. This is because I know that there are many Muslims or seeming Muslims, who are only involved in Islam because they are too scared of the violence that they would find should they publicly profess disbelief in the doctrine of Islam.
Having encountered a number of ex Muslims over the years I understand the fears that they have that they will be murdered for their apostasy by pious Muslims following the Koranic instruction to kill those who leave Islam. I’ve seen the fear in the eyes of ex Muslims even those who live in the West and I shudder to think how much worse things must be for ex Muslims who live in countries where Islam is the dominant culture and where Islam is the basis for the nation’s legal system.
The life of an ex Muslim who lives in the Muslim world and declares their abandonment of Islam can often be nasty, brutish and short. Being an ex Muslim when you are surrounded by those who believe that you should be dead, must take a level of courage that many of us would not be able to live up to.
Therefore I was fascinated to see an article in the conservative-leaning Washington Times about what they are calling a ‘growing number’ of atheists in the Islamic world. It appears that disgust at the full-on Islam as practised by ISIS is turning people away from Islam and others are recognising that Islam has nothing to give the world apart from death, destruction and misogyny.
The Washington Times said:
Lara Ahmed wears a headscarf and behaves like a pious Muslim.
But the 21-year-old Iraqi woman hides a secret from her peers at the University of Babylon: her atheism.
“I was not convinced by the creation story in the Quran,” she said. “Besides, I feel religions are unjust, violate our human rights and devalue women’s identities.”
She doesn’t dare share her strong beliefs with strangers.
“I wear a headscarf despite being an atheist,” said Ms. Ahmed, who studies biology at the school, about 115 miles south of Baghdad. “It is difficult not to wear it in southern Iraq. Few women take the risk not to cover their hair. They face harassment
I bet women who eschew the Islamic slave badge of head covering face harassment from pious Muslims that would be unbearable for many. I do not blame Ms Ahmed for concealing her identity as an atheist as hiding her true identity probably saves her life.
The Washington Times continued:
Statistics on atheism in the Middle East and North Africa are hazy, but analysts say Ms. Ahmed represents an increasing trend based on recent developments.
In 2014, an Egyptian government-run Islamic legal institute, citing a dubious international study, said that only 866 atheists lived in the country of more than 90 million. Recently released court statistics saying thousands of Egyptian women sought divorce in 2015 claiming their husbands were atheists — one of the few ways women can initiate divorce under Islam — suggested the numbers might be far higher.
Although the claim of atheism may be a ruse that a woman may use to obtain a divorce it may also be an indication that there may be far more than the 866 Egyptian atheists claimed by Islamic and government sources.
The depredations of the full strength Islam as practised by ISIS are far from encouraging more adherence to Islam are instead turning people off Islam completely.
The Washington Times added:
“For youths, who are the majority of new atheists, the savagery of the Islamic caliphate established by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in 2014 created a reaction that [has] shaken the religion’s image,” said Ali Abdulkareem Majeed, 22, a nonatheist Iraqi sociology student who conducted a study on atheism for a religious body that he asked not to be identified for his safety.
I’m not at all surprised that those individuals in the region who are open minded and wish to see a more open society in their countries, are turned off by the actions of the Caliphate.
Word of mouth and personal contacts seem to be how ex Muslims and proto ex Muslims network between themselves which is unsurprising in an environment where you can be murdered for being an atheist. Social media is also playing a part in linking atheists in the Islamic world and it is because social media is so important in keeping this vulnerable group in touch that attempts to censor and silence Islam critics on social media platforms must be resisted. Social media is a lifeline for oppressed ex Muslims and it is a vital one. Just as Islam-critical social media sites in the West have been targeted by Islamic groups for being ‘Islamophobic’ so have atheist sites been attacked by similar Islamic extremist groups.
The Washington Times said:
Last year, Facebook shut down more than 50 atheist, Arabic-language pages in after extremist Muslim groups campaigned to remove them, according to a petition sent to Facebook by the Atheist Alliance-Middle East and North Africa, a U.S.-based global atheist federation.
Many of those Facebook pages have been since been relaunched.
In March 2015, U.S.-based Iraqi and other Arab atheists launched the Arabic and English-language Free Mind television and magazine websites, which promote atheistic viewpoints and have recorded more than 1 million visits so far.
That led scholars at Al-Azhar University, a pre-eminent Sunni Muslim center of learning in Cairo, to call on Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi to push Free Mind organizers to repent or face execution by beheading. Mr. el-Sissi responded by suggesting that those who insulted religion should lose their Egyptian citizenship.
Even so, online atheist programming is easily available in Arabic now.
Despite the hardships faced by those challenging Islamic belief and Islamic culture these individuals are still soldiering on and resisting the threats and blandishments made by the Borg-like culture of Islam that surrounds them. It is my sincere belief that ex Muslims, whether they be atheists or whether they choose some other less lunatic faith, offer some hope for the future. Ex Muslims should be cherished as beacons of freedom and a light in the darkness, they should be protected from the potential harm that may in all likelihood come their way from believing Muslims and applauded for their bravery. We in the counter jihad community should reach out to ex Muslims and those who are in the process of leaving Islam because they are allies and potential friends. Many of them have known horrors and experiences that we cannot imagine or comprehend and it is only just that those who are taking their first steps to a world where they can speak and think freely should be nourished with support and fellowship.
Link
Washington Times article on atheism in the Islamic world
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/aug/1/atheists-in-muslim-world-growing-silent-minority/
