It is commonly believed across the Arab world that atheists are part of a small minority not represented by official statistics, unlike the followers of monotheistic religions, namely Islam, Christianity and small Jewish minorities in their respective countries.

It is commonly believed across the Arab world that atheists are part of a small minority not represented by official statistics, unlike the followers of monotheistic religions, namely Islam, Christianity and small Jewish minorities in their respective countries.

Yet recent reports have suggested that atheism is not as rare in the Arab world as previously believed. Among the most important reports was one released in November 2013 by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) in which it examines 13 predominantly Muslim states in which capital punishment is implemented against atheists.  

Among these states are seven Arab countries: Mauritania, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. This perhaps explains the silence pursued by the followers of this doctrine and their adoption of the virtual world of the Internet as a tool for expressing themselves, except in rare cases in which the followers were encouraged by the prevailing atmosphere of the ‘Arab Spring’ and the promised hopes for ampler liberties associated with it.

Among the most important aspects featured in the opinion poll conducted by Gallup International was an answer to the following question: “Regardless of whether you go to places of worship or not, would you say you are religious, non-religious or an atheist?” The responses in the Arab world were as follows: 77% said they were religious, 18% non-religious, 2% atheists and 2% did not answer.

The surprise came from Saudi Arabia where the survey revealed that 5% said they were atheists out of conviction, 75% religious, 19% non- religious and 1% did not answer.

Figures do not represent society

Mustafa Khudary, Head of the Egyptian Center for Media Studies and Public Opinion (Egypt’s Integration) said: “The scientific approach adopted by Gallup International was correct in principle, however, the size of the drawn sample – according to the tables included in the said study – does not provide an error margin of under 5%, but rather much more than that. There are errors included in the presented data as the authors of that study said they drew a sample out of 3131 respondents from the Arab world, whereas at another place of the published study, they mentioned that the number surveyed consisted of 3628 respondents belonging to five countries as follows, Egypt (1000), Saudi Arabia (502), Iraq (1000), Lebanon (500) and Palestine (626).”

Khudary questioned the results from Saudi Arabia. “The study did not mention whether the drawn sample had been taken from native Saudis or non-native residents given that KSA has large numbers of non-religious workers from India and elsewhere.”

He added, “Opinion polls taken over the telephone are not reliable and do not represent the community from which it has been drawn as the samples of two out of five Arab countries have been taken over the phone.”

“Although the results show that the number of atheists in the Arab world to be low, they are inaccurate with regard to religious and nonreligious groups as the respondents’ answers to this question do not truthfully reflect religious or nonreligious individuals (a deceptive question). Hence we may describe the results of the study as indicators attributed to a particular sample only without being representative of the Arab society,” he explained.

Reactions

Such figures have raised the concerns of religious groups including Muslims and Christians alike. Some parties, movements and political figures have demanded Al-Azhar and the Church to address this phenomenon. In addition, a number of forums and meetings were held to discuss this issue and the means to counter it.

Several groups have declared a virtual war on atheism, particularly on Facebook: ‘Combat Atheism’ which has 19,000 followers, ‘Anti-Atheism and Blasphemy’ with over 10,000 followers, ‘Quiet Polemics-free Response to Atheists in Eight Points’ with 6000 members and ‘Muslim Tunisian Youth against Atheism and Non-religiousness’ with 2500 fans in addition to other religious forums and sites engaged in a counter-atheism campaign.

Varying interpretations

Some tend to interpret this phenomenon as being a result of the rise to power of political Islam following the Arab Spring revolutions. These include politicians, media activists and a number of Al-Azhar scholars, who are believed to be loyal to the state and the ruling regime especially with regard to the conflict between the Muslim Brotherhood group and its allies and the interim government, which took over power after the removal of former president Mohamed Morsi last year.

Proponents of this interpretation believe that the behavior of political Islam figures have shaken the religious faith of many people, especially the young groups because they view religious scholars as true representatives of Islam and the frontline defenders of religion amid ongoing disinformation campaigns that aim at undermining the credibility of Al-Azhar scholars.

On the other hand, there is another group which argues that atheism existed in the Arab society a long time ago and that this tendency has thrived through the emerging Arab Spring revolutions, which encouraged some people to breathe the blowing breeze of freedom. Others attribute this change to the desire by some young people to swim against the current as an attempt towards self-assertion or a consequence of social or psychological problems.

Atheism amongst the youth

When one reads the writings of these young people or speaks to them without any prejudgments, one will ultimately discover that they have different experiences that caused them to reach this decision. There is, however, a common denominator linking these groups. They were influenced by the historical confusion in respect to the religious scholars’ understanding and interpretations of the sacred texts (the Quran and Hadith) and the sacred texts themselves.

Twenty-five-year-old Haytham Abulsaood, said: “Since my childhood, I used to doubt the stories I heard and felt incapable of believing them. I used to watch the TV channels specializing in scientific discoveries like ‘Discovery’ and ‘Animal Planet’. But after all, that was not a big issue. I did not care much about such matters because I did not choose my name, my language or my faith. When I was 16, I questioned everything I had learned in my childhood and I could not find logical answers to many questions that crossed my mind.”

He added, “Today, it is difficult for the political systems and state policies to control individuals’ behavior. No one can restrict the free flow of information as every individual can use Google at any time to search for what they want. They (religious scholars) are not aware that most of us possess a thorough and inclusive knowledge about the history of civilizations from a broad perspective. We also follow the latest scientific developments.”

Ms. HA from Saudi Arabia, as she preferred to be called, narrated her story as follows. “Before I became non-religious, I used to underestimate what I call ‘rituals’.  I also assumed that faith expressed through certain specifications of a human personality was the most significant feature, according to the Islamic literature. I used to criticize the religious scholars and the Koranic texts so much and I read a book by Spinoza, a Dutch philosopher, in which he denies the existence of the divine entity. He also states that free will is an illusion.”

“I think that the most important proof about the existence of God lies in the presence of free will. Religions, however, confiscate this free will and try to mold all humans into a single framework. They also seek to give precedence to blind obedience over the mind through the presence of holy persons and scared symbols and texts.”

Between doubt and faith

Many Muslims argue that a lot questions cross their minds and many of them would prefer to discontinue their quest for answers to these questions so as not to lose faith.

Thirty-year-old Randa from Iraq said she had experienced doubts about the existence of God and asked, “If God has created us, who has created God?” Still, she said that she loved her religion. However, when she reached a stage where she could not answer the questions that crossed her mind, she decided to stop immediately to avoid being demonized into accepting atheism.

Randa also said many thinkers experienced the stage of doubt, but they eventually overcame their skeptic thoughts in favor of faith. “I am afraid of not being able to reach a safe haven before death ends my life; it all concerns afterlife or eternity and I do not want to be tormented by hellfire forever if I lose my faith in God.”

Twenty-eight-year-old Karim Buhairy, an Egyptian journalist and political activist, is believed by some people to be an atheist because his views are different from those held by religious scholars and given his daring criticism of their beliefs.  Asked about his faith, he said: “I believe in the existence of a creator and religion, but I am sure that everything that is being openly discussed about the religious interpretations is wrong and only serves the interests of those who trade in religion regardless of their tendencies. This conflict cannot be resolved on earth as it will be settled in heaven after death.”

He further explained, “My religion is simply one that believes in freedom which does not infringe upon other people’s freedom. I believe that others are free to embrace whatever they wish of intellectual or religious thoughts. Mine is a religion that allows people the right to revolt against tyranny; it is composed of intellectual and socially-oriented classes and not based on material wealth. It is a religion in which there is no place for tyrants and one that incites people to revolt against tyrannical, unjust or corrupt rulers. It calls for establishing justice and equality among human beings regardless of their material, religious or intellectual differences. It is a religion that does not preach killing innocent people or those with whom we are ideologically at variance. It is a religion that promotes science and abhors ignorance.”