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Irreligion in Egypt

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Religion in Egypt
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Religions in Egypt
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Irreligion in Egypt is controversial due to the largely conservative nature of the country and the religious establishments in the country.[1][2][3][4][5] It is difficult to quantify the number of atheists or agnostics in Egypt, as the stigma attached to being one makes it hard for irreligious Egyptians to publicly profess their views and beliefs.[6][7]

Furthermore, public statements that can be deemed critical of Islam, Christianity and Judaism can be tried under the country's notorious blasphemy law.[8] Outspoken atheists, like Alber Saber, have been convicted under this law. These types of crime in Egypt hold a status similar to Antragsdelikt, legal proceedings only occur if a citizen takes the step of suing the person engaging in blasphemy, and cases are not initiated by the general prosecutor. In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books.[9]

Estimates of the number of non-religious Egyptians

The 2017 US report on international religious freedom in Egypt, states that unreliable estimates report between 1 million to 10 million Egyptian's are Atheist.[10] However, according to the 2020 US report on international religious freedom there is no reliable estimates of the number of atheists in Egypt.[11] Absent official figures, sources consistently report that the number is increasing steadily.[10] Egyptian media has since 2011 reported increases in the number of nonbelievers and atheists publicly coming out;[12] however, atheism or skepticism is not a recent phenomenon in Egypt.[12] Despite the lack of clarity with regard to absolute numbers, there is a noticeable increase in young Egyptians coming out for nonbelieving and publicly testifying they have left the faith, especially on the internet.[12]

Many Egyptian irreligious/atheist intellectuals encourage irreligious Egyptians and Egyptian atheists to speak up and come out of the closet, a trend which is visible across both Islam and Christianity, and involves both Egyptian men and women.[12]

An Egyptian newspaper Al-Sabah claimed the number of Egyptian atheists is 3 million of Egypt's 84 million population (2013 estimate), citing an unnamed US survey.[13] In December 2014, Dar al-Ifta, a government-affiliated Islamic centre of education and jurisprudence, claimed that there are 866 atheists in Egypt.[14] Commenting on the small number cited by Dar al-Ifta, Rabab Kamal, a spokesperson for The Secularists, a small but vocal group that lobbies for a secular state, said that "[Dar al-Ifta] are in denial", and she added: "I could count more than that number of atheists at al-Azhar university alone."[15] (Al-Azhar university is the Cairo-based Islamic institution that is widely regarded as the seat of global Sunni learning.) The tiny estimates by Dar al-Ifta prompted high amusement among Egyptian atheists and secularists in Egypt, who say that atheism is on the rise, and that even Dar al-Ifta's definitions of atheism seemed comic.[15] Many Egyptian irreligious/atheist intellectuals encourage irreligious Egyptians and Egyptian atheists to speak up and come out of the closet, a trend which is visible regarding both faiths, Islam and Christianity, and involves Egyptian men as well as Egyptian women.[16] Many atheists in Egypt communicate with each other over the internet.[17][18]

Controversy and discrimination

Discrimination against atheists in Egypt is mainly the result of conservative social traditions and the religious establishments in the country, as the laws and policies in Egypt protect religious freedom but punish those who ridicule or insult the Abrahamic religions by words or writing, whereas insulting other non-Abrahamic faiths like Buddhism or Hinduism is not punishable by Egyptian law but insulting Islam, Christianity, or Judaism is.[19]

In 2014, the Ministry of Youth and the Ministry of Awqaf announced a joint strategy to combat the spread of what they categorized as "harmful ideas" among the nation's youth, and they included atheism in that categorization.[20] In a 2011 Pew Research poll of 1,798 Muslims in Egypt, 63% of those surveyed supported "the death penalty for people who leave the Muslim religion."[21] However, no such punishment actually exists in the country.[22] In January 2018 the head of the parliament's religious committee, Amr Hamroush, suggested a bill to make atheism illegal, stating that "it [atheism] must be criminalised and categorised as contempt of religion because atheists have no doctrine and try to insult the Abrahamic religions".[23]

In July 2015, it was announced by Pope Tawadros II that a global survey to understand why some youth leave the church would be carried out.[24] The results were not published, however, it was estimated that 70% of the youth stop attending the Evangelical church, and nearly a decade later, about half return to church.[25][better source needed] The Egyptian Council of Churches, of which the Coptic Orthodox Church is a member, along with other Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Egyptian churches, had plans to confront atheism in Egypt, by questioning Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and planning establishments of interfaith committees involving churches and mosques, with the aim of controlling and confronting atheism among members of both faiths.[26]

Atheists or irreligious people cannot change their official religious status, thus statistically they are counted as followers of the religion of their family, whether it is Islam or Christianity.[18] Despite hostile sentiments towards them, atheists in Egypt have become increasingly vocal since the Egyptian revolution of 2011 and particularly after the ouster of Morsi in 2013.[27]

List of non-religious Egyptians

See also

References

  1. ^ "How oppressive Islam triggers atheism". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  2. ^ "Did Religious Extremism Drive 2 Million Egyptian Youth to Unbelief?". Truth Dig. Retrieved 2014-02-14.
  3. ^ "No God-given right to atheism in Egypt". albawaba. Retrieved 2013-11-20.
  4. ^ "A Christopher Hitchens dream: Atheism on the rise in Egypt". Salon. Archived from the original on 2013-10-28. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  5. ^ "Egypt's Atheists Want To Speak Their Mind In Post-Mubarak Era | All News Is Global |". Worldcrunch.com. 2012-10-31. Retrieved 2013-09-21.
  6. ^ "Who is afraid of Egyptian atheists?". Al Arabiya. 28 May 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-20.
  7. ^ "Controversial Egyptian film 'The Atheist' gets go ahead by censors". Al Arabiya. Retrieved 2012-07-10.
  8. ^ "The Taboo of Atheism in Egypt". International Policy Digest. 2016-01-24. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
  9. ^ Halawi, Jailan (December 27, 2000). "Limits to expression". Al-Ahram Weekly. Archived from the original on December 26, 2004.
  10. ^ a b "Report on International Religious Freedom: Egypt. 2017".
  11. ^ "Egypt".
  12. ^ a b c d "Understanding Unbelief in Egypt - Understanding Unbelief - Research at Kent". Understanding Unbelief. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  13. ^ "Egypt: Are there really three million atheists?". BBC News. 2013-11-19. Retrieved 2014-11-15.
  14. ^ Kingsley, Patrick (12 December 2014). "Egypt's atheists number 866 – precisely". Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  15. ^ a b "Secularists laugh off regional polling by Dar al-Ifta clerics". the Guardian. 2014-12-12. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  16. ^ "Understanding Unbelief in Egypt - Understanding Unbelief - Research at Kent". Understanding Unbelief. Retrieved 2022-02-23.
  17. ^ "Leaving Islam in the age of Islamism". Daily News. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  18. ^ a b Halawi, Jailan (December 21–27, 2000). "Limits to expression". Al-Ahram Weekly. Archived from the original on December 26, 2004.
  19. ^ "The Taboo of Atheism in Egypt". International Policy Digest. 2016-01-24. Retrieved 2021-03-13.
  20. ^ "Govt announces campaign to save youth from atheism". Mada Masr. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  21. ^ "The World's Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society" (PDF). Pew Research Center. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  22. ^ Egypt 2015 International Religious Freedom Report
  23. ^ Winston, Kimberly (4 January 2018). "Egyptian Parliament considers outlawing atheism". World-Wide Religions News (WWRN). Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  24. ^ "Office of His Holiness requests your participation in a global survey to understand why some youth leave the church". copticworld.org. 7 July 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  25. ^ "Why Youths Are Abandoning the Church". 10 July 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  26. ^ "HCouncil of Churches discusses ways to tackle atheism in Egypt". madamasr.com. 20 May 2014. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  27. ^ Keddie, Patrick. "Egypt's embattled atheists". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
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