Crisis in Tahrir

Atheism under wraps in Egypt

| 14 January 2012 | Comments (8)

Egypt's al-Azhar

CAIRO: Outside, the January evening air is blowing wet and cold, better suited to London than Cairo. Inside this brightly lit Nasr City café, all is cozy and warm, as young Egyptians cluster around tables in study groups and discuss politics.

The interview has wrapped up and it’s time to go when the couple sitting beside us flags our attention.

“Psst, we couldn’t help overhearing you talking to that Muslim Brother,” Sophia says, pushing aside her laptop. “But we just want you to know that in this ‘100 percent religious’ country, we belong to that non-percent.”

“And what is that non-percent?”

“Atheism,” she says, her dark curls at odds with the sea of hijabs in Cilantro.

“We just believe more in science and reason,” 23-year-old recent pharmacy school graduate Sophia, says, glancing around for eavesdroppers.

“But,” adds Sam, who is sharing her piece of chocolate cake, “you can get in big trouble for even questioning religious matters or asking theoretical questions. Even with my parents,” 25-year-old telecommunications engineer adds, “I don’t bother bringing it up.”

“Sam” and “Sophia” may be well educated, and the setting, Starbucks-esque cafe Cilantro, may be upscale, but what they talk about is still so heretical in this country, that being Jewish is often more acceptable.

Sam was raised Coptic and Sophia Muslim. Her father disowned her when she told him she no longer considered herself Muslim.

“He disowned her for thinking for herself, can you believe it,” Sam says, in obvious admiration of Sophia’s rationality.

Technically atheists can be sued, though it’s rare. In 2000, a State Security Court found atheist author Salaheddin Mohsen guilty of “holding Islam and the Prophet Mohamed in contempt and questioning the divine sanctity of the Holy Qur’an.”

Salaheddin had called for the establishment of an Egyptian Atheist association.

While still largely underground, atheists in Egypt have found a small community and support online. Sam and Sophia met on the social-networking site thinkatheist.com.

“The sad thing is, a few decades back, Egypt was much more liberal,” Sam notes.

“People could flirt in public, laugh, wear what they wanted, even, god-forbid, have pre-marital sex.”

“Flirt in public”—a bit ironic said in this upscale and urbane cafe where occasionally hand-holding couples who laugh too loudly are asked to leave for “inappropriate behavior.”

BM

ShortURL: http://goo.gl/DIaP8

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Section: Egypt, Religion

Egypt in Crisis
Religion in Focus
  • S Wilton

    There is a ridiculous amount of fear about being an atheist yet atheist friends of mine and even myself have never had any issue in Egypt.  I dislike the scaremongering which is just a form of oppression in itself.  The way that people say ‘be careful’.  Strangely I have found that Egyptians are often interested in Atheism and use the word ‘Free’ to describe it, whether muslim or christian.  I would encourage people not to live in fear and terror of people knowing you are an atheist as this is exactly what theists would like.  Do as you please as much as you can, and encourage others to do so too.

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  • Aqualung

    I don’t think that I am alone in the I had my doubts of religion when I was 5 years old. Of course I was convinced otherwise as I grew up. Then I came back to doubting it again. So, if education really is the issue, how come I had my doubt when I was but a child. I don’t think I am super intelligent.
    Maybe I am completely wrong in what i am about to say. I can’t be openly atheist, I sell the produce of the family farm. So I come into contact with new people daily and I have to impress. My life depends on impressing. So I can’t be open about it. Unless, there is a way to work around it I am gonna be secretly atheist. Not the shining star of my personality, but I can deal with it.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ODSIAGC55PNMR6HUVTUMTR7SQY chris o

    shes lucky her father didnt kill her

  • Maf_577

    I am an open atheist (with a sunni muslim ID card) living a normal life here in Cairo. No one forces me to pray or fast, and if someone asks me if i believe in god i just non-nonchalantly reply “no, why?”.

    It has never caused me problems among friends or my peers at work, its my choice afterall. I treat religion like football: I have nothing against it (except of course the fundamentalists) but I’m not into it.

    Most Egyptians don’t know how to think for themselves, they don’t know that one doesn’t have to believe in it, that you can be good without it, that it’s irrational. They don’t know that they have a choice.

    Its sad, but you must be somewhat socio-economically privileged to be a free-thinker in this country.

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  • Georgvs Rex

    This is of course why the fundamentalist Islamic Clerics don’t want too much education of young Muslims, in particular young women. Once these young people have developed an educated enquiring scientific mind, the nightmare of the Clerics is that they may be asked rational, intelligent questions about Islam. Questions that they have no way to answer. So what do these Clerics do? Decree that anything less than absolute obedience to their version of Islam is “insulting Islam” or some other ridiculous response. The true strength of any belief system, whether secular or religious, is it’s ability to answer criticism. When any belief system suppresses or outlaws rational debate, it simply shows it is fundamentally weak. This just drives intelligent thinking people away from it.

  • Paul

    The gods of people all over the world must be so weak and ineffectual to require blasphemy laws like this. Surely if their god is as powerful as they say then a couple holding hands can’t be much of a threat.