In Egypt, a land of some 92 millions, there is worry about the spreading plague of atheism, as N. A. Hussein reports in AL Monitor:
Recently released statistics from the Family Court affiliated with the Supreme Judicial Council, with offices across all governorates in Egypt, revealed that 6,500 women had filed for divorce, or “khula” — separation and returning the dowry to the husband — in 2015 over their husbands’ “atheism or change of belief.” …
The court has yet to issue any statistics for 2016. It is still not known why the court refrained from doing so. The court might not have the right amount of data necessary for the statistics, or it does not want to shock the Egyptian community with the alarming rate of divorce because of atheism and change of belief.
Among 92 million people. Think about the panic the thoughts of atheists are inducing in such a large country. But there’s more:
[Ibrahim Najm, an adviser to the Grand Mufti of Egypt] added that Dar al-Ifta approved an index prepared by the Red Sea Research Center, affiliated with Secular Global Institute in all countries of the world, stating that Egypt has 866 atheists.
I’m not sure what to make of that number in relation to the previous number. But then, the writer is puzzled as well:
Noteworthy is that the figures announced by the Family Court are alarming and not commensurate with those of Dar al-Ifta, which seems to be providing inaccurate data about the real number of atheists in Egypt.
“Although the number is not large … it is the highest in the Arab countries. Libya has only 34, Sudan 70, Yemen 32, Tunisia 329, Syria 56, Iraq 242, Saudi Arabia 178, Jordan 170, and Morocco 325,” Najm said.
Following one of the links above to another AL Monitor article, this from 2014, gives me this interesting quote:
The occupation of our brains by gods is the worst form of occupation. -Abdullah al-Qasemi
As agnostic, I have nothing against religious folks who are willing to live under the usual strictures of the United States; by the same token, I have a great suspicion on those who would change those strictures, as I see them as a constraint on religious violence, and a boon to rational behavior. Recently, though, and confused by the evident ignorance evidenced by many highly religious folks, I’ve been puzzling over people who are obviously intelligent, but whose knowledge base seems insufficient and defective. It’s occurred to me to urge them to quit going to religious classes and maybe skip the occasional church visit in favor of participating more in our political life – by concentrating on learning more from independent information and news sources.
So this, too, was interesting, from the same 2014 article, as the writer discusses prominent Kuwaiti scholar Ahmed al-Baghdadi:
“I am not afraid of religion, or bearded or turbaned people, and I see that music and developing an artistic sense is more important than memorizing the Quran or religious classes. [The classes] that are already there are more than enough. I do not wish to waste my money on teaching religion. … I do not want my son to learn from ignoramuses who teach him to disrespect women and non-Muslims,” he continued.
Baghdadi went on to say that he wanted his son to learn sciences and foreign languages, not to “become an imam” or a “terrorist.” “The only people who went to religious institutions in old civilized Kuwait were those who failed in scientific studies.” Needless to say, Baghdadi’s article caused an uproar leading the writer to express his intention to seek asylum in the West. Although Baghdadi never declared himself an atheist, he was highly regarded among the underground Gulf atheist community as someone who championed their causes and demands.
My bold, and I do so for the reason that a religious institution, along with the direct good & bad (for let us be honest, all human institutions do both) it does, also provides a ladder of power, for someone must direct the institution, be the title Mufti, Pope, or Pastor, and by the same token, the person assuming the role will have great influence to achieve personal goals. These goals may be selfless, selfish, or both; there is no restriction on the category.
But because this is an institution built entirely on the study and employment of a collection of knowledge which, in my view, is most likely constructed wholly from the human imagination, the requirements of intellectual attainment are not comparable to, for example, a particle physicist, who is studying hard reality. Learn some theology, construct a flexible or even innovative interpretation, realize that a self-destructive philosophy is not profitable in any respect, and you’re in business. Baghdadi’s remark is a handy condensation of this observation.
The study of a religion is not just a field of study, it’s a path to power, and perhaps the most handy one for those who are not so subtle of mind. But that is not my attribution for the concern about atheism in its currently reportedly small numbers; it has probably been sullied by the dominant religions, and the local populace merely reacts as instructed. Even those in positions of power in those religions may not use this analysis, for many books of religion warn against the atheist.
But if God is God, then what does he care if someone disbelieves him? The cry of apostasy betrays the essential human foundation of religion.
