Recently, the media has increased their attention on the subject of atheism in Egypt and how, as some claim, the number of non-believers is on the rise due supposedly to what the Muslim Brotherhood represented during their time in government.
As an atheist in Egypt, you get ridiculed and treated with contempt on a daily basis just for the simple fact that you lack the same belief as others.
One Friday, I was on a work break, which happened to be during prayer time. The prayer started and some of my friends humbly went to pray, while others stayed behind with me. We were talking about trivial issues when, all of a sudden, a colleague of mine approached us and asked, “Why didn’t you join the rest of the people to pray and why are you standing here with an infidel?” And bluntly pointed at me.
One person stated that he was a Christian and others replied that they didn’t know that I was an atheist. One of my friends told the guy that it was none of his business, and in response, he shouted and claimed that I was preaching atheism and encouraging people to shed their religious beliefs.
After that day, the rumors spread within my workplace. Some people bought into the guy’s lie, which only fueled their hatred. I was treated in a demeaning way without the chance to even defend myself and, after a while, I had to leave my job due to the daily verbal harassment.
That’s just one example of many situations that non-believers go through in this country. To understand the concept of atheism, we have to start from the beginning.
The word “atheist” comes form the Greek origin “atheos”, which translates to “without a god”. The most common modern definition of atheism is “the lack of belief in the existence of God or gods”, which, as a result, includes the lack of belief in religions.
Atheists argue that the most reasonable conclusions are the ones that have the best evidential support, and the evidence in favor of God’s existence is too weak or nonexistent.
The matter of fact is that humans are curious by nature. With some people, it starts with a question that rattles in their mind and is accompanied with an eagerness to find a satisfying answer. As a result, we turn to the people around us in hopes of understanding, but the inconsistency of information we receive presents a dilemma about which answer is right.
Since the dawn of modern humanity, a variety of beliefs have evolved to reach a staggering number of believers in our time, with each group insisting that their path is the righteous way with all the right answers.
Religion, it must be said, certainly has many positive attributes, but we all should have the freedom to look for our answers in places that fit our state of mind and satisfies our curiosity. According to Richard Dawkins in his book The God Delusion, below is the spectrum of theistic probability:
1. Strong theist. 100 per cent probability of God. In the words of C.G. Jung: “I do not believe, I know.”
2. De facto theist. Very high probability but short of 100 per cent. “I don’t know for certain, but I strongly believe in God and live my life on the assumption that he is there.”
3. Leaning towards theism. Higher than 50 per cent but not very high. “I am very uncertain, but I am inclined to believe in God.”
4. Completely impartial. Exactly 50 per cent. “God’s existence and non-existence are exactly equiprobable.”
5. Leaning towards atheism. Lower than 50 per cent but not very low. “I do not know whether God exists but I’m inclined to be skeptical.”
6. De facto atheist. Very low probability, but short of zero. “I don’t know for certain but I think God is very improbable, and I live my life on the assumption that he is not there.”
7. Strong atheist. “I know there is no God, with the same conviction as Jung knows there is one.”
In the end, atheists and non-believers in general should be treated with the same level of respect granted to those of faith, as they are just another group of people who claim to have the right answers. For atheists, those answers are supported with hard facts concluded via the scientific method.
It’s time for our constitution and society to acknowledge the fact that such schools of thinking exist. People should have the simple freedom not to believe without being afraid, mocked or ridiculed.
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