Atheism in Saudi Arabia, God's own country

Atheism remains one of the most extreme taboos in Saudi Arabia. It is a red line that no one may cross. Regarded on a par with terrorists, atheists in Saudi Arabia suffer imprisonment, marginalisation, slander, ostracisation and even execution. Efforts at normalisation between those who believe and those who don't remain bleak.

Despite constant warnings issued by Saudi religious authorities about 'the dangers of atheism', which is, according to them, 'tantamount to not believing in God', many citizens in the kingdom are turning their backs on Islam. Among other things, perhaps what is primarily driving Saudis to abandon their religion is the country's strict and dehumanising codex of Islamic law coupled with easy access to information and mass communication. Unfortunately, those who are open about their atheism find themselves harshly punished or forced to live double lives.

Just recently Saudi Arabia sentenced another atheist to death for uploading a video renouncing Islam. The man was identified as Ahmad Al-Shamri, in his 20s, from the town of Hafar Al-Batin, a village located in Saudi Arabia's eastern province. In the video, Al-Shamri renounces Islam and makes disparaging remarks about the prophet Muhammad.

Saudi authorities first picked him up in 2014 after he uploaded a series of videos reflecting his views on social media, which led to him being charged with 'atheism and blasphemy'.

With leaving Islam punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, the country's Supreme Court, which ruled against Al-Shamri on 25 April 2017, has effectively already pronounced the death sentence. Although court proceedings dealing with blasphemy, atheism or homosexuality may last for months, the sentence is far more likely to be known in advance.

The birthplace of Islam: "we are the country that hosts the two holiest sites for Muslims in Mecca and Medina. We are the country that is based on Islamic principles and so forth. We are a country that is homogeneous in accepting Islam by the entire population. Any calls that challenge Islamic rule or Islamic ideology is considered subversive in Saudi Arabia and would be subversive and could lead to chaos," claims the Saudi ambassador to the UN, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi

Riyadh introduced a series of laws in 2014 criminalising those who spread 'atheist thought' or question the 'fundamentals of the Islamic religion'. According to Amnesty International Global Report on death sentences and executions, Saudi Arabia has scored 154+ executions, in which the 'death penalty was imposed after proceedings that did not meet international fair trial standards'. In January 2017, an unnamed Yemeni man living in Saudi Arabia was reportedly charged with apostasy and sentenced to 21 years in prison for insulting Islam on his Facebook page.

In November 2016, Indian migrant worker Shankar Ponnam reportedly was sentenced to 4 months in prison and a fine of 1,195 euros for sharing a picture of the Hindu god Shiva sitting atop the Kaaba on Facebook.

In November 2015, Palestinian poet and artist Ashraf Fayadh was sentenced to death for apostasy for allegedly questioning religion and spreading atheist thought in his poetry. His sentence was reduced to 8 years in prison and 800 lashes to be administered on 16 occasions.

In 2014, Raif Badawi was also convicted of blasphemy for creating a website dedicated to fostering debate on religion and politics. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1000 lashes.

In 2012, the journalist Hamza Kashgari was accused of blasphemy after he posted a string of tweets. He was captured in Malaysia and brought back to the kingdom. No further information about his case has surfaced since.

Atheists are terrorists

In 2014, Saudi Arabia introduced a series of new laws in the form of royal decrees, which define atheists as terrorists. The new royal provisions define terrorism as "calling for atheist thought in any form, or calling into question the fundamentals of the Islamic religion on which Saudi Arabia is based".

Conflating atheism and terrorism has become official in Saudi Arabia, by which non-believers who commit 'thought crimes' are the same as violent terrorists.

Offering a platform: "Saudi atheists can turn to a number of Internet sites, such as 'Saudis without religion', 'Spreading atheism in Saudi' and 'Saudi secular'; all of which indicate that, despite the restrictions, there is a certain level of 'atheist' activity. On Twitter, the most widely used site in Saudi Arabia, over 20,000 Saudis have reacted to topics relating to the spread of atheism in Saudi Arabia," writes Khatib

Article 4 of the kingdom's laws on terrorism states: "Anyone who aids ['terrorist'] organisations, groups, currents [of thought], associations, or parties, or demonstrates affiliation with them, or sympathy with them, or promotes them, or holds meetings under their umbrella, either inside or outside the kingdom; this includes participation in audio, written, or visual media; social media in its audio, written, or visual forms; internet websites; or circulating their contents in any form, or using slogans of these groups and currents [of thought], or any symbols which point to support or sympathy with them."

In a programme named "UpFront" on Al Jazeera America, Saudi Ambassador to the UN, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi explains why advocating atheism in Saudi Arabia is considered a terrorist offence.

Al-Mouallimi says that atheists are deemed terrorists in his country because in Saudi Arabia, "we are a unique country."

"We are the birthplace of Islam," he adds. "We are the country that hosts the two holiest sites for Muslims in Mecca and Medina. We are the country that is based on Islamic principles and so forth. We are a country that is homogeneous in accepting Islam by the entire population. Any calls that challenge Islamic rule or Islamic ideology is considered subversive in Saudi Arabia and would be subversive and could lead to chaos."

"If he [an atheist] was disbelieving in God, and keeping that to himself, and conducting himself, nobody would do anything or say anything about it. If he is going out in the public, and saying, 'I don't believe in God', that's subversive. He is inviting others to retaliate," Al-Mouallimi elaborates.

Countermeasures

The president of the Centre for Middle East Studies in Riyadh, Anwar Al-Ashqi, does not see the authorities' adoption of these laws as a suppression of freedoms. While he believes that atheism as an independent thought is positive, it may become negative and require legal accountability if it aims to transform the traditional nature of the Saudi society, triggering communal strife and challenging the established religion. The state in this case, according to him, "has the right to outlaw this type of atheism and declare it an aspect of terrorism."

Similar to other Gulf States, Saudi Arabia perceives atheism as a threat that needs to be eliminated. There have therefore been several conferences, trainings and workshops in recent years aimed at 'immunising society, especially the youth, against atheist ideas'. Saudi Arabia has established the Yaqeen Centre at The Al-Madina University Department of the Study of Faith and Religions. Yaqeen Centre, which means 'certainty', specialises in combatting atheistic and non-religious tendencies. The centre's vision is 'to achieve leadership in countering atheism and non-religiosity locally and globally'. What this centre actually does remains unclear.

In October 2016, the Saudi Ministry of Education launched a government programme called "Immunity" in schools to "inoculate" children against Westernisation, atheism, liberalism and secularism.

Atheists in the Kingdom?

In 2012, a poll by WIN-Gallup International (Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism) found that almost a quarter of people interviewed in Saudi Arabia described themselves as "not religious" and of those 5 to 9% declared themselves to be convinced atheists.

Extrapolating that figure on a national scale suggests there are about 1.4 million atheists living in Saudi Arabia. This of course excludes all work migrants from different parts of the world, who might already be non-believers.

Source: qantara.de, July 3, 2017

⚑ | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.

Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!

Comments

Iran: Flogging still a common practice

Flogging of Sufis in Gonabad: Fourteen Ne’matollahi dervishes received 25 lashes each for allegedly disturbing the public security "The lash ruling against 14 Ne'matollahi dervishes of Gonabad was carried out. They were residents of Baydokht and had been arrested and condemned by the Public Prosecutor of Gonabad after a protest against the illegal treatment dealing with the Sufis in June of last year [2010]. According to the website of Majzuban-e-Nur, Mr. Sa'id Kashani, Mr. Amir Roshan-Mojaver-Sufi, Mr. Alimohammad Amanian, Mr. Ruhollah Safari, Mr. Ali Abbasi-Baydokhti, Mr. Ebrahim Abbaszadeh, Mr. Mohammadali Ja'fari, Mr. Hossein Mahdavi, Mr. Hossein Abbaszadeh-Baydokhti, Mr. Rahmat Hosseini, Mr. Reza Kakhki, Mr. Behruz Mojaver-Sufi, Mr. Ali Mir, and Mr. Hassan Baluchi-Baydokhti are the fourteen dervishes whose requests were not only rejected, but who were condemned to 25 lashes for disturbing the public security. It should be mentioned that Ruhollah Safari, the ...

Japan’s Internet Wants Uchida Riko Executed. Here’s Why That Won’t Happen

This week, the prosecution in the case of a murder of a 17-year-old girl in Hokkaido came out with its sentencing recommendation. Japanese social media reacted by clamoring for the accused woman’s blood. But, while the facts of the case are heinous, the prosecutor’s decision not to seek the death penalty is grounded in long-standing precedent. Murdered for looking at the accused wrong Uchida Riko (内田梨瑚), 23, and her friends stand accused of murdering 17-year-old Murayama Runa (村山瑠奈) in Hokkaido’s Asahikawa. Prosecutors say the dispute began after Murayama posted a photo of Uchida to social media. They say Uchida’s group abducted the girl, made her undress, and then forced her to jump from a bridge.

Kansas AG urges governor to deny clemency to 8 sentenced to death

TOPEKA — Attorney General Kris Kobach on Tuesday urged the governor to deny clemency to Kansas inmates who have been sentenced to death. Eight of nine people sentenced to death in Kansas formally filed clemency requests in May, according to a press release from the Attorney General’s Office. Kobach urged Gov. Laura Kelly to reject them.

I watched Ohio's last execution. Here's what it was like

As Gov. DeWine calls for Ohio to end capital punishment, the state’s last execution remains the one I witnessed in 2018 Inside Ohio's death house, there is a room for executions and separate witness rooms: one for those connected to the victim and another for those connected to the inmate. Windows separate the death chamber from those watching, the condemned from the living. I was there on July 18, 2018 – during Ohio’s most recent execution. Robert Van Hook was put to death that day for killing David Self in 1985. He sat on death row for three decades. I was one of three media witnesses to the execution.

Gov. Mike DeWine calls for Ohio to abolish the death penalty

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Gov. Mike DeWine Tuesday morning called on Ohio to abolish the death penalty, citing data that he said proves it is no longer a deterrent to violent crime. “For the state to take a human life, there must, in my opinion, there must be evidence that in doing so it will help protect the public, that the threat of that action will deter someone from committing murder,” DeWine said. “I do not believe that argument today can be successfully made.” DeWine cited data showing a decline in the last four decades of executions being carried out and an increase in the time inmates spend on death row.

20 Minutes to Death: Witness to the Last Execution in France

The following document is a firsthand account of the final moments of Hamida Djandoubi, a convicted murderer executed by guillotine at Marseille’s Baumettes Prison on September 10, 1977. The record—dated September 9—was written by Monique Mabelly, a judge appointed by the state to witness the proceedings. Djandoubi’s execution would ultimately be the last carried out in France before capital punishment was abolished in 1981. At the time, President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing—who had publicly voiced his "deep aversion to the death penalty" prior to his election—rejected Djandoubi’s appeal for clemency. Choosing to let "justice take its course," the President allowed the execution to proceed, just as he had in two previous cases during his term: Christian Ranucci , executed on July 28, 1976 and Jérôme Carrein , executed on June 23, 1977. Hamida Djandoubi , a Tunisian national, was sentenced to death for killing his former lover, Elisabeth Bousquet. He was execu...

Two men executed with AK-47 for raping and murdering boy, 12, in Yemen as children watch on

“Public execution is an even more grotesque violation of human rights, particularly in a country where the ability of the accused to obtain adequate legal representation and the coverage of the process is highly limited.” -- Human Rights Watch director Sarah Leah Whitson TWO paedophiles have been executed with AK-47s in front of a bloodthirsty crowd for raping and murdering a 12-year-old boy in Yemen. Chilling images show Wadah Refat and Mohamed Khaled being marched at gunpoint through the port city of Aden. Yemen is one of the few countries in the world where capital punishment is legal, and even children were in attendance to watch the gruesome event. Refat, 28, and Khaled, 31, were condemned for the abduction, rape, and murder of a young boy who was snatched after playing next to the house of one of the men. The pair reportedly dragged him into their home and raped him. When sentencing the pair, The Daily Star reported that the judge said: “Afte...

New Mississippi billboard warns criminals: ‘Firing squad is legal’

DESOTO COUNTY, Miss. (WREG) — A billboard standing on Interstate 55 southbound as you cross the Tennessee state line and enter Mississippi from Memphis is sending a grim message to those coming into the state. DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton recently announced the new billboard campaign, which features the sign reading, “WELCOME TO MISSISSIPPI. WHERE THE FIRING SQUAD IS LEGAL. THINK TWICE.” It references Mississippi’s law permitting execution by firing squad under certain circumstances for inmates sentenced to death. Barton says this campaign is aimed at deterring violent crime and sends a direct message to criminals entering Mississippi.

Florida execution of 74-year-old death row inmate Dusty Ray Spencer reignites debate

Florida has set an execution date of June 25, 2026, for 74-year-old death row inmate Dusty Ray Spencer, a move that would make him the oldest person ever executed in the state’s history . Governor Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant on May 26, 2026, marking the tenth such warrant issued this year as the state continues its current pace of capital punishment. Spencer was convicted in 1992 of the first-degree murder of his wife, Karen Spencer, in Orange County. Court records detail a prolonged and violent pattern of abuse preceding the homicide. On January 18, 1992, after prior incidents of physical assault and threats, Spencer stabbed his wife to death in their backyard. The trial evidence included testimony that the victim was alive and conscious during the attack, which involved blunt force trauma and multiple stab wounds while the couple's son was present.

Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch wanted an execution that a Trump judge deemed illegal

The Supreme Court these days is generally in the business of helping executions go forward. But on Thursday night, the court did something notable: It told Alabama no. Even then, the court wasn't unanimous. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented from the refusal to let the nitrogen gas execution of Jeffery Lee proceed. What prompted the rare rejection? In line with the typical shadow docket practice, the court didn't explain itself. Nor did the dissenters, who merely noted their disagreement. But a deeper look at the case helps us understand why a majority of the court was unwilling to help the state this time.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog