There鈥檚 the Tunisian woman who fasts during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, though not for God. The Iraqi woman who, until recently, wore a hijab. And a man whose Egyptian identity card still identifies him as 鈥淢uslim.鈥
Such are the ways that some of the religiously unaffiliated, or 鈥渘ones鈥 鈥 people who are agnostics, atheists or nothing in particular 鈥 negotiate their existence in the Middle East and North Africa, or MENA, where religion is often ingrained in life鈥檚 very fabric.
Aware that rejecting religion can have repercussions, many conceal that part of themselves. Declaring disbelief may spur social stigma, ostracism by loved ones or even unleash the wrath of authorities, especially if going public is coupled with real or perceived attacks on religion or God.
鈥淚 have a double life all the time,鈥 said the 27-year-old Tunisian woman. 鈥淚t鈥檚 better than having conflict every day.鈥
Many nonbelievers seek community, ideas or pockets of digital defiance on the internet even though online spaces can come with risks.
Most of those interviewed by The Associated Press spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions and because some of their families don鈥檛 know how they religiously identify.
鈥淭he Middle East is the birthplace of the three heavenly religions and there鈥檚 no doubt that the region鈥檚 culture has long been intertwined with religion,鈥 said Mustapha Kamel al-Sayyid, a political science professor at Cairo University. 鈥淩eligion has also been a source of legitimacy for rulers, a source for knowledge and behavioral norms.鈥
Many in Arab countries, he said, associate lack of religion with immorality. 鈥淭o them, you cannot talk about the rights of someone who is a danger to society.鈥
Bans on blasphemy appear in different parts of the world. But, according to a Pew Research Center analysis, in the MENA region as of 2019.
The Tunisian woman said she fasts to avoid being found out by her family. She pretends to sleep to skip gatherings, where relatives may take aim at her suspected disbelief.
From an early age, she rejected how Islam was practiced in her home. She said her father would sometimes force her to pray. Resisting traditional interpretations of such things as gender roles, she turned to progressive Muslim readings.
She now sees herself as nothing in particular and open to different spiritual paths.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e socially perceived like you are public enemy,鈥 she said. 鈥淧eople hate you without knowing you.鈥
Hany Elmihy hoped conditions could change. The 57-year-old Egyptian agnostic and some other nonbelievers saw a window for visibility following the 鈥淎rab Spring" uprisings.
Elmihy said he founded a Facebook group for Egyptians without religion in 2011, while similar ones formed in other Arab countries. Mass protests demanding political change had just unseated an Egyptian president then, highlighting the power of social media for dissent.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not the revolution that turned some into atheists or irreligious; the revolution gave them the freedom and courage to speak up,鈥 Elmihy said.
Elmihy said he was insulted, threatened, and attacked by unknown assailants.
Seeking recognition, he tried to change the 鈥淢uslim鈥 designation listed on his identity card to state he adheres to no religion. He failed.
After the , he left Egypt in 2015 and now lives in Norway.
鈥淪ociety scared me the most,鈥 Elmihy said. 鈥淚 felt isolated."
He views his earlier advocacy with mixed feelings, but says 鈥渋t was important to let the society know that the religiously unaffiliated exist.鈥
Some took note.
Ishak Ibrahim, a researcher with the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, said Egypt鈥檚 youth ministry announced plans in 2014 to combat atheism in collaboration with religious bodies.
Local press also reported on anti-atheism efforts by some Islamic and Christian institutions.
鈥淲e believe that those who don鈥檛 belong to religion are committing a sin but it鈥檚 not our responsibility to hold them accountable,鈥 said Abbas Shouman, an official with Al-Azhar, the Cairo-based seat of Sunni Muslim learning. The role of religious authorities, he said 鈥渋s only to explain, clarify, spread the right education and respond to suspicions.鈥
Shouman rejects attacks on religion, saying nonbelievers "have the right to defend their beliefs as they wish but not to go after others鈥 beliefs and affiliations.鈥
Atheism is not criminalized in Egypt, Ibrahim said. Last year, Ibrahim鈥檚 EIPR said an Egyptian court upheld a three-year-prison sentence and a fine against a blogger charged with contempt of religion and misusing social media. The organization, whose lawyer appealed the earlier verdict, has said the man was accused of managing a Facebook page for Egyptian atheists that allegedly criticizes religions.
In May, convicted of blasphemy, carrying out rare death sentences for the crime. The men were accused of involvement in a Telegram channel called 鈥淐ritique of Superstition and Religion,鈥 according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The Mizan news agency of Iran鈥檚 judiciary described the two as having insulted Prophet Muhammad and promoted atheism.
In Saudi Arabia, a court has sentenced a man to 10 years in prison and 2,000 lashes on accusations of expressing atheism online; a media report said in 2016 that religious police found tweets denying the existence of God and ridiculing Quranic verses.
For some, like Ahmad, religious disbelief hasn鈥檛 caused tensions. But the 33-year-old Lebanese, who comes from a Shiite Muslim family and now lives in Qatar, wanted his last name withheld because of the sensitivity of the subject.
鈥淲e have an unspoken agreement: I don鈥檛 criticize religion and you don鈥檛 criticize my lack of religion,鈥 he said. He鈥檚 religiously unaffiliated, and says he cannot believe 鈥渋n something that I cannot touch or cannot see.鈥
The role of sectarian divisions in fueling conflicts in Lebanon is one reason Talar Demirdjian distanced herself from religion.
鈥淧eople either go very into their religion or their sects, or the other side.鈥 A Lebanese Armenian of Christian heritage, Demirdjian said about religion, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 even think about it enough to tick a label.鈥
For one Iraqi woman, questions started when a childhood dream to one day become an imam like her grandfather was quashed because she is a girl. Iraq鈥檚 turmoil fueled her disbelief.
The 24-year-old's generation witnessed the U.S.-led invasion, militancy, sectarian violence, the brutal reign of the Islamic State and increasing clout of militias.
She鈥檚 worn the Islamic headscarf before and, for a while, after she became agnostic. When militants proliferated where she lived, she donned it to stay out of danger; at other times, it was to socially fit in. She removed it around 2020.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 tell people that I am agnostic,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檇 be an act of stupidity to do so in such a society.鈥
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AP writers Youcef Bounab in Paris and Abdulrahman Zeyad in Baghdad contributed.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
