Irreligion in the United Arab Emirates

Irreligion in the United Arab Emirates is rare, with only up to 4% of people reporting irreligious beliefs according to a Gallup poll. It is illegal for Muslims,[1] with apostates from Islam facing a maximum sentence of the death penalty under the country's anti-blasphemy law (though this has never resulted in any form of execution in the country’s history)[2]. As such, there have been questions regarding freedom of religion in the United Arab Emirates.

Atheism in the region is mainly present among foreign expatriates and a very small number of local youth.[3][4] According to Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi, due to Islam being founded in the Arabian Peninsula over 1,400 years ago, the Persian Gulf region enjoys a long Islamic history and tradition, and it is strongly associated with national identity; thus, any distancing or criticism of religion "equates to distancing oneself from national identity".[5] Al-Qassemi notes that the use of social media via the internet remains the strongest medium of expression for Gulf atheists, while providing anonymity; a pioneering Gulf blogger is the Emirati atheist Ahmed Ben Kerishan, who is known in the Arabic blogosphere for advocating atheist and secular views.[5][6]

See also

References

  1. ^ AbOhlheiser. "There Are 13 Countries Where Atheism Is Punishable by Death". The Wire. Archived from the original on 2016-07-18. Retrieved 2015-07-01.
  2. ^ "Freedom of Thought Report - Map". freethoughtreport.com.
  3. ^ "Is Gulf youth increasingly drawn to atheism?". The National. 19 August 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Email from an Arab atheist". Al-Bab. 11 August 2013. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  5. ^ a b Al-Qassemi, Sultan Sooud. "Gulf atheism in the age of social media". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  6. ^ Al-Qassemi, Sultan Sooud (20 December 2011). "Pioneer Bloggers in the Gulf Arab States". Jadaliyya. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
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