Australia has accepted atheism as grounds for asylum for those fleeing religious persecution in Afghanistan. Israel-Palestinians: Old grievances fuel new fighting1, Children killed in shooting at Russian school2, Death toll grows as Israel-Gaza violence escalates3, More bodies wash up on bank of river Ganges4, Ancient skeleton believed to be volcano rescuer5, Cruise returns Golden Globes as NBC drops awards6, From school chorister to mummified cult leader7, Boy, 13, crushed to death after sleeping in bin8, First major event for Queen since Philip's death9, Ten killed in Ballymurphy were innocent - coroner10. In light of these facts, and in light of the quest for peace, there is an inescapable conclusion that people are seemingly extremely reluctant to admit out loud. Atheism is only the absence of belief in deities. Afghanistan is not alone in … [1] According to the 2012 WIN-Gallup Global Index of Religion and Atheism report, Afghanistan ranks among the countries where people are least likely to admit to being an atheist. In a number of other countries, the death penalty is not a formal punishment on statute books but atheists and humanists have been murdered by religious extremists on account of their beliefs. From school choir girl to mummified cult leader, Pakistan prepares for Eid, rattled by crisis in India, 'I fight anti-vax myths with honeypot groups', Mind-boggling magnets could unlock plentiful power. He was brought up a Muslim, but during his time in the UK became an atheist, his legal team said. There is no compassion for Muslims who "betray their faith" by converting to other religions or who simply stop believing in one God and the Prophet Muhammad. Pakistani atheists – a broad term encompassing agnostics, the irreligious, deists, and humanists alike – have been lazily painted by the Islamists … The danger comes when it is made public that a Muslim has stopped believing in the principles of Islam. Why is the US short of chicken and ketchup? Apostasy and conversion to atheism carry death sentences in Afghanistan's Islamic legal system. However, more recently, the Afghan parliament in May scrapped the 25% quota reservation for women in the 34 provincial councils. In recent times, people have been inspired by different belief systems and ideologies including communism. Death toll grows as Israel-Gaza violence escalates, More bodies wash up on bank of river Ganges, Israel-Palestinians: Old grievances fuel new fighting, 'I'm ashamed my father was a Capitol Hill rioter' Video'I'm ashamed my father was a Capitol Hill rioter', The family locked up by Australia for three years, The Indian newsroom counting the uncounted deaths. But the appeal court commuted the sentence to 20 years' imprisonment before President Hamid Karzai granted him amnesty and he left the country. Conversion, or apostasy, is also a crime under Afghanistan's Islamic law and is punishable by death. Some observers suspect that such claims are made by people who are desperate to make their asylum cases stronger. Afghans in general take pride in being true Muslims who have made great sacrifices for their faith and who have served it more than any other nation in the region. An Afghan citizen has been granted asylum in the UK for religious reasons - because he is an atheist. However, non-Muslims, especially Hindus and Sikhs, have been living peacefully in Afghanistan for centuries. But the only way to survive as an atheist in Afghanistan is to hide one’s identity and pretend to be a Muslim. Apostates are usually disowned by their families. In 2006, an Afghan, Abdul Rahman, who announced his conversion to Christianity escaped a possible death sentence. Voices As an Afghan immigrant, Britain and atheism showed me the bright side of democracy. Bhagat Singh (1907-1931) a.k.a. Atheism is often confused with non-religion or irreligion, which is the absence of, or indifference towards, religion. An Afghan citizen has been granted asylum in the UK because he is an atheist, in what is being seen as a landmark case. [2], Apostasy is a crime under the sharia of Afghanistan,[3] apostates are not seen kindly. A young Afghan man who became an atheist after coming to Britain has been granted asylum on the grounds that the threat to his life for having no faith would amount to “religious” persecution. Mob lynchings have also been known to happen. They also take pride in the fact that they have never been colonised while other Muslim nations in Asia and Africa were colonies for centuries. According to a study by Humanists International (HI), Afghanistan is one of the seven countries in the world (the other six being Iran, the Maldives, Mauritania, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Sudan) where being an atheist or a convert can lead to a death sentence. My life would be completely different had my parents chosen to settle in Kabul. The atheist boom online was a grand paradox in itself, ... Du Youkang on China’s Stake in Afghanistan By Shannon Tiezzi. Kathleen Johnson is the Vice President of American Atheists and founder of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers. Afghans point to examples in history such as the Third Battle of Panipat (India) in 1761 when the Afghan King Ahmed Shah Abdali assisted Muslim rulers in India to defeat the forces of the Maratha Empire, and the three wars with the British Empire in which Afghans successfully defended their country. The BBC's Dawood Azami explains why religion is a very sensitive issue in Afghanistan's conservative and traditional society. Another Afghan, Pervez Kambaksh, was sentenced to death in 2007 for "blasphemy and distribution of texts defamatory of Islam". Why is the US short of chicken and ketchup? For those who were born Muslim, it might be possible to live in Afghan society if one does not practise Islam or even becomes an "apostate" or a "convert". The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. But belief is a secret. Lawyers for the man, who has not been identified, said on January 14 that he came to Britain in 2007, aged 16, and gradually lost his Muslim faith. According to The World Factbook Sunni Muslims constitute between 82.7 - 89.7% of the population, and Shia Muslims between 10 - 17%. 'I'm ashamed my father was a Capitol Hill rioter' Video, 'I'm ashamed my father was a Capitol Hill rioter', Why is the US short of chicken and ketchup? [28] Historically, the area that later came to be known as Afghanistan was the power centre of several Muslim empires in the region. But if their unbelief were made known, a Muslim apostate would be in grave danger. An Afghan man has been granted asylum in Britain on the basis of his atheism, in what is thought to be the first decision of its kind. Children killed in shooting at Russian school. Hitchens also vociferously supported the 2003 Iraq invasion, while Harris saw Western engagement with Islam and the Muslim world as part of a war that the West must win, or else face “bondage”. There is probably even an atheist Islam, just as there are atheist Jews and – cultural Islams in the same mold that Richard Dawkins talks about when he calls himself a cultural Christian. Atheist Afghan Receives Asylum in the UK An Afghan citizen has been granted religious asylum in the United Kingdom because he identifies himself as an atheist. After the UK granted asylum to an Afghan man on the ground of his atheism, Anna Vesterinen surveys the countries where a lack of belief can put your life at risk. So thankfully, being Atheist is not accepted but awkwardly tolerated in urban Afghanistan, or at least in Kabul. Read about our approach to external linking. Here in Sweden I do it all the time, both online and with friends. An Afghan man has been granted asylum in Britain because of his ‘human right’ to religion - despite him being an atheist. Read about our approach to external linking. The survey was carried out ... Afghanistan ranked first for islam > percentage muslim amongst Landlocked countries in 2004. Afghanistan and Pakistan have traditional Islamic societies.There would be athiests,it is possible.If they are born athiests or do not announce theirself athiests or keep silence then the most probably they would be living here normally.But if they are converted ones, discuss their beliefs and propagate their creed then they can have some problems here because they may feel themself aloof and downtrodden. As much as 90% of the population follow Sunni Islam. There are, of course, atheists in Afghanistan — apostates from Islam, even. With no way out of their hopeless situations, many Afghan women commit suicide by self-immolation (setting oneself on fire), an extremely painful way to die. Ancient skeleton believed to be volcano rescuer, Cruise returns Golden Globes as NBC drops awards, From school chorister to mummified cult leader, Boy, 13, crushed to death after sleeping in bin, First major event for Queen since Philip's death, Ten killed in Ballymurphy were innocent - coroner. But he was released and was offered asylum in Italy. In a landmark ruling, the Home Office granted asylum to an Afghan atheist yesterday. [25][26][27] The Iranian Atheists Association was established in 2013 to form a platform for Iranian atheists to start debates and to question the current Islamic regime’s attitude towards atheists, apostasy, and human rights. They are safe as long as they keep quiet about it. [5], Persecution of atheists in Islamic countries, "Atheists around world suffer persecution, discrimination: report", BBC News, "Afghanistan treads religious tightrope", "Atheist Afghan granted religious asylum in UK", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Irreligion_in_Afghanistan&oldid=1020394838, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 28 April 2021, at 20:53. What the peace process and U.S. withdrawal means for Beijing. He had come to the UK with his family when he was 16, and had become an atheist while living there. Even living "discreetly" as an atheist might prove impossible, it was argued, given that "every aspect of daily life and culture in Afghanistan is permeated by Islam". An Afghan man is believed to have become the first atheist to be granted asylum in the UK on the basis of his views on religion. Criticizing Islam, the Qur’an or the Prophet Muhammad is fatal. She is a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts and retired as a First Sergeant after more than 20 years service. The authors write (p. 2202): researchers involved in [the analyses] report that forced and child marriages, as well as violence perpetrated by husbands, in-laws, and husbands’ other wives, were common precursors to acts of self … [4], In January 2014, an Afghan man living in the UK since 2007 was granted asylum under the 1951 Refugee Convention. Secularism and atheism > Population considering religion unimportant: Percentage of population who says religion is not important in their daily lives. Most of them are safe from persecution because they conceal their non-Muslim beliefs. According to the 2012 WIN-Gallup Global Index of Religion and Atheism report, Afghanistan ranks among the countries where people are least likely to admit to being an atheist. An Afghan citizen has been granted asylum in Britain on religious grounds because he is an atheist. LONDON: Britain has granted asylum to an atheist from Afghanistan due to fears he would be prosecuted back home, in what is believed to be the first case of its kind, his lawyers said Tuesday. Islam is seen as being central to Afghan society and identity An Afghan citizen has been granted asylum in the UK because he is an atheist, in what is being seen as a landmark case. Unfortunately, the court claims that I can live in Afghanistan anyway and that I will not be at risk. According to a study by Humanists International (HI), Afghanistan is one of the seven countries in the world (the other six being Iran, the Maldives, Mauritania, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Sudan) where being an atheist or a convert can lead to a death sentence. “The status of atheism under the 1951 refugee convention is not consistently applied by countries around the world. More than a century ago, an English Christian missionary and doctor, Theodore Pennell (1867-1912), wrote about an Afghan from eastern Laghman province whom he converted while he was admitted to his hospital near Peshawar. An Afghan citizen has been granted asylum in the UK for religious reasons - because he is an atheist. The Home Office accepted that the man's religious beliefs could result in a death sentence under sharia law. VideoWhy is the US short of chicken and ketchup? Because atheists will refer to themselves as agnostics, cultural Catholics, humanists, non-religious and other terms, it is hard to accurately estimate the exact number of atheists. Numerous writers, thinkers and philanthropists have been accused of apostasy and sentenced to death for questioning the prevailing interpretation of Islam in Iran. Video. Who knows what is going on in someone's mind? This last point suggests that the Home Office may have applied a precedent created in a case decided by the European Court of Justice in September 2012. © 2021 BBC. Conversions from Islam have been extremely rare in the country's history. The man fled to the UK from a conflict involving his family in Afghanistan in 2007, aged 16, and was allowed to stay in the UK until 2013. Afghanistan is an Islamic republic, in which most citizens follow Islam. And, in most cases, the family itself disowns a person who becomes an apostate. The man's legal team argued that he may face a death sentence if he returned. New atheism and the ‘War on Terror’ All three of these New Atheists were sympathetic to the attack on Afghanistan in 2001. Apostates, including atheists, are considered safe if they were brought up as Muslim and do not make their beliefs public. There is this ex-Muslim and critic by the name of Asad Buda who says things more offensive and hateful about Islam, Prophet Muhammad and other religious figures on his Facebook page than any mainstream militant atheist on American television. But the young man had to leave his country fearing for his life. They argued that he could face a death sentence as an apostate if he was returned to Afghanistan. 0.3% follow other minority religions. Afghans believe they have served Islam off the battlefield too, with Afghan Sufi mystics, scholars and preachers going to other countries where they promoted Islam. Seven children and two adults have been killed in a shooting in the city of Kazan, officials say. 27 talking about this. And, of course, the war against the Soviets in the 1980s contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of several Muslim countries in Central Asia. In the aftermath of the liberation of Afghanistan from Taliban rule, the new constitution made men and women equal, outlawed rape and allowed girls to return to school. An Afghan man has been granted asylum in the UK based on his declared atheism. This is reportedly the first time non-belief has been the basis for receiving asylum in the UK. Atheist leader of Communist Russia (and the Soviet Union) whose genocide in Afghanistan killed 900,000 people. In some instances, people may even take matters into their own hands and beat an apostate to death without the case going to court. What happens to your body in extreme heat? Sections of this page. 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