Irreligion in Yemen
Irreligion in Yemen is uncommon among Yemenis, as Islam is the predominant faith.[1] It is difficult to quantify the number of atheists in Yemen, as they are not officially counted in the census of the country. There is a great stigma attached to being an atheist in Yemen, so many Yemeni atheists communicate with each other via the internet.[1]
The punishment for leaving Islam in Yemen is the death penalty.[2][1][3][4][5]
News and social media
In response to 2013 Sana'a attack, a Yemeni woman from Bajil in Hudaydah declared converting from Islam to Christianity and immediately, the government put her under investigations, after a chance timeout, sent her to a psychiatric hospital.[6][7] By the end of 2013, a new page was founded on the facebook and encouraging non-religious Yemenis to show up and not to get afraid of the wild community reaction.[8] There has been also a broad misconception between secularism and atheism or even being non religious, many activists were kidnapped due to that confusion, examples of those events
- On 4th September, 2015 a secular activist named Anwar Al-Wazir was kidnapped in Taiz in front of his family for being secular.[9][10][11]
- On 26th, April, 2016 a 17 year old activist called Omar Bataweel was accused for atheism and killed in Aden. One of his famous quotes was "They accuse me of atheism! Oh you people, I see God in the flowers, and you see Him in the graveyards, that is the difference between me and you".[12][13]
- On 15th, May, 2017 Amjad Abdulrahman, a friend of Omar was murdered in Aden again for apostasy. His family was prevented from burrying him in his area and from doing Muslim funeral prayer.[14][15][16]
See also
- Persecution of atheists in Islamic countries
- Persecution of atheists in the Middle East
- Religion in Yemen
- Freedom of religion in Yemen
- Christianity in Yemen
- Islam in Yemen
- Demographics of Yemen
References
- 1 2 3 "Yemen’s Atheists, Banned by Islamic Law, Find Safe Haven Online". Media Line. Retrieved 2014-03-12.
- ↑ Robert Evans (9 December 2013). "Atheists face death in 13 countries, global discrimination: study". Reuters.
- ↑ "Of little faith: world's most dangerous places for atheists". Channel 4. Retrieved 2014-03-12.
- ↑ "Yemen’s atheists, banned by Islamic law, find safe haven online". Retrieved 6 April 2017.
- ↑ "Laws Criminalizing Apostasy". 6 April 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
- ↑ The Yemeni government puts Fatima Al Salem in a psychiatric hospital after converting Christianity - Radio Sawa (Arabic article, Google translation)
- ↑ sedevacantisme (15 February 2014). "Fatima Mohammed al-Salem convertie au Christ et persécutée pour Lui". Retrieved 6 April 2017.
- ↑ IrreligiousYemenis- a social page for the non-religion followers of Yemeni community
- ↑ Killing Anwar Alwazir in front of his kids (Arabic)
- ↑ Killing Anwar Alwazir in front of his kids (Arabic)
- ↑ Who Killed Anwar Alwazir (Arabic)
- ↑ [https://stateofmind13.com/2016/04/27/omar-mohammad-the-17-year-old-martyr-of-arab-free-thought-and-speech/ Omar Mohammad: The 17 Year Old Martyr Of Arab Free Thought and Speech]
- ↑ Yemeni accused of atheism is murdered
- ↑ In Aden, Yemeni activists still live in fear
- ↑ Gunmen Kill a Human Rights Activist at an Internet Cafe in Aden
- ↑ Activist in Aden shot dead by unknown gunmen