Egypt considering new law to ban atheism

Over the last few days, several outlets have reported that the Egyptian government may be about to outlaw atheism:

Following the 2013 overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, Egyptian authorities launched a crackdown on dissent that initially targeted the ousted president’s supporters but which later widened, targeting also liberal activists including many who had risen against Morsi: journalists, members of the LGBT community and now atheists.

The Egyptian parliament has in recent days discussed a proposed bill to criminalize atheism. The draft law was submitted by Amr Hamroush, the head of parliament’s Committee on Religion, who argues that lack of belief in God is a form of contempt of religion (something punishable by up to five years in prison under Egyptian law).

“Atheism rates are on the rise in Egypt. It is a dangerous trend that needs to be curtailed as it threatens the very fabric of our society,” he said, adding that religious institutions have a major role to play in countering the phenomenon.

It’s difficult to tell how likely the bill is to pass from the outside; we can only wait and see whether it does or doesn’t. But the fact that it’s entirely believable for this to happen illustrates everything that’s wrong with letting religion and state intertwine, and why it’s so crucially important to uphold strict secularism in government.

It also throws into sharp contrast all the deluded whinging from US Bible-thumpers who claim that criticism of their homophobia and preventing them from violating the Establishment Clause means the government is criminalizing Christianity. Once again, they only need look abroad to see what actual religious persecution looks like.

(via @sarahemclaugh; retweet by @Popehat)