Témoignage sur la situation catastrophique des athées en Somalie

Last week I received a message from Somalia. The message was from an ex-Muslim. He needs some help after his renunciation of Islam. Yari wrote: “Hello, Leo Igwe. I am from Somalia, a country in East Africa. Somalia is 99 percent Muslim”. Going by this percentage, one could say that there are no godless (Allahless) persons in this region. Is that actually the case? Are there no atheists, skeptics or freethinkers in Somalia?

Surely, the reason why a country such as Somalia could be almost 100 percent Muslim may not be farfetched. It lies somewhere: in the upbringing, in the religious formation of Somalis. Yari stated: “I am 20 years old, raised as a Muslim and my family members are strictly religious”. Actually, there is often a thin line separating strict and extreme religiosity. Incidentally, in the case of Yari, the strict religious upbringing backfired. He became an apostate. As he stated: “It was in December 2018 that I lost faith in Islam and became an atheist”. This is what Yari said regarding how he felt as an atheist or as a person without faith in Allah: “Since the time I renounced Islam, I have felt much happier and more active”. This is because for many apostates, renouncing religion, in this case Islam, is usually a relieving experience. It is like getting rid of something that has been a source of sadness and pain.
Meanwhile, apostasy is a crime under Islamic law. Apostates are attacked, killed, beheaded or imprisoned until they recant. So ex-Muslims find it extremely difficult to go open and public with their disbelief. Yari’s excitement was short-lived.

As he noted in the message: `…but it was last month that my sister had, while using my phone, learned about all my activity, especially that I was a critic of Islam and an atheist. She informed my parents and they pressured and tortured me. My father vowed that he would kill me if I didn’t change my ideas immediately. I wasn’t allowed to venture outside the home. They obliged me to read and listen to the Quran all day, in the hope that I would come back to the religion”.