In the name of Allāh, ar-Raḥmān (the most merciful), ar-Raḥīm (the bestower of mercy).
This is the fourth part of a series of articles regarding Atheism. The articles are an edited translation of the following book, authored by our Shaykh Salih Ibn AbdulAziz as-Sindhi, entitled:
الإِلْحَـــاد: أَسبَابُهُ ومَخَاطِرُهُ وسُبُلُ مُوَاجَهَتِهِ
“Atheism: Causes, Dangers, and Strategies to Counter It”
Read the 1st Article: Introduction
https://madeenah.com/atheism-causes-dangers-strategies-1st-article/
4th Article: The Spread of Atheism
The presence of Atheism among people in the past was very rare; historically only a very few people denied the existence of Allāh, it was not a movement rather it was to a ragtag of individuals, the most well-known of them was Pharaoh who said:
{قَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ وَمَا رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ} الشعراء: ٢٣
{Pharaoh said, “And what is the Lord of the worlds?”} [26:23]
Along with Pharaoh, a group of philosophers denied the existence of a creator as well as some of the Arab pagans who were known as: ad-Dahriyyah. [1] They claimed eternal existence of the universe and denied the existence of a creator.
The fact that it was only isolated individuals and small numbered groups who professed this belief shows that the denial of a Creator did not gain much momentum with people in the past.
Regarding this, the ancient Greek philosopher Plutarch said: “In your travels you may come upon cities without walls, without writings, kings, houses or property; [cities] running without currency, having no notion of a theatre or gymnasium; but a city without holy places and gods, without any observance of prayers, oaths, oracles, sacrifices for blessings received or rites to avoid evils – no traveller has ever seen or will see.” [2]
In modern times however, the situation changed.
After the 17th century and during the beginning of the 18th century, due to scientific and technological advancement in the Western world, there was an asserted campaign which was initiated to completely deny the existence of the creator.
This was the era of Marx [3], Darwin [4], Nietzsche [5] and Freud [6]. They hypothesised scientific, psychological, economic and social theories in which there was no place for the belief in the existence of a Creator.
This movement was encouraged and facilitated by the frailty of Christianity during the middle-ages and the ensuing years, mainly as a of wars, crimes and violations that were committed in Europe in the name of religion, mainly by the Catholic Church, against what they considered to be heresies or opposition to the tenets of the church.
Importantly, the movement was not restricted to the scientists, psychologists and sociologists. In fact, the literary writers of that time predicted: ‘the death of religion and the Creator’ and claimed that “religion has distanced people from humanity due to it obligating laws which oppose human nature, freedom and happiness.”.
Such notions coincided with the well-known theories and research of Darwin which completely discredited the creation of universe theory which is mentioned in the holy scriptures of Christianity.
During this time, Nietzsche also published his well-known works, such as “Gott ist Tot” (God is Dead) [7] and “Der Antichrist” (The Anti-Christ) in which he described religion as: “pitiable, absurd, harmful; not a mere error, but a crime against life”.
This is how the ideas and notions of the Atheists during this era encouraged people to reject religion, this as well as the illogical activities and teachings of the church.
Marx also made his famous statement, “there is no god, life is materialism” and “religion is the opium of the masses”, thereby viewing the masses as being docile and being unable to affect the reality they live in.
Freud emerged with his theories that “Religion is a mere figment of imagination that humanity was in need of towards the beginning of its existence”. He regarded God as “an illusion to reach perfection, based on the infantile need for a powerful and perfect father figure”. He perceived that man, during his infant years, looks towards his father as a perfect figure. However, after a while, he realizes that perfection does not exist in humans, and therefore the subconscious mind tries to find a solution for this dilemma by creating an imaginary figure who symbolizes perfection.
Asides from the above, there were additional political factors which directed people towards the notion of segregating religion from politics such as the political changes which occurred in France after the French revolution, as well as the state of Britain and other European countries.
This is how modern Atheism began in the west and spread so quickly, until it reached us in these latter years with much strength and vigour, after a period of weakness due to the collapse of the Soviet state which was the main source of its vision, emergence as well as promotion and funding.
According to statistics, the spread of atheism in the world is increasing at an alarming rate. Statistics were gathered by an organisation called: Eurobarometer [8] – this is one of the largest organisations for gathering statistics in Europe. It mentioned that 18% of the population of Europe in 2005 identified themselves as atheist and do not believe in the existence of a creator. A further 27% do not believe in a creator, however they believe in a spiritual world or a force behind existence.
Another statistic gathering organisation called Ipsos Reid which is a global market and opinion research specialist organisation mentioned that the number of Atheists in Canada, in 2011, reached 43%.
The Financial Times newspaper reported, that by the year 2006. 65% of Japan was Atheist.
NGO statistics have also stated that the number of atheists in Mexico is Above 5.2%, and in China 8-14%, in addition to the very large number of Buddhists who are, in reality, Atheists.
The British Broadcasting Commission (BBC) have stated that Atheism in America has reached 9%, other official and non-official statistics affirm that Atheism in the United Kingdom is perpetually increasing; 55% of atheists are under the age of 35, and that American universities are fertile ground for the spread of Atheism.
The above all relates to non-Muslim countries, therefore what can be said regarding Muslim countries?
A person who knows and analyses Islamic history will find only individual and extremely sporadic cases of Muslims who apostatised to Atheism. The most well-known case being Ibn ar-Rawandī [9] who was a Jew, and then converted to Islām, he then reverted to Judaism and finally Atheism.
As for modern Atheism, it entered the Islamic world in middle of the 19th century, funded and supported by colonialism and camouflaged by the guise of westernisation, calling to freedom of thought, scientific rationalism. Initially it was “enlightenment”, but the reality was Atheism and denying the existence of Allāh, the exalted and majestic.
Modern history has recorded many names who have reserved for themselves a place in the records of this oppressive Atheism; amongst them are those who enthusiastically called and preached it, laying down its principle and foundations.
I do not think that anybody is ignorant to the fact that the Islamic world will be affected by the spread of western Atheism due to the mass communication, constant presence and proximity between the various nations in the modern age.
Footnotes
[1] Commonly translated as: Materialists, Allāh spoke about them in the Qur’ān:
{And they say, “There is not but our worldly life; we die and live, and nothing destroys us except ad-Dahr (time).” And they have of that no knowledge; they are only assuming} [45:24]
{And they say, “There is none but our worldly life, and we will not be resurrected.”} [06:29]
[2] Refer to: “Among the Gentiles: Greco-Roman Religion and Christianity” by Luke Timothy Johnson.
[3] Karl Marx [d: 1883] was German philosopher, political theorist and economist. After being expelled from Germany, and later from Belgium, he settled in London and died there. He co-authored “The Communist Manifesto” which became one of the foundational texts for Communist states such as the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China.
[4] Charles Darwin [d. 1882] was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist. He proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection
[5] Friedrich Nietzsche [d: 1900] was a German philosopher who was best known for his critiques of religion and Christian morality. He proposed concepts such the “Will to Power” and that people created God not the other way round. He is infamous for his declaration that “God is Dead”. Towards the end of his life, he suffered from a mental and physical collapse, and was incapacitated for the last decade of his life.
[6] Sigmund Freud (d. 1939) was an Austrian neurologist. Although he was born into a Jewish family, he himself identified as atheist later in life. He criticised religion, viewing it an illusion rooted in human psychological needs.
[7] This phrase is contained in his book: “The Gay Science” and later in “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”.
[8] Eurobarometer is a series of public opinion surveys carried out regularly on behalf of the European Commission across the member states of the European Union. It was launched in 1974.
[9] He is Abul Ḥasan Aḥmad Ibn Yaḥya ar-Rāwandiī [d: 298h]. He was born in Rāwand, near the Persian city of Isfahan in modern-day Iran. He was within the circles of the Mu’tazilah, from there he moved to accepting Shi’ism, and finally Atheism of Agnosticism.
Adh-Dhahabi said regarding him: “The Atheist, the enemy of the religion, Abu al-Ḥasan Aḥmad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Isḥāq ar-Rāwandī – the author of works attacking the religious community – used to associate closely with the Rāfiḍah and the heretics. When he was reproached, he would say: “I only wish to know their views.” [Siyar A’lām an-Nubalā]
