Atheism increase in troubled areas … observers determine the reasons
Mahmoud , who ended his college years and lives now in his house without a job does not pay importance to religions as many who believe in it are considered killers of people without guilt.
Mahmoud presence in Tikrit city in Salahuddin province and his allegiance to radicals (Left Wing) shows many meanings and indicates that the city that sleep and wake up to violence is no longer free from the presence of those who do not owe allegiance to Islam or any other religion .
Salahuddin has a conservative tribal character on Islamic teachings which are rare to find people who may not believe in God, as is the case with most of the atheists .
But loyalists do not tell their beliefs openly in front of people, although there are a number of them for fear of being killed and registering them as a number in the forensic medicine.
In Iraq , there is Islamic religion ( Sunni and Shiite ) as well as other religions such as Christianity , Sabiya and Yazidiya and some Iraqi Jewish in the past.
But it is not easy to declare being an atheist especially in the troubled areas where there is armed militants, but it reflects the growing fear of blasphemy, observers say .
Usually , clergy and even society advice atheists when they know about them , but it does not affect too much the ideas of other people who are convinced to what they think and this is what makes it not easy to bring them back to religion.
Most of the atheists say the lies of some people and killing with the name of religion is the reason why they don’t believe in anything .
Journalist, Adel Yazdi believes that the spread of atheism in Iraqi society , come as a result of some of the customs and traditions that still adheres to the community and directly affect the reality of Iraqi youth .
“Atheism is a result of the weakness of religious scruples in the community with the emergence of the concepts of atonement and extremism and clear neglect by clerics and preachers to clarify things for young people ," said Yazdi .
He adds to “Shafaq News " that "the situation in the country , whether the security or economic , as the terrorist bombings taking place in Iraqi provinces carried out by those who claim religiosity and supported by organizations that trade with religion prompts the young Iraqi people to believe that religion is bad for this extent and make a reaction that let him resort to atheism as a way to catharsis as a result of the current situation .”
He adds, "The economy is another reason , Iraq is on a sea of oil and young people do not find a job that qualifies him to live a decent life , where we have thousands of unemployed graduates and thousands of others working in a of low-wage work thus their lives are miserable and impact on their thoughts and their faith in God and religion . "
Cleric Sheikh , Hussein Amin told “Shafaq News " that " atheists in Iraq exist but only those who they are weak-minded people , considering any of them someone as an unbeliever and Infidel in all heavenly teachings .
In the opinion of the American researcher in contemporary issues in the history of the Middle East and South Asia and the history professor at the University of Michigan , John Ricardo Cole said in a previous study that he believes the proportion of atheists in Iraq is increasing .
Cole believes that the percentage of atheism reached up to about 32% for several factors , including religious extremism and sectarian and political conflict .
It is difficult for atheists in Iraq to announce their intellectual attitudes and beliefs because their fate is likely being killed.
