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457:. Although he was granted a visa by the British authorities, Egyptian authorities stopped him at the airport and prevented him from travelling to the UK. In response, the Conference Organising Committee drafted a brief resolution, adopted by the attendees, which stated: "The International Conference on Freedom of Conscience and Expression is outraged to learn that the Egyptian government has prevented Ismail Mohamed from speaking at our conference, where he would have been a crucial voice. We demand that the Egyptian government allow Ismail freedom of movement and end his persecution and that of all freethinkers." At the subsequent
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people: "No one can declare his atheism and remain in the same social and professional life. (...) The majority of those who declared atheism are now social outcasts." "I am not gay, but I have gay friends who live in very difficult circumstances. Almost all of them live a double life. the community
432:
On 24 March 2015, Mohamed participated in an open discussion between non-religious
Egyptians, moderated by researcher Amr Ezzat and hosted by the Religion and Freedoms Forum at the headquarters of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. To an audience member who said that atheists would receive
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video. He calmly and 'confidently' made his case for nonbelief, despite being ridiculed by the host and call-in guests. Amongst the things he said was: "We are not trying to divide the society more than it already is, we simply ask the complete freedom of belief as it exists in any modern state." A
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administration is open to atheism, citing media reports of the president speaking in favour of atheists in a meeting with intellectuals in
January 2015. “I believe El-Sisi understands the backwardness we’ve reached by way of prior religious speech. saved us from the darkness of Muslim Brotherhood
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seeks to "offer a space where agnostic and atheist Arabs can speak freely about their right to choose what they believe and resist coercion and misogyny from religious authorities." Mohamed himself described the programme as "a show featuring interviews spanning the broad spectrum of Arab atheists
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as a 'Muslim hero' back in the day). His father didn't actively practice Islam, and although he lacked a college education, he had a passion for science and encouraged Ismail to read books and gather information online when the
Internet emerged. Unlike Mohamed's father, his uncle, who helped raise
414:, Mohamed said he and his fellow nonbelievers wanted to normalise atheism in Egypt instead of having to leave the country where his family and job are. While the interview was going on, they were interrupted by passers-by, who objected to him expressing and spreading his atheistic views publicly.
357:
Despite the threats, Mohamed remained tenacious, arguing that if more former
Muslims speak out, leaving Islam will be normalised and there will be fewer threats as a result. In June 2015, when there were about 18 Arab atheist online talk shows, he was the only host who had not fled his country to
345:
Some people have argued or threatened that
Mohamed should be killed for being an apostate, and he has occasionally been beaten up or threatened with death in the streets of Alexandria and Cairo when passers-by recognised him from the show. In a Cairo café, a few months after being beaten up in
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with nothing more than a computer, speakers and a small piece of paper featuring the show's logo. Every guest interviewed by
Mohamed comes from across the Middle East, usually explaining why they left Islam and how they deal with their apostasy and atheism in everyday life in their respective
338:
YouTube excerpt of the interview went viral quickly, reaching hundreds of thousands of views within a few months. Many were amazed, with political analyst and human rights activist Hisham Kassem saying: "I never thought I would see this in my lifetime." At the time, Mohamed was studying at
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and non-religious people from all over the Middle East and North Africa, providing a platform where they can speak freely without fear, sounding their demands for equal rights and demonstrating that they really do exist." He explained that a 'black duck' is the Arabic equivalent of a
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thinkers. He left Islam in 2012 and eventually came out as an atheist to his parents, who took some time to accept it, but embraced the debate and started questioning parts of Islam themselves, while still holding on to the religion.
428:
quoted
Mohamed as saying. He further advocated the adoption of a set of laws, such as a civil marriage law which would enable interfaith marriages or atheists to marry outside of the church or the mosque.
342:'s Faculty of Education, while working at a laundry shop; he was barred from working at many other companies because of his irreligious activities. He would go on to become an Internet developer by 2015.
259:
333:
Ismail
Mohamed made a breakthrough as the first outspoken atheist appearing on Egyptian television in November 2013, being invited to discuss irreligion not long after posting his first
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437:
answered that "We have the right to express ourselves," and Ismail
Mohamed added: "Can we first have our rights before we talk about insults and foul language?"
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being mandatory in their state. Not all guests are necessarily atheists; sometimes religious people, especially from minority religions in the MENA region, or
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commented: "We stand with you, Ismail, always and forever." In his absence, the award was accepted by Imad Iddine Habib on
Mohamed's behalf.
219:. This forced me to search. And I was surprised with many things. I started to study the religions of the Middle East. I read the history of
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has enabled young atheists in the country to be heard after decades of censorship. By June 2018, Mohamed had produced over 300
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like Egypt are great places for conservative Muslim heterosexual men to live in, but bad for others, especially atheists and
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and knew little about atheism, he questioned whether the arrests were fair. In the process, he explored atheism and the
448:, themed "International Conference on Freedom of Conscience and Expression", Mohamed was scheduled to speak during the
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2017 passes a resolution condemning the Egyptian government's persecution of Ismail Mohamed and all other freethinkers.
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350:. He escaped with his life when the police arrived. Several months later, he and his wife relocated to a town on the
461:(31:32), Mohamed was given an award for his efforts to emancipate non-believers in Egypt and the wider MENA region.
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when numerous online atheists were imprisoned following accusations of "insulting religion", which is subject to
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may be married to another sex or show that they love the opposite sex, but in fact, they are gay or lesbian."
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seek asylum in the West, having produced about 160 episodes on Egyptian soil. Unlike other programmes,
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Alexandria, he faced a crowd of hundreds of people angrily cursing him for publicly saying
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in 2012, which granted access to a lot more information such as the writings of
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and accepting their growing presence in society. According to Mohamed, the
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183:'s songs, came into conflict with his religious fervour and his community.
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166:. (Mohamed was aged 18; he recalled that in Jordan, many people regarded
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coast, where he feels safer because of the presence of tourist police.
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appeared on the show from behind their computers unveiled, despite the
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654:"Non-believers express their thoughts at Religion and Freedoms Forum"
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him, was a devout man who took him to the mosque and forced him to
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945:"UK: Secular Conference on Freedom of Expression and Conscience"
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Mohamed states the show's goals and addresses criticisms (2017).
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179:. During his adolescence, Mohamed's love for music, especially
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which he was never taught in school. “The science is sure the
922:"Freedom of Conscience and Expression Conference Resolutions"
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more sympathy if they did not frequently "insult religion",
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163:
521:"In Conversation with Ismail Mohamed of "The Black Ducks""
864:"Atheism in Egypt: The challenges facing non-believers?"
768:"Reportage : Le Caire mène la guerre à l'athéisme"
617:"Dappere goddelozen. Ex-moslims trotseren hun omgeving"
518:
158:
on 9 June 1983. At the age of 5, the family moved to
832:"The hard lives of non-believers in the Middle East"
766:
Sonia Dridi & Yahya Fahiem (29 September 2014).
556:"Egypt's Atheists Struggle to be Heard, Not Jailed"
683:
468:During a June 2018 interview, Mohamed stated that
280:programme, an online talk show which according to
1005:
734:
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291:in the English language: "An oddity, a misfit."
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129:for short). He is also a contributing editor to
947:. Secularism is a Women's Issue. Archived from
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737:"Meet The Middle East's Atheist Preacher"
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519:Scott Douglas Jacobsen (3 June 2018).
406:During a February 2014 interview with
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300:societies. In some cases, women from
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686:"How ISIS Drives Muslims From Islam"
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554:Elizabeth Arrott (5 December 2013).
417:Mohamed stated that he believes the
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191:Mohamed began studying the topic of
793:Ismail Mohamed (3 September 2015).
587:Passant Darwish (14 January 2015).
450:panel discussion on the documentary
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891:"Conference videos & schedule"
862:Hadya Alalawi (11 February 2014).
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207:, including a materialist view of
117:activist, blogger and producer of
14:
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1029:Egyptian television personalities
981:
830:Hunter Stuart (21 January 2016).
795:"What is The #Black_Ducks ?"
735:Nancy A. Youssef (28 June 2015).
899:Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain
366:, and more about advocating the
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1039:Egyptian LGBTQ rights activists
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162:, and returned to Egypt after
135:Majalat al-Mulhadayn al-e-Arab
121:programme (برنامج البط الأسود
113:, 9 June 1983) is an Egyptian
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187:Exploring atheism and science
88:Atheist human rights activism
615:Eva Lüdemann (23 May 2015).
410:journalist Hadya Alalawi in
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372:Egyptian revolution of 2011
154:Ismail Mohamed was born in
10:
1060:
625:(in Dutch). Archived from
589:"Egypt's 'war on atheism'"
276:In 2013, Mohamed launched
268:Ismail Mohamed introduces
197:Egypt's anti-blasphemy law
470:Muslim-majority countries
123:Barnamaj al-Bati al'Aswad
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27:
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943:Siawi3 (4 August 2017).
924:. Southall Black Sisters
150:Early life and education
1034:Egyptian former Muslims
895:Secular Conference 2017
799:The Black Ducks English
440:At the 22–24 July 2017
34:Ismail Mohamed in 2018.
1019:Critics of Sunni Islam
403:
368:rights of nonbelievers
362:is much less aimed at
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273:
239:— as well as Egyptian
223:.” He also learnt the
131:Arab Atheists Magazine
454:Islam's Non-Believers
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340:Alexandria University
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272:programme in English.
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133:(مجلة الملحدين العرب
67:Alexandria University
229:Christopher Hitchens
199:. Although he was a
221:Abrahamic religions
842:Sara Miller McCune
691:The New York Times
442:Secular Conference
404:
400:Secular Conference
364:criticism of Islam
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283:The New York Times
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1024:Egyptian atheists
951:on 22 August 2018
659:Egypt Independent
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382:Media appearances
348:God doesn't exist
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193:apostasy in Islam
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278:The Black Ducks
270:The Black Ducks
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249:The Black Ducks
237:Richard Dawkins
213:story of humans
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181:Michael Jackson
168:Osama bin Laden
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119:The Black Ducks
98:The Black Ducks
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63:Alma mater
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662:. 1 April 2015
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1014:1983 births
774:(in French)
376:Black Ducks
335:Black Ducks
310:LGBT people
289:black sheep
55:Nationality
43:9 June 1983
1008:Categories
481:References
412:Alexandria
378:episodes.
241:secularist
233:Sam Harris
156:Alexandria
111:Alexandria
73:Occupation
47:Alexandria
955:21 August
928:21 August
905:21 August
875:14 August
847:20 August
804:20 August
778:20 August
772:France 24
748:15 August
697:14 August
600:14 August
567:15 August
530:20 August
209:evolution
145:Biography
80:programme
965:cite web
869:BBC News
666:19 April
594:Al-Ahram
425:Al-Ahram
408:BBC News
205:sciences
173:memorise
139:Mohammed
76:Host of
58:Egyptian
999:channel
991:website
633:8 April
422:rule,”
419:El-Sisi
352:Red Sea
215:is not
115:atheist
93:Website
49:, Egypt
901:. 2017
446:London
160:Jordan
306:hijab
297:Cairo
177:Quran
125:, or
971:link
957:2018
930:2018
907:2018
877:2018
849:2018
806:2018
780:2018
750:2018
699:2018
668:2018
635:2019
602:2018
569:2018
532:2018
474:LGBT
175:the
164:9/11
40:Born
444:in
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