Saudi Arabian law passed making all "atheists" terrorists under the law.

[Smart_Guy]

Your thumb in your avatar, but I'm not gonna look any lower.

Lower?!?!

 

[Godobeyer]

So where are the Muslims in this thread? ::crickets::

I feel like superman , I am here
what 's going on ?

 

[Godobeyer]

I'd better convert to Islam then.

or Islam convert to you ?

 

[Godobeyer]

Now, obviously any government can change the meaning of terms at will, since they are sovereign. But, can anyone give me an explanation of how this makes any sense logically? Can anyone explain their reasoning for supporting such an obvious case of misguided legislating?

Saudi Arabia declares all atheists are terrorists in new law to crack down on political dissidents - Middle East - World - The Independent

I am not sure if this law is real , or it's just fake info .

so if it's real :
I am not sure if this thread could be moved to joke DIR , because it's seems the Saudi regime are drunk

 

[leibowde84]

I am not sure if this law is real , or it's just fake info .

so if it's real :
I am not sure if this thread could be moved to joke DIR , because it's seems the Saudi regime are drunk

Oh, it's real. And, it still hasn't been repealed after over a year. I'm wondering whether there isn't a great deal of propaganda in that area painting very incorrect and misleading views of atheism in general. I seem to see a lot of erroneous assumptions about atheists on this site these days.

 

[jonathan180iq]

Oh, it's real. And, it still hasn't been repealed after over a year. I'm wondering whether there isn't a great deal of propaganda in that area painting very incorrect and misleading views of atheism in general. I seem to see a lot of erroneous assumptions about atheists on this site these days.

As I've mentioned before, they have a lot of laws on the books like this that simply aren't meant to cause any real change. They simply appease the religious fundamentalists and certain members of their population.

Now, it's dangerous, because it can empower vigilante justice with the authority of law behind it. But those types of laws aren't enforced like they would be in the West.
There are laws against witch craft, for example. How prominent are witch related crimes? There are laws against the practice of any other religion but Islam. Most ex patriots will tell you that there is no shortage of Bible studies that they can attend if they choose to. - just as a "for instance"

 

[leibowde84]

As I've mentioned before, they have a lot of laws on the books like this that simply aren't meant to cause any real change. They simply appease the religious fundamentalists and certain members of their population.

Now, it's dangerous, because it can empower vigilante justice with the authority of law behind it. But those types of laws aren't enforced like they would be in the West.
There are laws against witch craft, for example. How prominent are witch related crimes? There are laws against the practice of any other religion but Islam. Most ex patriots will tell you that there is no shortage of Bible studies that they can attend if they choose to. - just as a "for instance"

Imho, this makes it 100 times worse. Making laws like this are one thing, but using the Government to fuel hatred of an entire global population is the same EXACT thing as what Goebbels and Hitler were up to back in the early 1930s. We need to put an end to attitudes like this before things get out of control, as they did with the Nazis.

 

[jonathan180iq]

Imho, this makes it 100 times worse. Making laws like this are one thing, but using the Government to fuel hatred of an entire global population is the same EXACT thing as what Goebbels and Hitler were up to back in the early 1930s. We need to put an end to attitudes like this before things get out of control, as they did with the Nazis.

Oh, I agree that it's terrible. Don't get me wrong.
But we need to understand how things actually work over there, before we can accurately criticize it.

One of the largest problems with Middle Eastern populations is that they are under-educated and simply ignorant of very many things. That's why, for example, the words of Immams (both good and bad) are taken as almost absolute truth. When you don't know stuff, you rely on what you see as the more educated members of society to do some of your thinking for you.

The Saudi government, for all of their criticisms, knows their people quite well and plays this game with them all the time. Notice how there were no rumblings of revolution from that country during the "Arab Spring"? The Saudis respond quickly and powerfully with both their money and their media. It only took a few newspapers and $4,000 per family to keep everything calm and peaceful. And while there are some factions of dissent, namely at the University level, I really don't see it ever taking foot, as the vast majority of the population is ignorant of most things, as mentioned. The Saudi nationals themselves are quite spoiled from all of the nation's wealth. And, like spoiled children, as long as they have their money and distractions, things like laws against atheism and witchcraft don't need to be thought about too much. For the working class within the kingdom, namely the Pakistanis, Indians, and North Africans, those types of laws never even register on their radar. They are too busy working 12-16 hour shifts to care.

 

[leibowde84]

Oh, I agree that it's terrible. Don't get me wrong.
But we need to understand how things actually work over there, before we can accurately criticize it.

One of the largest problems with Middle Eastern populations is that they are under-educated and simply ignorant of very many things. That's why, for example, the words of Immams (both good and bad) are taken as almost absolute truth. When you don't know stuff, you rely on what you see as the more educated members of society to do some of your thinking for you.

The Saudi government, for all of their criticisms, knows their people quite well and plays this game with them all the time. Notice how there were no rumblings of revolution from that country during the "Arab Spring"? The Saudis respond quickly and powerfully with both their money and their media. It only took a few newspapers and $4,000 per family to keep everything calm and peaceful. And while there are some factions of dissent, namely at the University level, I really don't see it ever taking foot, as the vast majority of the population is ignorant of most things, as mentioned. The Saudi nationals themselves are quite spoiled from all of the nation's wealth. And, like spoiled children, as long as they have their money and distractions, things like laws against atheism and witchcraft don't need to be thought about too much. For the working class within the kingdom, namely the Pakistanis, Indians, and North Africans, those types of laws never even register on their radar. They are too busy working 12-16 hour shifts to care.

Wow. That is surprising. I guess that is good in an extremely disheartening way. I need to ponder this one. I sincerely thank you for the information. I feel like I can make I'm much more educated judgement. heads off to you kind sir.

 

[Monk Of Reason]

We have established that the law is "real" but is it enforced?

 

[NewGuyOnTheBlock]

I don't think it matters if it is enforced; what should matter is that it can be enforced, creating a perpetual threat as long as the law remains in effect.

 

[LuisDantas]

In a way, laws that are not enforced are worse than those that are. They are at least potentially a ready-made license to be arbitrary and to decide to enforce them at a moments notice.

 

[Godobeyer]

Oh, it's real. And, it still hasn't been repealed after over a year. I'm wondering whether there isn't a great deal of propaganda in that area painting very incorrect and misleading views of atheism in general. I seem to see a lot of erroneous assumptions about atheists on this site these days.

yeah i see , creating new reputation for the atheists painting their crimes by "terrorism"

honestly i am not sure , if it's correct or fake , but if it's real , that would be the craziest law in Saudi Arabia i ever seen .