Abandoned by Family and Friends, Absame Has to Take Care of Himself – Somalia
[ 2 minutes to read] “Absame went ahead and did his own personal investigation of checking the veracity of the faith…
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Living as an atheist in Afghanistan Omar is constantly watching his back – Afghanistan
[ < 1 minute to read] June 2021 – Sometimes a YouTube rabbithole can free someone from what they come to find…
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Even Turkey is not safe for ex-Muslims #2
[ < 1 minute to read] Update May 2021 – Ilham was forced to leave his job and move to Turkey where he enrolled in studies. But just recently he was overheard chatting about middle eastern politics when other students confronted Ilham and ganged up on him.
Ilham was slightly injured, but was able to escape back to his dorm room. The next day, he and his friends moved from the small university city to Istanbul with the help of IAA. Currently he is in a dorm with five others. It’s a place to rest his head but still he doesn’t feel safe.“It’s like being in hotel with prostitutes and drug dealers,” said Ilham. “But at least I don
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In Rehab they Tried to Beat Islam back into Yusuf’s Mind – Somalia
[ 2 minutes to read] If you lose your faith in Somalia you lose everything: your family, your friends, your job…
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Mumino’s saga – Fear and hope as Mumino’s Family Waits to Escape Somalia to Safe Haven #3
[ < 1 minute to read] May 2021 – Mumino had been living quietly as a Muslim for much of his life. It wasn’t until he converted to Christianity in 2006 that his fellow countrymen noticed his change and began to attack him. As he fled from place to place, he found he wasn’t safe – his beliefs led to more attacks and arrests without charge, no matter where he went. Then he became an atheist.
In 2017 authorities took his wife and daughter. He found himself continually outed – no matter where he fled – and at times literally running for his life. Arrested, tortured by police, and repeatedly attacked by mobs, Mumino spends every night fearing what will come in the morning, and longing to be free to live his life without constant fear.
As a man with UNHCR status, Mumino needs extraction from his country. We have a plan to help get him with his wife and her 5-year-old daughter to a safer place, but we can’t do it without the help of our donors. Please consider contributing to his cause.
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Mumino’s saga – COVID, Baby, Death Threats and Medical Bills create chaos #2
[ 2 minutes to read] May 2021 – Mumimo thought his anxiety-filled life hiding his family from death threats was hard enough. He didn’t count on COVID-19 putting his wife in the hospital followed by the premature birth of his daughter.
“It was really a life challenge I can say,” explained Mumimo. “When you are sick and everyone in the family is sick and hiding from enemies and financially broke is a challenge.”
As we’ve previously reported, Freethinkers International has been working with Mumimo and his wife and her five-year-old daughter to get them to a safe country where Mumimo’s atheist views are tolerated. For now they hide out in the African nation of his birth because his atheism in a land known for blasphemy laws and violence against “heretics” is inherently dangerous. Police have arrested and tortured Mumimo and mobs have repeatedly attacked him. Men once beat his wife and her daughter with electrical wires when they came looking for Mumino and found his family instead.
Mumimo and his family hide in a one-room apartment and only venture out at night. They are working with Freethinkers International and our sponsors to get to a safe haven. But even this dangerous life became more chaotic when Mumimo and his pregnant wife contracted COVID. His symptoms were minor but she was seriously ill and needed to be hospitalized.
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Sophia Ran for Religion and the Law
[ 4 minutes to read] Can we help provide a safe and healthy space for mother and child? Malaysia / Lebanon…
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Fahad is handicapped for life when muslim extremists attacked him with knives
[ < 1 minute to read] Waiting to get an operation, waiting to get to a safe country Bangladesh/India Fahad was attacked…
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School, a Literal Lifesaver for Atheist on the run – Ilham from Afghanistan #1
[ 2 minutes to read] March 2021 – For many of us higher education is a choice to better ourselves. For Ilham it is a matter of life and death. Ilham, a young Afghan, is registered as a student at a university in a small city in Turkey. If he doesn’t continue his studies he loses his residency permit and will be deported to Afghanistan.
“That means death sentence,” explained Ilham in a recent conversation with IAA. “I would need to pay them and study or they will cancel my residence permit.”
Tuition for Ilham (an alias to protect his identity) is not just necessary for him to continue his studies but necessary to stay alive and away from people who wish to harm him because he is an atheist.
“I am an atheist activist type of person,” he said.As a young boy in Afghanistan Ilham came to question his beliefs. An abusive father started beating him from the age of 4. He didn’t understand why Allah would allow this type of abuse. Always a bright child, Ilham speaks Pashto (spoken in Afghanistan), Dari (sometimes called Afghan Persian) and English. His linguistic abilities got the attention of the U.S. government, which hired Ilham as a Linguist/Analyst for their operations in Afghanistan. This came crashing down late last year when Ilham admitted his atheist beliefs to his father. This resulted in a horrible physical interaction with is father that left Ilham badly injured. And then the Taliban found out about Ilham’s work for the U.S. -
Mumino’s saga – Their lives are a terrifying blend of boredom and fear #1
[ 2 minutes to read] February 2021 – Mumino and his family hide every day in a small, unfurnished, one-room apartment fearing for their lives. And the only thing worse than the days are the nights.
Mumino (not his real name to ensure his safety), his pregnant wife and her 5-year-old daughter from another relationship, hide away in this African nation of his birth because of his atheism in a land known for blasphemy laws and violence against “heretics.” He recently shared with Freethinkers International his fears and hopes for a brighter future.
Arrested, tortured by police, and repeatedly attacked by mobs, Mumino spends every night fearing what will come in the morning. His wife and her daughter have been beaten with electrical wires when men came looking for Mumino and found his family instead. Mumino longs to be free to live his life without constant fear and get work as a cabinet maker.
Mumino rarely leaves the house unless it is for an urgent matter. He will use the toilet facilities outside during the day. But never at night
The apartment is one room with no furniture. Blankets and pillows cover the floor. A large plastic sheet on the floor serves as their makeshift dining area. Men came to his house a few times, firing guns.
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Joel is On A Kill List, In Grave Danger And He Needs Your Help – Nigeria
[ 4 minutes to read] November 2020 – In 2014 the radical Islamic group Boko Haram kidnapped two hundred and seventy-six…
