Egypt launches bid to ban atheism over fears it turns people gay

Egypt has announced a bid to ban atheism in the hopes that it will stop people from “turning” gay.

The parliamentary commission on religion has said that plans to make “promotion of atheism” illegal will be pushed. It comes as the commission ruled that atheism can cause “mental imbalances” which in turn leads to homosexuality.

The bid is one of a number of moves being carried out by Egyptian authorities in a crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community. The country has seen 34 people arrested and imprisoned for offences linked to homosexuality, including debauchery, inciting sexual deviancy and joining an outlawed group.

It is believed that the commission hopes that by pushing through the law it will support the bid of another law which has been deemed one of the most homophobic laws in the world. The second law which is currently being pushed through targets the community by punishing gay sex in a public or private place with a prison sentence ranging from one to three years.

The measure was introduced by MP Riyad Abdel Sattar, a politician leading the rhetoric that those who identify within the LGBTQ+ realm have a “disease”. As well as criminalizing gay sex, it also puts journalists and activists at risk of covering LGBTQ+ events as it threatens conviction. It is so extreme that even someone in possession of a rainbow flag could be imprisoned under the law.

The bill states: “Individuals that incite same-sex relations, either by inciting, facilitating, hosting, or calling for, even if they don’t perform the act itself, will be punished to prison…as well as shutting down the venue.

“It is strictly prohibited to carry any symbol or sign of the homosexual community, as well as it’s prohibited to produce, sell, market, or promote such products.

“Violators will be sentenced to prison for a period no less than one year and no more than three years.”

The crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community in Egypt has been condemned worldwide. Human Rights Watch worker Sarah Leah Whitson said: “Repression will not turn gay people straight. It will only perpetuate fear and abuse.”