It was more than a year ago when Mohamed Hisham (also spelled Hashem in older articles) appeared on the Egyptian channel Alhadath Alyoum TV (Egyptian Street) and spoke openly about his atheism. It was quite a feat considering authorities say there are literally only 866 atheists in the country.

Hishams appearance didnt go over well with host Mahmoud Abd Al-Halim or the former Deputy Sheikh of Al-Azhar Mahmoud Ashour. Both men urged Hisham to see a psychiatrist for his obvious mental illness before he corrupted even more Egyptian youth.

HISHAM: Im an atheist, which means I dont believe in the existence of God. I dont believe in Him.

ASHOUR: What? What was that?

HISHAM: Im an atheist, which means I dont believe in the existence of God. I dont believe in Him. Thats what atheism means. I dont need religion to have moral values or to be a productive member of society.

AL-HALIM: How come you exist in this universe?

HISHAM: Okay, let me explain. There are theories that try to explain our existence. One theory is that God created us. Okay? But there are other theories, with much more evidence, like the Big Bang theory

AL-HALIM: Speak Arabic! You are in Egypt and you are addressing simple people so dont use big words for no reason.

HISHAM: Im using these terms because science is conducted in English.

AL-HALIM: What science are you talking about?

AL-HALIM: You are confused and unreliable. You deny the existence of God and reject our religion and principles

HISHAM: Is this so bad?

AL-HALIM: Of course! You come here to talk about a certain idea but have nothing to offer! You offer atheism! You offer heresy! I apologize to the viewers for having an Egyptian of this kind on our show. Im sorry, Mohammad, but you cannot stay with us on the show because your ideas are inappropriate, Im sad to say. We cannot promote such destructive ideas. You have not uttered a single convincing word.

ASHOUR: Look, dear Mohammad, you need psychiatric treatment. Many young people today suffer from mental illnesses due to material or mental circumstances.

AL-HALIM: Its like Sheikh Mahmoud says. Have you see a psychiatrist?

AL-HALIM: I advise you to leave the studio and go straight to a psychiatric hospital. You shouldnt be here. Unfortunately, I cannot let you be here anymore. Please get up and leave, and I will continue the show with Dr. Mahmoud. Unfortunately, your ideas are destructive and bad for Egyptian youth. You set a very bad example for Egyptian youth.

Hes doing okay, though. Hisham just did an interview with Humanists Internationals Giovanni Gaetani without getting interrupted and he says hes doing okay. He also forgives those hosts.

I would like to excuse the host, because the situation was like that his audience would have thought: Why would you give to this atheist a platform? This means that you are as guilty as him. That could have had very bad consequences for him, like it happened to another Egyptian host who had hosted a gay person and ended up in jail for this.

Hisham described how the police tried to investigate him:

one night the Egyptian Police knocked at his door and searched his house. They even looked at their conversation on Whatsapp, full of atheist and blasphemous content, but didnt understand what they were reading because everything was in English, even the conversation with his Egyptian friends:

Police came and even searched my phone. But thankfully they didnt understand English. My phone was indeed full of atheist material, but I kept everything in English, even my chat with my Egyptian friends. I dont know who did invent the ritual, but we do it, for two reasons.

One is privacy: if you get in a situation when somebody is reading your messages, its harder for them to understand what they are reading, because not many people in Egypt are good at English. The other reason instead is to improve your English.

Clever man.

Hisham is now living safely in Germany, but hes struggling to adapt, learn the new language, and find work. Still, hes alive. That hasnt always been the case for atheists in predominantly Muslim countries who have been vocal about their godlessness. Be sure to watch the full interview. You can support Humanists Internationals campaign to help atheists at risk right here.

(Portions of this article were published earlier)

Read more:

Atheist Kicked Off Egyptian TV Show Now Says He's Safely in Another Country - Patheos