02 December 2019

‘They call for my slaughter': Somali atheists living in fear

Hassan dreads each sunset. When the skies darken in Nairobi, Kenya, the threats begin.

He is too scared to leave his home but his taunters, mostly his neighbors, find him: They pummel the walls and metal door of his room in a concrete five-story building. Hassan, a 25-year old Somali refugee, has only lived in Nairobi a few months, but his neighbors — who are all Somali Muslims — have found out he has renounced Islam. To some of the most devout Muslims, being an atheist is punishable by death.

“My life has been a living hell. They are spreading that I have left the faith,” Hassan, who is using a pseudonym for fear of reprisals, told Global Voices. “I’ve reported it to the police, but nobody got arrested.” [Global Voices] Read more