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The Somali atheist activists who get death threats
Jun 3, 2020
Somali atheists in the diaspora are running a Facebook group to challenge their community's Islamic beliefs, but they often receive death threats, writes journalist Layla Mahmood.
"I am going to kill you. I am going to find you. I am going to cut your head off," was one of the threats that Ayaanle, a Canada-based Somali atheist, received.
"[But] that's kind of normal," the founder of the True Somali Freedom Page (TSFP) says sardonically as he talks about the death threats that clog his inbox.
The popular Facebook group, which has more than 80,000 members, is predominantly led by atheists, or "ex-Muslims", as they refer to themselves.
It was initially inspired to create a safe space for religious discussion and now promotes all forms of freedom for Somalis who feel marginalised by mainstream Somali culture.
Ayaanle did not want to give his full name. He told me how the movement began.
Ejected from group
Around 2016, he stumbled across a Somali Facebook group that purported to be a space for free speech and debate.
"I got into a discussion about religion and everybody just erupted. They went ballistic. They made me feel like I killed someone."
He was swiftly removed from the group, a common experience for those who express contrary views in this kind of Somali forum.
'A space to be free'
Ayaanle then felt the only way forward was to create a new platform, with new rules.
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