How the Internet and Sectarianism Affect Religiosity: Online Atheists in Yemen

• In Event: Religion and Politics beyond the Nation-State

Abstract

In the last few years, a close look at the Internet discourse in the Arab world reveals an increase in rhetoric that is critical of Islam, the region's dominant religion. Leading critics on social media advocate leaving Islam and endorsing deism, secularism, atheism, and other alternatives. What explains this phenomenon and what are its potential political effects? Is the Internet merely bringing these voices to the surface, or is it causing their existence? We investigate these questions in the case of Yemen. We adopt a multimethod research design: we conduct an ethnography of discussions in Twitter spaces and Clubhouse rooms, analyze tweets and Facebook posts, interview ex-Muslims, and conduct field observation of participation in religious rituals, including mosque attendance and Ramadan observance. With these new data, we uncover a notable and overlooked cultural shift toward atheism that we argue is caused by two primary factors: (1) interlocuters became disillusioned with Islam when political events were cast in sectarian religious terms, and (2) Internet communication channels allowed once-isolated individuals to connect with like-minded audiences to express their doubts. We find that political preferences of these individuals shift along with religious preferences. Our findings shed light on mechanisms by which technology induces social change in religiously conservative societies. The rise of open non-belief expressed online in religiously conservative contexts has important implications for longstanding debates about technology, religion, political development, and democracy in the Middle East and beyond.

Authors

• Richard Nielsen, MIT

• Safa Al Saeedi, Marist College