Ateizm Derneği (English: ''Association of Atheism'') is a Turkish non-profit organisation that describes itself as a

freethinker Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an unorthodox attitude or belief. A freethinker holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and should instead be reached by other meth ...

association founded on 16 April 2014 for the promotion and advocacy of the concept of

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...

, and serves to support irreligious people and

freethinkers Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an unorthodox attitude or belief. A freethinker holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority Authority is commonly understood as the legitimate power of a person or ...

in Turkey who are discriminated against based on their views. Ateizm Derneği is headquartered in

Kadıköy Kadıköy () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district on the Asian side of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 25 km2, and its population is 467,919 (2023). It is a large and populous area in the Asian si ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

History

At the time of the founding, the organisation was headed by a board consisting of eleven members, presided by Tolga İnci. It is the first legally recognised Turkish atheist organisation, and simultaneously one of the first in the Muslim-majority world. The founding of the association had no bureaucratic obstacles, but the association has been a target of harassment and threats, so appropriate security measures have been taken since. In 2015, Ateizm Derneği was featured in Dorothée Forma's Dutch documentary film ''

Among Nonbelievers ''Among Nonbelievers'' (Dutch title: ''Onder Ongelovigen'') is a 2015 bilingual English–Dutch documentary on the situation of endangered nonbelievers, especially ex-Muslims, around the world. Set in the United Kingdom, Turkey, the Netherlands ...

'', where several of its members were interviewed by former Dutch Member of Parliament and

Dutch Humanist Association The Humanistisch Verbond (HV, sometimes translated as ''Humanistic Association Netherlands'', ''Dutch Humanist Association'' or ''Dutch Humanist League'') is a Dutch association based on Secular humanism, secular humanist principles. Basics The ...

president

Boris van der Ham Boris van der Ham (born 29 August 1973) is a Dutch writer, humanist, former politician, and actor. On 23 May 2002, he became a member of the House of Representatives for the Democrats 66 (D66), a social liberal party. From 24 November 2012 to 21 ...

. In 2018, it was reported in some media outlets that the Ateizm Derneği would close down because of the pressure on its members and attacks by pro-government media, but the association itself issued a clarification that this was not the case and that it was still active.

Recognition and awards

Ateizm Derneği was recognised by the European Union as the representative organisation of Turkish atheists in June 2014. In 2017, the association won the International League of Non-religious and Atheists's Sapio Award for being the first organisation in the Middle East defending the rights of atheists.

Hate speech and persecution against atheists

Association members are targeted and received death threats, access to associations web sites was blocked in Turkey with alleged charges of possible disturbance to law and order. In November 2021, during a stereotyping hate speech AKP writer :tr:Emine Şenlikoğlu said, “Atheism and deism are like the animal kingdom..." Şenlikoğlu said, "Father and daughter, mother and son and sibling in atheism or deism indulge in incest." Ateizm Derneği filed criminal complaint against the hate speech.

References

External links

* * {{Secularism in Turkey, state=autocollapse 2014 establishments in Turkey Atheist organizations Former Muslims organizations Non-profit organizations based in Turkey Organizations based in Istanbul Secularism in Turkey Secularist organizations Skeptic organizations in Turkey