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Young Libyan atheists seeking refuge online

Since the 2011 revolution and the expansion of the Islamic State, more Libyan young people have reneged on their Muslim beliefs and are now part of a secret community on Facebook with fellow atheists.
TO GO WITH US-IT-Internet-IPO-Facebook-Asia,FOCUS by Dan Martin
In a picture taken on May 15, 2012, a logo of social networking facebook is displayed on a laptop screen inside a restaurant in Manila. As Facebook nears saturation levels in some Western countries, Asian users are helping drive the social-networking leader's march on the 1-billion-user milestone and beyond.  AFP PHOTO/TED ALJIBE        (Photo credit should read TED ALJIBE/AFP/GettyImages)

“It’s on this second Facebook account that I express my true opinions about Islam. For my own safety, this account has to be detached from my actual identity, bearing a fake name and no pictures of my face.” Said, a 25-year-old student from Benghazi, talking about the account he uses to access the Facebook group known as Libyiun la Diniun (Non-religious Libyans). This is one of a few secret online platforms where Libyan atheists gather to share critiques and satirical memes about religion.

Personal experiences of the chaos and contradictions that have slowly consumed post-revolution Libya have been instrumental in tainting perceptions of Islam. Sana, who is 24 and from the eastern city of Derna, also uses a fake Facebook account to access Libyiun la Diniun. She recalls lying in her bed one evening in October 2014 while Islamic State-affiliated militias paraded the streets outside vowing to subject women to sexual slavery if they refused to adhere to their strict religious practices. “At this moment I was set to go one of two ways,” Sana said. “If this had happened to me at a slightly younger age when I was more impressionable I think I would have developed radical beliefs.” 

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