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Nigeria: Atheist’s Muslim family has him declared mentally ill in Sharia Kano state

Jun 24, 2014 11:42 pm By Robert Spencer

Mubarak BalaThe Qur’an and Hadith do not envision the possibility that anyone might reject Islam in good faith. It is taken for granted that anyone who rejects Islam must be evil, insane or both. This understanding, obviously, carries through to some Muslims in the modern age.

“Atheist declared mentally ill in Nigeria,” BBC, June 24, 2014 (thanks to Hiro):

A Nigerian man has been sent to a mental institute in Kano state after he declared that he did not believe in God, according to a humanist charity.

Mubarak Bala, 29, is said to have been forcibly medicated by his Muslim relatives, despite being given a clean bill of health by a doctor.

The International Humanist and Ethical Union say a Lagos-based group has asked a lawyer to take up his case.

Kano is a mainly Muslim state and adopted Sharia (Islamic law) in 2000.

The IHEU says that when Mr Bala told relatives he did not believe in God, they asked a doctor if he was mentally ill.

Despite being told that he was not unwell, Mr Bala’s family then went to a second doctor, who declared that his atheism was a side-effect of suffering a personality change, the group says.

Mr Bala, a chemical engineering graduate, was forcibly committed to a mental institution, but was able to contact activists using a smuggled phone….

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Filed Under: Nigeria, Non-Muslims in Muslim countries Tagged With: featured


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Comments

  1. CogitoErgoSum says

    Jun 24, 2014 at 11:58 pm

    If only someone had been able to diagnose Muhammad and give him the full frontal lobotomy he badly needed the world could have been spared so much………

    • CogitoErgoSum says

      Jun 25, 2014 at 2:03 am

      I’m sorry. I should not make light of mental illness. My own father suffers from dementia and I see in him how the human mind can play tricks upon itself. At times I wonder if we all do not suffer from some form of mental illness at one time or another as we struggle through life. But for a mind to come up with such ideas as vile as some of those in the Quran and yet for those ideas somehow still to be considered “miraculous” and “beautiful” by so many leaves me with no other explanation than that the true source of those ideas is pure evil.

      • vickie says

        Jun 25, 2014 at 12:07 pm

        Great video on Temporal Lobe Seizures

        • vickie says

          Jun 25, 2014 at 12:13 pm

          Signs of a TLS
          • Hallucinations
          • A sudden sense of unprovoked fear
          • A deja vu experience
          • The sudden occurrence of a strange odor or taste
          • Loss of awareness of surroundings
          • Staring
          • Lip smacking
          • Repeated swallowing or chewing
          • Unusual finger movements, such as picking motions
          • Epigastric sensations – A rising sensation in the abdomen
          • An out-of-body feeling
          • Sweating
          • Flushed face
          • Rapid heart rate

          We know from hadith that Mohammd experienced
          • Hallucinations
          • A sudden sense of unprovoked fear
          • Loss of awareness of surroundings
          • Staring
          • Lip smacking
          • Repeated swallowing or chewing
          • Epigastric sensations – A rising sensation in the abdomen
          • An out-of-body feeling
          • Sweating
          • Flushed face
          • Rapid heart rate

      • gravenimage says

        Jun 25, 2014 at 2:05 pm

        I’m sorry to hear about your father, CogitoErgoSum. My mother also developed dementia before passing away.

        But Islam can be seen as a collective mental illness—and one of a particularly malignant kind.

  2. Champ says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 1:42 am

    Hey I question the mental health of his family, or anyone who embraces islam; since islam’s evil tenets defy even basic common sense.

  3. dsinc says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 2:14 am

    He is the sanest man in Kano state.

  4. JIMJFOX says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 4:11 am

    How ironic! The genuine mental illness of Islam accusing a sane person. But as stated above, this is how the muslim ‘mind’ (what’s left of it) works.
    Everything in islam is an inversion of truth- period.

  5. Michael Copeland says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 4:15 am

    What about the people of Mecca, those who knew Mohammed best? Koran 68:51 explains:
    “they say, “[As for Mubammad,] behold, most surely he is a madman!””

  6. No Fear says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 4:42 am

    Anyone who believes the tribal supremacist garbage that is spruiked in the Quran has to be a few sandwiches short of a picnic.

  7. BC says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 4:48 am

    Quite apart from the obvious, that religion is a mental illness, ranging from the delusion of believing in things that could never have happened and a being that does not exist, to the full blown psycopathology of the jihadist and fundamentalist.
    This is exactly the way that the USSR dealt with people opposed to communism. They sent them to mental institutions

    • duh_swami says

      Jun 25, 2014 at 6:09 am

      The root cause is scripture. Scripture has the power to cause even the intelligent and educated to abandon reason and believe in the impossible.
      Scripture has its place, and portions may be valuable, but only the mentally mature should have access to it. The primitive intellect may even become violent upon reading it..

  8. duh_swami says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 5:56 am

    There are religious people in the US who believe atheism is a mental illness, and the root cause of many of the worlds problems. It’s a long story, but it has to do with religious supremacist bigotry. It’s mantra is, ‘How dare you disagree with me’…Which is the real source of many of the worlds problems. Mahoundians have a serious case of it.

  9. Angemon says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 6:14 am

    This makes me wonder, just how many atheists too scared to identify themselves as atheists are there in any given muslim country?

    • bernie says

      Jun 25, 2014 at 7:20 am

      A few months ago in The Economist magazine, there was an article entitled,”No god, not even Allah,” which discussed that. Their position is not very good, no. I’ll see if I can find the issue and the date. We might try googling it as well.

      • Angemon says

        Jun 25, 2014 at 7:40 am

        Is it this one?

        http://www.economist.com/news/international/21567059-ex-muslim-atheists-are-becoming-more-outspoken-tolerance-still-rare-no-god-not

        • bernie says

          Jun 26, 2014 at 6:58 pm

          During a debate with an imam in the UK, Professor Richard Dawkins (who is atheist) pointed out that the Anglican Church and other branches of the Christian faith no longer have the death penalty for apostasy, while Muslim theocracies still do.

          Yes, it is! Thanks for the link.

      • Jay Boo says

        Jun 25, 2014 at 9:22 am

        Great article overall, (Also thanks to Angemon for the link)
        I will try to read it more thoroughly later in case I am misreading something though.
        Not sure what to make of:
        “He was arrested by a Christian policeman: Egypt’s Coptic church does not look kindly on atheism either.”
        I could be over-reaching but this appears to be an attempt at appeasement toward Islam. While the two statements may be factual they seem to ignore the reason a Christian policeman in a Muslim state would chose to make the arrest in the first place and implies a false equivalence of Christianity with sharia Islam.

        • Angemon says

          Jun 25, 2014 at 9:38 am

          Yeah, that part makes little sense:

          “Alber Saber Ayad, an Egyptian Christian activist who ran a Facebook page for atheists, has been in custody since September for “insulting religion”. His alleged offence was posting a link to an infamous YouTube video that caused protests in the Islamic world that month. He was arrested by a Christian policeman: Egypt’s Coptic church does not look kindly on atheism either.”

          A Christian was arrested for posting a link to a YT video (based on the description i’m guessing it’s that trailer for The Innocence of Muslims) for “insulting religion”, he was arrested by a Christian policeman and suddenly the Coptic church doesn’t look too kindly on atheism? No matter how truthful that may be, or not, it seems a weird conclusion to jump to from saying that a christian in a muslim majority country was arrested for posting an “anti-religion” film (and by anti-religion i mean a film about muhammad based on islamic accounts). Seems a random attempt to invoke moral equivalence, if you ask me.

        • voegelinian says

          Jun 25, 2014 at 11:33 am

          Signs & symptoms of dhimmitude here and there among various Christians in the Middle East should not surprise one — especially one who has been reading Jihad Watch for years.

    • Mirren10 says

      Jun 25, 2014 at 7:27 am

      I was wondering the same thing.

      I’d like to know **why** he decided to tell his family he didn’t believe in ‘allah’. Did he trust them ?

      Unfortunately, many mohammedans who have declared their atheism, or conversion to Christianity, or some other religion, have trusted their families, only to be confounded. Girls who reject islam, or a forced marriage, for instance, and then return to their families after being promised nothing would be done to them, and are then murdered, or bundled off to pakiland.

      As BC notes above, (although I don’t agree with his contention that **all** religion is a mental illness, just islam) this poor man has been dealt with exactly as the USSR dealt with those who questioned Communism.

      As Wellington has noted many times, islam is ”spiritual Fascism”.

      • gravenimage says

        Jun 25, 2014 at 2:14 pm

        This is very true, Mirren—we’ve seen many individuals who’ve trusted their Muslim families wind up “Honor Killed” or turned over to the thuggish Muslim state.

        Remember “The Liberated One”—a Muslim apostate who was featured here at JW for some time? *She* thought it would be safe to tell her family about her apostasy, even though many here warned her against it.

        I’m not al all sure what happened to her…

        • Mirren10 says

          Jun 25, 2014 at 2:29 pm

          Hi, graven.

          Yes, I remember her.

          In fact, I’ve just been to her blog, and the last entry is over a year ago. I do hope she’s all right.

          http://liberatednow.blogspot.co.uk/

  10. Bamaguje says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 9:37 am

    Mubarak should count himself lucky that he’s not been sentenced to death for apostasy.

    • voegelinian says

      Jun 25, 2014 at 11:35 am

      Or lynched to death by his own family and neighbors.

  11. Al Kafir says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 9:57 am

    As an atheist, I know some of the people who are suffering in African and Asian countries because of Islam. As is indicated in this article, most of them are highly educated people who have learned the art of critical thinking, and rejected their former faith. But many have learned the hard way that Islam will not tolerate religious freedom or disbelief. Many Muslims in this predicament, have kept their beliefs secret, because of the potential danger to themselves from the mad mullahs and their religious police.

    The problem is that Islam is a toxic mix of religion, and the politics of violence, based on the exploits of its founder, who was a violent war lord and sociopath. In their endeavour to emulate the deeds of their Prophet, Muslims simply re-enact Muhammad’s narcisistic, barbaric and misogynistic lifestyle. And Muhammad did not like kafirs or unbelievers (Quran 3:12, 3:28, 4:115, 9:73, 16:104, etc, etc, ad nauseum).

    Muslims are further influenced by Muhammad’s inate hatred of the Jews (and Christians), because they wouldn’t accept his new religion; and the promise of a “great reward” (everlasting carnal pleasures) in Paradise for the faithful. All these matters explain why in Islam, there is such a high level of fanaticism – and potential jihadists and suicide bombers.

    Islam is a religion which rules by fear, and it simply cannot stand to have knowledgeable people like Mr Bala challenging its most fundamental precepts. It illustrates once again why Islam has no place in a civilized society.

  12. Mirren10 says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 10:11 am

    @ Angemon:

    You said;

    ”Seems a random attempt to invoke moral equivalence, if you ask me”

    Yes, I agree, especially in view if the fact that a *policeman**, whatever his religion, is actually employed by the state, and as such is required to enforce the *laws of the land*, whatever he may personally think of them.

    ” Egypt’s Coptic church does not look kindly on atheism either”

    Point being, surely, that the Egyptian Coptic Church, whilst it may disapprove of atheism, (I don’t know) is in no position to enforce its disapproval in terms of locking up atheists. The Egyptian state, however, is, and does in fact exercise that law, whilst simultaneously persecuting Copts, and destroying their churches.

    Yes. Just a knee jerk attempt at random moral equivalence. Because islam can’t **possibly** be the **only** religion, that actually, in this day and age, imprisons people for their faith, or lack of it !

  13. el-cid says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 12:05 pm

    Islam is a totalitarian political ideology masquerading as a religion.

    Just like under communism, Nazism, or Maoism, the state invokes the power of doctors to incarcerate or disable persons with dissenting opinions. Any power group is taken over a used to project their terror and control.

    Islam is more insidious than all its modern rivals because it claims a history over 1000 years–1000 years of power upheld with deception and barbarity.

    This is the same story as Ayaan Hirsi having her reputation trashed by that terrorist support front masquerading as a human rights organization called CAIR. Different tactics, same objective. If they could have her incarcerated, what would they do?

    • bernie says

      Jun 26, 2014 at 6:34 pm

      Ayaan Hirsi Ali wrote an excellent (and brave) article which apperaed a few years ago in Newsweek entitled. “The War on Christians” Christophobia in the Muslim World.” The English version of Newsweek is no longer in print now, though, it’s only being published online.

  14. gravenimage says

    Jun 25, 2014 at 2:23 pm

    Nigeria: Sharia Kano state declares atheist mentally ill
    ………………………….

    Many times recently here at Jihad Watch there have been Atheists sneering at the supposed foolishness of Christians who have apostatized from Islam.

    This is ample proof that Agnostics and Atheists are in just as much danger from Islam as are Christians or any others who have left Islam.

    Please note: I know that there are many Atheists who *don’t* feel this way, and are sympathetic to those who have left islam for another faith.

    But for those who have been sneering, it is well to keep in mind that Islam doesn’t freely allow *anyone* to leave.

    • Mirren10 says

      Jun 25, 2014 at 4:11 pm

      Yes, rabid ‘Christianophobes’ like the unlamented MikeR, would do well to bear that in mind. Christianity doesn’t threaten our freedoms, islam *does*.

    • bernie says

      Jun 26, 2014 at 6:55 pm

      During a debate with an imam in the UK, Professor Richard Dawkins (who is atheist) pointed out that the Anglican Church and other branches of the Christian faith no longer have the death penalty for apostasy, while Muslim theocracies still do.

  15. Mirren10 says

    Jun 27, 2014 at 6:41 am

    ”During a debate with an imam in the UK, Professor Richard Dawkins (who is atheist) pointed out that the Anglican Church and other branches of the Christian faith no longer have the death penalty for apostasy, while Muslim theocracies still do”

    The **Catholic** Church handed heretics over to the secular arm, to be killed. The **Anglican** Church, which came into being after Henry VIII’s break with Rome, never had the death penalty for apostasy.

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