Media Speech on Atheism a Study Case in Arabic Channels’ Talk Shows

Abstract

Despite that atheism phenomenon or the denial of the existence of God is not new in Arab Islamic history, many atheist groups and movements were elevated in more than one era in the Islamic times, including a number of leading philosophers such as Abu Bakr Al-Razi, Al-Farabi and Ibn Rushd [11]. The growth of the Arab world’s atheism phenomenon between 2000-2020 has been largely linked to modern media, namely digital media and television channels, which have allowed new atheists and young generations to freely express their views and openly reveal their own atheism, a matter Arab audience are not used to [21]. Considering the increasing attention given to Islam by the New Atheists in their books and through their various media, as well as the unlimited access the public now has to such content on the Internet, it should be of no surprise that atheistic beliefs are on the rise in Muslim countries and are being promulgated covertly if not openly [2].This study aims at building a vision of atheism in the Arab-Islamic world through a revealing the features of the media speech on atheism and atheists in television talk shows many Arabic-speaking channels, which will provide knowledge about the concept of atheism and the image presented by the mass media on atheism and atheists. The image atheists reflect about themselves, the strategies they present to prove their existence and survival, hence, the concepts, expressions, and images presented by the counterparties. This study depends on the perspective of descriptive social studies from the qualitative perspective, by analyzing the speech of a group of Arab television channels that offer talk shows allocating the phenomenon of atheism and host atheists in debates. The results showed that although the television programs broadcasted in this phase cannot be separated from the context of the official campaign against atheism, it was clear that there was a clear polarization in the editorial policies of television channels that reflected the contradictions of official political speech in Arab countries between official religious calls to confront the phenomenon of new atheism on the one hand and the confrontation with religious extremism on the other.