Indonesian atheist faces long jail sentence for posting "God doesn't exist" on Facebook

Alexander Aan, an Indonesian civil servant who is currently in custody and facing an 11-year prison sentence for expressing his atheism on Facebook.

In Indonesia, the law guarantees citizens freedom of religion, but only as long as they adhere to Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Confucianism or Hinduism. By expressing his atheism Aan - who posted the phrase "God doesn't exist" on a Facebook page – is held to have breached Indonesia's official state philosophy (known as the Pancasila), which requires citizens to have "Belief in the one and only God".

Aan is the first atheist to be tried for breaching this aspect of the Pancasila and, as the Guardian reports, his case has led to calls for his execution by hardline Islamists, and he was badly beaten while in custody by a mob who learned of the charges he is facing.

According to Indonesian human rights activists, Aan's case is part of a growing trend towards religious intolerance, with members of non-Muslim religious minorities also facing attack from the country's increasingly influential religious conservatives, despite the legal protection ostensibly offered to the followers of some non-Islamic faiths.

The quotes one hardline Muslim, Zainuddin Datuk Rajo Lenggang, whose view seems emblematic of this worrying trend:

"If you are not a religious person, you might be dangerous to others, behaving without control and doing anything you like. Religion brings order. You cannot be an individualist."

Aan's plight serves as a reminder of the severe dangers non-believers face in many parts of the world. Indeed, even in Britain atheists from some backgrounds can be afraid of being open about their beliefs, for fear of alienating their families and their wider communities. Those atheists who have never experienced such problems need to be aware of this, and suggests that the atheist community needs to offer support to those who face being ostracised, and perhaps worse, for admitting their non-religious beliefs.