Modern Atheism in the Balance of Critique (part 2)
Introduction to Modern Atheism
Ibn Manzur, in Lisan al-ʿArab, defines ilḥād (atheism), from a lexical perspective, as follows: ilḥād derives from the root laḥd (with fatḥah or ḍammah on the letter lām and sukūn on ḥāʾ), meaning deviation, turning away from something, departing from the middle path, and inclining toward other directions.
In the book al-Tahqiq, the term is defined as: “Laḥd is a root that denotes deviation from uprightness; it is said, ‘a man committed ilḥād’ when he deviates from the path of truth and faith…”
Thus, laḥd is a root word that signifies turning away from uprightness and the straight path. Whenever a person withdraws from the path of truth and faith, it is said that he has committed ilḥād. This term (ilḥād) is also used in the Noble Qur’an in the sense of abandoning the truth and adhering to a path of misguidance and falsehood.
The Noble Qur’an states: “إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُلْحِدُونَ فِي آيَاتِنَا لَا يَخْفَوْنَ عَلَيْنَا” Translation: Indeed, those who deviate concerning Our signs and turn away from the right path are not hidden from Us.
Elsewhere, it says: “وَلِلَّهِ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا وَذَرُوا الَّذِينَ يُلْحِدُونَ فِي أَسْمَائِهِ سَيُجْزَوْنَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ” Translation: And to Allah belong the Most Beautiful Names, so call upon Him by them, and leave those who deviate concerning His Names; they will soon be recompensed for what they used to do.
In contemporary usage, the term ilḥād is most commonly employed to denote disbelief in God, corresponding to atheism in contrast to theism, that is, belief in the existence of God.
More precisely, the designation New Atheism or Modern Atheism is, in fact, an external label. The adherents of this approach did not originally assign this title to themselves, nor did they initially claim to represent a new methodology or a novel approach to criticizing religious beliefs and belief in God. Rather, the prevailing discourse of society applied this description to them, and they, in turn, accepted it.
Modern atheists, or followers of this approach, usually describe themselves with labels such as “non-religious,” “non-believer,” “infidel,” “atheist,” “godless,” “anti-theist,” “critic of religion,” and similar terms.
This term came into common usage following the convergence of three prominent figures of this movement—Dawkins, Dennett, and Harris—around the year 2006 CE, when it was employed by various writers in different journals and gradually became widespread.
It is worth noting that following the violent actions of extremist groups, a massive wave of anger and resentment toward extremist behavior emerged in the West. Certain global powers used these acts of violence as a pretext for military attacks and interventions in the Middle East. However, the matter did not end there. Another wave, which had been lying in wait for a suitable opportunity to emerge, arose and directed all its efforts toward suppressing religion and religious belief. This was precisely the wave that became known as New Atheism or Modern Atheism.
The prominent figures of this newly emergent atheistic movement, who are in fact the pioneers and standard-bearers of this ideology, include Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens.
This nascent movement, which regarded religion as dangerous and irrational, did not remain idle and began its destructive activities. Dawkins, four days after the attack on the Twin Towers, wrote in The Guardian that “a world saturated with religion, especially of the Abrahamic kind, is like a road full of loaded guns ready to fire; therefore, it is no surprise if these guns are eventually used.”
New Atheism—whose adherents can rightly be described as “the new anti-religionists”—attributes most of the calamities and afflictions present in the world to religion. They point to events such as the Crusades, the mass killing of alleged witches, religious wars, intolerance, terrorism, and many other phenomena, presenting them as examples of the inefficiency and failure of religion.
These atheists, in addition to deeming religion and religious thought irrational, seek to defeat their opponents not through logical argumentation and rational proof, but through ridicule and the cultivation of hatred, portraying them as defeated and humiliated. Critics such as Alvin Plantinga consider them intellectually far inferior and more shallow than earlier atheists such as Bertrand Russell and John Mackie. For this reason, New Atheists are described as a dark stain on the face of contemporary discussions concerning God and religion.
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