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The case of the Afghan atheist Josef Moradi has attracted a great deal of media attention. Less attention has been given to how UNE assesses asylum applications from atheists. This has given rise to misunderstandings about UNE's practice.
In January 2021, the Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) granted asylum to Josef Moradi, Afghan atheist and recipient of the 2019 Humanist Award. Secretary General Trond Enger of the Norwegian Humanist Association said to the Christian newspaper Vårt Land on 22 January that the Moradi case represents a change of practice and that the decision ‘affirms that atheists and humanists should be treated in the same way as religious converts and that one should not go through life having to hiding one's life stance’.
To be perfectly clear: With respect to rights, UNE has never discriminated between converts and people of no faith, and the case does not represent a change in our practice. Both groups have a right to protection against persecution. It is also incorrect that our decisions instruct atheists to hide their absence of faith in their home country.
UNE's mission is to protect people at risk of persecution. The UN Refugee Convention does not distinguish between religious people and atheists. For both groups, the question is whether the person risks persecution because of his or her convictions. Persecution can take the form of life-threatening actions, torture or other serious reactions such as physical or psychological violence.
The right to protection is thus based on a concrete assessment of who risks what due to their faith or absence of faith, not on the principle that different life stances should be given equal status.
It is not possible to live as a Christian in Afghanistan without risking persecution. That is why it is UNE's practice to grant asylum to Afghan asylum seekers who are credible about having converted to Christianity. All religious practice involves the religious person doing certain things, for example praying and using religious symbols and texts. In Afghanistan, it will be easy for others to see that a person belongs to a religion other than Islam, even if all the religious practices take place at home. No Afghans live alone or have a private life that is hidden from others, and even close family members could persecute them. Christians do not have to tell others about their religious convictions to be exposed as a Christian.
It is possible to live as a non-religious person in Afghanistan, however. Who risks persecution depends on whether and in what way the person expresses his or her lack of faith. In many parts of Afghanistan, an absence of religious acts can be apparent and can in itself be seen as an active act against Islam. In other parts of the country, and in some families, it is possible to not engage in Muslim rituals such as prayer and fasting without this being regarded as having abandoned Islam. In order for non-believers to be 'exposed' as such, they have to actively make it known to their surroundings and express themselves or behave in a way that is considered to offend Islam.
When considering applications from Afghan atheists, the UDI and UNE therefore actively assess how the applicant will express his or her lack of faith in Afghanistan. Will the person in question remain passive and reserved, or will he or she actively speak about his/her convictions in a manner that will be perceived as offensive? The question here is how the person is likely to behave. It is a misunderstanding that UNE instructs asylum seekers to hide their convictions. If UNE believes that the person will behave in a way that can be perceived as offensive, that could entail a risk of persecution. In such cases, the person must be granted protection.
It has been UNE’s practice for many years to grant asylum to some Afghan atheists but not to others. Since 2010, UNE has considered about 30 cases concerning Afghan asylum seekers claiming to be atheists, and UNE granted the applicant protection in three of the cases. Two cases concerning Afghan atheists have been considered by the court of appeal, and the judgments demonstrate that UNE has assessed the cases correctly. The Norwegian practice as regards Afghan atheists is also in line with that of most other European countries.
The Norwegian Humanist Association has followed Moradi's case for several years, and Fri Tanke has also reported on his case before. That is positive. It draws attention to the situation of non-religious people in different countries. Human rights are at the core of UNE’s work, and the right to religious freedom is one of the key rights. That is also why persecution on grounds of faith or non-faith is one of the reasons for granting people international protection under the Refugee Convention.