Turkey’s first official atheism association founded

ISTANBUL

The locals of the association were opened in Istanbul's Kadıköy district. Agos Photo

The first Atheism Association has been officially founded in Turkey, becoming a legal address in an effort to stand up for the rights of atheists in the country, daily Radikal has reported.

“No atheists will be alone anymore, either on the streets or in courts,” the association said via its official Twitter account.

It also invited “everyone who wants to meet or be a member” to its office, located in Istanbul’s Kadıköy district.

In an interview with daily Agos last month, the founders of the Initiative of Atheism Association, Tolga İnci and Ahmet Balyemez, said they thought there should be a place to provide legal support to people facing problems as atheists.

“Even saying ‘I am an atheist’ has begun to mean an insult to Islam in Turkey. The prime minister’s remarks that ‘every atheist is a terrorist’ are being taken as normal,” they said in the interview. “We need to say ‘we are here’ as atheists ... We are not related to any ideology. We want to approach atheism scientifically, not ideologically.”