“Atheists in Egypt are afraid to publicly come out as such," Hazem, 35, told Al-Monitor. "If you proclaim yourself a nonbeliever, you literally open the gates of hell; you stand to lose many of your friends and will be treated like an outcast. Your own family may accuse you of mental illness and possibly disown you. We are being forced to live as hypocrites for fear of facing discrimination and harassment.” Hazem, who asked to be identified with a pseudonym for his protection, was born and raised a Muslim but became an atheist when he turned 18 “after reading books on Islam and Christianity and listening to religious debates that left me unconvinced.”