Islamic organizations in the United States have expressed grave concern about the State Department’s grant program, which uses US taxpayer money to promote atheism in Muslim-majority areas of the Middle East and Asia.
Funds will be sent to create and strengthen networks of atheists.
According to a statement by Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), State Department has located the activities in the Middle East, North Africa and South/Central Asia.
CAIR said that it was inappropriate for the department to directly fund the spread of atheism in religious communities and anti-faith movements instead of promoting freedom and justice for all people.
The Council explicitly stated that the US State Department’s funding raises the suspicion among some people abroad that the US government seeks to secularize the Islamic world by supporting foreign organizations and governments hostile to Islam.
