Dealing of the Saudi newspaper Al-Riyadh with the phenomenon of atheism

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Associate Professor, Department of Mass Communication, Al-Leith University College, Umm Al-Qura University

Abstract

Atheism is one of the modern phenomena that receive clear attention from thought leaders, educators and stakeholders.  This is due to the importance of atheism on the one hand, and the bad behaviors and actions that result from atheism that threaten the structures of societies and expose their capabilities.
 Atheism, which is originally the denial of the existence of God Almighty, includes under that meaning many visions that refuse to submit to the commands of God Almighty and then rebel against the teachings of the prophets and walk according to what God willed for His servants, passing through disbelief in the prophets and portraying the Creator in a way that does not befit the position of divinity and the manifestation of the Creator (exalted be He).  The meanings of inability and inability to manage his creation and the lack of God Almighty in various aspects.
 And because the press is the mirror of society, and because the press has to play its vital role in confronting the bad phenomena that threaten societies in their thoughts, behavior and dealings, and because the Saudi press is a model of the Muslim nation’s journalism that rejects atheism and sees it as a very dangerous and very bad course because of the meanings of intellectual decadence that it includes.  The question comes: What has the Saudi press done in the face of the phenomenon of atheism?
 The researcher chose the daily Al-Riyadh newspaper for several considerations, including: the presentation of this newspaper and its strength, and because it is issued from the capital, Riyadh, and bears its name, because of its capabilities, and because of its distinguished writers.  The study confirmed the attention of Al-Riyadh newspaper to the phenomenon of atheism, and refuted the fact that it exists among a group of the sons of the Muslim nation in this era.  She said that treatment and confrontation consist in addressing the phenomenon, observing children, cultivating the spirit of dialogue and avoiding places of intellectual deviation.  Emphasizing at the same time that those affected by the wave of atheism in Saudi society are very few, and that a distinction must be made between atheism and some of the ideas that the era is wit

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