Lebanese Journalist Ziad Njeim: I Have a Natural Right to Doubt the Existence of God

In a January 14 interview on the Lebanese OTV channel, Lebanese journalist Ziad Njeim said: "if God and heaven exist, there's no way I'm going there, because they are immoral." Njeim, who is also an oral surgeon, objected to being labeled "atheist," saying that he was "a secular citizen." "For 3,000 years, [the clerics] have been waging sectarian wars - killing, rather than building, in the name of religion," he said. "Religion for me means respect for the other and defending his right to be different."

Following are excerpts:

Interviewer: "You doubt everything, even the existence of God..."

Dr. Ziad Njeim: "Correct. I have a natural right to doubt the existence of God, but I believe in a cosmic source of authority."

Interviewer: "You refuse to be labeled an atheist..."

Dr. Ziad Njeim: "Of course, because I'm not an atheist."

Interviewer: "So what are you? A man with no religion?"

Dr. Ziad Njeim: "No, I am a secular citizen."

[...]

"When I die, I don't want anyone to pray for my soul, because if God and heaven exist, there's no way I'm going there, because they are immoral."

Interviewer: "To that extent?"

Dr. Ziad Njeim: "And more! I cannot say just how immoral they are, because I don't have filth on my hands..."

Interviewer: "So who created this universe?"

Dr. Ziad Njeim: "I don't know."

Interviewer: "You don't have an answer?"

Dr. Ziad Njeim: "Of course I don't. Do you? Do the clerics have an answer?"

Interviewer: "I believe that there is a divine force."

Dr. Ziad Njeim: "The clerics have a contract signed by Allah, but they never show it to us. For 3,000 years, they have been waging sectarian wars - killing, rather than building, in the name of religion, and fomenting hatred between religions..."

Interviewer: "You say that religion limits the human mind, and that you are still seeking the truth. Have you found it?"

Dr. Ziad Njeim: "I have a different definition of religion. Religion for me is conduct and moral values..."

Interviewer: "Undoubtedly."

Dr. Ziad Njeim: "Religion for me means respect for the other and defending his right to be different. When we reach that level of humility, we will not need to be Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, or anything."