"Religion is a private affair. Religious affiliation, or lack of it, should be an entirely private matter. The state has no business prying and citizenship rights ought to be enjoyed by all citizens, regardless of religious affiliation. Yet today no one dare confess to being an atheist or an agnostic in public. Such an admission would be considered a serious crime and would result in the wrath of the public, lynching not excluded," Magdi Khalil, head of the Middle East Freedom Forum, told Al-Ahram Weekly.