Dr. Salah Sultan, President of the American Center for Islamic Research, Columbus, Ohio, and Member of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, states the following: “Disbelief knows no affiliation; if an atheist has disbelieved in Allah so no matter what name or title, he/she uses, this makes no difference; all paths of disbeliefs in Allah lead to Shirk. However, Muslims ought not to force anyone to convert as the basic rule in Islam is: no compulsion in religion.