| October 31, 2007 |
Beyond Belief, Big Issue in the North With Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens launching an intellectual assault on religion, Mike Cotgreave looks at the options open to those who no longer believe. Religion has been an increasingly hot topic of debate recently but rarely, it seems, has there been such a sustained attack on God and the various belief systems that venerate him. If best-seller lists are anything to go by, atheism is in the ascendancy and following close behind are the bull-horns of a new Enlightenment that all are being encouraged to grasp. In the vanguard of this movement are four writers who have taken it... Filed as: Media Coverage |
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| October 25, 2007 |  |
Why do we ignore the plight of ex-Muslims? Johann Hari, The Independent Imagine a woman – let’s call her Beth – who has been an unthinking atheist all her life, just because her family and her friends are, too. One day, she decides to convert to Islam. As soon as she dons the hijab, her neighbours start to swear and spit at her in the street. A brick is thrown through her window; while she is sleeping, her car is torched. When she speaks out publicly, the death threats come. She is a “whore” who will be “raped to death”. All the other converts to Islam are receiving the same threats. Some... Filed as: Media Coverage |
| October 20, 2007 |
Mina Ahadi, founder of the Ex-Muslim Council movement wins the National Secular Society’s Secularist of the Year Award Iranian Dissident Wins Secularist of The Year Prize A woman who has spent her life opposing the mistreatment of women by the Iranian clerical regime has been awarded the £5,000 prize for Secularist of the Year by the National Secular Society. Mina Ahadi, an Iranian exile now living in Germany, was presented with the prize in London on Saturday (20 October). In his statement honouring Mina Ahadi, Professor Richard Dawkins said: “I have long felt that the key to solving the worldwide menace of Islamic terrorism and oppression would eventually be the awakening of women, and Mina Ahadi is a... Filed as: Media Coverage |
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| September 20, 2007 |
A new brand of non-believers, ABC News A New Brand of Nonbelievers In a Divided Europe, Ex-Muslims Want to Be Heard By CHRISTINE BROUWER, LONDON, Sept. 17, 2007 As the debate in Western Europe about radical Islam heats up, a new and unlikely group of people are adding their voice to the discussion They call themselves “ex-Muslims.” Raised as Muslims but having renounced their religion, this new brand of nonbelievers say they aim to make the rejection of Islam an acceptable topic for public debate and to confront threats of violence they say are associated with leaving the faith. “We want to support people who want to... Filed as: Media Coverage |
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| September 15, 2007 |
Non-believers are increasingly vocal, Washington Post In Europe and U.S., Nonbelievers Are Increasingly Vocal By Mary Jordan Washington Post Foreign Service Saturday, September 15, 2007; Page A01 BURGESS HILL, England — Every morning on his walk to work, high school teacher Graham Wright recited a favorite Anglican prayer and asked God for strength in the day ahead. Then two years ago, he just stopped. Wright, 59, said he was overwhelmed by a feeling that religion had become a negative influence in his life and the world. Although he once considered becoming an Anglican vicar, he suddenly found that religion represented nothing he believed in, from Muslim... Filed as: Media Coverage |
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| September 12, 2007 |
Ex-Muslims Demand Right to Renounce Islamic Faith, Deutsche Welle Ex-Muslims Demand Right to Renounce Islamic Faith Controversially, 9/11 was chosen as the date to sign the “European Declaration for Tolerance.” It aims to draw attention to what the former Muslims see as the lack of freedom of religion within Islam. Former Muslims from several European countries signed the declaration in the Hague on the sixth anniversary of the terror attacks in the United States Tuesday. Other signatories included many well-known Dutch politicians, authors and journalists. The date of the declaration, Sept.11, was symbolically chosen in order to condemn the terror and intolerance perpetuated by radical Islamic militants, though... Filed as: Media Coverage |
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| September 12, 2007 |
‘Freethinkers’ strive to help ex-Muslims, Taipei Times `Freethinkers’ strive to help ex-Muslims AP, AMSTERDAM Wednesday, Sep 12, 2007, Page 6 Ehsan Jami knew he was making himself a target for radical Islamists when he decided to launch a Dutch organization for Muslims who renounce their religion. Five months and three physical assaults later, his “Committee for Ex-Muslims” was to be launched yesterday, joining similar groups that have sprung up around Europe. These groups hope to add a new voice to the debate about — and within — Europe’s Muslim communities, presenting themselves as diametrically different to the disenchanted and sometimes violent youth who grab headlines, or to... Filed as: Media Coverage |
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| September 11, 2007 |
European “ex-Muslims” demand right to leave Islam, Reuters European “ex-Muslims” demand right to leave Islam By Alexandra Hudson THE HAGUE (Reuters) – A Dutch-Iranian launched a campaign on Tuesday for Muslims to have the right to renounce their faith, a view which has triggered three physical attacks on the 22-year-old. Ehsan Jami’s group has stirred intense interest in the Netherlands, which has one million Muslims, and has reignited a highly emotive debate about Islam. “There are five sharia schools in Islam which say if you leave Islam you must be killed,” Jami, 22, told Reuters in an interview while bodyguards stood watch at the door. Apostasy is punishable... Filed as: Media Coverage |
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| September 11, 2007 |
Muslims who renounce their faith band together in European countries, International Herald Tribune Muslims who renounce their faith band together in European countries The Associated Press Monday, September 10, 2007 AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: Leaders of “ex-Muslim” groups from several European countries signed a declaration of “Principles of Tolerance” Tuesday, hoping to counter Islamic radicalism and support Muslims too afraid to openly renounce their religion. Groups of secular Muslims have sprung up in the past year in Germany, Britain and the Scandinavian countries; there are plans to launch a group in the United States as well. Tuesday marked the formal launch of the Dutch group. Though membership is limited to several hundred people, they hope... Filed as: Media Coverage |
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| September 11, 2007 |
Group for ex-Muslims expands across Europe, USA Today By Toby Sterling, Associated Press AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — Ehsan Jami knew he was making himself a target for radical Islamists when he decided to launch a Dutch organization for Muslims who renounce their religion. Five months and three physical assaults later, his “Committee for Ex-Muslims” is being launched Tuesday, joining similar groups that have sprung up around Europe. These groups hope to add a new voice to the debate about — and within — Europe’s Muslim communities, presenting themselves as diametrically different to the disenchanted and sometimes violent youth who grab headlines, or to immigrants who live cloistered among their... Filed as: Media Coverage |