| June 9, 2016 |  |
Fast-Defying Protest during Ramadan, Apostate Flashmob, Action for Raif, Hate Crimes and more Dear friend We hope you are well. UPCOMING EVENTS We have a number of interesting events and actions coming up in London over the next two months, including a “Mean Tweets Party,” a Fast-Defying protest in solidarity with those persecuted for eating during Ramadan, and an apostate flashmob. We also have some wonderful speakers lined up for our monthly meet-ups. For a current listing of events and speaking engagements, including internationally, visit here. [You can read Maryam Namazie’s recent speech at Reason Rally 2016 in Washington DC entitled: Out, Loud and Proud for Secularism here.] 24 JUNE 2016: FAST DEFYING... Filed as: Press Releases |
| June 8, 2016 |  |
Reason Rally 2016: Out, Loud and Proud for Secularism Below is Maryam Namazie speech at Reason Rally 2016 on 4 June 2016 in Washington DC. I’m very happy to be here. Thanks to the organisers for this wonderful event. Thanks to all of you for coming out today. I think you should give yourselves a huge round of applause. It’s well deserved. In the age of ISIS and the retreat of reason, being out, loud and proud for secularism is important. If only to say: We exist and that there are many of us. This – in and of itself – be it in Afghanistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia or the... Filed as: Press Releases |
| May 28, 2016 |  |
Is sharia discriminatory against women? Maryam Namazie was interviewed on BBC World at One on sharia courts in Britain and the government’s inquiry into them. You can see it here: BBC World At One She also debate the courts with Mohammad Shafiq from the Ramadan Foundation on RT. You can see it here. Filed as: Press Releases |
| May 3, 2016 |
Statement on attacks on atheists, secularists, and religious minorities in Bangladesh Protect the rights to freedom of religion, belief, and expression. Statement on attacks on atheists, secularists, and religious minorities in Bangladesh May 3, 2016 We, the undersigned academics, intellectuals, human rights advocates, and organizations from Bangladesh and around the world, unequivocally condemn recent statements by Bangladesh government officials appearing to blame writers, publishers, and activists for their own deaths at the hands of violent extremists with suspected links to militant Islamist groups. We strongly urge the Bangladesh government to immediately take steps to vigorously protect the rights to freedom of religion, belief, and expression, both in word and in deed.... Filed as: Press Releases |
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| March 16, 2016 |  |
17 March 2016: Protest at NUS: Urge reform of no-platform & safe space policies Protest at NUS: Urge reform of no-platform & safe space policies Challenge all bigotry and hate but also defend free expression On 17 March 2016, there will be a protest organised by Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain and Right2Debate at the National Union of Students HQ in London to urge reform of its safe space and no-platform policies, which restrict freedom of expression. This comes as 16 students from various universities have highlighted 20 different case studies of censorship. Speakers at the rally include Alexa Robertson, Secretary of National Federation of Atheist, Humanist and Secular Student Societies; Asher Fainman, President... Filed as: Press Releases |
| March 11, 2016 | |
Join 17 March rally for free expression on Campus and 30 April conference on Sharia Law, Legal Pluralism and Access to Justice Hello We are writing to you to ask for your support in favour of free expression and one secular law for all. 17 MARCH RALLY FOR FREE EXPRESSION ON UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES As you know, Islamists are often free to speak at universities whilst those of us providing a progressive counter-narrative are repeatedly denied or restricted from speaking. We are wrongly accused of Islamophobia and “incitement to hatred” when we are in fact challenging the Islamists’ hatred of apostates, women, Muslim dissenters and others. Warwick University Student Union, for example, initially barred our spokesperson, Maryam Namazie, from speaking to the Atheist... Filed as: Press Releases |
| February 25, 2016 |
In Defence of Salman Rushdie TO SIGN ON TO THIS PETITION, CLICK HERE. We, the undersigned, are outraged to learn that forty state-run media outlets in Iran have raised $600,000 (£420,000) to add as bounty to Ayatollah Khomeini’s death fatwa on the writer Salman Rushdie, because of his novel The Satanic Verses. We condemn the Iranian regime, its fatwa and the added bounty. We stand with Salman Rushdie and the many Iranian freethinkers and writers languishing in prison, or facing the death penalty, for exercising their right to free expression and thought. The Iranian regime must face global condemnation for its incitement to murder. Moreover,... Filed as: Press Releases |
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| February 20, 2016 |  |
Facebook: Stop censoring Arab ex-Muslims and freethinkers NOW Please contact Facebook calling for an end to censorship of Arab ex-Muslim and freethinker pages or Tweet @Facebook. We are thousands of free thinkers and Ex-Muslims who lives in Middle East. We left the religion after a lot of research, but we still can’t announce this in our countries due to local laws and threat of extremists. We are exposed to the risk of death by beheading by Islamic Sharia fundamentalism. Social media is our only outlet to feel alive, get knowledge and hope in a better future. But Muslim fundamentalists and extremists didn’t leave us alone, and they created... Filed as: Press Releases |
| February 3, 2016 |  |
Omar Makram must be granted asylum Omar Makram, an ex-Muslim, vocal atheist and a critic of Islam from Egypt fled his home country due to the threats he faced. Despite the threats, the Swedish authorities have refused his application. Currently, the Swedish authorities seek to deport him back to Egypt were his freedom and perhaps even his life would be in danger. To further prove his convictions he had to resort to making a video where he renounced Islam by desecrating the Quran public for all the world to see. In Egypt, authorities use blasphemy law to crackdown on vocal atheists, critics of Islam and reformists... Filed as: Press Releases |
| February 3, 2016 |  |
My Ordeal with the Quran, By Abbas Abdul Noor Brief abstract: This is the first English translation (by Hassan Radwan) of the book, “My Ordeal with the Quran Complete Full Version.” By Abbas Abdul Noor. The book has been in available Arabic on the internet for about ten years in PDF form. The first page identifies the text as a draft copy, indicating that it was not finalised for printing and it appears the book was refused publication in Egypt and other Arab countries, which is not unexpected given the difficulty of publishing critical commentary on the Qurʾān in such regions. Beneath the words “Draft Copy,” it says: “Damanhur,... Filed as: Press Releases |