June 30, 2015
We are freelance writers from Bangladesh. Most of us have started our writings through blogging in 2006 and 2007 when a Bengali blog, called, ‘somewhereinblog’, was first founded. Somewhereinblog has appeared as a wonderful opportunity to express and share our experiences, daily diaries, our happiness and sorrows in our own language/terms. Initially we have used the space to read blogs, while some of us were sharing personal diaries, literary works i.e. poetry, short stories, travel blogs etc. At some point we have noticed random posts on Islamic thoughts and inserts from Quran & Hadith, translated by apparently preaching articles from...
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June 15, 2015
Nearly 200 signatories call to dismantle parallel legal systems 15 June 2015 Women’s rights and secular organisations urge the new government to take concerted measures to stop the development of parallel legal systems and to facilitate full and proper access to justice for all citizens and to one secular law for all. For decades, successive governments have appeased undemocratic religious power brokers in minority communities who have sought to gain power through multicultural and now multi-faith social policies. These policies have led to the homogenisation of minority communities including the ‘Muslim community’ and have recognised and legitimated ‘non-violent’ Islamists as...
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May 31, 2015
The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain is making a short film on ex-Muslim women who have had the courage to leave Islam and religion. We would very much like to hear from anyone who would be willing to take part in this important film. If you are interested in taking part, please contact us as soon as possible to find out more at exmuslimcouncil@gmail.com. All initial discussions will be confidential and without any obligation to go ahead. During filming, anonymity, if requested, is a possibility. We would like to start and complete filming within the next few weeks. We look...
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May 26, 2015
Dear Maryam and CEMB members, It is with great regret and a heavy heart that I write to tender my resignation with immediate effect from my position as co-spokesperson of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain. The decision is due entirely to my current circumstances, in that I am about to return to work from maternity leave and that, coupled with the demands of family life, means I cannot continue to devote the time and energy to that such an important role demands. It is a decision which I have found extremely hard to arrive at, as the experience of...
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May 10, 2015
Maryam Namazie joins BBC Big Questions on whether human rights laws have achieved more than religion for humankind, 10 May 2015
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May 5, 2015
Dear friend As you know, the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain was established in 2007 to break the taboo that comes with leaving Islam and religion. We have done this by challenging apostasy and blasphemy laws and facilitating a public renunciation of Islam and a rise in atheism. We have also been there for many ex-Muslims facing persecution by Islamists or family members – around 300 a year – including one-on-one support. Our web-forum has given thousands a network to rely on, including threads in Arabic and Urdu. The ex-Muslim movement has grown tremendously since our establishment with affiliated councils...
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April 29, 2015
“Esha” a 24 year old woman has been cut off from the world in her prime and is languishing in a Pakistani prison for the last three years on false charges of blasphemy brought against her by her best friend after they had an argument. She stands accused of having torn pages from the Qur’an and having slept on them. Although there have been several hearings, her trial  is still pending  for a complex variety of reasons – one of them being that there have been five different judges, each fearing for his life. She has no family to take an interest in her except...
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March 16, 2015
PRESS RELEASE Simon Cottee of the University of Kent’s School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, has written a ground-breaking new book which suggests that Muslims leaving Islam in western societies face psychological trauma from social stigma as opposed to physical intimidation. The book, entitled “The Apostates: When Muslims Leave Islam”, represents the first in-depth research study into the social dynamics of Islamic apostasy in the West. Based on in-depth life-history interviews with ex-Muslims from the UK and Canada, including members of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain’s forum, Cottee explains the process by which Muslims leave Islam and...
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March 10, 2015
Maryam Namazie will be speaking on Apostasy and the Rise of Islamism at Trinity College Dublin on 23 March 2015.
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February 24, 2015
On 22 February 2015, a Saudi court sentenced a man in his twenties to death by beheading for apostasy.  The identity of the man has not been made public but, according to Al-Shabaka, he was arrested last year and is charged with becoming an atheist and insulting Muhammad, Islam’s prophet, on social media. This heinous ruling comes against the backdrop of the recent attacks on freedom of expression in Paris and Copenhagen.  Whilst the Saudi government hypocritically condemned the Paris massacre as a “cowardly terrorist attack that was rejected by the true Islamic religion”, it condemned a man to death...
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