Media Coverage

February 8, 2008		Maryam Namazie’s blog on the New Statesman Faith Column, February 4-7 Losing my religion When religion means death Children and emotional abuse The necessity of criticism Losing my religion, 04 February 2008 I find it slightly odd writing for a faith blog, when I don’t have any. It’s like writing for an Automobile Association blog when I take the bus. But I do understand why it is so. In this day and age everything is framed within the context of ‘faith’, especially for those of us deemed to be Muslims – no matter how clearly and loudly we profess and live otherwise. I think this is in large part due to... Filed as: Media Coverage
January 16, 2008		Maryam Namazie joins Richard Dawkins, Schools Select Committee chairman Barry Sheerman, and others on a debate regarding religion and schools on Teachers TV Filed as: Media Coverage
January 11, 2008		Mina and Maryam are women of the year, National Secular Society Newsline Mina Ahadi and Maryam Namazie – leading lights in the ex-Muslim movement – have been voted among the top 45 women of year by Elle magazine in Quebec. Both Mina and Maryam have been winners of the National Secular Society’s Secularist of the Year award and Maryam is an honorary associate of the Society. NSS President Terry Sanderson, said: “As far as we’re concerned, Mina and Maryam are our women of the year this year and every year. Congratulations to them both.” Meanwhile, another courageous honorary associate, Taslima Nasrin, is still under cruel pressure in India from Muslims and now... Filed as: Media Coverage
January 6, 2008		Mina Ahadi and Maryam Namazie selected as two of the top 45 women of 2007, Elle Quebec, February 2008 [PDF] Filed as: Media Coverage
December 9, 2007		Muslim apostates threatened over Christianity, Sunday Telegraph When Sofia Allam left the Muslim faith for Christianity, the response from her family was one of persecution and threats. Alasdair Palmer explores the dangers facing Islam’s apostates Sofia Allam simply could not believe it. Her kind, loving father was sitting in front of her threatening to kill her. He said she had brought shame and humiliation on him, that she was now “worse than the muck on their shoes” and she deserved to die. Religious persecution of the kind Sofia suffers is increasingly common in Britain today And what had brought on his transformation? He had discovered that she... Filed as: Media Coverage
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
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
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
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