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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February 12, 2015
The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB) is pleased to announce the 2015 Poster Against Hate Competition. We believe that everyone should be free to speak up about their ideas. Freedom of expression includes the right to offend and to criticize, and even mock what is considered taboo and sacred. This can include religion and Islam. However, free expression is very different from hate speech against minorities, immigrants, Muslims and ex-Muslims. Everyone must be free to express themselves, without fear, threats, social pressure or coercion. For many, though, criticism of religion and Islam is met with threats and intimidation. Accusations...
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February 6, 2015
PRESS RELEASE 6 FEBRUARY 2015 Secularists will be gathering on 7 February 2015 in London for a day conference on Sharia Law, Apostasy and Secularism. The event follows an historic conference in October 2014 on the Religious-Right, Secularism and Civil Rights. Speakers at the sold-out conference will discuss freedom of expression, apostasy and blasphemy laws, Islamism and the religious-Right, as well as Sharia in the law, educational system and public policy. They will also highlight the successful campaigns against the Law Society and Universities UK and pay tribute to Charlie Hebdo and the many Muslims, ex-Muslims and others who have...
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January 8, 2015
FRENCH: Après le massacre de Charlie Hebdo, Soutenons ceux qui se battent contre la droite religieuse After the massacre in Charlie Hebdo in Paris on January 7, 2015, expressing indignation, as so many are doing, is not enough. A quick look at the English-speaking media shows that whilst many condemn the violence itself, they also assert that Charlie Hebdo courted (and maybe deserved?) a strong response from “Muslims”. Charlie’s regular cartoonists did not spare Islam, any other religion, nor fanatics and bigots. This trend in the media requires our attention. Apparently secularists, agnostics and atheists must keep silent and do...
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January 7, 2015
My message to Charlie Hebdo’s editor in chief, Gerard Biard: Dear Gerard I spoke on a panel with you in November last year at the International Feminist and Secular Network in Paris. I am writing to express my outrage at the cold-blooded murder of freethinkers at Charlie Hebdo today and to give my unequivocal support. Freedom of expression and the criticism of religion and Islam are basic rights. Clearly, free expression without the right to criticise religion is meaningless. Throughout history, criticism of religion (that which is deemed sacred or taboo) has been intrinsic to human progress. In the era...
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December 17, 2014
We’ve had a brilliant year, thanks to your support. In 2015, we aim to continue supporting ex-Muslims and challenging apostasy laws whilst exposing hate speech like “kafir” and “murtad” and raising awareness on the special plight of ex-Muslim women.
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