We, the undersigned, are appalled at the discrimination, abuse and violence faced by ex-Muslims both in Britain and internationally (as seen in a new film, Islam’s Non-Believers).

Needless to say, it is not an insult to Islam or any religion, if one becomes an atheist – either in public or private. It is exercising a fundamental right to freedom of conscience.

Moreover, criticism of religion, including Islam, is not “Islamophobia” but exercising a fundamental right to freedom of expression.

Those who “punish” or forcibly prevent freedom of conscience and expression are the ones who commit a crime – not those exercising their basic human right.

It is high time that human rights and “progressive” organisations stop legitimising de-facto or de-jure blasphemy and apostasy laws and start defending, not blaming, Islamism’s victims.

A fight on several fronts, including against the religious-Right, racism and xenophobia and in defence of secularism and universal citizenship rights, is the way forward.

SIGNATORIES

Marieme Helie Lucas, Algerian Sociologist and Founder of Secularism is a Women’s Issue
Pierre Rousset, Europe solidaire sans frontières
Afsaneh Vahdat, Women’s Rights Activist
Alan Murray
Albert Beale, Pacifist Activist
Alice Carr, President of Progressive Atheists
Aline Ferrieux, Ceramist
Anthony McIntyre, Irish Writer
Arièle Nugon, NPA Marseille
Arifur Rahman, Bangladeshi Blogger and Secular Activist
Ascari Annie, Professor
Atheist Ireland
Barry Duke, Editor of the Freethinker
Baud Janine, Professeur retraité
Beatrix Campbell, Writer
Behzad Varpushty, Human Rights Activist
Bienvenu Colette
Boyan Dichev
Bread and Roses TV
Brian Jordan, Atheist
Catherine Samary, French and internationalist activist against Islamophobia and integrist currents
Cedetim (France)
Centre for Secular Space
Chiron Hélène
Chris Corbett, Humanist, atheist, secularist
Christian Mahieux, syndicaliste, Union syndicale Solidaires, Réseau syndical international de solidarité et de luttes
Cinzia Sciuto, Editor of MicroMega
Corinne Boyer, Translator
Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain
Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, Co-Presidents of Freedom From Religion Foundation
Daniel Guerrier, agnostique, pour une laïcité sans frontières
Dario Picciau, Director, Artist, and co-President of EveryOne Group
David Dugdale, Retired Scientist
David Hurlbut, Retired IT Engineer
David Rand, Président of Libres penseurs athées — Atheist Freethinkers
Dean Procter, intellectual, anarchist & secularist
Deirdre Toomey
Delerue Jean-Etienne, retraité
Dilip Simeon, Labour Historian and Chairperson of the Aman Trust
Ditte A.L. Hellemose
Djemila Benhabib, Writer
Eddy Petrisor, Humanist
Elizabeth Cox, Former UN Women Director
Elizabeth Mansfield
Emilia Novo
Enrique Aguirre Fernández de la Reguera, Painter
Equal Rights Now
Europe solidaire sans frontières
Faisal Saeed Al Mutar, Iraqi Writer and Human Rights Activist
Faizun Zackariya, Co-Founder of Muslim Women’s Research and Action Front
Fatou Sow, Women Living Under Muslims Laws International Director
Fitnah – Movement for Women’s Liberation
Francine Bavay
Françoise Svagelski , Professor of Philosophy
Gérard Gueniffey T Nazaire, militant antiraciste
Gilbert Corniglion
Gilles Lemaire, écologiste altermondialiste
Glenys Robinson, Author and co-President of EveryOne Group
Gona Saed, Overseas Director of Kurdistan Secular Centre
Harsh Kapoor, South Asia Citizens Web
Hassan Radwan, Agnostic Muslim Khutbahs blog
Houzan Mahmoud, Cofounder of Culture Project
Ibn Warraq, Writer
Iran Solidarity
Jacqueline Heinen, Sociologist
Jaleh Tavakoli, Blogger and Free Iran Denmark
James Booth. Retired Academic specialising in postcolonial literature
Javed Anand, General Secretary of Muslims for Secular Democracy, Founding member of Citizens for Peace and Justice and Co-editor of Communalism Combat
Jean Boucher, NPA France
Jeanne Favret Saada, Director d’Etudes honoraire at Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes
Jean-Philippe Divès, Editor of l’Anticapitaliste monthly journal (New Anticapitalist Party, NPA, France)
Jesus & Mo Author
Jesús Mª Puente González, Professor
John A Edwards, Solihull, Retired teacher and currently Treasurer of Birmingham Humanists
John Morgan
John Price, Retired English Teacher
Josette Trat, militante féministe et de la gauche radicale
Josu Ugarte Gastaminza, Former Director of Bakeaz
Julie Begum, Chair of Swadhinata Trust
Julie Bindel, Writer
Karim Shahmohammadi, Children First Now
Karrar Al Asfoor , Rights Activist and Admin of Humanitarian Dialogue Forum
Kate Smurthwaite, Comedian and Activist
Katha Pollitt, Feminist Poet, Essayist and Critic
Keith Ward, FBA, Christ Church, Oxford, Regius Professor Emeritus of Divinity, University of Oxford
Lalia Ducos, présidente of Women’s Initiative for Citizenship and Universal Rights
Laura Guidetti, President of Marea Italian Feminist Magazine
Lawrence Krauss, American Theoretical Physicist and Cosmologist
Leo Igwe, Nigerian Humanist Movement
Léon Crémieux, NPA France and Retired Aeronautical Technician
Lino Veljak, Head of Philosophy department at Zagreb University
Lisa J Whelan, Writer
Marco DeRossi
Marianne Ligou, NPA Pau France
Marie-Josée Salmon, Collège du Réseau Féministe « Ruptures »
Marina Strinkovsky, Feminist Writer and Campaigner
Marine Benjelloun, NPA
Mark Almond, Activist
Martín Alonso Zarza, Sociologist
Mary Devery, Human Rights Activist
Maryam Namazie, Iranian-born Spokesperson of Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain and One Law for All
Michael Gleave
Michael Nugent, Chairperson of Atheist Ireland
Mina Ahadi, Founder of Council of Ex-Muslims of Germany
Mohamed Mahmoud, Director of Centre for Critical Studies of Religion
Mohammed Alkhadra, Jordanian Activist
Mohsen Bahadori Birgani, Ex-Muslim Activist
Monica Lanfranco, Journalist
Monique Dental, Collège du Réseau Féministe « Ruptures »
Muriel Seltman, Writer
Muslimish
Nadia El Fani, Tunisian-French Filmmaker
National Secular Society
Nazanin Borumand, Council of Ex-Muslim of Germany
Nina Sankari, Kazimierz Lyszczynski Foundation
Nira Yuval-Davis, Director of Centre for Research on Migration, Refugees and Belonging at The University of East London
Olivier Zimmermann, Founding member of Réseau laïque romand and President of Coordination laïque genevoise
One Law for All
Onur Romano, President of Atheist Alliance International
Ophelia Benson, Writer
Paolo Flores d’Arcais, Director of MicroMega
Patrick Lescure
Paul Butler, Research Scientist at Bangor University
Peter Tatchell, Human Rights Campaigner
Pierre A Renaud, Atheist Freethinkers
Pierre Marchand, Professor
Pierre Thibault, secretary for Atheist Freethinkers, Quebec
Pierre Vandevoorde, NPA Normandy France
Piers Sergei Walker, Retired (previously employed by The Union Of Shop Distributive and Allied Workers)
Porotagora
Pragna Patel, Director of Southall Black Sisters
Raheel Raza, President of Council for Muslims Facing Tomorrow and Founding Member of Muslim Reform Movement
Raymond Hename, Secularist
Rebecca Taylor
Rina Nissim, Espace Femmes International
Robert Andrews, Amnesty International Urgent Action Network
Roberto Malini, Poet Laureate and co-President of EveryOne Group
Robin Clarke
Roger Dinsdale, Advocate for secularism and atheism
Rosangela Gramoni, Women’s Rights Activist
Roseline Vachetta, former Member of the European Parliament
Rumana Hashem, Political Sociologist and Founder of Community Women’s Blog
Russell Blackford, University of Newcastle
Russell Webb
Sadia Hameed, Spokesperson of Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain
Sally Armstrong, Writer
Samy Johsua, professeur émérite Université Aix-Marseille
Sanal Edamaruku, Founder and President of Rationalist International
Sarah Ager, Curator of Interfaith Ramadan
Scott Douglas Jacobsen, Writer at Conatus News
Secularism is a Women’s Issue
Shelley Segal, Singer/Songwriter
Sonny Azhakesan
Sophie Ozanne, NPA Normandy France
Sophie Thorpe
Southall Black Sisters
Stasa Zajovic, Founder of Women In Black Belgrade
Stephen Cowden, Senior Lecturer in Social Work at Coventry University
Stephen Evans, Campaigns Director of the National Secular Society
Steven Pinker, Cognitive Scientist, Psychologist, Linguist and Author
Stuart Hartill, Chairman of Isle of Man Freethinkers
Sue Cox, Co-founder of Survivors Voice Europe
Sultana Kamal, Bangladeshi Lawyer, Human Rights Activist and Executive Director of Ain o Salish Kendra
Suresh
Terri Murray, Author, Educator, blogger and Academic Theologian
Tina Taeri
Victor Dooley
Wissam Charafeddine, Muslimish Executive Board
Women in Black Belgrade
Women’s Initiative for Citizenship and Universal Rights
Yasmin Rehman, Women’s Rights Campaigner
Yasmine, Confessions of an ExMuslim
Yolanda Rouiller, Philologist
Zelda Bailey, Secularist, Humanist, Feminist

FRENCH

Déclaration de solidarité avec les ex-musulmans devant les attaques dont ils sont l’objet après la sortie télévisée du documentaire ‘ Les incroyants de l’islam’.

Nous soussigné/es sommes consternés devant la discrimination, les insultes et la violence auxquels font face les ex-musulmans en Grande-Bretagne et internationalement (telles qu’exposées dans le nouveau documentaire ‘Les incroyants de l’Islam’).

Il devrait être inutile de le dire : être ou devenir athée (que cette position soit assumée publiquement ou gardée privée) ne saurait constituer une insulte envers l’Islam ou quelque autre religion que ce soit. C’est l’exercice du droit fondamental qu’est la liberté de conscience.

De plus, critiquer une religion, y compris l’islam, ne saurait être considéré comme de l’« islamophobie », mais comme l’exercice du droit fondamental à la liberté d’expression.

Ce sont ceux qui « punissent » – qui empêchent par la force l’exercice de la liberté de conscience et d’expression – qui commettent un crime ; et non pas ceux qui font usage de leurs droits humains fondamentaux.

Il est grand temps que les organisations des droits humains et de la gauche cessent de légitimer, de fait ou de droit, les lois contre le blasphème et l’apostasie et commencent à défendre – et non pas à blâmer – les victimes de l’islamisme.

La voie à suivre, c’est lutter sur plusieurs fronts, c’est-à-dire à la fois contre la droite religieuse, le racisme et la xénophobie, et pour défendre la laïcité et les droits universels des citoyens.

ALSO SEE LETTER FROM Réseau Féministe « Ruptures » Association nationale

Objet : Soutien au film de Deeyah Khan « Islam Non-Believers »

Le Réseau Féministe « Ruptures » a appris que la diffusion à la télévision britannique du film de Deeyah Khan (Islam non-believers) a provoqué des protestations et des menaces de la part des intégristes musulmans.

En tant que féministes laïques, nous apportons tout notre soutien à toutes les personnes qui ont été à l’origine de la réalisation et de la diffusion de ce documentaire aussi nécessaire que courageux. Il s’agit là, en effet, de l’exercice d’un droit fondamental, reconnu par la loi internationale des droits humains fondamentaux. De plus, face au développement et à la recrudescence des mouvements politico-religieux, il importe de développer une solidarité internationale, raison pour laquelle nous avions signé et fait connaître dans nos publications la pétition : « One law for all » concernant la mise en place de tribunaux islamiques.

Créer un socle commun pour lutter contre tous les intégrismes religieux est un enjeu majeur de notre temps.

Fait à Paris, le 9 novembre 2016.

Marie-Josée SALMON,
Monique DENTAL
Collège du Réseau Féministe « Ruptures »