Monthly Meetup in London

Monthly Meetups are held on the third Monday of every month, 7-8pm UK time in central London. Meetups are run by Ali Malik.

Victoria Gugenheim is an award-winning body painter, artist, and make-up artist, Victoria is also the resident artist for CEMB.

Drawing before she could talk, starting makeup at age 6, progressing to face and bodypainting at 9, Victoria Gugenheim has always had an intense drive to create. Deeply studious and compulsively curious, it is this intense need to understand the world around us that fuels her desire to create beautiful works that provoke a reaction, and make people think. Her drive is to understand why we do what we do, and how we can become more than we are.

Through her questioning of the world and her research into art and our origins, she has become passionate about the necessity of, and merges, art with science. She believes art and science share a common ancestor with the human imagination, and without imagination there can be no hypothesising.  Art is the first visual, material, tangible “What if?” that humanity had, and it started 300,000 years ago deep in the caves near the twin Zambini Rivers of Zimbabwe. There, Homo Heildelbergenesis created the first known art; art on the human body. This was used for rituals, accessing altered states of consciousness, tribal hierarchies, and more besides. The key was its immediate, visceral effect that had the capacity to transform our ancestors into greater versions of themselves. After learning of this, she was hooked on bodypainting and makeup for good.

 Victoria’s art, both mainstream and alternative, has been part of a lifelong quest of both adorning and “de-othering” people through art, public speaking and personal aesthetic choice, and understands that when someone others another human being, it dehumanizes them, objectifies them and makes them a target for everything, from stereotyping at best to at worst, victims of violence, poverty and death; This is most oftentimes caused by fear born of ignorance. Through connecting art, science, visual representations of the self, human rights activism and questioning what we can become both aesthetically and intellectually, Victoria has carved a niche that no other artist to date has dared step into.

Fully committed to living her art, Victoria is not afraid of standing out in the crowd, and encourages others to raise their voices and be heard in a world which cherishes the average over the individual. She believes that only with the realisation of yourself and a willingness to connect with others without othering them, can humanity progress.

Her art ranges from bodypainting, makeup, photography, performances, installations, digital art, clothing design, drawing and painting, merging with science and technology. Never wanting to be limited, she sought out any media necessary to make a concept work- and it is this industriousness that has helped bring her her current success.

Her clients have included Cirque le Soir, Nokia, London Fashion Week, Models of Diversity, Charlotte Church, Alice Cooper’s Halloween Night of Fear, Girls Roc and The World Bodypainting Festival among many others, as well as private commissions that are undertaken with great care, attention to detail and patience. She uses bodypainting as a way of empowering the human spirit, giving the person painted a new found confidence that can be life changing.

Monthly Meetup in London

Monthly Meetups are held on the third Monday of every month, 7-8pm UK time in central London. Meetups are run by Ali Malik.

Ibtissame Betty Lachgar is Moroccan. She is a clinical psychologist specialised in Criminology and Victimology, in the fight against sexist and sexual violence. In 2009, she founded the Alternative Movement for Individual Liberties (M.A.L.I.) in Morocco. As a result of her activism, she has been the target of harassment, intimidation and threats, as well as arbitrary arrests and prosecution.

CEMB is organising a picnic at embassies that persecute those who refuse to fast during Ramadan on 18 March at 4pm. The picnic will be followed by a Meet-Up in Central London with Betty Ibtissame Lachgar, the founder of Alternative Movement for Individual Liberties (M.A.L.I.) in Morocco. She will speak of their fast-defying actions in Morocco. To join picnic at embassies including of Iran, Morocco, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and meet-up, please contact Ali Malik at ali.malik@ex-muslim.org.uk.

Join monthly support groups to talk about issues that affect ex-Muslims.

CEMB currently has two 90-minute online sessions on the first Monday and Wednesday of every month, 6.30-8.00pm UK time. There is also a woman’s support group on the second Monday of every month. The sessions are led by Counselling Psychologist Dr SAVIN BAPIR-TARDY.

If you have never attended a session before, please email hello@council-of-ex-muslims-of-britain-e5a565.ingress-baronn.ewp.live.

Join monthly support groups to talk about issues that affect ex-Muslims.

CEMB currently has two 90-minute online sessions on the first Monday and Wednesday of every month, 6.30-8.00pm UK time. There is also a woman’s support group on the second Monday of every month. The sessions are led by Counselling Psychologist Dr SAVIN BAPIR-TARDY.

If you have never attended a session before, please email hello@council-of-ex-muslims-of-britain-e5a565.ingress-baronn.ewp.live.

Monthly Meetups are held on the third Monday of every month, 7-8pm UK time in central London. Meetups are run by Ali Malik.

About the Speaker:

Megan Manson is head of campaigns at the NSS. She previously worked for the Japanese government promoting cultural exchange and language learning. She has long been active in local interfaith initiatives.

World Award-winning body painter and world-ranking make-up artist, Victoria Gugenheim is a revolutionary pushing the boundaries of her craft, integrating it with fantasy, high fashion, fine art, fact and fortitude with an impeccable track record.

We are very lucky to have Victoria running a body painting workshop as part of the Spring Mayven Festival. In this female only space, Victoria will introduce how to utilise bodypainting as a means of self-expression, working through trauma, embracing personal power and radical autonomy away from the male gaze.

Photos will only be taken with explicit consent given, and women will have a chance to sign up to her new documentary and exhibition project,  Painted Powerful: My Body is Mine.

Tickets: £10, £8 concessions or pay what you can. Book here.

Victoria Gugenheim is a world award winning bodypainter and world ranking makeup artist.

She has worked on clients as diverse as Marvel, Charlotte Church, Wintercon, and has been in a number of feature films including James Bond. A woman’s rights and  human rights activist, she has also worked for CEMB with Maryam Namazie for the part decade, helping women who have fled oppressive Islamist regimes work with their body  as radical protest.

You can follow Victoria on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Monthly Meetup in London

Monthly Meetups are held on the third Monday of every month, 7-8pm UK time in central London. Meetups are run by Ali Malik.

More than 50 freethinkers from Afghanistan, Algeria, Australia (including Cape Malay), Bangladesh, Canada, Croatia, Egypt, Germany, India, Iran, France, Kenya, Kosovo, Lebanon, Morocco, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Turkey, Tunisia, UK, Ukraine, USA and the Diaspora will gather in Oslo during 31 August – 1 September 2024 for Celebrating Dissent Oslo. The two day conference is a continuation of the hugely successful Celebrating Dissent conferences held in London (2014), London (2017), Amsterdam (2019), Cologne (2022) and Paris (2023) in what has become the largest gathering of ex-Muslims across the globe.

Organised in Oslo by the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain and Dømmekraft, the event will pay tribute to taboo-breaking ex-Muslim comedian Shabana Rehman and celebrate blasphemy, apostasy and freedom of expression through discussions, poetry, film, protest art, and music.

Contributors: Ahmedur Chowdhury, Aleem (Secular Spirit) , Ali Malik, Ali Rizvi, Annie Laurie Gaylor, Apostate Aladdin, Arnfinn Pettersen, Cemal Knudsen Yucel, Dan Barker, Eirik Løkke, FarAvaz, Fariborz Pooya, Fauzia Ilyas, Halima Salat, Haram Doodles, Ibn Warraq, Ibtissame Betty Lachgar, Infidel Noodle, Inna Shevchenko, Jimmy Bangash, Khadija Khan, Krystel Antoni, Lawrence Krauss, Lisa-Marie Taylor, Mariam Aliyu, Marieme Helie Lucas, Maryam Namazie, Milad Resaeimanesh, Mimzy Vidz, Mohammad Hisham, Morten Guldburg, Mouhammad El Jabbari, Nada Peratovic, Nadia El Fani, Nazmiye Oral, Nina Sankari, Rahila Gupta, Rana Ahmad, Sami Abdallah, Sanal Edamaruku, Sara Nabil, Shakeel Rehman, Shelley Segal, Sohail (Reason on Faith), Stephen Evans, Sylo Taraku, Taha Siddiqui, Veedu Vidz, Victoria Gugenheim, Wissam Charafeddine, Zara Kay and Zehra Pala.

Topics: Creativity and Humour in Challenging Fundamentalisms and Defending Free Expression, Racism, Identity Politics and Free Expression, Laicite as a Cornerstone of Free Expression and Rights, The Ex-Muslims: Canaries in the Coal Mine, Islam’s Nonbelievers: Terror, Trauma, Transformation, Censorship, Offence and Free Speech, Science and Rationality challenging Dogma and Blasphemous Women: Touching the Sacred.

Conference Organisers:

Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain was established in June 2007 to break the taboo that comes with leaving Islam, highlight the plight of ex Muslims, and challenge apostasy and blasphemy laws. CEMB stands against all forms of bigotry and unequivocally defends reason, freedom of conscience and expression, rights and secularism. Over the last 17 years, CEMB has provided assistance to thousands of ex Muslims worldwide, created support groups, solidarity actions and educational materials and helped establish Ex Muslims International. Maryam Namazie, CEMB Spokesperson, has been the instigator behind the international conferences.

Dømmekraft is a secular thinktank established in January 2022. The founders are Morten Guldberg and Lovise Lindtner. The organisation publishes articles, reviews and interviews, and also sets up conferences, debates and other public events to counteract fake news and extremist views and embodies a Humanist outlook, including in support of basic human rights, democracy, equality, freedom of speech and critical thinking.

Conference Sponsors:

Center for Inquiry, Civita, Freedom from Religion Foundation, Fritt Ord, Human-Etisk Forbund, Human-Etisk Forbund Oslo and National Secular Society.

The link to purchase tickets can be found here.

Monthly Meetup in London

Monthly Meetups are held on the third Monday of every month, 7-8pm UK time in central London. Meetups are run by Ali Malik.

Gita Sahgal is a writer, journalist, film-maker and rights activist. She is a member of the editorial collective of the journal Feminist Dissent which examines gender, fundamentalism and secularism. She is a Spokesperson for One Law for All and Produced ‘Women Leaving Islam’ for the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain. She was a Founder of Centre for Secular Space which published ‘ The Muslim Right, the Anglo-American Left and Universal Human Rights’ by Meredith Tax. She was formerly Head of the Gender Unit at Amnesty International; she was suspended in 2010 after she was quoted criticising Amnesty for its high-profile associations with the Islamist Moazzam Begg, the director of a group called Cage Prisoners. For many years she served on the board of Southall Black Sisters and was a founder of Women Against Fundamentalism and Awaaz: South Asia Watch. With Nira Yival Davis, she edited ‘Refusing Holy Orders: Women and Fundamentalism in Britain’ (London, 1992). Among her articles are ‘Legislating Utopia? Violence Against Women, Identities and Interventions’ in ‘The Situated Politics of Belonging.’ During the 1980s, she worked for a Black current affairs programme called “Bandung File” on Channel 4 TV. She made two films about the Rushdie affair, ‘Hullaballoo Over Satanic Verses’ and ‘Struggle or Submission.’ She has also made two programmes for Dispatches Channel 4, ‘The Provoked Wife’ on the case of Kiranjit Ahluwalia and ‘The War Crimes File,’ an investigation into allegations of war crimes, committed by members of the Jamaat i Islami in Bangladesh in 1971.

More than 50 freethinkers from Afghanistan, Algeria, Australia (including Cape Malay), Bangladesh, Canada, Croatia, Egypt, Germany, India, Iran, France, Kenya, Kosovo, Lebanon, Morocco, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Turkey, Tunisia, UK, Ukraine, USA and the Diaspora will gather in Oslo during 31 August – 1 September 2024 for Celebrating Dissent Oslo. The two day conference is a continuation of the hugely successful Celebrating Dissent conferences held in London (2014), London (2017), Amsterdam (2019), Cologne (2022) and Paris (2023) in what has become the largest gathering of ex-Muslims across the globe.

Organised in Oslo by the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain and Dømmekraft, the event will pay tribute to taboo-breaking ex-Muslim comedian Shabana Rehman and celebrate blasphemy, apostasy and freedom of expression through discussions, poetry, film, protest art, and music.

Contributors: Ahmedur Chowdhury, Aleem (Secular Spirit) , Ali Malik, Ali Rizvi, Annie Laurie Gaylor, Apostate Aladdin, Arnfinn Pettersen, Cemal Knudsen Yucel, Dan Barker, Eirik Løkke, FarAvaz, Fariborz Pooya, Fauzia Ilyas, Halima Salat, Haram Doodles, Ibn Warraq, Ibtissame Betty Lachgar, Infidel Noodle, Inna Shevchenko, Jimmy Bangash, Khadija Khan, Krystel Antoni, Lawrence Krauss, Lisa-Marie Taylor, Mariam Aliyu, Marieme Helie Lucas, Maryam Namazie, Milad Resaeimanesh, Mimzy Vidz, Mohammad Hisham, Morten Guldburg, Mouhammad El Jabbari, Nada Peratovic, Nadia El Fani, Nazmiye Oral, Nina Sankari, Rahila Gupta, Rana Ahmad, Sami Abdallah, Sanal Edamaruku, Sara Nabil, Shakeel Rehman, Shelley Segal, Sohail (Reason on Faith), Stephen Evans, Sylo Taraku, Taha Siddiqui, Veedu Vidz, Victoria Gugenheim, Wissam Charafeddine, Zara Kay and Zehra Pala.

Topics: Creativity and Humour in Challenging Fundamentalisms and Defending Free Expression, Racism, Identity Politics and Free Expression, Laicite as a Cornerstone of Free Expression and Rights, The Ex-Muslims: Canaries in the Coal Mine, Islam’s Nonbelievers: Terror, Trauma, Transformation, Censorship, Offence and Free Speech, Science and Rationality challenging Dogma and Blasphemous Women: Touching the Sacred.

Conference Organisers:

Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain was established in June 2007 to break the taboo that comes with leaving Islam, highlight the plight of ex Muslims, and challenge apostasy and blasphemy laws. CEMB stands against all forms of bigotry and unequivocally defends reason, freedom of conscience and expression, rights and secularism. Over the last 17 years, CEMB has provided assistance to thousands of ex Muslims worldwide, created support groups, solidarity actions and educational materials and helped establish Ex Muslims International. Maryam Namazie, CEMB Spokesperson, has been the instigator behind the international conferences.

Dømmekraft is a secular thinktank established in January 2022. The founders are Morten Guldberg and Lovise Lindtner. The organisation publishes articles, reviews and interviews, and also sets up conferences, debates and other public events to counteract fake news and extremist views and embodies a Humanist outlook, including in support of basic human rights, democracy, equality, freedom of speech and critical thinking.

Conference Sponsors:

Center for Inquiry, Civita, Freedom from Religion Foundation, Fritt Ord, Human-Etisk Forbund, Human-Etisk Forbund Oslo and National Secular Society.

The link to purchase tickets can be found here.

This year, we demand an end to apostophobia, because leaving Islam is a human right!

Apostophobia, or the fear, hatred, discomfort with, hostility towards, or discrimination against apostates, is rampant in Muslim families and Islamic states because apostasy is a forbidden and punishable sin in Islam, by death according to Shariah.

With no or restricted access to support, safety and freedom, Ex-Muslims are continuing to suffer hateful, violent and fatal consequences like being disowned, abused, imprisoned or even killed, just for leaving Islam.

This Ex-Muslim Awareness Month in December 2024, we invite you to share your stories of apostophobia, amplify Ex-Muslim voices, and join in calling an end to the hate and harm people experience for leaving Islam!

2024 Ex-Muslim Awareness Month Hashtags

#EndApostophobia #ExMuslimAwarenessMonth

Definition of Apostophobia:

Apostophobia is the fear, hatred, discomfort with, hostility to, or discrimination against Apostates. This sentiment is a form or racism and a person who harbours it is called an Apostophobic. Apostates are described as people who have left a religious in-group to join an out-group, left their religious in-group and became non-religious, or left a religious out-group to join another out-group.

About Ex-Muslim Awareness Month

Ex-Muslim Awareness Month was born out of the Ex-Muslim Subreddit and organized for the first time in 2022 by Haram Doodles! Together with a coalition of Ex-Muslims, including content creators, organisations, and communities of apostates worldwide, this month is dedicated to raising awareness of Ex-Muslims, celebrating the right to apostasy, and advocating for our freedom to leave Islam.

Held immediately after “Islamophobia Awareness Month” in November, Ex-Muslim Awareness Month shines a light on the unique challenges faced by those who have left Islam. For many, this decision comes with life-altering consequences — from community rejection and isolation to threats of violence, persecution, and even death.

Why Ex-Muslim Awareness Month?

For Ex-Muslims, leaving Islam is often a journey fraught with danger, trauma, and loss of community. Apostasy is forbidden in Islam, and leaving the faith can lead to ostracisation, harm, or even state-sanctioned punishment. Most Ex-Muslims are forced to remain hidden to protect themselves from serious risks. This month provides a crucial space for raising awareness, offering support, and promoting the right to freedom of belief.

Get Involved and Support Ex-Muslim Awareness Month by:

• Following and amplifying Ex-Muslim voices on social media using hashtags #ExMuslimMonth, #ExMuslimAwarenessMonth, and #ExMuslimAwarenessMonth2024 #EndApostophobia.
• Learning about Ex-Muslims and the challenges they face. If you’re unfamiliar, start with googling “apostasy in Islam” or explore Ex-Muslim communities on Reddit, Discord, and Telegram.
• Joining a local or online Ex-Muslim organisation, volunteering, or donating to Ex-Muslim causes.
• Advocating safely for Ex-Muslim rights within your own communities, among friends, or even on a policy level.

Let’s work together to make sure that no one has to live in fear for questioning or leaving their faith. This month and beyond, get to know Ex-Muslims, learn about our stories, and support our journey toward freedom and acceptance.