| May 15, 2017 |  |
We must all stand with Mohamed Salih In a very brave step, Mohamed Salih, a young Sudanese, filed an official request for all mention of Islam to be removed from his documents, including his national ID. As a result, he was charged with apostasy, per Article 126 of the Sudanese Criminal Code, which states: “Whoever propagates the renunciation of Islam or publicly renounces it by explicit words or an act of definitive indication is said to commit the offence of Riddah (apostasy).” Salih was, therefore, arrested on 8 May 2017 and held in Alqadisiyah police station, Ombada, a suburb of Omdurman. Since Aristide Nononsi, the Independent Expert... Filed as: Press Releases |
| May 15, 2017 |
Petition calls on Denmark to repeal blasphemy ban, Index on Censorship, 15 May 2017 Petition calls on Denmark to repeal blasphemy ban, Index on Censorship, 15 May 2017 STATEMENT Petition calls on Denmark to repeal blasphemy ban 15 May 2017 BY INDEX ON CENSORSHIP We the undersigned respectfully urge the Danish Parliament to vote in favour of bill L 170 repealing the blasphemy ban in section 140 of the Danish criminal code, punishing “Any person who, in public, ridicules or insults the dogmas or worship of any lawfully existing religious community”. Denmark is recognised as a global leader when it comes to the protection of human rights and freedom of expression. However, Denmark’s blasphemy... Filed as: Media Coverage, Press Releases |
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| May 12, 2017 |
Celebrating apostasy and blasphemy in London in July The Freethinker interviews Maryam Namazie and Marieme Helie Lucas ahead of the International Conference on Freedom of Conscience and Expression in the 21 Century scheduled to take place in London between July 22 and 24, 2017. Why organise an international conference on free conscience and expression? Maryam Namazie: Atheists and freethinkers are targeted by Islamists and religious-Right movements across the globe. Despite the brutal attacks, blasphemy and apostasy laws are often legitimised. Even where no such laws exist, there is a chorus of voices insisting that freedom of expression and conscience have limits, particularly when it comes to Islam. “Hurt”... Filed as: Press Releases |
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| May 10, 2017 |  |
Letter to Facebook: Prevent religious extremists from censoring atheists and secularists Petition to Facebook: #LetExmuslimsSpeak – Sign it Today. Dear Facebook administrators, We, the undersigned organizations, represent hundreds of thousands of ex-Muslims, secularists, humanists, atheists, and agnostics who are dedicated to safeguarding the universal human rights for freedom of religion, belief, and expression. Due to abuse of Facebook’s reporting tools, atheist and ex-Muslim organizations and groups find themselves yet again the target of censorship campaigns by religious conservatives. We respectfully ask that Facebook create mechanisms to prevent abuse of its features so that our organizations and groups do not fear unjust restriction and removal. Following what appears to be a coordinated... Filed as: Press Releases |
| April 25, 2017 |  |
The declaration on blasphemy and apostasy Declaration on apostasy and the blasphemy adopted by participants in the event “Days of Atheism 2017 – For the Right To Choose” The declaration on blasphemy and apostasy We are alarmed at the increasing persecution of freethinkers accused of blasphemy and apostasy. In the past month alone: Ex-Muslim atheist H Farook, a father of two, was hacked to death in India. In Iran, the death sentence of 21 year old Sina Dehghan has been confirmed by the supreme court on charges of “insulting the prophet”. Deghan’s co-defendants, Sahar Eliasi and Mohammad Nouri, have also been convicted of posting “anti-Islamic” content on social media. Nouri... Filed as: Press Releases |
| April 24, 2017 |  |
Islamist Yasir Qadhi incites discrimination and violence Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain is outraged that Islamist Yasir Qadhi spoke in Harrogate, Yorkshire on the 22nd of April, and in London on the 23rd of April in events organised by Muslim Engagement and Development (Mend), a front group for extremists. American-born Yasir Qadhi has been recorded saying: “…definitely this is a part of our religion to stone the adulterer and to chop the head off of the sorcerer and so many other things, and to kill, by the way, the homosexual – this is also our religion. The fiqh rulings say that the homosexual is be killed, OK?”... Filed as: Press Releases |
| April 19, 2017 |  |
Ex-Muslims of Sri Lanka A group of individuals, who chose to leave the religion they were born to – Islam, owing to different reasons, joined as a group to form ‘Ex-Muslims of Sri Lanka’ (EMSL), two days prior to bidding farewell to the year 2016. Coming out to the public for the first time in Sri Lanka’s history as the very first organization for those who left and wish to leave the religion of Islam was formed on 30th of December, 2016 at an undisclosed location closer to the country’s commercial capital, Colombo. Meeting for the first time as a group, almost all its... Filed as: Press Releases |
| April 8, 2017 |
Sayeeda Warsi’s Blinkered View of Islamism LifestyleBooks The Enemy Within: A Tale of Muslim Britain by Sayeeda Warsi – review A blinkered view of Islamism, says Maryam Namazie Evening Standard 6 April 2016 Sayeeda Warsi’s new book catalogues some of the hypocrisy and double standards of the British Government, the rise of the far-Right and bigotry against Muslims, yet has a glaring blind spot when it comes to Islamism. According to Warsi, Islamist terrorism is the result of everything but Islamist ideology. Since most of those killed by Islamists are “Muslims” in the Middle East, South Asia and North Africa, her argument that terrorism is the... Filed as: Press Releases |
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| March 28, 2017 |
Details on the cases of Ayaz Nizami and Rana Noman The following is a translation of an article on the arrested freethinkers in Pakistan published in Daily Ummat Karachi/Hyderabad, Rawalpindi,Peshawar #FreeAyazNizami and #RanaNoman! Arrested bloggers happened to be members of International organizations Two days before, two bloggers were arrested from Karachi because of criticising Islam and Holy Prophet Muhammad. FIA Cyber crime wing transferred those bloggers to Islamabad for physical remand. When “Ummat” started investigating about arrested bloggers, they came to know about shocking information. According to got information, there is a planned network and organisation of blasphemous bloggers who promote hatred against Islam and Holy Prophet.The name of organisation... Filed as: Press Releases |
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| March 23, 2017 |  |
Attacks on freethinkers and the celebration of apostasy and blasphemy Dear friend We hope you are well. Increased attacks on Freethinkers On 16 March, ex-Muslim atheist H Farook, a father of two, was hacked to death in India. He was known to our Sri Lanka affiliate organisation and was killed for his views. Several men have been arrested for his murder. In Pakistan, Ayaz Nizami and Rana Noman have been arrested by the government on 22 March. A report in a Pakistani paper says they were arrested for uploading “blasphemous content”, including on ” Atheist & Agnostic Alliance Pakistan and CEMB forum” sites. This follows the Pakistani government’s request that... Filed as: Press Releases |