February 12, 2015 |
COMPETITION: A POSTER AGAINST HATE 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... Filed as: Press Releases |
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February 6, 2015 |
Press Release: Much needed 7 February Conference on Sharia Law, Apostasy and Secularism 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... Filed as: Press Releases |
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January 8, 2015 |
After the Charlie Hebdo Massacre, Support those Fighting the Religious-Right 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... Filed as: Press Releases |
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January 7, 2015 |
Charlie Hebdo: Rage and Solidarity 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... Filed as: Press Releases |
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December 17, 2014 |
Support Council of Ex-Muslims in 2015 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. Filed as: Press Releases |
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October 15, 2014 |
Secular Conference 2014 rallies in support of Kobane and against religious-Right Press Release 15 October 2014 The two-day International Conference on the Religious Right, Secularism and Civil Rights held in London during 11-12 October 2014 was a rousing success. A broad coalition of secularists, including believers, free-thinkers, agnostics and atheists assembled from the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and the Diaspora at the unprecedented and historic gathering to discuss resistance against the repression and violence of ISIS and other manifestations of the religious-Right, including in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, India, Iran, Israel, Libya, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Turkey, Tunisia and Yemen. They also discussed the urgent need to defend secularism, universal... Filed as: Press Releases |
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June 22, 2014 |
Amal Farah joins CEMB as Spokesperson The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain is pleased to announce that Amal Farah is now a Spokesperson of the organisation along with Maryam Namazie and Nahla Mahmoud. Amal was born in the Somali capital Mogadishu and now resides in England. Her father Col. Mohamud Farah served under Somalia’s military dictator Siad Barre before he was forced into exile in 1983 where he served as a DFSS military commander until his death a year later. She was subsequently raised in a conservative Muslim household that practiced a purist and literal interpretation of Islam, an experience she found to be stifling and... Filed as: Press Releases |
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June 18, 2014 |
Ofsted must revise its guidance and put needs of children before religion and religious-Right The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain is appalled at Ofsted’s recently updated guidance on faith schools. The guidance asserts that segregation of the sexes is not a sign of inequality and that veiling is a sign of Islamic “modesty” and “identity”; it also justifies restrictions on everything from art and music to sex and health education. The guidance helps to further normalise the Islamist agenda at a time when the Birmingham Trojan horse plot has been exposed. CEMB calls on Ofsted to revise its guidance and put the educational needs of children before religion and the religious-Right. All children have... Filed as: Press Releases |
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May 23, 2014 |
iERA: Islamic far-Right and Hate Group not Charity The Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA) has responded to the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain’s (CEMB) new report “Evangelising Hate”. Rather than address the numerous documented facts of hate speech by those associated with the organisation against ex-Muslims, Jews, gays, women, Muslims and others who don’t agree with their values the iERA uses predictable and standard responses in order to circumvent the main issue at hand: that it is a hate group which should have its charitable status revoked. The iERA’s tactics include the usual deception, obfuscation, irrelevant arguments about context, false accusations of bigotry and denial in order... Filed as: Press Releases |
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May 19, 2014 |
Sudan apostasy case, New Report: Evangelising Hate – Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA); ex-Muslims internationally Dear friend I am writing to give you an update of the work of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, including a new report on the hate group Islamic Education and Research Academy, and also ask for your help in defending an “apostate” facing death in Sudan. Sudan apostasy case The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain is outraged to learn of Mariam Yahya Ibrahim’s death sentence in Sudan for apostasy. The heavily pregnant Mariam has also been charged with adultery and imprisoned with her toddler. She and her husband are Christian but the judge insists she is Muslim. Mariam Yahya’s case... Filed as: Press Releases |