May 15 2013
I will be away until 22 May attending the 17-19 May 2013 Women in Secularism 2 Conference in DC. More information available here.
I’ll be speaking on “apostasy from Islam” on Saturday morning and then on “Freedom – not Islamism – is my culture” in the afternoon. I’ll also be meeting with Muslimish activists in the DC area.
Can’t wait.
I will most likely not be blogging until I return.
May 15 2013
Dear friends
During these hard days of fear, insomnia, and pain, in hiding from authorities as well as fanatics, I have spent many nights expecting to be beaten, killed or caught. I know the real impact of my actions. They are afraid, dear friends; their dogmas and norms are so weak that they cannot stand to be questioned and challenged.
Today, I met two supposed “human rights” activists who advised me to get a medical certificate citing that my mental facilities were too diminished to realize the “impact” of my statements, and to apologize in a video or in a mosque to people who were “offended” or “hurt” by my statements, and to delete all traces of my “crimes” on the internet, by disabling Facebook, and deleting all the videos I have made… They say it is the only way I can have a normal life, with a few clicks everything will be as before, even better than it was as I can be assured that at least I tried to change things. At least, they say, I fought to free people from the enslavement of religion and dogmas, of dictatorship… But I cannot do so.
I don’t feel sorry for anything I have said or for the actions I have taken part in, including the 20th February MASAYMINCH Movement, and the establishment of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Morocco – the first atheist organization in a country with Islam as the state religion.
Dear friends, we have a long way to go to break down those Middle Aged myths and ways of thinking, those oppressive and repressive rites in the name of religion or culture, those violations of human rights in the name of cultural relativism… We have to fight for this long awaited world, where people will live equally regardless of their gender, religious beliefs, or sexual orientations, where we will live in harmony with our environment, a world where wars and un-civilisation will only exist in history books.
I would like to everyone taking a stand on International Imad Day, everyone who supported me, everyone who cared about me, everyone who helped or tried to help by any means, everyone who spread the word, everyone who thought about me…
Special thanks to Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, Norwegian Heathen Society, Atheist Alliance International, Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, all the friends who hosted me taking personal risks, everyone who supported and helped me by any means, Ahmed Benchemsi, Maryam Namazie, Daniel Salte, Kacem Al-Ghazali, Marjorie Bloom, Peter Breedveld & his wife, Diana & Roy Brown, and all the members of a so special club trying to change the world.
Keep supporting reason and free thought!
In Mickey Mouse we trust,
Imad Iddine Habib
15 May 2013
See some of the actions taken for International Imad Day here. Many of the actions have been posted on Waleed Al-Husseini’s Facebook Page “I’m Proud to be an Atheist” as Imad has been banned from updating the Council of Ex-Muslims of Morocco’s Facebook Page.
See list of nearly 400 groups and individuals defending International Imad Day here.
By the way here is a video of atheist Moroccans, including Imad:
May 15 2013
Today is International Imad Day to stand with 22 year old Imad Iddine Habib who has received threats after his establishment of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Morocco and to exert pressure on the Moroccan government to guarantee his security and respect freedom of expression and thought. Rather than prosecute freethinkers, the government should prosecute those who issue fatwas and death threats against the likes of Imad.
On 15 May, add your name to the list of signatories below; send letters of protest to the Moroccan embassy in your country of residence; Tweet #Imad, #Atheist, #exMuslim; do an act of solidarity, including posting a photo of yourself holding a message like Imad has done (you can also email the photo to [email protected] as Imad has been banned from updating the Council of Morocco’s Facebook page); click “like” on the Council of Ex-Muslims of Morocco’s Facebook page and more.]
Below are a few acts of solidarity with Imad; keep them coming!
Updated 15 May 13:15
Atheist Alliance International President Carlos A. Diaz
Yasmine Vinck from Belgium
Here’s one from activist Rafiq Mahmood in Indonesia:
My name is Rafiq Mahmood and I am an ex-Muslim. I live in Indonesia which claims to be the country with the world’s largest Muslim population.
It is not my fault that I am an ex-Muslim. After many years of struggling with doubt I realised that I didn’t believe in Islam any more. I could not say the Kalima because it wasn’t true. I have not done anything wrong. I would be lying if I said I believed when I did not. Why should I be punished, put in prison or threatened by the mob with death? I can’t help it if I don’t believe. I am being honest. I am not convinced. If I am not convinced then I do not believe.
There are many people like me. There are many young people struggling with doubt. Why should they have to hide and run away from the police or angry people if they honestly and truthfully admit that Islam doesn’t convince them any more? It is up to Islam to persuade us, not up to us to persuade ourselves. Belief is not something that can be forced. It comes from inner conviction. If there is no inner conviction then there is no belief.
There is nothing wrong with not believing. Groups like the ex-Muslim Council of Morocco and its predecessors such as the ex-Muslim Council of Britain and Germany exist to give support to people who feel like us, to say, “We are not alone,” and to share our thoughts and hopes for a better world where people can be free to be themselves. The ex-Muslim Councils say that it is possible to leave your religion. A religion based on fear is not something that has a sound foundation at all. It is like trying to sit on a boiling kettle to prevent the lid coming off.
There is also nothing wrong with saying why we are ex-Muslims and what we don’t like about Islam. If Islam is, as we are always being told, the truth, then our arguments can be met with better arguments. Sticks and prison or the beheading sword are not better arguments. They are the admission of defeat, the admission that there are no ideas left and you have to resort to violence.
It is a disgraceful and shameful thing that good, intelligent and caring people like my friend Alexander An is in prison here in Indonesia for merely posting a link on facebook. A gentler and more truly peace-loving person I have yet to meet. Now another brave young man, Imad Iddine Habib, is facing pressure from the authorities in Morocco for daring to offer a support network for those, like us, who no longer buy into Islam.
It is utterly disgraceful that the King, whose duty is to all his people, should permit the High Council of Ulemas, which he chairs, to decree a fatwa of death to those who, like us, leave Islam. It brings his throne and his Kingdom into the gravest disrepute. Such a death penalty is a penalty for being honest, for striving to be normal citizens living in the open and fulfilling their part for the common benefit of all. Ex-Muslims are not bad people. We care deeply for the good of the community and for each other. Why should our contribution to society be denied by throwing us in jail, making us flee to Western countries or cutting us off from life itself?
Ex-Muslims are ordinary people. We are not enemies of the state, although we do want a better, freer state where everyone has equal opportunities to fulfil their potential and serve the community. We do want to see secular states emerge because we feel that secularism gives everyone the best chance of being themselves, whether they are religious or not. There is no shame in being an ex-Muslim. We just want to be open and honest and to be ourselves.
I fully support International Imad Day (15 May) and the Council of Ex-Muslims of Morocco.
Rafiq Mahmood
Bogor
West Java
Indonesia
May 09 2013
Tonight, 9 May 2013, the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain has organised evening drinks with Gita Sahgal, Executive Director of Centre for Secular Space. 6:30-8:00pm at The George on the Strand, 213 Strand, London WC2R 1AP. Entry is £3; £1 for unwaged, which can be paid at the door. All are welcome.
Author Rumy Hasan who was to give the talk is ill; his talk will be rescheduled.
Hope to see some of you there!
By the way, the next CEMB event is our 6th anniversary luncheon.
Join us to celebrate the 6th anniversary of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain 15 June 2013 at 12pm for a 12:30pm start at a central London restaurant. The keynote speaker will be writer Kenan Malik. Other speakers and acts include Centre for Secular Space Executive Director Gita Sahgal, comedian Kate Smurthwaite and CEMB spokesperson Maryam Namazie. Nahla Mahmoud will be the MC for the event.
Book your tickets today. Ticket(s) for the event, which includes a three-course meal and glass of wine at a wonderful Italian restaurant, are £35.00 per person or £30.00 for students/unwaged.
To purchase tickets, send a cheque made payable to CEMB to BM Box 1919, London WC1N 3XX or pay via Paypal or Worldpay. Please make sure to include an email address and/or telephone number so that further details can be provided. Additional donations are welcome to help ensure the attendance of CEMB volunteers at the event.
May 04 2013
This year the annual Altab Ali Day will be held today on Saturday 4 May 2013, 5pm to commemorate the murder of Altab Ali, a Bengali clothing worker, in 1978, by a gang of racist thugs. The event will take place on Saturday 4th May, at 5.15pm, At the “Shahid Minar” Altab Ali Park, Adler Street/Whitechapel High Street, London E1.
The annual commemoration of the Altab Ali Day is a very important event in the anti-racist and anti-fascist calendar. It vividly reminds us of the catalogue of racist murders and our struggle against racism and fascism in the UK. This year we are marking the 35th anniversary of the murder of Altab Ali, which gave rise to the resistance movement by the Bengali community in the East End of London and led to the ‘Battle of Brick Lane’ in 1978 defeating the thugs of the then National Front- the far right racist political party.
If you able to gather at Altab Ali Park, please do. You can find out more from Ansar Ahmed Ullah, Organising Secretary, Altab Ali Foundation, [email protected]
May 04 2013
Here is the latest photo from Amina Tyler of FEMEN Tunisia. No More Moral Lessons, indeed!
You can donate to support Amina here; I just did.
Amina continues her protests in Tunisia.
On 1 May, Amina and other activists protested against the representatives of the Congress Party for the Republic Moncef Marzouki, including against the Minister of Women’s Rights Sihem Badi. There were calls for Badi to resign with protesters chanting “Badi get out!” and “Government of terrorism, minister of rape.” You can see a video of Amina protesting here:
Long Live Amina!
May 04 2013
Since 22 year old Imad Iddine Habib founded the Council of Ex-Muslims of Morocco (the first public atheist organisation in a country with Islam as the state religion), he has received numerous threats.
Morocco’s High Council of Ulemas (the highest government religious institution headed by the King) issued a fatwa decreeing the death penalty for Moroccans who leave Islam. Currently, under Morocco’s penal code, those who “impede or prevent worship” face imprisonment and fines.
The threats continue to escalate. Recently, Imad’s father has been interrogated by the secret service. He was told to tell Imad to stop his activities and that this would be the “last warning before they react”. Imad’s registered address has also been raided by security forces.
We, the undersigned, are extremely concerned about Imad’s safety and life and call on the Moroccan government to guarantee his security and respect freedom of expression and thought. Rather than prosecute freethinkers, the government should prosecute those who issue fatwas and death threats.
On 15 May we call for an International Imad Day in order to stand with and defend Imad.
He is all of us.
[For 15 May, add your name to the list below; send letters of protest to the Moroccan embassy in your country of residence; Tweet #Imad, #Atheist, #exMuslim; do an act of solidarity, including posting a photo of yourself holding a message like Imad has done (you can also email the photo to [email protected]); click “like” on the Council of Ex-Muslims of Morocco’s Facebook page and more.]
Signatories: (Add your name, description and or organisation, and country in the comments section below. The list will be updated regularly.)
May 02 2013
My interview with Women’s eNews on Fitnah – Movement for Women’s Liberation has just been published under the title Fitnah targets Islam; “ready to cause affliction”.
May 02 2013
Bahram Soroush, Shahla Daneshfar and others protesting Iranian regime at International Labour Organisation meeting
From Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran Newsletter, My Voice.
This edition’s contributor: Bahram Soroush, Free Them Now! Campaign to Free Jailed Workers in Iran
Systematic abuse of worker rights has been a hallmark of the regime in Iran since its very inception. At the heart of the attack against workers is subjection of workers to minimum wage levels, which by the government’s own admission, are one third of the official poverty line, and suppression of workers’ attempts to organise and strike.
The name ‘trade union’ is banned under the Islamic Republic, which has relied on its own handmade ‘Islamic councils of labour’ in workplaces to spy on and keep workers’ protests in check. So when, in 2006, the bus workers in the capital Tehran started reviving their trade union and took strike action for the right to organise and for better pay and conditions, over 1,000 were arrested. Only through powerful protests in Iran and through magnificent international support by workers’ and human rights organisations around the world could many of the arrested be eventually freed. However, Union leaders were subjected to years of persecution, including the executive board member Reza Shahabi, who is still serving a four-year sentence in jail, despite serious medical conditions.
The regime is clearly frightened by the ‘threat’ of worker protests, not only in its attempts to protect the rights of the capitalist class that it represents (the regime itself is made up of billionaire Ayatollahs), but in order to pre-empt it from developing into a political protest that can bring down the entire regime. The regime, which has survived only through mass executions, torture and jailing, is despised by virtually all sections of the society, especially workers who have been driven to abject poverty and subjected to brutal persecution. The regime’s dread of workers’ protests tends to reach its height in particular on such days as May Day and International Women’s Day, as workers start to organise and prepare for independent protests and rallies.
So again this year, in the build up to International Women’s Day, worker leaders were arrested and detained on trumped up charges, and as we are nearing May Day, the regime is stepping up its persecution of labour activists. Early April, two trade unionists, Sharif Saed Panah and Mozaffar Saleh Nia, were given six-month jail sentences each. Labour leaders Reza Shahabi and Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, both on temporary medical leave from prison, are due to be returned to prison.
Given the scale of its economic crisis and the widespread poverty following the scrapping of most subsidies and implementation of austerity measures, the regime is clearly frightened by the prospect of mass social protests. The increased persecution of trade union leaders are happening in this context.
Union activists currently in detention (or about to be jailed) include:
• Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, a labour and children’s rights activist, who has already served three years of a five-year sentence, while his 14-year old son is in hospital for leukaemia. The extension of his medical leave has been refused
• Mohammad Jarahi, serving a five-year sentence despite a serious medical condition
• Ghaleb Hosseini, detained February 2013
• Rasoul Bodaghi, serving a six-year sentence
• Abdolreza Ghanbari, on death row for taking part in anti-government protests in December 2009
• Shahrokh Zamani, serving an 11-year sentence
May 01 2013
Monica Lanfranco has written an article in Italy’s Il Fatto Quotidiano on the first Saudi campaign against domestic violence here. A poster of the educational campaign can be seen above.
In the article she quotes me saying:
This anti-violence campaign in Saudi Arabia is clearly in response to the public outrage over the death of 5 year old Lama after facing horrendous and unspeakable tortures at the hands of her father, who was effectively let go. Any move to highlight domestic violence is hugely important but the problem is not just a matter of education and raising awareness. Stopping domestic violence has to start with changes in the law that criminalises it and prosecutes abusers. Under Sharia law, however, violence against women and children is often seen to be the prerogative of the male guardian as Lama’s case highlights.
The Saudi Government wants to be seen to be making an effort against violence in the face of public outrage. The first perpetrator of violence in Saudi society though is the regime itself and its medieval laws.
The best way to begin to end violence against women and children is to end the implementation of Sharia law – not an advertising campaign.
May 01 2013
The last email the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain received from 22 year old Imad Iddine Habib, the founder of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Morocco (the first atheist organisation in a country with Islam as a state religion), spoke of more threats and a final warning from the Moroccan government.
In the email, he said:
My Father has been interviewed by secret agents at work, they asked him about my activities, my beliefs, my relations and if some foreigners visit me, and they told him that I have to stop, and that I am considered an enemy of the country by showing bad things about it … and [that] it is the last warning before they react.
Since then, he has gone into hiding after security officials raided a home to possibly arrest him.
His latest Facebook post says:
Hey Everyone,
I would like to thank everyone who supported me, asked about me by any mean! Those whom I didn’t reply didn’t add me as a friend, as I am blocked, I couldn’t reply at them! Thank you All, you made me so proud of being part of this big and united family of rational and free thinkers!
Whatever my fate will be in the next hours, the next days, the next weeks; killed, beaten, jailed, or anything else, I am not sorry for what I have done since I became an activist few years ago, I have shared with many people here thoughts and ideas, and so many awesome memories.
Both police and people are looking for me, I have nowhere to go, my life is at high risk… However, I am Happy, because I am not the only one fighting for a better world, I hope I will be the last man persecuted because of Dogmatisms, Religions, or Myths.
Whatever I’ll be, KEEP FIGHTING, I love you all.
PS: There is no god but Minnie Mouse.
- Imad Iddine Habib
The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain unequivocally condemns efforts of the Moroccan government to silence Imad. Rather, the government should be prosecuting those who threaten Imad and apostates with death, including members of Morocco’s High Council of Ulemas who recently issued a fatwa decreeing the death penalty for Moroccans leaving Islam.
This is our final warning to the Moroccan Government. Hands off Imad, prosecute those who threaten and incite murder, and respect freedom of expression and thought.
The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain calls on all to condemn the Moroccan government and defend Imad.
On 15 May join us in defending Imad. He is all of us.
More details will follow.
May 01 2013
A must read is Avijit Roy’s piece on Bangladesh’s bloggers on Mukto Muna entitled No Flag Large Enough to Cover the Shame.
See Sudanese ex-Muslim Nahla Mahmoud’s article on Sharia courts entitled Sharia councils: unjust, unequal and consequence of failed policies here.
May 01 2013
One Law For All and the Lawyers’ Secular Society are pleased to announce a student research competition on the subject of sharia law.
The competition is sponsored by the National Secular Society and the winner will receive a prize of £300. The winner and the two runners-up will have their essays published in full on the website of all three organisations.
Background
In June 2010 One Law For All produced a report, “Sharia Law in Britain”. It was clear from this that Sharia Councils and Muslim Arbitration Tribunals are operating in violation of UK law, public policy and human rights.
It’s unclear how sharia is being applied elsewhere in Europe, especially as mediation and arbitration – the legal mechanisms under which sharia seeks to operate in the UK – are generally less prevalent in the rest of Europe. There was even evidence in One Law For All’s report of sharia’s application to criminal matters in the UK.
The purpose of the competition is to understand sharia’s reach and influence in Europe, and to highlight any harm or human rights abuses which might be taking place.
What to do
If you would like the chance to win £300 all you need to do is write a well-researched and well-referenced essay, of about 2,500-3,000 words in length, on the subject of sharia law in Europe.
Apr 29 2013
Dear friends,
Amina is asking for support! She is preparing to escape from Tunisia for her own safety. Please join the campaign to support Amina by donating here.
As has been previously reported, Amina was kidnapped by her family after posting a topless photo of herself for Femen Tunisia. On April 12, Amina managed to escape. She was able to get her papers. But they are outdated, and are being renewed. She is now safe. Thanks to all those who mobilised on her behalf. [More information can be found here.]
We now need her to look ahead with regards her safety. Applications for a scholarship for her have been made, and will be in place in September. In the meantime, we need 4,000 Euros ($5,200) to pay for travel and accommodation, food and security until September. If we raise more, we can meet Amina’s security needs beyond September.
The practicality of the call for donations will be managed by the organisation, Prochoix.
Upon receipt of the donations by Prochoix via the crowdfunding platform, Filmmaker Nadia El Fani who is in daily contact with Amina will be responsible for ensuring Amina’s needs are met.
Collectif Free Amina
Fiammetta Venner (Prochoix)
Nadia El Fani, Tunisian Filmmaker
Apr 26 2013
Update from One Law for All
Dear Friend,
Thank you as always for your support of One Law for All. As you might know, sharia is being increasingly discussed in the media quite regularly, including an undercover report by the BBC’s Panorama programme. We write today to give a review of that programme, and to tell you a little about our upcoming plans.
Panorama
This week’s BBC Panorama programme “Secrets of Britain’s Sharia Councils” confirms why One Law for All has been campaigning against the discriminatory parallel legal system running counter to British law for nearly five years.
As has been repeatedly stated, women are being held to ransom, told to remain in violent situations, blamed for the violence they face, refused divorces over many years, and placed under undue pressure including with regards child access and welfare. The programme confirms this.
Whilst Chief Crown Prosecutor for the Northwest, Nazir Afzal, asserts that “most of them are absolutely fine but there are some clearly, like this one, who are putting women at risk”, One Law for All believes that all Sharia Councils and Muslim Arbitration Tribunals put women at risk. This is because the problem lies not with rogue councils or judges disrespecting the tenets of Sharia but is the result of a strict adherence to the Sharia.
Both the previous Government (which allowed them to evade investigation) and the current one, which asserts that existing legislation is sufficient to address this matter have shown nothing but moral cowardice and betrayed a large segment of British society. It is enough now.
The British government must put the rights and equality of all citizens over and above any religious laws and put an end to this human rights scandal once and for all. You can read the full text of our press release on the programme here.
We urge you to continue to exert pressure on the Government. Clearly our message is getting through. We must keep fighting till we win.
Please also sign One Law for All’s petition against Sharia law, which has over 29000 signatories.
Arbitration and Mediation Services (Equality) Bill
One Law for All continues to work with Caroline Cox in the promotion of her Arbitration and Mediation Services (Equality) Bill which aims to place criminal sanctions upon religious councils and tribunals that mislead women. The Bill will also place a legal obligation on public sector agencies to advise women (correctly) of their rights under English law, and aims to bring private tribunals in to line with equality and human rights laws in the UK. The Bill has received strong support from women’s rights organisations as Inspire, as well as by the Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation, the Henna Foundation, Karma Nirvana and British Muslims for Secular Democracy. Last year, it passed its second reading in the House of Lords. Whilst the Bill has stalled due to the Government’s refusal to support it, the Bill will be re-introduced following the state opening of Parliament in May and we will update you on its progress. You can read more here.
Please support Baroness Cox Equalities Bill, which was inspired by One Law for All here.
Apr 25 2013
Today 25 April has been declared a day of mourning in Bangladesh for the victims of the nation’s worst factory disaster. The death toll of the collapsed garment factory has risen to 160; more than a 1000 have been injured. Rescuers continue to hunt for survivors.
Those who died in the building collapse did not need to die. Workers saw cracks in the building the day before but were ignored.
Today is also the International Day to Defend Bangladesh’s Bloggers, four of whom are imprisoned, and more than 80 others who face death threats by Islamists. Here too their safety and lives have been ignored by the Government.
In both these cases, the Government has failed to defend fundamental rights. Unfortunately, it is too late for the many garment factory workers. But there is still time to save Bangladesh’s bloggers. The Government must act before it is too late.
On 25 April, whist we remember the dead, we must also remember those who are fighting to live.
Upload your actions and protests on social media sites. Join the day’s Facebook Page. Contact the Bangladeshi embassy in your country of residence and sign the petition now. Tweet #Bangladesh #Bloggers and more.
You can also join protest actions taking place in the following places:
UK
USA
Apr 24 2013
One Law for All
Press Release
This week’s BBC Panorama programme “Secrets of Britain’s Sharia Councils” confirms why One Law for All has been campaigning against the discriminatory parallel legal system running counter to British law for nearly five years.
As has been repeatedly stated, including in “Sharia Courts in Britain: A Threat to One Law for All and Equal Rights”, women are being held to ransom, told to remain in violent situations, blamed for the violence they face, refused divorces over many years, and placed under undue pressure including with regards child access and welfare.
The programme confirms this. The undercover reporter is told not to contact police when she asks a senior cleric Suhaib Hasan (who has advocated stoning and amputation) whether she should report the violence she has suffered at the hands of her husband. Mr Hasan also wrongly tells her that if she were to report the violence to the police, she “will have to leave the house”. This is entirely untrue. In fact, an abused spouse may apply to the Court for an Occupation Order, which can remove a violent spouse from the home – or a defined area surrounding the home – and can impose criminal sanctions if the order is not obeyed. Mr Hasan’s advice is misleading and deliberately aimed at frightening women in to adhering to the Sharia Council’s authority. Hasan also repeats the Sharia position that a man has the right to hit his wife provided he leaves no marks. He asks if her husband beats her “severely”. When she questioned what was meant by “severely”, Hasan asks “it leaves some bruises on your body?”.
Mr Hasan goes on to advise the undercover reporter to question herself as to what she had done to provoke this violence. He suggests she ask her husband “is it because of my cooking?”, “is it because I see my friends?”.
Women’s rights organisations have for many years been working to end this disgraceful victim-blaming when women are abused, and great strides have been made. These strides, however, do not seem to apply to Muslim women.
Whilst Chief Crown Prosecutor for the Northwest, Nazir Afzal, asserts that “most of them are absolutely fine but there are some clearly, like this one, who are putting women at risk”, One Law for All believes that all Sharia Councils and Muslim Arbitration Tribunals put women at risk. This is because the problem lies not with rogue councils or judges disrespecting the tenets of Sharia but is the result of a strict adherence to the Sharia.
Apr 24 2013
Andrew Brown of the Guardian accuses Richard Dawkins of “anti-Muslim tweets” for criticising the absurd beliefs of journalist Mehdi Hasan.
Now I know the likes of Andrew Brown and Mehdi Hasan have made playing the victim card into a business wherever Islam or Islamism are concerned but in the real world, a criticism of one’s religious beliefs are not bigotry. Full stop. If they were, then Brown’s criticism of Dawkins would be deemed bigotry against atheists. What applies to everyone else also applies to Mehdi Hasan.
Brown and Hasan conveniently forget the distinction between having the right to a belief (however absurd) and the expectation that others respect your beliefs.
In response to Dawkins, Mehdi Hasan tweeted:
@RichardDawkins thanks Richard. Now, can you pls clarify, should NS stop publishing me because of my Islamic religious beliefs? Yes or no?
Of course Dawkins made it very clear that he was not saying that religious journalists should not be allowed to publish but that is besides the point. The shrill cries of Islamophobia and further attempts at scaremongering people into silence continue unabated.
Now whilst Dawkins says Mehdi Hasan’s views should not prevent him from publishing in the New Statesman, I am not so forgiving. Not because Hasan is a “Muslim” but because he is a proponent of Islamism – a far-Right movement.
The kaffar, the disbelievers, the atheists who remain deaf and stubborn to the teachings of Islam, the rational message of the Quran; they are described in the Quran as, quote, “a people of no intelligence”, Allah describes them as; not of no morality, not as people of no belief – people of “no intelligence” – because they’re incapable of the intellectual effort it requires to shake off those blind prejudices, to shake off those easy assumptions about this world, about the existence of God. In this respect, the Quran describes the atheists as “cattle”, as cattle of those who grow the crops and do not stop and wonder about this world.
On another occasion he has said:
Once we lose the moral high-ground we are no different from the rest of the non-Muslims; from the rest of those human beings who live their lives as animals, bending any rule to fulfil any desire.
For for those who don’t know the difference between a Muslim and Islamist, read this.
Of course Andrew Brown and Mehdi Hasan know this already. They are just hoping you don’t.
Apr 23 2013
Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain
Press Release
Morocco’s High Council of Ulemas (the highest government religious institution headed by the King) has issued a fatwa decreeing the death penalty for Moroccans who leave Islam. Currently, under Morocco’s penal code, those who impede or prevent worship face imprisonment and fines.
An attack on apostates is clearly a response to the establishment of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Morocco – the first public atheist organisation in a country with Islam as the state religion.
The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain reminds the government of Morocco that the right to religion has a corresponding right to be free from religion.
Leaving Islam is not a crime; issuing death fatwas against people, however, is.
We call on the Moroccan government to cancel the fatwa, guarantee the security of apostates and freethinkers and prosecute those who threaten citizens with death.
We call on the public to defend the Council of Ex-Muslims of Morocco and the right to atheism and renouncing Islam.
:)
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