The threats, intimidation and murder of atheists in Bangladesh continue, and now Islamists are demanding the state give them a hand with the killing. Islamists are calling for the death penalty for atheist bloggers for supposedly blasphemous blogs or else face the prospect of Islamist groups descending on the capital, Dhaka. The state’s response? A …
Category Archive: Politics
Apr 01 2013
April 2013: Personal dignity is a foundation of human civilisation
April 2013 is here. The photo for this month’s Nude Photo Revolutionary Calendar is mother with son Maja Wolna. She says: My participation in the Nude Photo Revolutionary Calendar is an act of the defence of the own body. Irrespective of the sex, the religion, the culture or customs we have the right to keep …
Mar 28 2013
Free Amina, Free Tunisia: It is the same cry
Writer and filmmaker Caroline Fourest, one of the signatories calling for an International Day to Defend Amina has written about Amina in French here. Even with the not very fluent google translation into English, what is clear from her article is that Amina’s detention within her family – with the assistance of the police – …
Mar 28 2013
Only you are to blame
Islamists who are supporters or part of the Morsi government have said that women are to blame for the increasing rape and sexual assault in Egypt.This despite the fact that there is clear evidence that much of it is state-sponsored and that a large number of those assaulted are veiled women. “How do they ask the …
Mar 28 2013
I hope you are up for it
D wrote to me asking about my views on the UK Islamic Mission: In Leeds they are setting up a centre in Moortown. The English Defence League is trying to exploit tensions about this by having a demo. I read a post from I think your forum saying that the UKIM is linked to Jamaat-e-Islami …
Mar 27 2013
Amina must be back at school next week!
Amina is reportedly being detained by family members who found her with the assistance of the police! She is stressed and has no freedom of movement or communication. Rather than arresting the Islamist who threatened Amina with death by stoning and flogging, the police have assisted her family in detaining her against her will. Amina …
Mar 27 2013
A Chicago School’s charge of Islamophobia
UPDATE: A reader wrote to the school and received the following response from the principal: Please check your sources related to the news article stating I decided to remove Persepolis from my school. That is completely untrue and slanderous. I only reported to my staff that I was informed the district was contemplating removing the …
Mar 25 2013
Don’t stop fighting for Amina
There have been reports in the media that “Amina’s lawyer” has said she is safe at home. If she is so safe, why is she no longer able to speak to anyone or be in contact with others? And is this Amina’s lawyer or her family’s? Clearly, it’s the family’s! According to FEMEN’s (edited) statement: The …
Mar 25 2013
Council of Ex-Muslims of Morocco: the first public atheist organisation in country with state religion of Islam
Click “like” on the new organisation’s Facebook page to support them! See English, Arabic and French Statement below: Morocco’s state religion is Islam. Whilst Article 3 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, atheists and unbelievers are not recognised. Though apostasy is not a prosecutable offence in the Penal Code, “incitements in order to shake …
Mar 24 2013
Let’s Breast Them
UPDATED 3 April 2013 (More photos and actions below) Demonstrations and actions are now being held in Brussels, Rio, Montreal, Vancouver, Paris, Berlin, Bremen, Bonn, Frankfurt, Malmo, Gotenburg, Stockholm, Milan, Kiev, London, San Francisco, Warsaw and more. See below for more details. The 19 year old Tunisian Amina who posted a topless photo of herself with the slogan “my …
Mar 24 2013
Iran: another worker arrested as persecution of labour activists intensifies
Following the recent arrest of six labour activists in the city of Sanandaj in the west of Iran, another worker by the name of Ghaleb Hosseini (pictured on right), a member of the Co-ordinating Committee to Help Form Workers’ Organisations, was arrested on 19 March. The activists arrested earlier in the month are Vafa Ghaderi, …
Mar 24 2013
Fear for the life of jailed Iranian labour activist Mohammad Jarahi
There are growing fears for the life of imprisoned labour activist Mohammad Jarahi, who is now known to be suffering from thyroid cancer. Jarahi, who is a member of the Committee to Pursue the Establishment of Workers’ Organisations, was arrested last June and sentenced to five years in prison. He is now in the second …
Mar 23 2013
آمنه صداي ماست
آمنه دختر 19 ساله تونسی که عکس برهنه خود را روی سایتها گذاشته بود٬ اکنون در خطر مرگ قرار دارد. در این عکس آمنه روی بالا تنه برهنه خود نوشته “بدن من متعلق به خودم است و ناموس هيچ کسی نیست”. آخوند عادل عالمی رئيس يک سازمان اسلامي ٬ خواهان شلاق زدن و سنگسار آمنه …
Mar 22 2013
Release Amina Now
UPDATE 23/03/2013 One of the people who kidnapped Amina has been boasting that they did it for “her own good”. It is unclear though whether she has been hospitalised or held somewhere else. Her phone has been taken from her and communication with her has been stopped so we do not receive any information from …
Mar 22 2013
Right to heal
It’s the tenth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. To mark this anniversary, Iraqis and U.S. military veterans have come together to hold the U.S. government accountable for the lasting effects of war and the rights of veterans and civilians to heal. The Iraq war is not over for Iraqi civilians and U.S. veterans …
Mar 21 2013
The other Amina
On Saturday, Moroccans came out to demand reform of the rape law and express outrage after 16 year old Amina Filali killed herself following marriage with her rapist – allowing him to stay out of jail and “preserving family honour”. She ingested rat poison after her “husband” had severely beaten her. When will this barbarity …
Mar 21 2013
4 April 2013: International Day to Defend Amina; she represents us
UPDATES AND MORE: 4 April 2013: Today is our day to defend our Amina 3 April 2013: For Amina: My body against political Islam. No Sharia. 3 April 2013: On 4 April, we will breast them! 2 April 2013: Why an International Day to Defend Amina? 2 April 2013: I have no regrets 28 March …
Mar 21 2013
Horror in Paradise
Here is a must sign Avaaz petition on the Maldives: A 15-year-old rape survivor has been sentenced to be whipped 100 times in public! Let’s put an end to this lunacy by hitting the Maldives government where it hurts: the tourism industry. The girl’s stepfather is accused of raping her for years and murdering the baby …
Mar 21 2013
FEMEN Tunisia’s Facebook Page Hacked
Islamist hackers have taken control of FEMEN-Tunisia’s Facebook fanpage. This follows a death threat against 19 year old Amina who posted topless photos of herself. The hackers say: “Thanks to God we have hacked this immoral page and the best is to come” and add: “The page has been hacked and if God willing, these …
Mar 21 2013
Who else but you and I?
Here’s one of Iran’s most famous revolutionary songs, which is as relevant today as it was in the fight against the Shah. Listen to this beautiful song with English subtitles and with the start of the Nowruz remember: Who else but you and I? (Thanks to Mohamed for Tweeting this.)
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