A thing you should do if you’re in London. (There are a lot of such things. Well it’s London. London hogs all the things, or not quite all but a lot of them. That’s good. I do turn pale with envy sometimes thought.) You can have drinks with Nahla Mahmoud. I know this via Maryam.

I just wanted to remind you of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain’s evening drinks with Nahla Mahmoud this Friday 22 March from 6:30-8:00pm.

Nahla Mahmoud is a Sudanese atheist, researcher and human rights activist. In January 2013, an interview on Channel 4 featuring her as an ex-Muslim and a secularist opposing Sharia law triggered a heated debate within the Sudanese diaspora. She received numerous threats and has been declared a ‘Murtada’ and ‘Kafira’ on the official website of
the ‘General Administration of the Sudanese Armed Forces’.

Come hear the wonderful Nahla speak. There will be ample opportunity to mingle and meet up with like-minded individuals and friends as well as other members and activists of the Council of Ex-Muslims. The
location of the event is as follows:

The George on the Strand, 213 Strand, London WC2R 1AP:
http://www.georgeinthestrand.com/

Entry is £3; £1 for unwaged, which can be paid at the door.

All are welcome.

You really should do that. I would love to do that. If I were in London I would go like a shot. If I had to walk all the way from Balham or Muswell Hill, I would.

That’s Friday evening taken care of, and then on Monday you have to go hear Leo Igwe. (See what I mean about London?)

Leo Igwe, Nigeria’s most prominent humanist, and a human rights activist, will be giving a very welcome talk on ‘Breaking the Taboo of Atheism in Black Communities’ during a short visit to London to attend the NSS Secularist of the Year event before returning to Africa to continue his research into witchcraft. Humanists and secularists ’of all hues’ are encouraged to show their interest and support for this area of work as black non-believers, in London and elsewhere, start to become more confident and active in openly challenging the over-bearing presence of religion within their families and communities and its negative social, financial and educational consequences.

This talk is part of increasing efforts to encourage black atheists, humanists and secularists to ‘come out from the woodwork’, to find a supportive environment when dealing with family and social reactions, to voice their opinions and be more proactive in the humanist, secularist and atheist movements. To paraphrase the African saying “It takes a village to raise a child. It takes all of us to change this religious BS”.

Mr. Igwe, in partnership with the JREF, is working to respond to harmful and growing superstitious beliefs throughout Africa, including belief in psuedoscientific “medicine,” and witchcraft, which result in heinous murders of adults and children alike. A recent poll showed that about 55% of people living in Africa still believe in witchcraft and that this is correlated, unsurprisingly, with a lack of science education. Inevitably, this has had ramifications in London with its substantial African diaspora communities.

Leo Igwe reports regularly on the state of superstition and paranormal belief in Africa at randi.org, with his column, Skeptical Africa and is the author of the new A Manifesto for a Skeptical Africa, a call to arms for African skeptics, science advocates, humanists and secularists. The manifesto aims to promote skepticism in Africa and to help save lives. The manifesto has been endorsed by a number of leading figures, including prominent names in science and skepticism throughout Africa and globally.

Date: Monday 25th March

Time: 6.30pm

Cost £5 / £3 unwaged/students

Venue: The Attic, Hackney Picture House,

270 Mare Street London E8 1HE