[FREE IRAN Project] In The Spirit Of Cyrus The Great Forum Index [FREE IRAN Project] In The Spirit Of Cyrus The Great
Views expressed here are not necessarily the views & opinions of ActivistChat.com. Comments are unmoderated. Abusive remarks may be deleted. ActivistChat.com retains the rights to all content/IP info in in this forum and may re-post content elsewhere.
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

Wake Up: Brave Dr. Wafa Sultan Exposing Truth About Islam

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    [FREE IRAN Project] In The Spirit Of Cyrus The Great Forum Index -> Freedom Songs & Video (ALL MULTIMEDIA)
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
cyrus
Site Admin


Joined: 24 Jun 2003
Posts: 4993

PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 1:17 am    Post subject: Wake Up: Brave Dr. Wafa Sultan Exposing Truth About Islam Reply with quote

Please Watch Wake Up Call: Brave Dr. Wafa Sultan M.D Exposing Truth About Islam
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
cyrus
Site Admin


Joined: 24 Jun 2003
Posts: 4993

PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 5:27 pm    Post subject: Against Honour Killing Speech By Ms. Maryam Namazie Reply with quote

Must Watch Video Against Honour Killing Speech By Ms. Maryam Namazie

http://www.maryamnamazie.com



biography
http://www.maryamnamazie.com/biography.html

Maryam Namazie is a rights activist, commentator and broadcaster on Iran, the Middle East, women's rights, cultural relativism, secularism, Humanism, religion, Islam and political Islam. She is the Spokesperson of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain; National Secular Society's 2005 Secularist of the Year award winner and an NSS Honorary Associate; producer of TV International English; Director of the Worker-communist Party of Iran's International Relations Committee; and co-editor of WPI Briefing. She is also involved in the Third Camp against US militarism and Islamic terrorism; a Vice president of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association; and an honorary associate of the Rationalist International.

She has spoken at numerous conferences and written many articles on women's rights issues, violence against women, political Islam, and secularism - some of which have been translated into various languages. She has been interviewed on BBC TV and radio, including the Heaven and Earth programme and the Moral Maze, ABC TV Australia, quoted in Time magazine, the Independent, the Observer, the Guardian, Al Ahram Weekly, Persian media outlets, and had articles published in various sources, including Tribune, the Blanket and Gender Policy Review.

Previously, Namazie was the elected Executive Director of the International Federation of Iranian Refugee, a refugee run organisation with 60 branches in 15 countries worldwide; founded the Committee for Humanitarian Assistance to Iranian Refugees (CHAIR); was the Human Rights Advocates Training Programme Coordinator at Columbia University's Centre for the Study of Human Rights in New York and the NYC Refugee Coordinator/ US National Steering Committee Member of Amnesty International. She also ran a refugee women's leadership training programme in NYC.

Below is the introduction of Keith Porteous Wood, Executive Director of the National Secular Society, of Maryam Namazie during the Secularist of the Year award ceremony in October 2005.

Maryam Namazie was born in Tehran, but she left Iran with her family in 1980 after the establishment of the Islamic Republic. She then lived in India, the UK and then settled in the US where she began her university studies at the age of 17.

After graduating, Maryam went to the Sudan in to work with Ethiopian refugees. Half way through her stay, an Islamic government took power. She was threatened by the government for establishing a clandestine human rights organisation and had to be evacuated by her employer for her own safety.

Back in the United States, Maryam worked for various refugee and human rights organisations. She established the Committee for Humanitarian Assistance to Iranian Refugees in 1991. In 1994, she went to Turkey and produced a video documentary on the situation of Iranian refugees there.

Soon after her return to the US, she was elected executive director of the International Federation of Iranian Refugees, an international organisation with 60 branches in nearly 20 countries. As director of the refugee-run organisation, she campaigned on behalf of thousands of Iranian asylum seekers and refugees having intervened successfully on many cases preventing. Some successes include preventing the deportation of over 1000 from Holland including having spoken at a parliamentary meeting on the issue; to a successful campaign against the Turkish government to extend the period in which asylum seekers can apply for asylum.

Maryam Namazie is also a member of the Organisation of Women's Liberation Central Council since its establishment in which she has worked on numerous campaigns, including against stoning, executions, sexual apartheid, and women's rights violations particularly in Islamic societies. Some successes include the Homa Arjomand-led campaign against the Sharia court in Canada. She was a speaker at its first public meeting in Toronto and continued supporting and highlighting the issue and mobilising support.

Other campaigns she has worked on include preventing stonings and executions in Islamist societies, opposing the veiling of children, opposing Sharia or religious laws, defending the banning of religious symbols from schools and public institutions, opposing the incitement to religious hatred bill in the UK and calling for secularism and the de-religionisation of society not only in Iran but in Britain and elsewhere.

Maryam is an inveterate commentator and broadcaster on rights, cultural relativism, secularism, religion, political Islam and many other related topics.

The present revival of Islam has heightened interest in Maryam's work, and at last her writings are gaining a mainstream audience. She has spoken at numerous conferences and written extensively on women's rights issues, particularly violence against women.

More recently, Maryam has been hosting a weekly programme on International TV. This is broadcast via satellite to the Middle East and Europe and can be seen on the Internet. TV International focuses on issues pertaining to the Middle East from a progressive, left-wing perspective. The programme promotes secularism amongst other values and has developed a considerable following amongst people in Iran and the Middle East as well as in Europe and the west.

The issues raised in the programme provoke much correspondence, and she has been roundly criticised by Islamists, the Islamic Republic of Iran and even of Ken Livingstone after his invitation to this country of Yusuf Al Qaradawi.

So she must be doing something right.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are sure you will agree with us that Maryam Namazie is a worthy and noble winner of this first Irwin Prize.


Last edited by cyrus on Wed Dec 05, 2007 9:09 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
blank



Joined: 26 Feb 2004
Posts: 1672

PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 6:18 pm    Post subject: Re: Against Honour Killing Speech By Ms. Maryam Namazie Reply with quote

cyrus wrote:
Must Watch Video Against Honour Killing Speech By Ms. Maryam Namazie

http://www.maryamnamazie.com

biography
http://www.maryamnamazie.com/biography.html

Maryam Namazie is a rights activist, commentator and broadcaster on Iran, the Middle East, women's rights, cultural relativism, secularism, Humanism, religion, Islam and political Islam. She is the Spokesperson of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain; National Secular Society's 2005 Secularist of the Year award winner and an NSS Honorary Associate; producer of TV International English; Director of the Worker-communist Party of Iran's International Relations Committee; and co-editor of WPI Briefing. She is also involved in the Third Camp against US militarism and Islamic terrorism; a Vice president of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association; and an honorary associate of the Rationalist International.




I don't mean to rain on her parade of accomplishments. However, Hezbe Tudeh (Communism), the father of MKO; has proven to be deadly for Iran & Iranian people, and it should not/will not have any place in Iran’s future. Hopefully, in this area (Communism ideology)she is not as brainwashed as so many others I have met.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
cyrus
Site Admin


Joined: 24 Jun 2003
Posts: 4993

PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 6:52 pm    Post subject: Re: Against Honour Killing Speech By Ms. Maryam Namazie Reply with quote

blank wrote:
cyrus wrote:

Must Watch Video Against Honour Killing Speech By Ms. Maryam Namazie

http://www.maryamnamazie.com

biography
http://www.maryamnamazie.com/biography.html

Maryam Namazie is a rights activist, commentator and broadcaster on Iran, the Middle East, women's rights, cultural relativism, secularism, Humanism, religion, Islam and political Islam. She is the Spokesperson of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain; National Secular Society's 2005 Secularist of the Year award winner and an NSS Honorary Associate; producer of TV International English; Director of the Worker-communist Party of Iran's International Relations Committee; and co-editor of WPI Briefing. She is also involved in the Third Camp against US militarism and Islamic terrorism; a Vice president of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association; and an honorary associate of the Rationalist International.




I don't mean to rain on her parade of accomplishments. However, Hezbe Tudeh (Communism), the father of MKO; has proven to be deadly for Iran & Iranian people, and it should not/will not have any place in Iran’s future. Hopefully, in this area (Communism ideology)she is not as brainwashed as so many others I have met.


Dear Blank,
By the way the Worker-communist Party is not the same as Tudeh party.
I admire Ms. Maryam Namazie excellent speech and her courage, and I am wondring about her view regarding Secularism as defined below? There is a possibility that we might differ regarding our definition of Secularism.

Must Watch Video Against Honour Killing Speech By Ms. Maryam Namazie


ActivistChat wrote:

What is Secularism ?
ActivistChat Definition of Secularism and Democracy is similar to the Iranian Scholar Professor Esmail Nooriala Farsi lecture and Article about New Secularism From ( http://newsecularism.com ). Secularism in current usage is generally complete separation of Government from Religion and any Ideology (i.e Marxism, Islamism). Democracy without Secularism and Secular Parties has only one time usage as we had seen Nazi Party , Khomenist (Tazi) In Iran and very recently by Islamist Hamas Party in Palestine and has been repeated many times in past history in many countries ....

No religious Parties should be allowed in true secular system of government. US constitution is Secular Document.


Today Simple Rules For Evaluating Policy and Strategy and Reject Non Secular Candidate and Religious Hypocrisy

Our future expectations from policy makers and leadership are defined with new set of test cases for foreign policy evaluation criteria to be able to measure success and failure results more easily. Our recommended test cases and criteria are based on Cyrus The Great Spirit, the American founding fathers vision, spirit of freedom, US constitution and defined as follows:

1- Have a secular democracy purpose
2- Have a Human Rights purpose
3- Have a Free Society purpose
4- Have a primary effect to increase freedom at global level.
5- Have the element of War Of Ideas to expand public awareness, education and expansion of truth.
6- Have an element of Freedom of Choice
7- Applying the U.S.A. Supreme Court accepted "Lemon test," to foreign policy decisions, strategy and conduct. According to the "Lemon test," in order to be constitutional, a law or public act must: a) Have a secular purpose. b) Have a primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion. c) Not result in excessive governmental entanglement with religion.
8- Move towards better unified global fair Justice System.



Regards,
Cyrus
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
blank



Joined: 26 Feb 2004
Posts: 1672

PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 7:14 pm    Post subject: Re: Against Honour Killing Speech By Ms. Maryam Namazie Reply with quote

cyrus wrote:
blank wrote:
cyrus wrote:

Must Watch Video Against Honour Killing Speech By Ms. Maryam Namazie

http://www.maryamnamazie.com

biography
http://www.maryamnamazie.com/biography.html

Maryam Namazie is a rights activist, commentator and broadcaster on Iran, the Middle East, women's rights, cultural relativism, secularism, Humanism, religion, Islam and political Islam. She is the Spokesperson of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain; National Secular Society's 2005 Secularist of the Year award winner and an NSS Honorary Associate; producer of TV International English; Director of the Worker-communist Party of Iran's International Relations Committee; and co-editor of WPI Briefing. She is also involved in the Third Camp against US militarism and Islamic terrorism; a Vice president of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association; and an honorary associate of the Rationalist International.




I don't mean to rain on her parade of accomplishments. However, Hezbe Tudeh (Communism), the father of MKO; has proven to be deadly for Iran & Iranian people, and it should not/will not have any place in Iran’s future. Hopefully, in this area (Communism ideology)she is not as brainwashed as so many others I have met.


Dear Blank,
By the way the Worker-communist Party is not the same as Tudeh party.
I admire Ms. Maryam Namazie excellent speech and her courage, and I am wondring about her view regarding Secularism as defined below? There is a possibility that we might differ regarding our definition of Secularism.

Must Watch Video Against Honour Killing Speech By Ms. Maryam Namazie


ActivistChat wrote:

What is Secularism ?
ActivistChat Definition of Secularism and Democracy is similar to the Iranian Scholar Professor Esmail Nooriala Farsi lecture and Article about New Secularism From ( http://newsecularism.com ). Secularism in current usage is generally complete separation of Government from Religion and any Ideology (i.e Marxism, Islamism). Democracy without Secularism and Secular Parties has only one time usage as we had seen Nazi Party , Khomenist (Tazi) In Iran and very recently by Islamist Hamas Party in Palestine and has been repeated many times in past history in many countries ....

No religious Parties should be allowed in true secular system of government. US constitution is Secular Document.


Today Simple Rules For Evaluating Policy and Strategy and Reject Non Secular Candidate and Religious Hypocrisy

Our future expectations from policy makers and leadership are defined with new set of test cases for foreign policy evaluation criteria to be able to measure success and failure results more easily. Our recommended test cases and criteria are based on Cyrus The Great Spirit, the American founding fathers vision, spirit of freedom, US constitution and defined as follows:

1- Have a secular democracy purpose
2- Have a Human Rights purpose
3- Have a Free Society purpose
4- Have a primary effect to increase freedom at global level.
5- Have the element of War Of Ideas to expand public awareness, education and expansion of truth.
6- Have an element of Freedom of Choice
7- Applying the U.S.A. Supreme Court accepted "Lemon test," to foreign policy decisions, strategy and conduct. According to the "Lemon test," in order to be constitutional, a law or public act must: a) Have a secular purpose. b) Have a primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion. c) Not result in excessive governmental entanglement with religion.
8- Move towards better unified global fair Justice System.



Regards,
Cyrus


Dear Cyrus:
Can you tell me how Workers Communist Party is ideologically different from Hezbeh Tudeh?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
cyrus
Site Admin


Joined: 24 Jun 2003
Posts: 4993

PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 10:21 pm    Post subject: Re: Against Honour Killing Speech By Ms. Maryam Namazie Reply with quote

blank wrote:


Dear Cyrus:
Can you tell me how Workers Communist Party is ideologically different from Hezbeh Tudeh?


Dear Blank,
I am not qualified to answer your question, because I have not studied completely.
Regards,
Cyrus
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
cyrus
Site Admin


Joined: 24 Jun 2003
Posts: 4993

PostPosted: Wed Dec 05, 2007 10:25 pm    Post subject: Audio and Video Clips Reply with quote

Audio and Video Clips

Source: http://www.maryamnamazie.com/audvid/audvid.html

Why the council of ex-muslims of britain, speech at launch of organisation, june 2007

Islamic regime's crackdown on women in Iran, More4 TV news, May 2007

Regime change from within, Talking with Tatchell, march 2007
Criticising Islam is not Racism, March 8, 2007

What's all the fuss about the veil? Speech at London seminar on women's rights, the veil, and Islamic and religious laws, March 8 2007

International Women's dAy Podcast, March 8, 2007

BBC World Service: Generation Next on Heart and Soul to respond to questions of several youth on Islam, religion and secularism, 10 December, 2007. (link will be added later)

The Last Angry Man, 940AM Radio Montreal on the Iraq Study Group Report, its recommendations to engage the Islamic regime of Iran, the New World Order and Secularism, 7 December, 2006

Islam in Britain, More4 TV's Last Word, November 10, 2006

On Khatami, Resonance FM radio, November 3, 2006

Should Iran be bombed? panel discussion on More4's Last Word, April 19, 2006

Should Religion have a role in society, panel discussion on Heaven and Earth BBC TV programmE, march 26, 2006

Interview with Danish TV, March 2006

On international women's day: for hatun, speech commemorating march 8, 2006, germany

The National Secular Society Secularist of the Year award ceremony, including Maryam Namazie's acceptance speech, October 8, 2005

The New World Order and refugee rights, Maryam Namazie opening speech at the tenth conference of the International Federation of Iranian Refugees, August 2, 2004, Koln, Germany.

Seeking Mansoor Hekmat, Welcoming address at Mansoor Hekmat's memorial ceremony, July 10, 2004, London

On religious education, Moral Maze radio programme, Radio 4, February 2004

On banning conspicuous religious symbols, BBC heaven and earth programme, 2004

Islamic Injustice, Against the Sharia court in Canada, speech at March 8 debate in Toronto, Canada, March 2004

Debate at March 8 event against the Sharia court in Canada, March 2004

Sorrow, Anticipation and a little bit of hope, documentary on the situation of Iranian refugees in Turkey, produced and filmed by Maryam Namazie, 1996
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
cyrus
Site Admin


Joined: 24 Jun 2003
Posts: 4993

PostPosted: Thu Dec 06, 2007 12:04 am    Post subject: Maryam Namazie Ex-Muslim UK Reply with quote

Must Watch Video Maryam Namazie Ex-Muslim UK

There is an immense difference between understanding something with one's head, and understanding it with one's guts. Think of the phrase, "the courage of one's convictions". This week the true meaning of these words, hitherto eroded into a flat nap-worn cliche by overuse and misuse, comes home with the force of a kick in the belly. For on Thursday June 21 in London, a group of people are going to take a stand for their principles in a way that involves real courage, admirable courage, and which at the same time lights a torch of hope in a dark quadrant of the world's affairs.

The occasion is the launch of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, following the establishment of such groups elsewhere in Europe, notably Germany and Scandinavia. The British branch is led by the outstanding Maryam Namazie, Iranian-born champion of (among other things) human rights, women, and refugees from religious persecution. The manifesto of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain eloquently speaks for itself, and I hope Maryam Namazie and her fellow-members of the council will not mind if I quote it here in full, because it deserves the widest publicity, not least because the 10 demands appended to it constitute a bill of rights which is absolutely necessary for everyone, non-religious and otherwise, to adopt and observe now that the world is again experiencing, with such bitterness, widespread religion-generated difficulties.

____________________________
spiegel wrote:

INTERVIEW WITH FOUNDER OF "COUNCIL OF EX-MUSLIMS"
"Not Possible to Modernize Islam"
http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,468828,00.html

Human rights activists have formed a "Central Council of Ex-Muslims in Germany" to help women renounce the Islamic faith if they feel oppressed by its laws. Its Iranian-born founder Mina Ahadi, under police protection after receiving death threats, talks to DER SPIEGEL about its goals.

ANZEIGE

Mina Ahadi has received death threats after founding the group.


Mina Ahadi has received death threats after founding the group.
An Iranian human rights activist living in Germany has formed a "Central Council of ex-Muslims in Germany" with 40 others and has received anonymous death threats after declaring she wants to help people to leave the religion if they so desire.

Iranian-born Mina Ahadi, 50, said she set up the group to highlight the difficulties of renouncing the Islamic faith which she believes to be misogynist. She wants the group to form a counterweight to Muslim organisations that she says don't adequately represent Germany's secular-minded Muslim immigrants.

Ahadi has been put under police protection in recent days. Renouncing Islam can carry the death penalty in a number of countries including Iran, Saudi-Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan and Mauritania. In other countries people who turn their backs on the faith aren't punished by courts, but they are often ostracized by family and friends. It's a difficult subject among Muslim communities in Europe too.

Ahadi said she wants the new organization to help women who feel oppressed by the rules of the faith to find a way out. The Council will hold a news conference in Berlin on Wednesday to outline its goals.

DER SPIEGEL spoke to Ahadi.

SPIEGEL: Together with 29 other immigrants from Muslim countries you have declared that you have renounced Islam. The campaign is similar to one launched in the 1970s by women who declared publicly that they had had abortions. What is your purpose?

Ahadi: I haven't been a Muslim for 30 years. I'm also critical of Islam in Germany and of the way the German government deals with the issue of Islam. Many Muslim organisations like the Central Council of Muslims in Germany (ZMD) or Milli Görüs engage in politics or interfere in people's everyday lives. They were invited to the conference on Islam (hosted by the government in Berlin last year). But their aims are hostile to women and to people in general."

SPIEGEL: Why?

Ahadi: They want to force women to wear the headscarf. They promote a climate in which girls aren't allowed to have boyfriends or go to discos and in which homosexuality is demonized. I know Islam and for me it means death and pain.

SPIEGEL: What will your organization do?

Ahadi: One example: One representative of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany said that a carnival procession float (during the recent carnival in Germany) showing Islamists with explosive belts had offended Muslims. But there was no evidence of that. The associations pretend that they represent everyone and to some extent are acknowledged as such by the German side. That's bad. We have to give a signal against that and say: Not in our name. We are secular humanists. We want to give these people a voice. Someone has to make a start. We're advocating human rights.

SPIEGEL: Some of your members are also active in communist organizations in their home countries.

Ahadi: Yes, many were active in left-wing groups. We have received more than 100 membership applications in recent days. We want to create a new movement, in other European countries too. We hope that soon there will be 10,000 of us representing many more people.

SPIEGEL: Won't your campaign just harden the battle lines?

Ahadi: I don't think it's possible to modernize Islam. We want to form a counterweight to the Muslim organisations. The fact that we're doing this under police protection shows how necessary our initiative is.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
cyrus
Site Admin


Joined: 24 Jun 2003
Posts: 4993

PostPosted: Thu Dec 06, 2007 2:50 pm    Post subject: Germany: Founder Of Council Of Ex-Muslims Seeks To 'Break Ta Reply with quote

Germany: Founder Of Council Of Ex-Muslims Seeks To 'Break Taboo'
Source: http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/04/E59F50E4-1868-44BD-9925-813CE3887BAB.html


Mina Ahadi (file photo)
(Courtesy Photo)
April 20, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Mina Ahadi, an Iranian-born activist living in Germany, has founded a council of former Muslims who have renounced their faith. Members of the Central Council of Ex-Muslims are immigrants from predominantly Islamic countries. Ahadi, who is now under police protection, spoke with RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari.





RFE/RL: Why did you decide to create the Council of Ex-Muslims?

Mina Ahadi: It's been 11 years now that I've lived in Germany, and the friends and I who founded the council have been critical regarding some events in this country. On the one hand, when there is talk about people who have come to Germany from countries such as Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Turkey, they're all being labeled Muslims; then all of these 3 1/2 million people are put in the same bag, and Islamist organizations are being presented as being in charge of them.
"If this movement expands and grows worldwide -- which is our goal -- then it could create a global front against political Islam and force [proponents of political Islam] to retreat."


People like myself, we sought asylum in Germany and we came to live here because we [opposed] political Islam and such organizations. Many of the problems here -- such as honor killings or imposing the Islamic hejab on children, or building a number of mosques here -- create divisions among people. All of these are explained to society based on the argument that Muslims have a different culture or Muslims have different ideas. All of these prompted those of us who are critical and who oppose such things to create a body that will have different policies regarding such issues.

RFE/RL: What policies are you following and what is the aim of your group?

Ahadi: We are humans, and that's our most important identity. All of the people, men and women, who have come [to Germany] from [Islamic] countries are humans. They've come to this country because of a better life, because of freedom, and because of better conditions. And they want to live with the people of this country, with Germans. They don't want to have a parallel society. They don't want again for young girls not to have the right to have a boyfriend or not have the right to participate in swimming class because their families are Muslims.

We represent a secular policy, a human policy. And we want to stand up against political Islam and against Western governments' policy of cultural relativism

RFE/RL: How many members does your group have?

Ahadi: We started with 40 people, but currently we have 400 members. For now, we want our members to be from Germany. We have received membership requests from other countries -- for example, from Egypt, Morocco, Iran, [and] Scandinavian countries. But we have not accepted foreign members yet. All our members are living in Germany, and our only principle is that those who become our members [must] be atheists and not believe in God or any religion.

RFE/RL: You've said in interviews that you aim to give a voice to Muslims who do not want to be Muslims anymore and give a different image of people from Islamic countries who live in Europe. Could you explain?

Ahadi: We want to change the existing picture that all people who have come from Islamic countries are fanatics, religious, or backwards and that their culture is very different from others. In my view, this is not an accurate portrait. People who come from these countries, regardless of whether they're Muslims or not, they're not different from other people, and they want to have a [normal] life. And we are defending their rights.

RFE/RL: As you know, renouncing Islam is considered a grave offense among some Muslims, and in some Islamic countries, including Iran, apostasy is punishable by death. Don't you think that your move and the creation of the Central Council of Ex-Muslims could create tension and provoke some Muslims?

Ahadi: I'm aware that a person who says, 'I'm not a Muslim anymore,' faces the danger of death. That's why I'm now under police protection. But I don't think it causes tensions. It is possible that some groups or organizations might issue fatwas against people who have [renounced Islam].

But I think one should not be afraid, and this taboo should be broken. Our goal is to break the taboo -- people who don't believe should have the right to say it [publicly], and no one should [be able to] harm them for that. But in some countries where Islamists are in power, this is a taboo; and we want to break this taboo.

I actually think that our movement will motivate people to express themselves and live according to their beliefs. If this movement expands and grows worldwide -- which is our goal -- then it could create a global front against political Islam and force [proponents of political Islam] to retreat. In Germany, there have been no official fatwas against us, and I see it as a retreat that we have imposed on Islamic organizations and also on the Islamic Republic of Iran.

RFE/RL: You said there have not been any fatwas against you or the other members of your group. But have you received death threats?

Ahadi: Right after we launched our campaign, quotations from my interviews were published on some websites, and it was said that "this woman should get her response," or they said that "she should be murdered." So there have been death threats against me on [some] websites and also through letters we have received. But there has been no official fatwa by mullahs or by the Islamic establishment of Iran.

___________________________________________
Quote:

Launch of Groups for Ex-Muslims in Europe
Submitted by admin on 7 August, 2007 - 10:06. Europe | IHN 2007.2 August | International Humanist News
http://www.iheu.org/node/2782

Early in 2007, Mina Ahadi, together with a group of colleagues, set up the Central Council of ex-Muslims in Germany. After declaring that her motive was to help people to leave the religion if they wanted, she was put under police protection as a result of anonymous death threats. Many interpreters of Islam say that Islamic law mandates a death sentence for apostates.
Ms Ahadi pointed out that the need for police protection showed how necessary the organisation was. She wanted the group to give a voice to those Europeans of Muslim origin who were not adequately represented by existing Muslim organisations in Germany She also wanted in particular to help women who were oppressed by the rules of the faith.
Ms Ahadi said that about 3.5 million people from many different backgrounds were being lumped together as Muslims, when the only thing most of them had in common was the fact that they were human beings.
Western governments were treating Muslim organisations as though they really spoke for all these people, but in practice they represented only a small minority.
Other European Countries

Following the German launch, others have followed, with help and support from the German council, in the Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Britain. We print below the Manifesto of the Council of Ex-Muslims in Britain, since it is in English.
Manifesto of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain
We, non-believers, atheists, and ex-Muslims, are establishing or joining the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain to insist that no one be pigeonholed as Muslims with culturally relative rights nor deemed to be represented by regressive Islamic organisations and 'Muslim community leaders'.
Those of us who have come forward with our names and photographs represent countless others who are unable or unwilling to do so because of the threats faced by those considered 'apostates' - punishable by death in countries under Islamic law.
By doing so, we are breaking the taboo that comes with renouncing Islam but also taking a stand for reason, universal rights and values, and secularism.
Whilst religion or the lack thereof is a private affair, the increasing intervention of and devastation caused by religion and particularly Islam in contemporary society has necessitated our public renunciation and declaration. We represent a majority in Europe and a vast secular and humanist protest movement in countries like Iran.
Taking the lead from the Central Council of Ex-Muslims in Germany, we demand:
1. Universal rights and equal citizenship for all. We are opposed to cultural relativism and the tolerance of inhuman beliefs, discrimination and abuse in the name of respecting religion or culture.
2. Freedom to criticise religion. Prohibition of restrictions on unconditional freedom of criticism and expression using so-called religious 'sanctities'.
3. Freedom of religion and atheism.
4. Separation of religion from the state and legal and educational system.
5. Prohibition of religious customs, rules, ceremonies or activities that are incompatible with or infringe people's rights and freedoms.
6. Abolition of all restrictive and repressive cultural and religious customs which hinder and contradict woman's independence, free will and equality. Prohibition of segregation of sexes.
7. Prohibition of interference by any authority, family members or relatives, or official authorities in the private lives of women and men and their personal, emotional and sexual relationships and sexuality.
8. Protection of children from manipulation and abuse by religion and religious institutions.
9. Prohibition of any kind of financial, material or moral support by the state or state institutions to religion and religious activities and institutions.
10. Prohibition of all forms of religious intimidation and threats.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
cyrus
Site Admin


Joined: 24 Jun 2003
Posts: 4993

PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2008 12:42 pm    Post subject: Complete Interview Of Dr. Wafa Sultan With Arlene Peck Reply with quote

Please Watch Video: Complete Interview Of Dr. Wafa Sultan With Arlene Peck

Recommended By Amil Imani
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
cyrus
Site Admin


Joined: 24 Jun 2003
Posts: 4993

PostPosted: Sat Sep 27, 2008 12:02 pm    Post subject: October 10 Conference on Political Islam, Sharia and Civil S Reply with quote

Maryam Namazie wrote:

October 10 Conference on Political Islam, Sharia and Civil Society

The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB) will present its first all day
international conference on Political Islam, Sharia Law, and Civil Society on Friday 10 October 2008. Since apostasy is punishable by death under Islamic law, the conference coincides with the International Day against the Death Penalty.

Speakers at the conference, including Richard Dawkins, AC Grayling, and Maryam Namazie, Spokesperson for the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, will focus on
Apostasy; Sharia Law; and Creationism, Faith Schools and Religious Education.
Dawkins will also present his criticism of Harun Yahya's Atlas of Creation,
for which Dawkins' site has been banned in Turkey. Other distinguished
speakers at the conference are Mina Ahadi, Roy Brown, Giles Enders, Johann Hari,
Ehsan Jami, Houzan Mahmoud, Caspar Melville, Taslima Nasreen, Fariborz Pooya, Terry Sanderson, Joan Smith, Bahram Soroush, Hanne Stinson, Hamid Taqvaee, Ibn Warraq, Keith Porteous Wood and Zia Zaffar.

The event includes a comedy act by Nick Doody, the work of a well-known artist,Fitna Remade by Reza Moradi and Breaking the Taboo by Patty Debonitas.


For more information, a press pass, booking form or to interview speakers,
please contact:
Maryam Namazie
Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain
BM Box 1919, London WC1N 3XX, UK
Tel: 07719166731
E-mail: exmuslimcouncil@gmail.com
www.ex-muslim.org.uk

Details on the conference:
10 October 2008
10am-6pm (Registration begins at 9am)
Conway Hall London
25 Red Lion Square WC1R 4RL
(Closest station: Holborn)
GBP 40 statutory organisations/businesses; GBP 20 voluntary sector; GBP 10
individuals, including lunch and refreshments.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
cyrus
Site Admin


Joined: 24 Jun 2003
Posts: 4993

PostPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 10:22 am    Post subject: Conference on Political Islam, Sharia Law and Civil Society Reply with quote

Maryam Namazie wrote:

Conference on Political Islam, Sharia Law and Civil Society a Success

http://www.ex-muslim.org.uk/indexPressreleases.html

The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain's first international conference on
Political Islam, Sharia Law and Civil Society held at Conway Hall on October
10 was a resounding success. Nearly 300 people came together to discuss
issues ranging from apostasy, the freedom to criticise and renounce
religion, Sharia law and civil society and creationism, faith schools and
religious education. Held on the International Day against the Death
Penalty, the conference was a stark reminder of the many killed or facing
execution for apostasy in countries ruled by Islamic laws.

You can see the report, complete film footage and photographs of the
conference by clicking on the first available internal link on the press
releases section of CEMB's website:
http://www.ex-muslim.org.uk/indexPressreleases.html.

The conference was opened by Fariborz Pooya (head of Iranian Secular
Society), the conference's Master of Ceremonies. After a welcome from Giles
Enders on behalf of Conway Hall and Zia Zaffar on behalf of CEMB's Executive
Committee, the audience watched a clip from Patty Debonitas' film 'Breaking
the taboo.' Maryam Namazie, the CEMB's spokesperson, then gave an opening
address, saying that the political Islamic movement used rights and
anti-racist language for western consumption so that it could go about its
business as usual. She said: 'While Islamic organisations here talk in PR
speak, they, their courts, their schools, their leaders are nothing but
extensions of Islamic states.' She went on to say 'In the end, political
Islam matters to people because it affects their lives, their rights, their
freedoms. And that's why only a movement that puts people first can mobilise
the force needed to stop it.'

This was followed by Plenary 1 entitled 'Apostasy laws and the Freedom to
Renounce and Criticise Religion' chaired by Caspar Melville, editor of the
New Humanist. Panellists were Mina Ahadi (head of the Council of ex-Muslims
of Germany); AC Grayling (philosopher and author), Ehsan Jami (former head
of the Council of Ex-Muslims of the Netherlands), Fariborz Pooya, Hanne
Stinson (Chief Executive of the British Humanist Association) and Ibn Warraq
(author). The panellists called for the immediate release of all those
imprisoned for 'apostasy'; an abolition of the death penalty; and a
cancellation of laws wherever they exist that punish the right and freedom
to renounce or criticise Islam.

After lunch, comedian Nick Doody entertained the crowd with a routine
critical of religion. This was followed by Plenary 2 entitled 'Sharia Law
and Citizenship Rights'. It was chaired by Andrew Copson (Director of
Education and Public Affairs of the British Humanist Association);
panellists were Mahin Alipour (head of the Scandinavian Councils of
Ex-Muslims), Roy Brown (International Humanist and Ethical Union's
Representative at the UN Human Rights Council), Johann Hari (journalist),
Maryam Namazie and Ibn Warraq. The audience overwhelmingly supported the
following resolution at the end of the plenary: The conference calls on the
UK and European governments to bring an end to the use and implementation of
Sharia law, which is discriminatory against women and children in
particular, and to guarantee unconditional equal citizenship rights for all.

The audience then watched a remake of the right wing Dutch politician Geert
Wilders' film entitled Fitna Remade by Reza Moradi.

After a break, Richard Dawkins (scientist, author) provided his criticism of
Harun Yahya's Atlas of Creation for which his site has been banned in
Turkey, which was followed by questions and answers from the audience.

This was followed by Plenary 3 entitled 'Creationism, Religious Education
and Faith Schools,' which was chaired by Keith Porteous Wood (Executive
Director of the National Secular Society). Panellists were Richard Dawkins,
Terry Sanderson (President of the NSS), Joan Smith (journalist and
activist), Bahram Soroush (Labour Solidarity Committee Public Relations
Officer), and Hamid Taqvaee (leader of the Worker-communist Party of Iran).
The audience showed their unequivocal opposition to faith schools here.

Maryam Namazie closed the conference by calling on the participants to
mobilise around March 8 - International Women's Day - to step up opposition
against Sharia law and political Islam. As she had said earlier: 'In the
end, political Islam matters to people because it affects their lives, their
rights, their freedoms. And that's why only a movement that puts people
first can mobilise the force needed to stop political Islam. And it must -
it will - be stopped.'

Throughout the day, various CEMB representatives spoke with the media,
including the BBC, Al Arabiya TV, Italian state TV, The Wall Street Journal,
CNS News, etc.

To read Richard Dawkins' thoughts on the conference, visit
http://richarddawkins.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=60487.

To see AC Grayling's report on the conference in The Guardian, visit
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/16/religion-islam-humanism
-secularism-conway-hall)

To donate to the important work of the CEMB, please visit:
http://www.ex-muslim.org.uk/indexDonate.html. We are currently raising funds
for a full-time staff person and office space.

To see our first annual report, please go to:
http://www.ex-muslim.org.uk/eng/pressreleases/press-pages/annual-report-exmu
slim-0908site.pdf

For more information, please contact Maryam Namazie at
maryamnamazie@gmail.com or call +44 (0) 7719166731.

To unsubscribe from our mailing list, simply reply to this email entering
unsubscribe and your email address in the subject of the email.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    [FREE IRAN Project] In The Spirit Of Cyrus The Great Forum Index -> Freedom Songs & Video (ALL MULTIMEDIA) All times are GMT - 4 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group