September 2017
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John de Lancie’s Winners of FFRF’s Freethinkers are speech at Darrow High School winning struggle statue dedication Essay Contest for America’s soul PAGE 17 PAGES 12-16 PAGE 18 Vol. 34 No. 7 Published by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Inc. September 2017 Good News E Pluribus Unum Muslim models Bella Club may get Hadid (holding sign) and Gigi Hadid (red jacket) march in a New York protest. bad news The Freedom From Religion Foundation Evangelical Christian group issued a statement after targets Milwaukee area the Charlottesville, Va., rally, noting in part: schools; FFRF steps in “Along with the rest of the nation, we at FFRF Evangelically based “Good News Clubs” are watched, with growing trying to infiltrate nine school districts in the horror and dismay, as Milwaukee area, but FFRF is working with local the hate-mongering groups and Protect Our Children to get infor- white supremacist mation to par- ‘Unite the Right’ march ents and school in Charlottesville ended officials before in hours of violence, they even get in mayhem and three the door. deaths. On Aug. 16, “FFRF works to uphold FFRF Co-Pres- revered constitutional idents Annie principles, which A screenshot from an actual Laurie Gaylor include not only CEF training video. and Dan Bark- religious liberty, but er sent a letter equality and equal to the superintendents of all nine districts being justice under the targeted, informing them that the clubs are com- law. We don’t believe ing and reminding them of their obligation to in gods, but we do protect their students from proselytizing adults. fervently believe in Each year, “Good News Across America,” the ‘melting pot’ of a national children’s outreach sponsored by diverse peoples united Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), targets one together: E Pluribus major city for evangelism. For 2017, it has cho- Unum.” sen Milwaukee. As part of this evangelical in- Check out FFRF’s many vasion, local churches backed by CEF will seek timely press releases, to establish Good News Clubs at 16 elementary blogs and action alerts schools in the Milwaukee area. or sign up to receive The invasion has been a long time coming, them in your inbox at: first planned for 2016 and then rescheduled to Photo reprinted with permission by AKM-GSI ffrf.org/news. 2017. This means FFRF has had ample time to See Good News on page 3 Freethinking perilous in a non-free country FFRF’s Nonbelief Relief gave a $5,000 in chemical engineering. my father sat home like a king, tak- own sense of reason and justice. relief stipend to the author of this article, I was raised by my mother, who is ing her paycheck, treating her poorly, who is remaining anonymous because of a mechanical engineer and driven by and repeatedly subjecting her and my Controlled by militia threats against her. To save her life, she the values of goodness, science and older sister to beatings. After many In 2004, militias took over govern- and a family member were brought over to reason. As a ratio- years of abuse, my mental buildings, companies, and the United States from Iraq in June, with nalist, she believes mother applied controlled virtually every aspect of the help of the State Department. She had that the human A brave and intelligent for a divorce, life in the community. They also con- appeared on the “The Rubin Report” to dis- mind, rather than woman, my mother always which, in most trolled social customs, including re- cuss her situation and the dangers of living God, is the key to rejected Islam. She has parts of the Mid- quirements for women to dress mod- in Iraq as a nonbeliever. She received death life and knowl- dle East, requires estly and wear a hijab. threats after the show aired, and the video edge. It’s not the always been a role model. surrendering your When my mother went to work one has been removed from “The Rubin Report” most popular — Lubna rights and your day, an al-Mahdi militiaman ordered site. The audio is still available, however. view in Iraq and it reputation in the her to put on a hijab or she would not caused her to be community. be allowed to work. My mother always This is her story. scorned by her family. So my mother Nevertheless, she did what she had refused to wear a head cover, and in married not out of love, but to escape to do to raise my siblings and me, this case her passionate rebuff creat- By Lubna her family and the terror and abuse of teaching us to always rely on our in- ed a stir. Soon, his superior joined the her father and brother. telligence and hard work. A brave and fray and they both mocked and then y name is Lubna, and I am a However, my father was a lazy, selfish intelligent woman, my mother always physically abused her. Her instinct 25-year-old Iraqi student who and irresponsible person. So, it was my rejected Islam. She has always been was to fight back, however futile, but Mwas living in Baghdad, where I mother who worked hard to take care a role model, instilling in me the im- was working toward a masters degree of her children and her family while portance of believing in myself and my See Lubna on page 23 Page 2 FFRF | FREETHOUGHT TODAY | Madison, Wisconsin | September 2017 Freedom from religion safeguards liberty Historic conference in Fauzia Ilyas, a brave young woman London brings together who founded Atheist and Agnostic Alliance Pakistan, committed secularists where apostasy can be punished by By Annie Laurie Gaylor death. Representing the ince co-founding the Freedom United States at the From Religion Foundation in conference as heads S1976 with my mother Anne Nicol of ex-Muslim groups Gaylor, I’ve never faltered from my were Sarah Haid- conviction that freethought and secu- er, co-founder of Fauzia Ilyas lar government are each necessary for Ex-Muslims of North both human progress and survival. America, and Egyptian-American Nou- Had I ever doubted the necessity ra Embabi, young president of Mus- of working for freedom from religion, lim-ish, whom we’ve FFRF Co-Presidents Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor with Bonya Ahmed. those doubts would have evaporated interviewed recently Zehra Pala is in the background. after attending July’s historic confer- for Freethought Ra- ence of the single largest gathering had just got word, right before this conference opened with the debut dio. “The cost of si- of ex-Muslims in the world. The life conference on free expression, that a of a new film, “Islam’s Nonbelievers,” lence for ex-Muslims and death experiences faced by glob- supposedly progressive radio station including chilling photos of that at- is too high,” Noura al freethinkers working for secular- in Berkeley was de-platforming him tack. Bonya was the first inspiring counseled. ism vividly brought home how vitally due to his measured criticism of Is- speaker on the program. We also heard important our work is. I was buoyed, lam. The conference issued a formal Other cofounders of secular groups from Zineb el despite the staggering opposition to condemnation of radio KPFA’s action. in attendance included: Rhazoui, the Mo- freethought on our planet, after meet- Demographically, it was exciting to Zehra Pala, president of Atheism roccan-born French Noura Embabi ing such brave, personable and com- see that the conference and its speak- Association of Turkey, a nation where journalist and for- mitted secularists. ers were overwhelmingly young, and almost daily secular rights are being mer Charlie Hebdo columnist who hap- FFRF was proudly cosponsor of the many activists and organizers female frighteningly curtailed. The slogan pened to be out of the office on Jan. historic International Conference on and feminist. of the association, which is the first 7, 2015, when terrorists burst in and Freedom of Conscience and Expres- Unfortunately, a number of speak- legally recognized atheist group in murdered her colleagues (“Nothing is sion in the 21st Century in London ers were unable to get permission to the country, is: “No atheists will be forgiven,” says Zineb): “I believe there July 22-24. The gathering was the idea travel to the event. alone anymore.” is no way to get rid of dictatorships if we of Iranian-born Maryam Namazie, a As a cofounder of FFRF, I was Mohammed Alkhadra, founder of do not get rid of superstition and reli- powerhouse activist with the Council thrilled to meet so many others Jordanian Atheists Group, in a nation gious dictatorship,” she told us. of Ex-Muslims of Britain and One Law around the globe who have also were apostasy is illegal. Mohammad There were panels on Secularism as for All. Maryam will receive FFRF’s founded freethought or secular or- had the crowd on its feet with his first a Human Right, Women’s Resistance, Henry Zumach Freedom From Funda- ganizations, but often in nations remarks in public. Mohammed was the Veil and Religious Morality, “Out, mentalist Religion Award, by the way, where such work is truly fraught with toying with radical Islam when he read Loud and Proud,” Religion in the Law at our upcoming convention. peril, where colleagues have even one of those pirated Arabic transla- and State, on blasphemy and a par- Maryam told us: “It’s really import- been murdered. In the case of Bonya tions of The God Delusion. ticularly fascinating panel on Art as ant for us to defend the right to leave Ahmed, a Bangladeshi-American, she Armin Navabi, the Iranian-born Resistance.