Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain

Annual Report (June 2007- June 2008)

Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain BM Box 1919 London, WC1N 3XX UK e-mail: [email protected] telephone: +44 (0) 7719166731 website: www.ex-muslim.org.uk

Message from Maryam Namazie Chair and Spokesperson

The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain has hit a nerve. I can’t tell you the number of people who have said the CEMB is one of the best responses to they have seen in ages. And that it has given them the hope that things can change for the better.

Of course we couldn’t have done it without you. Volunteer-run organisations like ours - with minimal resources - can only succeed if they manage to mobilise support and capture people’s imagination.

So all in all it’s been a great start and one we can be very proud of. But it’s not enough if we want to change things to the benefi t of humanity in this country and the world and to the disadvantage of the political Islamic movement.

In the upcoming year, we need to build on this success and create a force to be reckoned with.

I am certain that we can.

Warm regards,

Maryam Launch

The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain had a successful launch in the Houses of Parliament on June 21, 2007. The launch was covered in many media outlets, including the Telegraph, BBC, Boston Globe, Reuters, , and Washington Post. It was sponsored by the and the British Humanist Association.

On the launch, AC Grayling wrote the following: 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 out- standing 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 consti- tute 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 diffi culties.

One point that has to be kept in mind here, because it illuminates the following document with the burn- ing light of urgency, is this: apostasy (abandoning one’s religion) by a Muslim is to this day regarded as a crime punishable by death in countries governed by Islamic law (it once likewise invited death in Christianity). This is why the council is the embodiment of courage, and why the principles in its 10 demands are so vital. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2007/ jun/19/thecourageoftheirconvictions) At the launch, Maryam Namazie, Mina Ahadi (Spokesperson of the fi rst Council in Germany), and Mahin Alipour (Spokesperson of the Scandinavian Councils) spoke about the aims of this movement. Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society; Hanne Stinson, Chief Executive of the British Humanist Association; and AC Grayling spoke in support of the new organisation. Baroness Whitaker, Lord Harrison and Baroness Massey were there to lend their support.

In her statement at the launch, Namazie said:

Today we are establishing the Council of ex-Muslims of Britain for so many reasons. One is to break the taboo that comes with renouncing Islam. ‘Apostasy’ carries the death penalty in many countries under Islamic laws. It also brings with it threats and intimidation for those who do so in Europe. I have already received an email saying: ‘A Muslim is always a Muslim; it is not possible to leave Islam.’ Well, watch us. It is.

Whilst renouncing religion is a private affair, today, with the rise of religion’s intervention in soci- ety, it must be done publicly to pave the way for others to do so if they wish.

Another reason to publicly challenge the political Islamic movement that is wreaking havoc in the Middle East and North Africa with state power in some countries or vying for power and access in other countries like Britain and Europe…

Another is to insist that people are not handed over lock stock and barrel to regressive Islamic organisations and pigeon holed as ‘Muslims’ when we all have a hundred characteristics that de- fi ne us and that we defi ne ourselves by.

To make ‘Muslim’ the most important characteristic is part of the attempt to Islamicise people and relegate them to the political Islamic movement… Early Day Motion

26 Members of Parliament supported the launch via Early Day Motion 1770 dated 26 June 2007. It was proposed by Colin Challen and said: That this House… welcomes the launch on 21st June of the Council for ex-Muslims of Britain, an organisation dedicated to speaking up for the rights of those raised as Muslims but who have now left that religion.

The MPs who signed the EDM are:

Colin Challen Nigel Evans

Peter Bottomley Bill Etherington

Derek Conway Rudi Vis

Lynne Jones David S Borrow

David Drew David Howarth

Ann Cryer Janet Anderson

Paul Cryer Robert Walter

Mike Hancock Katy Clark

Alan Simpson Jo Swinson

Gregory Campbell John Penrose

Andrew George Robert Wilson

Philip George Evan Harris

David Simpson Ben Wallace Maryam Namazie’s statement at the launch of CEMB has been viewed by nearly 60,000 people on youtube so far.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUBLfcGcN5Y According to Elle Quebec, which selected Maryam and Mina Ahadi as two of the top 45 women of the year 2007, the launch of the ex-Muslim movement was ‘a real revolution.’

The National Secular Society’s Newsline said:

Mina Ahadi and Maryam Namazie – leading lights in the ex-Muslim movement – have been voted among the top 45 women of the year by Elle magazine in Quebec. Both Mina and Maryam have been winners of the National Secular Society’s Secularist of the Year award and Maryam is an honorary associate of the Society. NSS President Terry Sanderson said: “As far as we’re concerned, Mina and Maryam are our women of the year this year and every year. Congratulations to them both.” Membership and Supporters

Currently, there are councils in Germany, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway. Overall, the councils have several thousand members. A Council of Ex-Muslims of Afghanistan has also been established.

The CEMB has over 140 members. Given that membership in our organisa- tion comes with certain risks, these numbers represent many more who are unable or unwilling to renounce religion and Islam publicly. In addition to members in Britain, the CEMB has members from countries under Is- lamic rule, such as , Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

A March 12, 2008 article on Maryam Namazie in The Times entitled ‘It’s time to take a stand against Islam and , Maryam Namazie, head of the Council of Ex-Muslims in Britain, says that rights are for individuals, not religions or beliefs’ states:

Iranian Muslim by birth, Namazie, 41, is friendly and softly spoken. But she does not mince her words. It takes nerve to start an organisation for people who have rejected Islam. In Islamic law, apostasy is punishable by death… Why doesn’t she use a pseudonym? “They can fi nd out who you are anyway. And the point of the Council of Ex-Muslims is to stand up and be counted.” She doesn’t really like the label ex-Muslim and would prefer not to frame her identity in religious terms but, she says, it is like gays coming out 30 years ago: something has to become public if you are to break taboos. The CEMB has more than 100 members with inquiries from people who do not dare to join. Some have horrendous stories but do not put them on the website because they are afraid.”

Backgrounds of CEMB members can be found on its website: http://www. ex-muslim.org.uk/indexMembers.html and also on the forum under ex- Muslim blogs and bios: http://www.councilofexmuslims.com/index.php/ board,10.0.html. Ali: I’m a closet apostate of Islam, and came across your website after hearing about the launch of the Council of Ex-Muslims in Britain... Hearing of your movement gives me hope.

Amal Farah: I am originally from Somalia. I joined because it’s about time we ex-Muslims came together and had our voices heard. To stand up and be counted.

Aziz Rattansi: I have never concealed my apostasy from friends and family, but seeing what a dim view Islam takes of apostates, people should make their apostasy more public. And what better way then join- ing the CEMB?

Henry Page: I would like to join because I am an ex-Muslim, an apostate. I didn’t know this organisa- tion until today but I am grateful for its existence as I have felt quite alone and even scared to speak out about my transition from believer to atheist.

Humanist: I left Islam 5 years ago and have received death threats for doing so. I would like to join the CEMB but please display my pen name “A Humanist” as I don’t want to put my family in even greater risk.

Hussain Muradi: I was not born to be a Muslim and be afraid of God and more importantly I did not sign an agreement with him/her/it to worship him. As a child religion has been forced upon me. I have been forced to pray, fast and etc. It has been like a habit with me rather than a religion. In Afghanistan where I was living, questioning the existence of god or religion is deemed blasphemy and punishable by to death. Now, in the UK I have the opportunity and courage to declare who I am.

Martin Di Maggio: I am an atheist, humanist ex-Salafi Muslim. I converted when I was 15 and dipped into Shi’i Islam a bit. I stopped attending mosque when I came out as gay and 4 years ago I declared myself non-Muslim.

Tahmineh Rastin: I am an ex-Muslim, but now an atheist, have spent nine years as a prisoner of the of Iran, for the `crime` of having beliefs and opinions that were contrary to the … religious government. Only an atheist prisoner of an Islamic regime can fully comprehend the variety of torture methods inspired and authorised by the Quran to punish `unbelievers`. I am glad that I now have the freedom to express my views, without the fear of arrest and torture, after so many years of having to remain silent.

Tanj: In my early teens I became a fundamentalist, but that was merely a fl eeting phase, and I gradually came to realise the truth about religion. My family are still… orthodox Muslims. I cannot bring myself to tell them for my fear of them, as well as my love of them. It is diffi cult, and I hope this organisation can bring ex-Muslims together to defeat bigotry, fundamentalism and irrationalism. Moreover, the CEMB has 120 supporters registered on its site and a Facebook page set up by Richard Collins called 1,000,000 activists for Maryam Namazie. To see or join it, visit: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9830653770. Support to ex-Muslims

The CEMB has provided support and referrals to tens of ex-Muslims in need. This includes providing letters of support to asylum seekers who fear for their lives if they are not granted protection. It also includes fi nding emergency and temporary safe homes and providing refer- rals to the police and social services for people who want to leave Islam but fear that they will be killed.

The CEMB’s forum is active with a membership of 340. Since November 2007 when it was established, there have been over 70,000 total posts on Forum 2630 topics. The forum is an important place for people to debate, share information and talk about issues and problems, gaining more and more members each month. The forum admin and moderators who make it all happen are BerberElla, Osmanthus, Rational1, Matt, Iris and until recently Witzbold. They are based in the UK, Australia, Pakistan and Kuwait.

According to BerberElla ‘the forum is active, friendly and welcoming. Ex- Muslims have been really happy to fi nd it because it’s somewhere they can gather and chat about anything and everything. Many can’t exactly talk to our families so this becomes the family for us. I know it is for me.’ Website

www.ex-muslim.org.uk

The CEMB’s website has 7-8,000 unique visitors a month and nearly 300,000 hits per month. The British Library has asked to archive the CEMB’s website for their web preservation programme. They select sites to represent aspects of UK documentary heritage to remain available to researchers in the future.

The website’s success is a result of the tireless efforts of Reza Moradi, our webmaster. Events

During this year, the CEMB has organised a number of high profi le events besides the launch on June 21, 2007, including a successful one year an- niversary celebration in Central London on July 5, 2008 for members and supporters (which can be seen here: http://www.newchannel.tv/englishTV/ Thirdcamp.html) and a seminar entitled ‘Sexual , political Islam and women’s rights’ in commemoration of International Women’s Day on March 10, 2008.

The CEMB is organising an International Conference on October 10, 2008 at Conway Hall, London. 10 October is the International Day against the Death Penalty. The conference will focus on several key questions, namely the problem with Sharia law, including women’s status; apostasy; freedom of expression and the need for ; universal rights; as well as the separation of religion and the state. Mina Ahadi, Mahin Alipour, Roy Brown, Richard Dawkins, Nick Doody, AC Grayling, Johann Hari, Ehsan Jami, Maryam Namazie, Taslima Nasreen, Fariborz Pooya, Terry Sanderson, Hanne Stinson, Bahram Soroush, Joan Smith Hamid Taqvaee and are confi rmed speakers at the event. In addition to the events the CEMB organised, CEMB spokesperson Maryam Namazie spoke at numerous gatherings and conferences throughout the year, including at the World Humanist Congress in Washington, DC on June 6, 2008 on freedom of expression and political Islam; at the Alternative Islam Conference in Koln, Germany during 31 May-1 June, 2008 on ‘Islam is signifi cant because of political Islam;’ at the Oxford Secular Society on ‘, Sharia law and the future of civil society’ on April 29, 2008 in Oxford; at the Boras town hall on ‘Medieval Executions’ on April 15 in Boras, Sweden; at an International conference against honour killings on April 12, 2008 in London; at a demonstration to demand Perwiz Kambakhsh’s freedom (sentenced to death for apostasy in Afghanistan) on February 8, 2008 in London; at the Cambridge University Atheist and Agnostic Society on ‘Apostasy, ex-Muslims, and the challenge to political Islam’ on January 30, 2008 in Cambridge; and at the Human Rights Forum in Stockholm, Sweden on November 20, 2007 on a panel entitled ‘Islam, Religious Diversity and Universal Rights in Multiethnic Democracies.’

Maryam was also a guest speaker at a meeting on October 29, 2007 with Humanist MPs held at the House of Commons; the meeting was organised by the British Humanist Association. Maryam spoke about the importance of the Council of Ex-Muslims and the need for a concerted effort against political Islam through the defence of citizenship rights, secularism and humanity without labels. She was also one of the main speakers at the Humanist Annual Conference in Scotland on October 27, 2007 on ‘Sex Matters.’ She was the keynote speaker at the Annual Reunion of Kindred Humanist Societies in London on 30 September, 2007; and spoke before the European Parliament Working Group on Separation of Religion and Politics in Brussels on September 12, 2007.

She also spoke at the launch of the Dutch Ex-Muslim Committee in The Hague on September 11, 2007.

During September 5-6, she travelled to Reykjavik, Iceland to speak at the Women’s Rights Alliance on ‘The Veil, Women’s Rights and Islamic laws’ and at the Institute of International Affairs of the University of Iceland on ‘Apostasy, ex-Muslims and the Challenge to Political Islam.’

She also joined a panel entitled ‘Don’t Mention Islam’ at the Edinburgh Film Festival on August 24, 2007; other panellists included Kevin Sutcliffe, Deputy Head of News & Current Affairs, Channel 4 and Peter Horrocks, Head of Television News, BBC News. Media coverage

The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain and its spokesperson Maryam Namazie have received widespread media coverage, including the following media out- lets: the Times, with an article entitled: It’s time to take a stand against Islam and Sharia; the New Statesman Faith Column; the National Secular Society’s Newsline; Teachers TV discussing religion and schools with Richard Dawkins and Schools Select Committee chairman Barry Sheerman; Elle Quebec; France 24; Big Issue in the North; The Independent; Swedish Radio P4 Boras and Boras Tidning; ABC News; Washington Post; Deutsche Welle; Taipei Times; Reuters; International Herald Tribune; USA Today; Radio Free Europe; Radio Netherlands; AFP; Icelandic state TV and Blaðið; the Guardian; BBC2’s Newsnight with Benazir Bhutto; Australian radio; BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine show; Boston Globe; Telegraph and Radio4. Moreover, Maryam Namazie’s blog has been rated one of the top hundred hottest atheist blogs: http://wwwhttp://www.challengereligion.com/community..challengereligion.com/community. Mina Ahadi wins 2007 Secularist of the Year award

Mina Ahadi, spokesperson and founding member of the original Council of Ex-Muslims in Germany won the 2007 National Secular Society Irwin Prize for Secularist of the Year in October 2007. In praising Mina, Richard Dawkins said it is ‘the awakening of women’ that will solve the problem of ‘the worldwide menace of Islamic and oppression.’

Introducing Mina to the members and supporters of the NSS who gathered for the award ceremony in London, Keith Porteous Wood, the Society’s Executive Director said:

She formed the Central Council of ex-Muslims in Germany early this year to help people renounce Islam and religion should they so wish. This brilliant idea has now been replicated in several other European countries, including in Britain by our own Maryam Namazie. Undeterred by the inevitable death threats, Mina has pressed on, determined as ever to protect women...

In her message of congratulations, Maryam Namazie said: ‘You and your movement have always been about saving lives and putting people fi rst. Thanks in large part to your efforts, it is this life-affi rming politics that is fi nally gaining the recognition it deserves.’ Press Releases and Statements

The CEMB issued a number of press releases, including the following: Faith schools are bad for children (July 1, 2008); Fitna, the Movie Remade (May 20, 2008); There is no place for Sharia in Britain (February 11, 2008); Taslima Nasreen’s freedom to speak and write must be protected (December 4, 2007); Gil- lian Gibbons must be released today (December 1, 2007); On Trade Unions and Islamic organisations (October 23, 2007); One law for all (October 22, 2007); and A healthy society cannot privilege religious belief (October 10, 2007).

On faith schools, the CEMB wrote in a letter published in the Independent on July 3, 2008:

In Islamic schools such as the Hawza Ilmiyya, students are taught to despise unbelievers as fi lth, and to hold males and females as unequal. Ibrahim Lawson, headteacher of Nottingham Islamia School, clearly states their main purpose: ‘The essential purpose of the Islamia school as with all Islamic schools is to inculcate profound religious belief in the children.’

Education, however, is meant to give children access to science, reason and advances of the 21st century not the other way around. It is meant to level the playing fi eld irrespective of and despite the family the child is born into. It is meant to allow children to think freely and critically - something that religion actually prohibits and often punishes… this can only be guaranteed via a secular educational system.

On Sharia law, the CEMB press release said:

The Council of ex-Muslims of Britain condemns the comments made by the Archbishop of Canterbury suggesting that Sharia law is ‘inevitable’ and may be welcome in civil cases.

The distinction that he makes between civil and criminal cases does not exist within Sharia law. Sharia law encompasses all aspects of the life of those deemed Muslim. Suggesting that the UK would not, of course, allow the more barbaric aspects of Sharia law, such as amputation or stoning, ignores the fact that it is the family/civil areas of law in the Sharia that are some of the most iniquitous.

In the discriminatory personal family law, particularly in the areas of marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance and so on, a Muslim woman cannot even contract her own marriage; the marriage contract is between her guardian and future husband. A man can have 4 wives whilst a woman cannot. A man can divorce his wife without reasons by simply saying ‘divorce’ thrice, albeit with a gap in time, whereas a woman must give reasons, some of which are extremely diffi cult to prove. A woman only receives half that of a man under inheritance rules, and so on.

Clearly, Sharia law contravenes fundamental human rights, such as equal rights for women, and rele- gates those deemed to be Muslim to culturally relative rights and at the mercy of regressive imams and kangaroo courts.

In order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of all those living in Britain, there must be one secular law for all and no Sharia. Join Us

The CEMB has come this far with the support of the National Secular Society, the British Humanist Association, South Place Ethical Society, the International Humanist and Ethical Union (of which it is now an associate member), Roy Brown, Al Levin, Chris Remington and a large number of other members, donors, volunteers and supporters.

In the coming year, the CEMB wants to build on our success and expand in numbers and infl uence.

You can help us do more to break the taboo that comes with renouncing Islam and to push back religion’s adverse role in society at large by: • Donating. If you can, send a cheque made payable to the CEMB and mail to BM Box 1919, London WC1N 3XX, UK. Or you can donate via Worldpay on our website by going to: http://www.ex-muslim.org.uk/indexDonate.html. • Adding your name and statement to our list of members or supporters. • Volunteering your time and expertise. We particularly need help in charity law, fundraising, con- ference organising, fi nancial reporting and auditing, researching, writing and broadcasting. • Leaving a legacy to our organisation. • Holding a fundraiser for us either at home amongst your friends or organise larger fundraisers, concerts or socials. • Telling others about us by forwarding recent media coverage or our press releases to everyone you know. • Mentioning CEMB in articles and letters to the editor that you write…

Executive Committee

Asad Abbas (Secretary), Reyhan Hussein, Jalil Jalili, Rony Miah, Reza Moradi, Maryam Namazie (Chair), Bahram Soroush and Zia Zaffar (Treasurer).