Press Release
For immediate release

21 November is a day against Sharia law and for human rights

One Law for All campaign is organising a rally on Saturday 21 November 2009 at 1200pm in London’s Hyde Park. The rally aims to oppose religious laws in Britain and elsewhere, show solidarity with people living under and resisting Sharia, and to defend universal rights and secularism.

The One Law for All campaign rally marks Universal Children’s Day and the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women:
Date: November 21, 2009
Time: 1200hrs – 1400hrs
Place: North Carriage Drive, in-between Stanhope Place Gate and Albion Gate, Hyde Park (closest underground Marble Arch).

Please take note of underground closures on the day.

Simultaneous acts of solidarity and support for the rally and its aims will take place in countries across the world including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Hungary, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Kenya, France, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Serbia and Montenegro, Sweden, Switzerland and USA. (To organise an act – however small – contact us; right now acts taking place are groups or individuals handing out leaflets, organising a petition, holding rallies, issuing a statement on Sharia and so on.)

Moreover, winners of the campaign’s art competition exposing the discriminatory nature of religious law and promoting freedom and equal rights will be announced at the event.

One Law for All Spokesperson, Maryam Namazie, commented, ‘Sharia law is becoming a key battleground, particularly because it is an extension and representation of the rising threat of Islamism. Sharia matters to people everywhere because it adversely affects the rights, lives and freedoms of countless human beings across the world. Opposing Sharia law is a crucial step in defending universal and equal rights and secularism and showing real solidarity with people living under and resisting it everywhere. November 21 is yet another important day for further strengthening the mass movement needed that can and will put a stop to Sharia once and for all.’

Notes

1. The One Law for All campaign rally marks Universal Children’s Day and the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women:
Date: November 21, 2009
Time: 1200hrs – 1400hrs
Place: North Carriage Drive, in-between Stanhope Place Gate and Albion Gate, Hyde Park (closest underground Marble Arch).

Please take note of underground closures on the day: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/livetravelnews/realtime/by-date.aspx?offset=weekend

2. Speakers at the rally include: Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain’s Asad Abbas; Poet ‘AK47;’ Musician Fari B; International Humanist and Ethical Union’s Roy Brown; Singer/Songwriter David Fisher; Philosopher AC Grayling; Southall Black Sisters’ Rahila Gupta; Journalist Johann Hari; MP Evan Harris; Poet ‘Lilith;’ Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq’s Houzan Mahmoud, Lawyer Cris Mccurley; Lawyer Rony Miah; Campaigner Maryam Namazie; Writer Taslima Nasrin; British Humanist Association’s Naomi Phillips; European Humanist Federation’s David Pollock; Iranian Secular Society’s Fariborz Pooya; National Secular Society’s Terry Sanderson; Poet Selina aka ‘Jus1Jam;’ Activist Muriel Seltman; Equal Rights Now’s Sohaila Sharifi; Organisation for the Defence of Secularism and Civil Rights in Iraq’s Issam Shukri; Iran Solidarity’s Bahram Soroush; Human Rights Campaigner Peter Tatchell and National Secular Society’s Keith Porteous Wood.

3. Art competition judges are Philosopher AC Grayling; Singer Deeyah; Journalist Johann Hari; and Columnist Polly Toynbee.

4. Responses to Frequently Asked Questions including the affinity between the far right and the Islamists, the issue of secularism, whether Islamic states are a threat to humankind and the need to defend the right to asylum for those who have fled Sharia law can be found on http://www.onelawforall.org.uk/about/faq.

5. One Law for All campaign was launched on 10 December 2008 – International Human Rights Day. It has since received the support of over 20,000 groups and individuals.

6. For further comment or information, please contact Maryam Namazie on +44 (0) 7719166731 or onelawforall@gmail.com or visit www.onelawforall.org.uk.