Hello

March 7 is around the corner. We are looking forward to seeing many of you at the anti-racist London rally against Sharia and religious-based laws in Britain and elsewhere and in defence of citizenship and universal rights in Trafalgar Square from 330-430pm. You can find posters that have been prepared for the rally by Dan Simon and Reza Moradi on our website. Please feel free to download them and bring them along to the rally to ensure that there are enough placards for everyone. At 4:30pm we will begin our march to Red Lion Square and then join a public meeting at Conway Hall from 6:00-8:00pm. We will be registering people for the public meeting at Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square WC1R 4RL from 5:00pm. From 5:30pm onwards, there will be live music by Raised Voices, pastries and refreshments. The entry fee to the public meeting is £5, including refreshments but we won’t turn anyone away. If you plan on coming, try and send in your booking form before the event (by March 6) so that we can reserve a place for you.

We now have over 9,700 signatories to our petition. Please sign up to it if you haven’t already and tell others about it too. For more background on One Law for All, the nature of Sharia councils and tribunals and on whether it is Islamophobic to oppose Sharia law, see the latest interview with Maryam Namazie and Bahram Soroush on Fariborz Pooya’s Secular TV. You can also see what a Sharia judge really means for people and women in particular by watching a recent BBC TV Big Questions programme in which I participated.

By the way, we have set up a free Helpline (which will be launched at our public meeting) for those who need help with and legal advice on Sharia law decisions. We are specifically targeting women and children who may not be aware of their rights under British law or fear to seek advice or go to secular courts due to pressures and/or threats. Confidentiality and the safety of those who call on us will be our main priorities. We will be collaborating with other advice organisations such as AdviceUK in order to provide high standard quality services and to find the best possible solutions available. Yassi Molazadeh, our Legal Coordinator, has already established a legal team to carry out much needed research in order to find ways in which we can bring a halt to these kangaroo courts but we do need lawyers, barristers and solicitors to provide pro bono legal advice to those who come to us for help. We also need volunteers to receive training in order to staff the Helpline and provide general information and referrals. All our work is being run by volunteers so if you want to help in any way, don’t hesitate to contact us. We need all the help we can get.

Moreover, we plan to go on a speaking tour across Britain and internationally after the March events in order to inform the public about and raise awareness on Sharia councils and tribunals. If you’d like us to come and speak in your area, just contact our Outreach Coordinator, Goranka Gudelj, to arrange it.

And please don’t forget to donate! All this work costs money and we can’t do it without your financial support. No amount is too small (or for that matter too big).

To donate, for more information, to download flyers, posters or a booking form for the March 7 London public meeting or to sign the petition, visit our website.

You can also contact us via:
BM Box 2387
London WC1N 3XX, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 7719166731
onelawforall@gmail.com

Hope to hear from you soon.

Best wishes

Maryam