Tag: Islam
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Largest gathering of ex-Muslims in history
See this email online. The International Conference on Freedom of Conscience and Expression, the largest gathering of ex-Muslims in history, was held during 22-24 July 2017 in London. Over 70 notable speakers from 30 countries or the Diaspora gathered in what was dubbed “The Glastonbury of Freethinkers” and “a Conference of Heroes” to honour dissenters…
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Ex-Muslims out, loud and proud at Pride in London
On 8 July, CEMB was at Pride in London in full force highlighting the plight of LGBT in countries under Islamic rule with bodypainting by the award-winning Victoria Gugenheim. The march went ahead as planned, though police initially tried to remove placards with the slogan “Allah is Gay” because of complaints of “offence”. Whilst a…
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No Apologies
This is my letter to you, not you the racist or Islamist but you who I should call friend: I Accuse. Published in sister-hood, 27 June 2017. Spanish Translation This is my letter to you. Not you, the Islamist, who wants me silent or dead whilst dreaming of your vile caliphate, nor you, the racist,…
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Religion is fundamentally patriarchal and anti-woman
Below is my monthly column for The Freethinker entitled: Religion is fundamentally patriarchal and anti-woman, 25 May 2016 As US suffragette Elizabeth Cady Stanton once said: You may go over the world and you will find that every form of religion which has breathed upon this earth has degraded woman. In one Hadith, Mohammed, Islam’s prophet…
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Islam and Islamism as the greatest stumbling blocks for women’s emancipation
Our spokesperson, Maryam Namazie, was invited by Dabran Platform to speak at the Founding Congress of Enlightenment Feminism in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan (photos below). She spoke about Islam and Islamism as the greatest stumbling blocks for women’s emancipation and how Islamists target women and girls first – whether in Tehran, Peshawar or Manchester. Here’s her speech: Islam…
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On 8 March, International Women’s Day: Fuck modesty
My latest piece in The Freethinker to mark International Women’s Day. Wherever Islamism gains power and influence, it comes for women first. And it’s always a sign of worse to come, hence the saying: ‘the freedom of society is measured by the freedom of women.’ Islamism but also the Christian-Right, Buddhist-Right, Jewish-Right, Hindu-Right, Sikh-Right ……
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More restrictions at universities and words of warning
According to a recent report, more than nine in 10 UK universities are restrictive of free speech. This doesn’t surprise me at all. I continue to face restrictions of varying degrees, though this is changing due to the widespread push-back in defence of free expression. Nowadays, I find that universities don’t bar me outright as…
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Reason Rally 2016: Out, proud and loud for secularism
Below is my speech at Reason Rally 2016 on 4 June 2016 in Washington DC. I’m very happy to be here. Thanks to the organisers for this wonderful event. Thanks to all of you for coming out today. I think you should give yourselves a huge round of applause. It’s well deserved. In the age…
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Confronting Islamism with Secularism, Free Expression and Citizenship Rights
The below is my speech prepared for European Parliament meeting on 23 February 2016. Today, I would like to focus on the importance of defending secularism, universalism, free expression, and citizenship rights in confronting Islamism. To begin with, let me clarify the distinctions between Islam (an idea), Muslims (people) and Islamism (the religious-Right). The three…
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Free Speech: It’s not free unless it’s free for everyone
The below is Maryam Namazie’s opening remarks at Spiked Conference: The New Intolerance on Campus on “No Platform: should hate speech be free speech?” Freedom of speech in British universities is under heavier assault than ever before in large part due to the proclaimed desire by the National Union of Students (NUS) to maintain student…
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MARYAM NAMAZIE: Why I had to face down the bullies trying to silence my supposedly ‘offensive’ stance on Islam
Original published in Daily Mail on 9 January 2016 This week marked the first anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris. The atrocity was a brutal attack not just on human life but also on the principle of free speech, one of the pillars of human civilisation. In the aftermath of the killings, people…
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Video: Goldsmith University Islamist thugs fail to disrupt speech on blasphemy and apostasy
SEE VIDEO BELOW Maryam Namazie spoke on “apostasy, blasphemy and free expression in the age of ISIS” on 30 November 2015 at Goldsmiths University at the invitation of the Atheist, Secularist and Humanist Society (ASH). Goldsmiths Islamic Society (ISOC) called for the talk’s cancellation saying Maryam’s presence is “a violation to [their] safe space,” and…