Tag: Pride
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We understand intolerance better than most; Blasphemy is not Bigotry
On 15 July, Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB) wrote to the newspaper Het Parool to ask for a right to reply to a piece by Dino Suhonic, director of Maruf platform for queer Muslims in the Netherlands where a number of intentionally false statements were made about the CEMB and our fight for LGBT…
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CEMB marches at Pride in London 2019 as topless Imams of Perpetual Indulgence
On 6 July 2019, Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB) marched in Pride London for the 3rd time as an organisation. This year, we marked the 40th anniversary of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a rebellion against the church’s religious morality, by marching as the Imams of Perpetual Indulgence. Instead of being the Council…
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Pride parade in Vancouver rejects Iranian over veil float
The below piece was first published in The Freethinker. Iranian Shawn Shirazi and his group Cirque de So Gay were denied entry to the Pride Parade in Vancouver, Canada this year because their float criticising the veil was deemed to be ‘culturally [in]sensitive’. In the application for Cirque de So Gay, he wrote: Our entry in the…
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Pride has the chance to do the right thing
28 July 2017 Michael Salter-Church Alison Camps Co-Chairs – Pride in London Dear Michael Salter-Church and Alison Camps Thank you for your letter dated 21 July addressed to CEMB (available below). The crux of the issue, which you have failed to recognise, is this: Pride in London has taken complaints against the Council of Ex-Muslims…
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East London mosque has filed formal complaint about CEMB to Pride
This post was first published as ‘Criticism of Islam or Islamism is not anti-Muslim bigotry’, The Freethinker, 15 July 2017 East London mosque has filed a formal complaint regarding the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain’s presence in Pride in London and stated that our placards, including “East London mosque incites murder of LGBT” were “inciting hatred against Muslims” and…
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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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In Toronto LGBT Iranians were branded as ‘Islamophobes’
My latest piece in The Freethinker. At Toronto Pride on June 25 some ‘anti-fascists’ surrounded Iranian refugees and LGBTQ activists and absurdly chanted ‘No Hate at Pride’ – as if defending LGBTQ people in Iran or countries under Islamic rule is ‘hateful’. Police intervention ensured that they weren’t able to stop the Iranians from joining…