The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain's first international conference on
Political Islam, Sharia Law and Civil Society held at Conway Hall on October
10 was a resounding success. Nearly 300 people came together to discuss
issues ranging from apostasy, the freedom to criticise and renounce
religion, Sharia law and civil society and creationism, faith schools and
religious education. Held on the International Day against the Death
Penalty, the conference was a stark reminder of the many killed or facing
execution for apostasy in countries ruled by Islamic laws.
You can see the report, complete film footage and photographs of the
conference by clicking on the first available internal link on the press
releases section of CEMB's website:
http://www.ex-muslim.org.uk/indexPressreleases.html.
The conference was opened by Fariborz Pooya (head of Iranian Secular
Society), the conference's Master of Ceremonies. After a welcome from Giles
Enders on behalf of Conway Hall and Zia Zaffar on behalf of CEMB's Executive
Committee, the audience watched a clip from Patty Debonitas' film 'Breaking
the taboo.' Maryam Namazie, the CEMB's spokesperson, then gave an opening
address, saying that the political Islamic movement used rights and
anti-racist language for western consumption so that it could go about its
business as usual. She said: 'While Islamic organisations here talk in PR
speak, they, their courts, their schools, their leaders are nothing but
extensions of Islamic states.' She went on to say 'In the end, political
Islam matters to people because it affects their lives, their rights, their
freedoms. And that's why only a movement that puts people first can mobilise
the force needed to stop it.'
This was followed by Plenary 1 entitled 'Apostasy laws and the Freedom to
Renounce and Criticise Religion' chaired by Caspar Melville, editor of the
New Humanist. Panellists were Mina Ahadi (head of the Council of ex-Muslims
of Germany); AC Grayling (philosopher and author), Ehsan Jami (former head
of the Council of Ex-Muslims of the Netherlands), Fariborz Pooya, Hanne
Stinson (Chief Executive of the British Humanist Association) and Ibn Warraq
(author). The panellists called for the immediate release of all those
imprisoned for 'apostasy'; an abolition of the death penalty; and a
cancellation of laws wherever they exist that punish the right and freedom
to renounce or criticise Islam.
After lunch, comedian Nick Doody entertained the crowd with a routine
critical of religion. This was followed by Plenary 2 entitled 'Sharia Law
and Citizenship Rights'. It was chaired by Andrew Copson (Director of
Education and Public Affairs of the British Humanist Association);
panellists were Mahin Alipour (head of the Scandinavian Councils of
Ex-Muslims), Roy Brown (International Humanist and Ethical Union's
Representative at the UN Human Rights Council), Johann Hari (journalist),
Maryam Namazie and Ibn Warraq. The audience overwhelmingly supported the
following resolution at the end of the plenary: The conference calls on the
UK and European governments to bring an end to the use and implementation of
Sharia law, which is discriminatory against women and children in
particular, and to guarantee unconditional equal citizenship rights for all.
The audience then watched a remake of the right wing Dutch politician Geert
Wilders' film entitled Fitna Remade by Reza Moradi.
After a break, Richard Dawkins (scientist, author) provided his criticism of
Harun Yahya's Atlas of Creation for which his site has been banned in
Turkey, which was followed by questions and answers from the audience.
This was followed by Plenary 3 entitled 'Creationism, Religious Education
and Faith Schools,' which was chaired by Keith Porteous Wood (Executive
Director of the National Secular Society). Panellists were Richard Dawkins,
Terry Sanderson (President of the NSS), Joan Smith (journalist and
activist), Bahram Soroush (Labour Solidarity Committee Public Relations
Officer), and Hamid Taqvaee (leader of the Worker-communist Party of Iran).
The audience showed their unequivocal opposition to faith schools here.
Maryam Namazie closed the conference by calling on the participants to
mobilise around March 8 - International Women's Day - to step up opposition
against Sharia law and political Islam. As she had said earlier: 'In the
end, political Islam matters to people because it affects their lives, their
rights, their freedoms. And that's why only a movement that puts people
first can mobilise the force needed to stop political Islam. And it must -
it will - be stopped.'
Throughout the day, various CEMB representatives spoke with the media,
including the BBC, Al Arabiya TV, Italian state TV, The Wall Street Journal,
CNS News, etc.
To read Richard Dawkins' thoughts on the conference, visit
http://richarddawkins.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=60487.
To see AC Grayling's report on the conference in The Guardian, visit
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/16/religion-islam-humanism
-secularism-conway-hall)
To donate to the important work of the CEMB, please visit:
http://www.ex-muslim.org.uk/indexDonate.html. We are currently raising funds
for a full-time staff person and office space.
To see our first annual report, please go to:
http://www.ex-muslim.org.uk/eng/pressreleases/press-pages/annual-report-exmu
slim-0908site.pdf
For more information, please contact Maryam Namazie at
maryamnamazie@gmail.com or call +44 (0) 7719166731.
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