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Showing posts with label Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain. Show all posts
Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain ✊8 November Global Day Of Action For Student Who Removed Her Clothes In Tehran

On 2 November, a female student from Tehran's Science and Research University (apparently called Ahu Daryaei) removed her clothes on campus in protest to being harassed by security forces over mandatory hijab rules. 

She was violently beaten, arrested and reportedly transferred to a psychiatric ward.

It is the Islamic regime of Iran’s control and suppression of women’s bodies, it is sharia, compulsory veiling, the hatred of women that is the madness, not women’s defiance and screams against misogyny.

When being a woman is a crime, when women’s bodies, hair, voices, sexuality are deemed blasphemous, corrupt and a source of fitnah, nudity becomes an important form of resistance.

FEMEN and One Law for All stand with #StudentOfScienceResearch and demand her immediate release.

We call on women everywhere to join an International Day of Action for the #StudentOfScienceResearch by posting photos and videos of ourselves on Friday 8 November using these hashtags:

#GirlOfScienceResearch

#دختر_علوم_تحقیقات

Alarm At New Sikh Court

For many years, One Law for All, Southall Black Sisters (SBS) and other organisations in the UK have campaigned against religious courts like the Sharia courts or Beth Dinn. We are extremely concerned to see the recent establishment of a Sikh court as well.

Religious courts actively undermine and obstruct access to justice and violate women’s and children’s rights. Rather than establishing more religious courts that represent the fundamentalist agenda, we call on the government to end the religious-Right's use of the Arbitration Act 1996 in family matters and end religious courts once and for all.

For more information on the new Sikh court, see:

The Sikh Court: Parallel Justice Systems are a Danger to Women

In peril: religious authorities are closing in on minority women’s rights!

Events

Maryam Namazie gave the keynote address at the October 19 National Secular Society Secularism 2024 conference arguing against the notion that 'East' and 'West' are fundamentally and irreconcilably different, by stressing our common humanity.

Focusing on the story of the secular 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement in Iran that followed the murder of Mahsa Jina Amini, Namazie urged secularists to act in solidarity ‘across borders and boundaries’ in defence of universal values.

Her speech on ‘confronting identity politics, a breeding ground for division and dehumanisation’ can be found in The Freethinker.

Other upcoming speaking engagements this month:

14 November 2024, Cambridge Union, ‘This House Believes Feminism is Incompatible with Religion’. See details.

29 November-1 December 2024, Reggio Emilia, Giornate della laicita festival. See details.

For more information or to donate, visit One Law for All’s website.

Day Of Action In Support Of Iranian Woman & Sikh Courts

Maryam Namazie ✊ On 1 July, Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB) marched at Pride in London to celebrate Liberation as Riot and defend the revolution in Iran that is challenging Islam and Islamism and defending Woman, Life, Freedom, LGBT rights, secularism and more.

1-July--2023
On this day, we also raged against the execution and murder of women, dissenters, LGBT, apostates and blasphemers in countries under Islamic law. 


Just this year alone, over 300 dissenters have been executed by the regime in Iran, including Youssef Mehrad and Seyed Sadrullah Fazlizare for blasphemy in May.

See photos and video footage here.

Maryam Namazie is an Iranian-born activist and Spokesperson of the
Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain and One Law for All.

CEMB Celebrated Liberation As A Riot And Woman, Life, Freedom Revolution In Iran At Pride

Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB) ✒ View posters online marking 1 February #WorldHijabDay's #FreeFromHijab. Feel free to download and use.


‘Hijab Day is like FGM or Breast-Ironing Day: a celebration of misogyny and sexism.’ – Maryam Namazie

‘Human beings are worthy of respect but not all beliefs must be respected.’ – Maryam Namazie, 1998

‘The chador and burqa are like a mobile prison and body bag… Why should women’s bodies, rights and lives be restricted because religion, a husband or the regressive imam down the street demand it?’ – Maryam Namazie, 2007

‘Take away all the pressure, intimidation and threats and you will see how many remain veiled.’ – Maryam Namazie, 2007

‘Are we really expected to respect a belief that women are sub-human or girls should be veiled? And does anyone in their right mind think that such beliefs are equal or equally valid to progressive ideals fought for by generations?’ – Maryam Namazie, 2006

‘A woman’s right to choose must be preceded by legal and social sexual equality. If you consider the veil on a social scale, it represents neither a right nor a choice and it is a lie to say otherwise.’ – Maryam Namazie, 2007

‘The veil is not a piece of clothing. Just as the straitjacket or body bag are not pieces of clothing. Just as the chastity belt was not a piece of clothing. Just as the Star of David pinned on Jews during the holocaust was not just a bit of cloth.’ – Maryam Namazie, 2007

‘Yes, I am intolerant, as we all should be. Intolerant of misogyny.’ – Maryam Namazie, 2007

‘The veil is a symbol like no other of what it means to be female under Islam: hidden from view, restricted and suppressed. Consigned to walking around with a mobile prison of one’s own.
Separate and unequal. The outrage of our century.’ – Maryam Namazie, 2008

‘Like racial apartheid, sex apartheid demands that women and girls be veiled, sit at the back of buses, and enter via separate entrances. Yet, women in Iran continue to refuse and resist, including by unveiling, even though they are arrested, fined and harassed daily.’ – Maryam Namazie, 2010

‘My body is not obscene, veiling it is.’ – Maryam Namazie, 2012

‘I don’t think I am the source of fitnah or chaos in the world if unveiled and therefore find the veil abhorrent.’ – Maryam Namazie, 2013

‘Islamists want us hidden in veils, not seen and not heard. We refuse to comply.’ – Maryam Namazie, 2014

‘When it’s a crime to be a woman, nude protest is a form of resistance. It says: Enough! No More! I will be nude, I will protest, and I will challenge you to your very core!’ – Maryam Namazie, 2014

‘Accusations of Islamophobia is a smokescreen that serves to legitimise Islamist terror and violence and blame the victims.It says criticism of Islam and Islamism are forbidden, blasphemy laws are required and that, therefore, threats and actual murder of critics is perfectly legitimate.’ – Maryam Namazie, 2016

‘The idealised woman in islam is obedient, properly veiled, submissive, and accepting of her assigned “place” in society. The rest of us are whores, compared to unwrapped sweets – covered in flies and free for the taking.’ – Maryam Namazie, 2014

‘Modesty culture, of which the veil is central, sexualises girls from a young age, puts the onus on them to protect themselves. It removes male accountability for violence. It’s an extension of rape culture.’ – Maryam Namazie, 2018

#WorldHijabDay
#FreeFromHijab
#NoHijabDay

On #HijabDay, We Are #Free from Hijab

Maryam Namazie ✒ highlighting the cruel predicament of an Iranian secularist blogger.

26-October-2021

Over 200 organisations and individuals have called for the release of an Iranian blogger imprisoned for ‘blasphemy’.

Soheil Arabi 

An initiative launched by Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB), Atheist Republic and Ex-Muslims of Scandinavia aims to free Soheil Arabi (pictured), who has been imprisoned in Iran since 2013.

The National Secular Society is one of more than 200 organisations and individuals from around the world who pledged their support to mark ‘International Soheil Day‘ on 3 October.

Arabi was sentenced to death in November 2013 on charges of “insulting the Prophet of Islam” in Facebook posts that were critical of the Iranian state and some senior officials.

Due to public pressure, his sentence was commuted in 2015 to several years’ imprisonment and two years of mandatory study of Islamic theology. Whilst in prison, he has continued to speak out to expose inhumane prison conditions and defend freedom of thought.

In August he was sentenced to another two years in prison for “spreading propaganda with the intention of disturbing public opinion”.

On 7 October he was summoned to court to face additional charges, including “offensive statements against the supreme leader of Iran”. Arabi and another civil activist refused to attend the court or accept its legitimacy and were threatened and beaten as a result. The two men have been on hunger strike since 19 October.

Last week Arabi’s mother, Farangiz Mazloum, was summoned to serve an 18-month prison sentence for demanding justice for her son. In an interview with Iran International, Mazloum said the regime had begun arresting mothers to prevent protests commemorating those killed during the 2019 ‘Bloody November’ protests in Iran.

Mazloum said she is extremely concerned about her son’s situation and has not heard from him.

In 2017 Arabi won Reporters Without Borders’s Press Freedom Prize. The prize honours courageous and independent journalists who have faced threats or imprisonment for their work and who have challenged the abuse of power.

CEMB spokesperson Maryam Namazie said:

Every day must be Soheil Day if we are going to save his life and secure his freedom. Freedom of conscience, including the freedom not to follow a religion and to criticise religion, is a basic human right. Soheil is saying this loud and clear from an Iranian prison at great risk to his life. The least we can do is stand with him and his mother, and ensure they are never alone or forgotten until Soheil is free.

CEMB encourages supporters to take the following action to support Soheil Arabi:

  • Sign a petition at Change.org calling for his release. It currently has over 100,000 signatures.
  • Send a postcard to Arabi and his mother expressing your support and solidarity. You can post the postcard to BM Box 1919, London WC1N 3XX.
  • Raise awareness on social media using the hashtags #FreeSoheil #SoheilDay #SoheilArabi and #FarangizMazloum.
  • Raise his case with human rights organisations urging them to make it a priority.

Maryam Namazie is an Iranian-born activist and Spokesperson 
of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain and One Law for All.

Campaigners Call For Release Of Iranian Blogger Who ‘Insulted Islam’

Maryam Namazie ✒ On Saturday 20 November from 6-8pm, CEMB is screening Women Leaving Islam for the first time in London.

After the film, there will be a panel discussion on Blasphemous Women and Equality. 

Speakers include Somali Ex-Muslim Voices Founder Halima Salat, CEMB Spokesperson Maryam Namazie, Youtuber Nuriyeh Khan, Clinical Psychologist Savin Bapir-Tardy, and Writer and Southall Black Sisters Activist Rahila Gupta, amongst others. 

Tickets are £5.00. Due to Covid rules, space is limited so please get your tickets today.

Maryam Namazie is an Iranian-born activist and Spokesperson 
of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain and One Law for All.

Blasphemous Women And Equality Film Screening and Discussion

Maryam Namazie ✒ On 30 September, #BlasphemyDay, Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB) published The Woman’s Quran (114 Pages for 114 Surahs).

 
It is blank because all religions degrade women and because the Quran, Islam and Islamism are the greatest stumbling blocks in the way of women’s emancipation. (*A reference to US Suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s “The Bible and the Church have been the greatest stumbling blocks in the way of women’s emancipation”.)

You can download it here and fill it with your hopes, dreams and blasphemies: A6 Quran final artwork complete book for online 114 pages.


Maryam Namazie is an Iranian-born activist and Spokesperson
of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain and One Law for All.

The Woman's Quran

The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain has been in dispute with a Dutch publication.

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 rights of Muslims and ex-Muslims as well as the rights to apostasy and blasphemy at Pride in London.

CEMB urged the publication to rectify the falsities. Suhonic clearly has a right to criticise our organisation and work but the use of false statements to ‘prove’ his points was unethical and libellous and aimed only to damage and defame.

ON 16th July, we received an email from the publication – see below – saying that one of the mistakes in his piece was rectified but the more important false claim on far-right support was not. We were told that since we were not a Dutch organisation, we could not publish our opinion piece but that they would consider a letter to the editor. We sent a shorter letter to the editor on 17th July (it was even translated for their ease) and though we emailed a number of times inquiring about its publication, we have yet to see our letter published and are therefore making it available to the public.

The longer opinion piece in Dutch was published today on Vrij Links. You can read it here.

The English version of the opinion piece is below, as is the email received from the paper and our shortened letter to the editor, which was never published. 

Update: After a number of contacts with the publication, our short letter to the editor was published on 31 July 2019. You can see the letter here.

Shortened Letter To The Editor In English 

Mr. Suhonic has made false claims regarding Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB). We are one of the largest and oldest progressive ex-Muslim groups worldwide. We defend LGBT rights of ex-Muslims and Muslims and the rights to apostasy and blasphemy. 

In struggling for these rights, we enact the rights that we demand. We blaspheme to win the right to blasphemy and reject religion to defend the right to apostasy. This public resistance when we can be shunned or killed for celebrating who we are is particularly apt to Gay Pride. 

Like women demanding the right to vote or blacks demanding an end to Jim Crow laws, we will blaspheme until we will no longer be killed for it. This may cause Mr Suhonic offence but defending the rights of those that offend religious morality has always been a cornerstone of progressive politics. After all, there are some Muslims who are offended by those who are Muslim and gay. 

Offence cannot be justification to deny minorities within minorities their rights. Mr Suhonic’s conflating blasphemy with far-Right support is like absurdly conflating his belief in Islam with support from Islamism! For us, Islamism is our far-Right and fundamentally no different from other religious-Right and racist movements. Bigotry affects us and our families too but we will not excuse fundamentalism because of racism nor racism because of fundamentalism.

Jimmy Bangash and Maryam Namazie
CEMB Spokespersons



Jimmy Bangash en Maryam Namazie
CEMB woordvoerders

Email from the publication. 

On 16 Jul 2019, at 15:45, Het hoogste woord wrote:

Dear Mrs. Namazie,

Thank you, for your email and taking the effort to translate it to Dutch. After consulting with the author, I have made some changes to the article on our website. The sentence about the “Fuck islam-placard” has been removed. I added an editorial comment at the bottom of the article. Mr. Suhonic asked me to tell you he regrets his mistake.

Regarding your comment about the support for CEMB, I clarified in the article that Mr Suhonic meant “support on social media”, not financial support.

I would like to offer you the chance to reply and clarify your activities and position, however a full opinion piece would be too much, since you are not a Dutch organization and the remarks about your activities in Mr. Suhonic article are not the focus of the article. You are welcome to write a short response (around 150 words), which I will consider for publication in the ‘Letters to the newspaper’ section.

Met vriendelijke groet, kind regards,
Jesse Beentjes
Coördinator Het Hoogste Woord
Jacob Bontiusplaats 9, 1018 LL Amsterdam 


The Longer Opinion Piece We Initially Wrote To Refute Suhonic’s False Claims About Cemb – Dutch Has Been Published In Vrij Links


On 15 Jul 2019, at 09:58, CEMB
wrote:

To whom it may concern

Your newspaper Het Parool published a piece by Dino Suhonic, director of Maruf, platform for queer Muslims in the Netherlands where a number of intentionally false statements were made on the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain and our fight for LGBT rights of Muslims and ex-Muslims as well as the rights to apostasy and blasphemy.

CEMB urges your publication to rectify the falsities. Suhonic clearly has a right to criticise our organisation and work but the use of false statements to ‘prove’ his points is unethical and libelous and aims only to damage and defame.

The false statements are as follows:

“This group has previously been accused of spreading Muslim hatred by using slogans such as ‘Fuck Islam’.” Firstly, CEMB never had a placard that said ‘Fuck Islam’ but ‘Fuck Islamic Homophobia’. Criticising religious homophobia is integral to the fight for the rights of minorities within minorities and dissenters. Blasphemy and apostasy are not hatred against believers but a challenge to religious ideas and dogma. The conflation of criticism of religious dogma or the religious-Right with hatred against believers is an attempt to impose blasphemy and apostasy laws where none exist.

Your paper can see information and footage of our participation at Pride over the three years. There is no ‘Fuck Islam’ placard. In any case, opposition to a religion or belief is not bigotry against people.

https://www.ex-muslim.org.uk/2019/07/cemb-marches-at-pride-in-london-2019-as-imams-of-perpetual-indulgence/

https://www.ex-muslim.org.uk/2018/07/cemb-at-pride-2018-in-london/

https://www.ex-muslim.org.uk/2017/08/open-letter-to-pride-defend-the-council-of-ex-muslims/

Suhanic also falsely says:

“They receive support mainly from right-wing groups, who show their solidarity by jointly fighting ‘against the Islamisation of Britain’.”

CEMB is a progressive organisation that works with other progressive organisations, many of them minority-run, anti-Racist and anti-cultural relativist. We are unequivocally against Islamism and all other far-Right movements. We see Islamism as far-Right too and believe the stop Islamisation groups are fundamentally no different from the Islamists. They are fundamentally misogynist, homophobic, anti-Semitic, xenophobic, and rely on religion, hate and violence to further their cause. CEMB is an anti-racist organisation that always defends the rights of Muslims and migrants despite any differences in belief. You can see some of our recent statements or interviews here that clearly show our position:

Making a stand against all forms of hate

Defining Islamophobia

https://www.ex-muslim.org.uk/2018/09/cemb-condemns-chinas-use-of-detention-camps-on-its-muslim-community/

CEMB fights on many fronts, against religious dogma, for the rights of women, LGBT, freedom of conscience and expression (which includes freedom from religion and atheism) and against racism and xenophobia… We won’t remain silent about fundamentalism or religious dogma because of racism or vice versa. We think we must fight them all in order to fully defend universal rights.

CEMB calls on your publication to give us the right to reply in your paper. The piece by Jimmy Bangash is below.

A translation will follow shortly.

We look forward to your immediate response.

Regards

Maryam Namazie
CEMB Spokesperson



******

By Jimmy Bangash
CEMB Spokesperson

Dino Suhonic’s article covering the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB) at Pride in London in Het Parool displays a poor understanding of the issues of apostasy and homosexuality impacting individuals of Muslim heritage. The article is littered with false claims, conflates blasphemy and apostasy with bigotry against believers and fails to acknowledge that Pride is a space for criticism of religion and the religious-Right.

It is deeply disappointing to see this article published without any attempt to fact check the absurd claims made by an individual so removed from the realities of our members’ lives – members who are predominantly from diaspora communities or are themselves refugees, hailing from Muslim-majority countries such as Iran, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain

Our organisation stands for universal human rights to be applied to all people across all countries. We have a longstanding history of working to support apostates internationally in Islamic states and supporting refugees and asylum seekers in the UK and internationally. We have unequivocally defended Muslims as can be seen from our work, including condemnation of China’s treatment of Muslims and Chechnya’s treatment of LGBT Muslims.

We actively oppose far-right and racist organisations, many of whom seek to attack us as foreigners. We also have Muslim families who are affected by bigotry and we face added pressures and threats from within because we are LGBT and/or ex-Muslims. We, therefore, understand better than most the vile effects of bigotry and the need to stand up to it unequivocally. We consistently stand for the human rights of all. Again, much of this commitment is visible with even a cursory glance at our work over 12 years.

CEMB at Pride

Life for LGBT people of Muslim heritage can be bleak. For many it involves living a closeted existence within Muslim ‘communities’ for fear of being ostracised or disowned. Religious institutions and theological teachings espoused by ‘community leaders’ range from preaching for our execution, through to advising us to live a life of celibacy. With 52% of polled British Muslims stating that homosexuality should be illegal and 47% stating that it is unacceptable for a gay person to become a teacher, it is clear that our ‘communities’ are the most homophobic within the UK.

The situation in Muslim-majority countries is even more dire. A 2013 PEW global study on Muslim Attitudes reported almost unilateral condemnation of homosexuality. Countries expressing the highest population acceptance of homosexuality were Uganda (12%), Mozambique (11%) and Bangladesh (10%) with the other 37 Muslim majority countries polled showing less than 10%. Appallingly, all 14 states that hold the death penalty for homosexuality are Muslim-majority countries. Importantly, many of these countries also have the death penalty for apostasy – for leaving the religion of Islam – as well as for blasphemy.

Pride provides a safe place to challenge this religious homophobia. Since its inception, Pride has been a place where LGBT people have been able to rally against political, cultural, and religious condemnation of homosexuality.

Whether it is gay ex-Muslims (GEMs) protesting with placards stating “Fuck Islamic Homophobia” and condemning the Islamic states that have the death penalty for homosexuality, or gay Muslims attempting to redefine the position of gays within Islam with placards of “Allah Love us All”, Pride currently provides the only safe place to galvanise public awareness to the diverse protests and messages of LGBT of Muslim heritage. A safety which is not afforded to us, on any level, by the wider Muslim ‘communities’.

For us, our presence at Pride has been hugely important because we have members who are LGBT and/or refugees who have fled countries where homosexuality is punishable by death. Many of the same Islamic states that kill LGBT, also kill apostates and blasphemers. Our presence is, therefore, crucial because it aims not only to defend LGBT rights of ex-Muslims and Muslims but also to push open the shrinking spaces for religious doubt and dissent. Our placards embody the dissent against religious dogma that has always been an important part in the fight for human rights. Just as criticism of Christianity or the Christian-Right at Pride are not hatred towards Christians, so too our placards and presence have nothing to do with hate and everything to do with the demand for human rights for all. The right to be gay, be an apostate or to be a blasphemer without fear, ostracisation or threats to our lives.

Pride is one of the very few public spaces where we can come out, loud and proud – as LGBT and/or ex-Muslims – without fear. This is something we will continue to do despite vilifications and misinformation promoted by Dino Suhonic and others like him who cannot see how the rights and lives of LGBT and ex-Muslims are linked. To defend the rights of one we must defend the rights of all despite differences in beliefs and opinions.

hello@ex-muslim.org.uk
www.ex-muslim.org.uk

Dutch Longer Opinion Piece Published In Vrij Links.

Translations into Dutch by Leon Korteweg




Maryam Namazie is a political activist and write.  She is also spokesperson for the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain.



Follow Maryam Namazie on Twitter @MaryamNamazie

We Understand Intolerance Better Than Most - Blasphemy Is Not Bigotry

Maryam Namazie on the CEMB participation in Pride London as the 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 for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice that terrorise people by enforcing Islamic morality codes with brute force in the countries some of us have fled from, we were the Council for the Promotion of Vice and the Prevention of Virtue.

Our imams were not the usual imams promoting death for thinking and loving freely but instead included dissenting topless women who subverted Islamic morality language by being Imams of Vice, Lust, Kofr, Zina…

Instead of our fingers pointing upwards towards Allah, our fingers pointed downwards negating his existence…

Our imams also wore pink triangles on our bodies to signify the continuation of the persecution of LGBT, particularly in countries under Islamic rules.

And like every year before, CEMB stood in solidarity with ex-Muslim, Muslim and other LGBT murdered in Islamic states and defended LGBT from minority communities here in Britain and elsewhere whilst highlighting Islamic homophobia – whether at the East London Mosque, against equality in schools in Birmingham or in Brunei, Chechnya, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey…

For us, our presence at Pride has been hugely important because we have members who are LGBT and/or refugees who have fled countries where homosexuality is punishable by death. Many of the very same Islamic states that kill LGBT, also kill apostates and blasphemers.

Our presence is, therefore, crucial because it aims not only to defend LGBT rights of ex-Muslims and Muslims but also to push open the shrinking spaces for doubt and dissent. Pride is one of the very few public spaces where we can come out, loud and proud – as LGBT and/or ex-Muslims – without fear.

Unsurprisingly, as in previous years, social media has erupted with threats and intimidation because as always apostasy and blasphemy are considered worse than the murder of LGBT, apostates and blasphemers. Some “Sheikh” has even called for a joint statement of imams against CEMB because apparently, he fears “the punishment of Allah will descend.” And as usual, we have been accused of “Islamophobia.”

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we must reiterate that apostasy and blasphemy are not bigotry against people. Criticism of religion AND the religious-Right have always been an important part of the struggle for basic human rights and equality. Pride is still the scene of criticism against not just the Christian-Right but also Christianity. So why not Islamism AND Islam? Why should God or Jesus be Queer or Gay but not Allah? Why shouldn’t we be able to poke fun at Islam without fear?

CEMB will write further about these issues but there are somethings that must be said to “progressive” Muslim LGBT groups right away:

You use the language of the oppressor and reiterate accusations of “Islamophobia” because you say we “tar the whole faith.” But Islam is your faith not ours. And until the day we can blaspheme and leave Islam without fear, we will continue to celebrate and normalise blasphemy and apostasy, which is also a basic human right like the right to expression, opinion, religion or belief.

Also, inclusion, equality, rights, love and respect are for people not beliefs. To respect people and their rights, beliefs (even those that are sacred to some) must be open to ridicule, condemnation, criticism and even disrespect.

It would do some LGBT Muslim groups well to learn from CEMB and defend people’s rights even whilst disagreeing with their beliefs or views. CEMB has always unequivocally defended the rights of Muslim LGBT or migrants without accepting Islam. That is the whole point of the fight for equality and rights and stems from our common humanity. Unfortunately, because of narrow-minded identity politics, some LGBT Muslim groups cannot seem to comprehend that our rights and lives are intrinsically linked. LGBT Muslims cannot just defend their own rights whilst throwing ex-Muslim LGBT under a bus. Also, believers cannot just defend the right to religion without also defending the right to leave or criticise religion. To defend your rights, you must also defend ours. To liberate one, you must liberate all.


Topless Imams Of Perpetual Indulgence

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