part time job minneapolis

date: 16 mar 2008



comment:



 



subject: it's time to take a stand against islam and sharia

  

it's time to take a stand against islam and sharia

the times, uk

wednesday, march 12, 2008

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article3530256.ece

 

maryam namazie, head of the council of

ex-muslims in britain, says that rights are for

individuals, not religions or beliefs

 

picture this, says maryam namazie: "a child is

swathed in cloth from head to toe every day.

everything but her face and hands are covered for

fear that a man might find her attractive. at

school she learns that she is worth less than a

boy. she is not allowed to dance or swim or feel

the sun on her skin or the wind in her hair. this

is clearly unacceptable, yet it is accepted when

it is done in the name of religion."

 

namazie is the founder of the council of

ex-muslims in britain (cemb) which started life in

the middle of last year. on monday -- in

celebration of the centenary of international

women's day -- she spoke at a conference on

political islam and women's rights, and launched a

campaign against sharia.

 

iranian muslim by birth, namazie, 41, is friendly

and softly spoken. but she does not mince her

words. it takes nerve to start an organisation for

people who have rejected islam. in islamic law,

apostasy is punishable by death. namazie receives

periodic threats, usually on her mobile phone:

"one said, 'you are going to be decapitated'...i

went to the police. they were very attentive at

first because they thought it might be linked to

the attempted bombings in glasgow . but when they

realised it wasn't, they never bothered contacting

me again." doesn't she worry about her safety?

"yes, i do, frequently. i worry about whether i

will live, especially now i am a mother. if i see

someone looking at me strangely, i wonder." why

doesn't she use a pseudonym? "they can find out

who you are anyway. and the point of the council

of ex-muslims is to stand up and be counted." she

doesn't really like the label ex-muslim and would

prefer not to frame her identity in religious

terms but, she says, it is like gays "coming out"

30 years ago: something has to become public if

you are to break taboos. the cemb has more than

100 members with inquiries from people who do not

dare to join. "some have horrendous stories but do

not put them on the website because they are

afraid."

 

namazie's grandfather was a mullah and her father

was brought up a strict muslim. both of her

parents (now living in america) remain muslim.

when namazie told her father about the launch of

the cemb, she remembers that he said: "oh no,

grandpa is going to be turning in his grave." "so

i told him that what i am doing benefits muslims,

too, because if you live in a secular society, you

can be a muslim, a sikh, a christian or an atheist

and be treated equally." namazie's opposition to

state religion is informed by her own experience.

she was 12 when the iranian revolution "was

hijacked by the ayatollahs" and her country became

the islamic republic of iran.

 

"i had never worn the veil and was at a mixed

school. suddenly a strange man appeared in the

playground. he was bearded and had been sent to

separate the sexes -- but we ran circles round

him." she can still picture, too, the face of "the

hezbollah" who stopped her in the street because

her head was uncovered. "i was 12 or 13. it was

really scary." worse happened to others: "there

were beatings and acid was thrown in women's

faces, and there were executions on television

every day," she says. then her school was closed

"for islamicisation".

 

namazie and her mother left for india. they lived

in a b&b in delhi and namazie attended the british

school while her father and three-year-old sister

remained in tehran. this was meant to be a

temporary measure, but soon her father --a

journalist -- decided that they all had to leave.

the family spent a year in bournemouth before

travelling to the us where, when namazie was 17,

they were granted residency.

 

at university, she joined the united nations

development programme and went to work with

ethiopian refugees in sudan. "six months after i

ethiopian refugees in sudan. "six months after i


arrived sudan became an islamic state. i was,


like, this is following me around!" along with


others, namazie started an unofficial human rights


organisation, gathering information on the


government. the sudanese security service called


her in for questioning. "i wasn't very respectful


and the un guy who came with me said, 'no wonder


your parents took you out of iran'. the sudanese


guy threatened me, saying, 'you don't know what


will happen to you. you might have a motorbike


accident or something'." the un quietly put her on


a plane home.


 


this was a turning point, shifting her from


non-practising muslim to atheist. two decades on,


she is devoting her life to opposing religious


power. she is in the midst of organising the first


international conference of ex-muslims, to be held


in london on october 10. and she is about to


launch a "no sharia" campaign.



launch a "no sharia" campaign.

 

she must have been shocked, i suggest, when the

archbishop of canterbury said the introduction of

some sharia in britain was unavoidable. no, she

says; she wasn't even surprised. "it was quite

apt, although he didn't expect the reaction he

got. it was an attack on secularism really. it is,

in a sense, to his benefit if there are muslim

schools and sharia. it makes it less likely that

anyone will oppose christian schools and the

privileged place of religion in society."

 

she is adamant, though, that no form of sharia

should be allowed here. "it is fundamentally

discriminatory and misogynist," she says and is

dismissive of the idea that people would be able

to choose between sharia and civil jurisdiction.

women could be railroaded into a sharia court, she

says. "this would hit people who need the

protection of british law more than anyone else."

 

she believes that we are confused about the

meaning of human rights. "rights are for

individuals, not for religions or beliefs. 'every

human is equal' does not mean that every belief is

equal." islamists portray themselves as victims,

she says, and policymakers have bought into this.

namazie says that the muslim council of britain

should not be seen as representative of british

muslims --but would nonetheless welcome any

opportunities to debate with it. "ex-muslims are

in a good position to challenge political islam,"

she says. "we must not let little girls or anyone

else lose their human rights. we can't tolerate

the intolerable for any reason -- including

religion."

 

council of ex-muslims in britain

www.ex-muslim.org.uk

exmuslimcouncil@googlemail.com; 07719-166731;

http://www.maryamnamazie.com

  

000000000

Service Unavailable

Service Unavailable


HTTP Error 503. The service is unavailable.