Join with Maryam Namazie and CEMB to defeat radical Islam

Maryam Namazie, the extremely courageous Iranian human rights activist based in Great Britain, gave this presentation to explain the purpose of the Council of ExMuslims of Britain (CEMB). According to the Koran, apostasy is punishable by stoning to death. In the west, radical Islamists have access to Internet web sites they can use to condemn and threaten Muslims who dare to leave Islam, or convert to another faith, or speak out against the misogyny, oppression and hatred of radical political Islam.Peace loving people around the world must support CEMB and other organizations and people who are inspired to action by Maryam's vision and bravery. Here are actions you can take to support CEMB. (Go to http://tinyurl.com/2dwu4e)

* Sign on to CEMB campaigns and urgent actions.

* Add your name and statement to CEMB's list of members or supporters.

* Volunteer your time and expertise. CEMB particularly needs help in charity law, conference organising, researching, writing and broadcasting.

* Tell others about CEMB by forwarding recent media coverage or CEMB press releases to everyone you know...

* Donate money

* Participate in the CEMB forum discussions

* Join the Facebook group, "1,000,000 activists for Maryam Namazie"

According to the writer and philosopher A. C. Grayling, CEMB's manifesto constitutes a bill of rights which is absolutely necessary for everyone, non-religious and otherwise, to adopt and observe now that the world is again experiencing, with such bitterness, widespread religion-generated difficulties.

CEMB manifesto

We, non-believers, atheists, and ex-Muslims, are establishing or joining the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain to insist that no one be pigeonholed as Muslims with culturally relative rights nor deemed to be represented by regressive Islamic organisations and "Muslim community leaders".

Those of us who have come forward with our names and photographs represent countless others who are unable or unwilling to do so because of the threats faced by those considered 'apostates' - punishable by death in countries under Islamic law.

By doing so, we are breaking the taboo that comes with renouncing Islam but also taking a stand for reason, universal rights and values, and secularism.

Whilst religion or the lack thereof is a private affair, the increasing intervention of and devastation caused by religion and particularly Islam in contemporary society has necessitated our public renunciation and declaration. We represent a majority in Europe and a vast secular and humanist protest movement in countries like Iran.

Taking the lead from the Central Council of Ex-Muslims in Germany, we demand:

1. Universal rights and equal citizenship for all. We are opposed to cultural relativism and the tolerance of inhuman beliefs, discrimination and abuse in the name of respecting religion or culture.
2. Freedom to criticise religion. Prohibition of restrictions on unconditional freedom of criticism and expression using so-called religious 'sanctities'.
3. Freedom of religion and atheism.
4. Separation of religion from the state and legal and educational system.
5. Prohibition of religious customs, rules, ceremonies or activities that are incompatible with or infringe people's rights and freedoms.
6. Abolition of all restrictive and repressive cultural and religious customs which hinder and contradict woman's independence, free will and equality. Prohibition of segregation of sexes.
7. Prohibition of interference by any authority, family members or relatives, or official authorities in the private lives of women and men and their personal, emotional and sexual relationships and sexuality.
8. Protection of children from manipulation and abuse by religion and religious institutions.
9. Prohibition of any kind of financial, material or moral support by the state or state institutions to religion and religious activities and institutions.
10. Prohibition of all forms of religious intimidation and threats.

Editorial comment

The Koran, Bible, and Jewish bible all contain harsh words and advocate cruel treatment to intimidate believers from leaving and non-believers for refusing to believe. This is ignorant tribal thinking unworthy of modern people. Join the gathering storm of protest against such stupidity and backwardness. Insist your faith community openly, publically, emphatically and continually renounces all the passages in your holy text and directives that contain injunctions against apostasy and non-belief. Withdraw financial support if they refuse. An even more effective strategy is to find a more modern approach to search for answers to the transcendental questions life poses (if you believe such questions are worthwhile pondering) and vote with your feet. Be sure to tell your cleric why you are leaving. You have the power to force your faith community to conform to fair and reasonable demands. Don't be a lamb, be a lion. Maryam Namazie is showing you the way.

When leaving doesn´t mean you have left

Surveys like the recent Pew Research Center, Religious Landscape Survey tell us nothing about the long term impact of belonging to a religion. To point out that some people who were indoctrinated in a religion as a child were later able to leave says nothing about the lingering effects their scrape with religion has on them. It says nothing about the time, over possibly years, they wasted that could have been put to constructive secular efforts to improve their lives and communities. Nor does it say anything about the family connections that were damaged, and possibly destroyed by their leaving. Likewise, the childhood friends they have lost that no longer speak to them.

Yes, some people who were indoctrinated during early childhood maybe able to break away when they leave their family home and go out into the world. Many apostates look back in anger and disgust when they contemplate the loss of their childhood to religion or think about how they were duped. Some children who belong to sects like Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventist are marginalized by their peers because they cannot participate in the youth culture all around them. They have no idea how to be "cool" or what to talk about, how to dress or what is happening in popular culture. To be marginalized as a teen is the worst fate that can befall them.

If they were captured by a fundamentalist sect we can assume they absorbed a lot of sexism and mis-information about American history, government, science, their sexuality, and human reproduction. Once free, they don't suddenly subscribe to Mother Jones, and start reading On the Origin of Species or the philosophy of John Locke, David Hume, and Emmanual Kant. If a child is led into a church at the age of 3 and does not escape until they are 18 they have experienced 15 years of mind rape, the effects of which are not suddenly going to dissipate overnight. Leaving a religion is a long process for most people. It can take years and apostates can suffer debilitating anguish in the process. Many require professional psychological assistance and help from support groups. And yes, I use the terms "captured", "mind rape" and "escape" advisedly.

Atheists waste precious time studying and debating the faithful over esoteric theological or historical points and rarely make believers see the light anyway. So why waste time debating theology? Let's plow the more fertile ground of apostasy. Because, there is absolutely no defense for the way that apostates are treated, or should I say mistreated. You don't need to be an expert to understand the harm that follows an apostate's decision to leave. Or for that matter, the mental anguish they go through coming to the decision.

Why do believers feel they have a right to treat apostates badly? It doesn't help that all their holy texts tell them to do this in plain language. Let's debate religionists on this point. This is where they will have a hard time justifying themselves. I seriously doubt ecclesiastic authorities give the slightest thought whatsoever to the harm their religions might do to their members. Except maybe a few Catholic Bishops are beginning to understand that pederasty among their priests probably harms their bottom line. No pun intended.

Besides encouragement by religious texts, there are more mundane reasons that apostates get treated badly. In some respects the apostate is like a bad omen -- they are treated like they have a communicable disease. If they are disgruntled they may just pull more members from the tribe. Secondly, there is the financial loss of the apostate's tithes. If a lot of the clan depart, repairing the steeple, replacing the roof and repaving the parking lot might be impossible. Members that stay ask, "now how are we to pay the electric bill and repay the loan we have from the bank?" Some "stayers" are heavy stakeholders. They have put money, time and effort in their institutions. If a lot of members follow the apostate out the door, those left behind are like people holding devalued stock certificates. Psychologically, many cannot swallow the loss and move on so they continue to stay even though they may have chewed all the flavor out of their religious gum a long time ago.

We sometimes protest religions that proselytize, even though social liberals say criticizing religions for this practice is wrong. After all we secularists make concerted efforts to gain adherents to our point of view. Thoroughly understanding and then attacking the harm that religions do to their members minds and wallets should not elicit the same kinds of objections. And it cannot be turned against us because we put no pressure on people to come or go. We offer no blandishments of immortality or threats of hell.