International Conference in Dublin, Ireland, 29-30 June 2013
Monthly Archives: April 2013
Video shows Burmese police standing by as Buddhists attack Muslims
Footage emerges of police failing to prevent violence in Burma as EU prepares to lift all sanctions permanently.
Turkish composer and pianist convicted of blasphemy on Twitter
Fazil Say describes verdict as ‘sad for Turkey’ after being given suspended 10-month prison sentence for series of tweets.
Turkey: Sevan Nişanyan gets a lot of death threats
Sevan Nisanyan is a Turkish citizen of Armenian origin, living in Turkey, who is openly Atheist. He is also a public figure, an activist, an historian, a conservationist, an etymologist and more.
He spares no words when it comes to Islam and religion in general. He has many published books, is active on Facebook, twitter, and has a blog.
Of course he gets a lot of death threats.
But this video against him is especially interesting:
USA: Pastor Claims There Is ‘a Place for Slavery in Godly Cultures’
In a recently posted You Tube sermon [now made private], the pastor of Chalcedon Presbyterian Church, Dr. Joe Morecraft says in a Biblical society, the godly must own “the fool who despises God’s wisdom” because it’s the only way to keep those with a “slave mentality” from ruining other people’s families.
Based on Proverbs 11:29, Morecraft makes a case for Biblically justified enslavement of a man who does not “trust in Christ” since slavery is the only way to “keep a fool under wraps.”
Kuwait: Jailed for being an atheist – Abdel Aziz Mohamed Albaz
Abdul Aziz Mohamed El Baz, aka BenBaz, is an Egyptian living and working in Kuwait. Born in 1985 in Kuwait, Aziz holds a Bachelor Degree in commerce and has worked as an accountant until his arrest.
Abdel was reported to the government by his employer because he was an atheist.
Call to action: Defend the bloggers of Bangladesh (International Humanist and Ethical Union)
There is a serious threat to freedom of thought, expression and political opinion in Bangladesh. Atheist and freethinking voices are the target (including the three bloggers paraded by the authorities in the image above).
Islamist political parties have provided government with a list of 84 “atheist bloggers” and are demanding the death penalty for “insulting religion”. Several bloggers have already been arrested and a government official promised to pursue all those listed.
Last week, we said the government would be “walking into a trap set by fundamentalists” if they gave any succour to these demands. But they did. And on Friday a rally on the order of 100,000 Islamists marched in Dhaka (video) calling for a new blasphemy law and for the execution of the atheist bloggers. Earlier this year a prominent atheist blogger was murdered in a machete attack at his home, so we are also concerned about the safety in public of those accused of “blasphemy”.
We are urging IHEU Member Organisations and humanists everywhere to act now in solidarity with the bloggers and to put an end to the threats and intimidation.
Egypt: Youths attack christian women in broad daylight
They are shouting ‘Allahu akbar’ (God is most great) and ‘La ilaha illallah’ (There is no god but Allah) as they attack the women.
Muslim mob targets Christian locality in Gujranwala ‘for disrespecting Islam’
LAHORE – In a renewed attack on minorities, a violent Muslim mob attacked a Christian locality in Gujranwala on Wednesday, damaging shops, houses and vehicles belonging to the local Christians following a clash between the youths of the two communities last night, Pakistan Today has learnt.
According to initial information, a group of Christian boys was snubbed by a local cleric for playing music on their cell phones while passing by a mosque on Tuesday evening.
Bangladesh police arrests another atheist blogger
DHAKA, Bangladesh – Police in Bangladesh arrested a self-styled “militant atheist” on Wednesday for anti-religious writings as part of a crackdown on bloggers in the face of pressure from radical Islamist groups.
The arrest of Asif Mohiuddin, 29, comes a day after the detention of three other bloggers and ahead of an Islamist march this weekend towards the capital Dhaka to demand the death penalty for online atheist writers.
Militant Secularism 