Registration desk opens at 10am for a 1030am start.

The one day conference to mark International Women’s Day will discuss the adverse impact of religious laws on the status of women.

The conference will have sessions on Religion’s Impact on Women’s Rights (A discussion on whether religion is compatible with women’s rights, the limits of religious freedom and the intrusion of culture, religion and tradition on women’s status); Religion and Secularism (A discussion on whether religion and secularism are interdependent, complimentary or contradictory); and Religion and the Law (A discussion on religion’s intrusion in the law and on the importance of secularism).  A C Grayling will deliver the keynote address. There will also be a showing of Ghazi Rabihavi’s play ‘Stoning’ – ‘A very strong and powerful piece of work, beautifully constructed’ as described by Harold Pinter.

Speakers include:
Ahlam Akram, Executive Committee member of the Arab Jewish Forum and Joint Action for Israeli Palestinian Peace (UK)
Helle Merete Brix, Writer and Commentator on free speech and the rise of political Islam (Denmark)
Philipp Bekaert, Member of Réseau d’Actions pour la Promotion d’un Etat Laïque (Belgium)
Julie Bindel, Journalist and Campaigner to end violence against women and children (UK)
Patty Debonitas, Spokesperson of Iran Solidarity (UK)
Nadia Geerts, Co-founder of Réseau d’Action pour la Promotion d’un Etat laïque (Belgium)
A C Grayling, Philosopher and Author (UK)
Maria Hagberg, Chairperson of the Network Against Honour-Related Violence (Sweden)
Anne-marie Lizin, Honorary Speaker of the Belgian Senate and Coordinator of the Association against Honour Crimes and Forced Marriages (Belgium)
Maryam Namazie, Spokesperson of One Law for All, Equal Rights Now and the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain (UK)
Elizabeth O’Casey, Vice-President of the National Secular Society (UK)
David Pollock, President of the European Humanist Federation (UK)
Fariborz Pooya, Director of Iranian Secular Society (UK)
Yasmin Rehman Campaigner against violence against women and for community cohesion (UK)
Gita Sahgal, Writer, Journalist and Women’s Rights Activist (UK)
Nina Sankari, President of the European Feminist Initiative (Poland)
Sohaila Sharifi, Women’s Rights Activist (UK)
Annie Sugier, Cofounder of the League of Women’s International Rights (France)
Michèle Vianès, President of Regards de Femmes (France)
Anne Marie Waters, Spokesperson of One Law for All (UK)

Entry fee: £10 individuals; £3 unwaged and students.

To register a place, please fill in form below and email to onelawforall@gmail.com. You can also register at the door on the day but pre-reigstration is preferred.

Booking form:
Download Booking Form – doc format

Schedule of the day:

1000-1030 Registration
1030-1040 Opening Keynote
1040-1220 Religion’s Impact on Women’s Rights (A discussion on whether religion is compatible with women’s rights, the limits of religious freedom and the intrusion of culture, religion and tradition on women’s status)
1220-1225 On the Alliance for a Secular Europe
1225-1405 Religion and Secularism (A discussion on whether religion and secularism are interdependent, complimentary or contradictory)
1405-1520 Lunch
1520-1700 Religion and the Law (A discussion on religion’s intrusion in the law and on the importance of secularism)
1700-1720 Tea/Coffee Break
1720-1850 Stoning, A play by Ghazi Rabihavi
1850-1900 Closing Address

The Conference is sponsored by the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, International Committee against Stoning, Iran Solidarity, Equal Rights Now and One Law for All.

For more information, contact:
One Law for All, BM Box 2387, London WC1N 3XX, UK
Telephone: +44 (0) 7719166731
www.onelawforall.org.uk
onelawforall@gmail.com

According to One Law for All’s Spokesperson, Maryam Namazie, ’standing up against Sharia law and Islamism is crucial in this day and age but how and why it’s done is important too. It has to be done to protect humanity, secularism and universal rights for it to bring about change for the better. Groups like the English Defence League and Stop Islamisation of Europe are using real concern about Sharia law in order to promote their racist and anti-immigrant agenda. Like the Islamists, they blame everyone who they consider Muslim for the crimes of Islamism. Pro-Islamist Left groups like Stop the War Coalition, United Against Fascism and Respect Party are no better. They excuse and justify Islamism at the expenses of the lives, rights and freedoms of innumerable people.’

One Law for All will be publishing a report on this issue soon.

Video footage of the seminar is available here:

Maryam Namazie

Douglas Murray & Rahila Gupta pt1

Marieme Helie Lucas & Shiraz Maher pt1

Ghaffar Hussain, audio only, pt1 & 2

Maryam Namazie Douglas Murray Q&A

Shiraz Maher, Rahila Gupta, Mariem Helie Lucas Q&A

Bigots and neo-Nazis feigning to campaign for rights… ‘anti-racist’ groups promoting fascism… ‘anti-war’ rallies run by supporters of terrorism and dictatorship… Enough!

The One Law for All campaign is holding a seminar to expose how important debates including on Sharia law have been hijacked by the far-Right to promote their racist agenda, and by anti-racist and anti-war groups to defend Islamism, both at the expense of people’s rights and lives. The seminar will focus on: The British National Party, the English Defence League, Stop Islamisation of Europe (also Stop Islamization of America), the Stop the War Coalition, the Respect Party, and Unite Against Fascism.

Speakers at the seminar are Adam Barnett (One Law for All), Rahila Gupta (Women’s Rights Campaigner), Marieme Helie Lucas (Secularism is a Women’s Issue), Ghaffar Hussain (Quilliam Foundation), Douglas Murray (Centre for Social Cohesion), Maryam Namazie (One Law for All), and Shiraz Maher (International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation), with John Adams (Emeritus Professor at the University of Hertfordshire) to chair.

Booking Form
You may also register at the door.
Download Booking Form – doc format

Download Booking Form – Acrobat – pdf format

Speaker Bios:

John C Adams is Emeritus Professor at the University of Hertfordshire. In an academic career of over 40 years John has taught, researched and examined in Economics in two UK and three overseas universities. He has authored over 150 books, articles and conference papers. John was formerly Chair (now Vice-President) of the National Governors Association, is a Founder Member, Judge and Fellow of the National Teaching awards and an executive member of the General Teaching Council. He has served on numerous government advisory boards in the UK and also advised the Education Department of the Russian Federation on the establishment of school governing bodies.

Adam Barnett is Research Co-ordinator for the One Law for All campaign. A writer and musician, he is the author of the forthcoming Enemies Not Allies: Exposing the British Far-right, and campaigns with Iran Solidarity UK.

Rahila Gupta is a campaigning journalist and has written several plays, contributed short stories and poems to many journals and has edited several anthologies. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, the Independent on Sunday and the Times Higher Education Supplement. She co-edited Flaming Spirit, a collection of short stories by Asian Women with Rukhsana Ahmad. She is the editor of From Homebreakers to Jailbreakers: Southall Black Sisters and co-author of Circle of Light, a book about the Sikh-British woman Kiranjit Ahluwalia, who was imprisoned for the manslaughter of her abusive husband. Her last book, Enslaved: The New British Slavery explores the role of immigration controls in enslaving people with no formal status.

Ghaffar Hussain is Director of Training and Consultancy at the Quilliam Foundation and author of A Brief History of Islamism. He holds a BSc (HONS) in Psychology from the University of Wales. Ghaffar previously worked as a Business Development Manager for a number of IT firms and ran his own business venture. In his youth, he was a very active supporter of a number of non-violent Islamist organizations in the UK. He now works to challenge extremists’ ideas and to promote positive modes of political engagement. Ghaffar regularly travels to the UK, North America, and Europe to deliver lectures and organise training sessions for policy makers and practitioners, as well as students and journalists. These sessions focus on raising awareness of Islamist radicalisation as a phenomenon, as well as addressing external contributory factors such as identity, alienation and perceived grievances. Ghaffar has been quoted in a range of international outlets including: The National, Paris Match, The Guardian, Der Speigel, Kultur Austausch, Islamonline, LBC and the BBC. He is also on the Advisory Council of CSARN (City Security and Resilience Networks).

Marieme Helie Lucas is an Algerian sociologist who taught epistemology in the social sciences in Algiers University. She is the founder and former international coordinator of the international network Women Living Under Muslim Laws that provides information, support and a collective space for women whose lives are shaped, conditioned or governed by laws and customs said to derive from Islam. She is also founder and present international coordinator of the network Secularism Is A Women’s Issue.

Douglas Murray is a bestselling author and political commentator, and Director of the Centre for Social Cohesion (CSC), a non-partisan think-tank in Westminster, London. Founded in 2007 to promote human rights, tolerance and greater cohesion among the UK’s ethnic and religious communities and within wider British society, the CSC is the first think-tank in the UK to specialise in studying radicalisation and extremism within Britain. He is the co-author of Hate on the State: How British Libraries encourage Islamic Extremism and Victims of Intimidation: Freedom of Speech within Europe’s Muslim Communities. Murray regularly appears in the British and foreign press and media. A columnist for Standpoint magazine, he writes for a variety of other publications, including the Sunday Times, Spectator and Wall Street Journal.

Maryam Namazie is a rights activist, commentator and broadcaster. She is Spokesperson of Iran Solidarity, One Law for All, Equal Rights Now and the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain. She is also National Secular Society’s 2005 Secularist of the Year award winner and an NSS Honorary Associate; Central Committee member of the Worker-communist Party of Iran; Vice President of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association; Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association; and Emeritus member of the Secular Humanist League of Brazil. Maryam was selected one of Elle Quebec’s top 45 women of the year in 2007. Her blog has been ranked one of the top 100 atheist blogs. She is the co-author of Sharia Law in Britain: A Threat to One Law for All and Equal Rights.

Shiraz Maher is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) at Kings College London. He has worked as a journalist, reporting on terrorism, radicalisation and the Middle East for some of the BBC’s flagship current affairs programmes including Newsnight, Panorama, Our World, World News America, the World Service and Radio 4. In 2007 Maher was awarded a bursary by the Rory Peck Trust for Hostile Environments Reporting. His writings have also appeared in the Times, Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Guardian, New Statesman, Prospect, Wall Street Journal and Standpoint. Maher was subsequently a Senior Fellow at Policy Exchange where he worked on Security, Counter-Terrorism and Foreign Policy.

The conference will highlight urgent cases including Pakistani Asia Bibi who has received a death sentence for blasphemy, Palestinian Waleed Al-Husseini who has been arrested for criticising Islam and campaigners in Iran charged with ‘enmity against God’ and demand their unconditional and immediate release.

Panel discussions include ‘International Apostasy and Religion,’ ‘Ex-Muslims in Britain and Europe’ and ‘Multiculturalism and Multifaithism versus Universal Human Rights.’

There will also be a play ‘Masculine Laws’ by Ghazi Rabihavi and a comedy act by Nick Doody.

Confirmed speakers are:
John Adams (Emeritus Professor at the University of Hertfordshire)
Mina Ahadi (Spokesperson of the International Committee against Stoning and Council of Ex-Muslims of Germany)
Roy Brown (International Representative of International Humanist and Ethical Union)
Goranka Gudelj (Outreach Coordinator of One Law for All)
Rumy Hassan (Senior Lecturer at the Science Policy Research Unit of the University of Sussex and Author of Multiculturalism: Some Inconvenient Truths)
Marieme Helie Lucas (Algerian Sociologist and Founder of Women Living Under Muslims Laws and Secularism is a Women’s Issue)
Maryam Namazie (Spokesperson of One Law for All, Iran Solidarity and the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain)
Hassan Radwan (Teacher at an Islamia school for 15 years and presently Management Committee Member of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain)
Gita Sahgal (Women’s Rights Campaigner; former head of Amnesty International’s Gender Unit suspended for questioning AI’s relations with an Islamist organisation)
Hamed Abdol Samad (German-Egyptian Political Scientist and Author of Farwell to Heaven and The Collapse of the Islamic World)
Terry Sanderson (President of the National Secular Society)
Muriel Seltman (Campaigner of One Law for All)
Alom Shaha (Science Teacher, Writer and Film Maker)
Joan Smith (Writer, Columnist and Women’s Rights Campaigner)
Bahram Soroush (Human Rights Campaigner)
Peter Tatchell (Human Rights Campaigner)
Anne Marie Waters (Spokesperson of One Law for All).

To book a place at the conference, please complete the booking form found here.

Download:

Conference Schedule

Coonference Biographies

Tickets are £10 for individuals; £25 for organisations and statutory bodies. The conference is free for CEMB members and asylum seekers. Donations are welcome.

The conference is sponsored by Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, International Humanist and Ethical Union, Iran Solidarity, National Secular Society, One Law for All and South Place Ethical Society.

The event will be dedicated to the Iran stoning case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani.

Join Us on Facebook here

Join September days of action against stoning, execution and flogging in Iran

Hello

Since I last wrote to you Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani has again been flogged 99 times for an unveiled photo mistakenly attributed to her (http://stopstonningnow.com/wpress/3628). She has also been threatened with execution, and denied visitation rights. Even, her lawyer’s home (Hatoun Kian) has been ransacked and his computer and documents seized. Court documents pertaining to Ms Ashtiani’s husband’s closed murder case have also gone missing (http://stopstonningnow.com/wpress/3543).

Her 22-year-old son Sajjad is extremely concerned that the Iranian authorities are trying to frame Ms Ashtiani for his father’s murder by constructing a ‘new’ murder case to refute the stoning sentence. Unfortunately a number of media outlets have bought into the lie (see for example BBC Sunday Morning Live’s bias here: http://iransolidarity.blogspot.com/2010/09/open-letter-to-bbc-sunday-live-on-its.html). In fact, the press have been given a copy of the actual court judgment of stoning for adultery at a 30 July press conference in London (http://www.iransolidarity.org.uk/act_now.html). Also, even the man who has been found guilty of murdering her husband has not been executed. In Iran, under Diyeh laws, the family of the victim can ask for the death penalty to be revoked. Ms Ashtiani’s son explains why he and his 17 year old sister spared the man’s life in an interview with French writer and philosopher, Bernard-Henri Levy: http://stopstonningnow.com/wpress/3618.

Despite all the regime’s outrages against Ms Ashtiani, her lawyers and family, on 8 September, a government official had the audacity to deceivingly claim that Ms Ashtiani had not been denied visitation rights, that her televised confession was not made under duress, and that she had not been flogged again. He also went on to say that her execution had been halted when no official documents halting her stoning or execution have been given to her lawyer or family (http://stopstonningnow.com/wpress/3673).

Clearly this is yet another one of the regime’s ploys to push back the international campaign in her defence by giving the false impression that Ms Ashtiani is safe.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

On 18 September, we call on citizens everywhere to come out in defence of Ms Ashtiani and against the regime of flogging, stoning and execution. We are also calling for protests during 23-24 September when Ahmadinejad will be addressing the UN General Assembly.

Nothing can and will stop us from defending Sakineh’s precious life and bringing an end to the medieval and barbaric punishments of stoning and execution.

Let’s keep the pressure on.

We look forward to receiving news of your actions and events at actionforsakineh@gmail.com.

Warmest wishes

Maryam

Maryam Namazie

PLEASE ACT NOW!

1- Find out about 18 September 2010 and 23-24 September 2010 actions here: http://stopstonningnow.com/wpress/3692. The events will be updated on a daily basis.

2- Send actions you are organising in your city of residence to actionforsakineh@gmail.com so we can post it on the events page.

If you need help organising an event, see our toolkit on how to organise an action in your city: http://iransolidarity.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-plan-action-day-to-save-sakinehs.html

3- See reports from the brilliant 100 Cities against Stoning that took place on 28 August: http://stopstonningnow.com/wpress/3550. Thanks to all of you who participated. It was an historic day and hopefully one of many more to come!

4- See an updated list of those stoned or awaiting death by stoning compiled by the International Committee against Executions here: http://stopstonningnow.com/wpress/SList%20_1980-2010__FHdoc.pdf.

5- Send Sakineh a postcard telling her you are thinking of her and other prisoners on death row in Tabriz prison. You can address it to:
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani
Tabriz Prison
Tabriz, Iran
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&q=tabriz+prison&fb=1&gl=uk&hq=prison&hnear=Tabriz,+Iran&view=map&cid=5511433647417998115&iwloc=A&ved=0CBcQpQY&sa=X&ei=kRVbTK2HKJOe_gaemtzoBA

6- Write letters of protest to the Islamic regime of Iran demanding Ashtiani’s release and an end to stonings, floggings and executions. Protest letters can be addressed to the below:

Head of the Judiciary
Sadeqh Larijani
Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Qazaiyeh (Office of the Head of the Judiciary)
Pasteur St., Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhouri
Tehran 1316814737, Iran
Email: info@dadiran.ir or via website: http://www.dadiran.ir/tabid/75/Default.aspx
First starred box: your given name; second starred box: your family name; third: your email address

Head of the Judiciary in East Azerbaijan Province
Malek-Ashtar Sharifi
Office of the Head of the Judiciary in Tabriz
East Azerbaijan, Iran

Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street – Shahid Keshvar Doust Street
Tehran, Iran
Email: via website: http://www.leader.ir/langs/en/index.php?p=letter (English)
http://www.leader.ir/langs/fa/index.php?p=letter (Persian)

Secretary General, High Council for Human Rights
Mohammad Javad Larijani
Howzeh Riassat-e Ghoveh Ghazaiyeh
Pasteur St, Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhuri
Tehran 1316814737, Iran
Fax: +98 21 3390 4986
Email: bia.judi@yahoo.com

7- Sign petitions in support of her case if you haven’t already done so. Here are two of them: http://stopstonningnow.com/sakine/sakin284.php?nr=50326944&lang=en, http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_stoning/?cl=651962225&v=6766.

8- Write to government officials, heads of state, MEPs and MPs in your country of residence and the UN calling on them to intervene to save her life and to cease recognition of a regime that stones people to death in the 21st century.

9- Donate to the important work of the International Committee Against Stoning, International Committee Against Executions and Iran Solidarity by making your cheque payable to ‘Count Me In – Iran’ and sending it to BM Box 6754, London WC1N 3XX, UK. You can also pay via Paypal (http://countmein-iran.com/donate.html). Please earmark your donation.

10- For more information, contact:
Mina Ahadi, International Committee Against Stoning and International Committee Against Executions, minaahadi@aol.com, 0049 1775692413; http://notonemoreexecution.org/; http://stopstonningnow.com.

Maryam Namazie, Iran Solidarity, iransolidaritynow@gmail.com, 0044 7719166731, Iran Solidarity: www.iransolidarity.org.uk; http://iransolidarity.blogspot.com/.

Maria Rohaly, Mission Free Iran, maria.rohaly@gmail.com, www.missionfreeiran.com.

7 September 2010

One Law for All is adding its support to Protest the Pope. Spokesperson, Maryam Namazie, will be speaking at the 18 September march and rally beginning at Hyde Park Corner at 1.30pm http://www.protest-the-pope.org.uk/

One Law for All’s opposition to Sharia courts and religion’s adverse role in public life necessitates a criticism of the Pope and Vatican.  Whilst the Pope is free to travel to meet his supporters, he cannot be free from criticism, particularly given that his visit is a state one and because of his and the Vatican’s regressive. Amongst other things, the Pope and Vatican are opposed to equal rights for women and homosexuals as well as condom distribution to AIDS-ravaged societies in Africa. They have refused to address many thousands of cases of child sex abuse and torture, deliberately perverting the course of justice in these cases, and moving predatory priests from location to location giving them the opportunity to re-offend. Moreover, the Vatican encourages the de-secularisation of societies around the world, attempting to directly influence law-makers and impose religious dogma, whilst offering a direct and powerful endorsement of other non-secular and medieval laws, including Sharia.

Public funds must not be used for the Pope’s estimated £20 million visit to spread his homophobia, misogyny and inhumanity.  This is nothing short of scandalous when his visit comes at a time when public spending and wages are being cut or frozen so dramatically.

The Pope and Vatican represent a threat to secularism and human rights worldwide. One Law for All urges its supporters to join the 18 September protest against religious bigotry and in defence of equality, universal rights and secularism.