Eminent American linguist, social critic, and political activist, Noam Chomsky extended his support to the project affected people of the Narmada Valley when the indefinite fast and dharna of 100s people are underway in Narmada valley.
Signing the petition started by former IIM Kolkata professor and environmentalist Jayanta Bandopadhyay, Chomsky joins 100s of other people from different walks of life demanding justice from Prime Minister Modi for the project affected people. So far, the petition has gathered signatures from 29 countries.
The support from Chomsky comes on the third day of the indefinite fast of Medha Patkar and 12 other project affected people in the submergence village Chikkalda, on the banks of river Narmada, in Madhya Pradesh. People are on fast against the forced displacement and demanding just rehabilitation, and intimidation with 100s of armed police camping in the submergence zone. The claimed rehabilitation sites are far from habitable, with even basic amenities like drinking water missing.
The petition said, “The Supreme Court order clearly states that Resettlement and Rehabilitation of the Project Affected Families to be complete in all respects before any forcible displacement of these villages is directed. Closing of the gates is de facto a method of forcible eviction and thus, not only a barbaric act but also a disrespect of the court order.”
The petition demands a comprehensive re-survey of project affected people giving priority to rehabilitation first by following orders of the Supreme Court so that no family is evicted without rehabilitation. It also demands directions to Madhya Pradesh Govt. and authorities to provide the benefits to farmers as per the Supreme Court orders to ensure alternative livelihoods and to constitute a committee to assess the impact on environment, river and forests by submergence and also the impact in downstream flow of the river.
Chomsky said in the petition that meeting the rightful demands of the people is “essential to ensure the faith of people in non-violent, democratic and constitutional governance and struggle for their rights. I, on behalf of the people of Narmada valley, now appeal to you for immediate attention and intervention to save the people threatened by submergence.”
In the midst of all the cacophony and shrill pseudo-nationalist rhetoric that is destroying the fabric of a plural India, often in the name of the Armed Forces, 114 veterans of the Indian Armed Forces have spoken out. They have spoken out in no uncertain terms against targeted attacks on Muslims and Dalits and against the attempts to destroy the Constitution – upon which arose the new, independent India.
Image: PTI
An Open Letter from Veterans of the Armed Forces
To: the Prime Minister of India, Chief Ministers of the States, and Lieutenant-Governors of the Union Territories. 30 July, 2017
We are a group of Veterans of the Indian Armed Forces who have spent our careers working for the security of our country. Collectively, our group holds no affiliation with any single political party, our only common commitment being to the Constitution of India.
It saddens us to write this letter, but current events in India have compelled us to register our dismay at the divisiveness that is gripping our country. We stand with the ‘Not in My Name’ campaign that mobilised thousands of citizens across the country to protest against the current climate of fear, intimidation, hate and suspicion.
The Armed Forces stand for “Unity in Diversity”. Differences in religion, language, caste, culture or any other marker of belonging have not mattered to the cohesion of the Armed Forces, and servicemen of different backgrounds have fought shoulder to shoulder in the defence of our nation, as they continue to do today. Throughout our service, a sense of openness, justice and fair play guided our actions. We are one family. Our heritage is like the multi-coloured quilt that is India, and we cherish this vibrant diversity.
However, what is happening in our country today strikes at all that the Armed Forces, and indeed our Constitution, stand for. We are witness to unprecedented attacks on society at large by the relentless vigilantism of self-appointed protectors of Hinduism. We condemn the targeting of Muslims and Dalits. We condemn the clampdowns on free speech by attacks on media outlets, civil society groups, universities, journalists and scholars, through a campaign of branding them anti-national and unleashing violence against them while the State looks away.
We can no longer look away. We would be doing a disservice to our country if we do not stand up and speak for the liberal and secular values that our Constitution espouses. Our diversity is our greatest strength. Dissent is not treason; in fact, it is the essence of democracy. We urge the powers that be at the Centre and in the States to take note of our concerns and urgently act to uphold our Constitution, both in letter and in spirit.
Was Bihar’s JD(U) MLA, Khurshid alias Firoz Alam rewarded with the post of the Ministry of Minority Affairs in the Nitish Kumar cabinet for chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ outside the Bihar Assembly after the trust vote last Friday?
Image: Inquilab Urdu
Maybe, maybe not. But Khurshid’s exuberance at the JD(U)-BJP reunion has proved to be short-lived. Faced with a strong backlash from the community he has had to make a quick U-turn, apologised to fellow Muslims and repented before maulanas in order to gain “re-entry” into Islam.
When criticised for his ‘Jai Shri Ram’ chant, Khurshid had earlier asserted: “If my ‘Jai Shri Ram’ can help some Muslims, I am willing to chant it morning, noon and night”. He added: “I worship Ram as I worship Rahim and I bow my head before all religious places in the country”.
The statement attracted a fatwa from Mufti Sohail Ahmed Qasmi of Bihar’s Imarat-e-Shariah, expelling Khurshid from Islam. The fatwa, among other things, meant that Khurshid’s wife was no longer “lawful” to him.
According to the Urdu daily Inquilab, Khurshid was slammed by infuriated fellow Muslims at a meeting of his own minorities affairs department convened by the chief minister on Sunday.
Khurshid initially protested saying he was not even given a chance to explain himself before the fatwa was issued against him. But this further inflamed sentiments. Nitish then reportedly advised Khurshid to apologise for causing hurt and seek the advice of the maulanas who were present at the meeting.
“The CM told me that if anyone felt hurt by my statement I should apologise. My intention was not to hurt anyone. I have come to serve the people,” said Khurshid.
As advised by some maulanas, the rattled minister presented himself before Mufti Qasmi and other ulema at Imarat-e-Shariah to apologise to them, repent, seek Allah’s forgiveness and recite the kalima afresh to gain reentry into Islam.
Following this, a statement issued by Mufti Qasmi stated that since Khurshid has repented, sought Allah’s forgiveness and has recited the kalima he should be treated as a Muslim by co-religionists. The statement also urged everyone to cooperate with Khurshid in the discharge of his duties as Minister for Minorities Affairs.
Building a space for Indian literary giants with the Khwaab Tanha Collective
I first discovered the Khwaab Tanha Collective like I discover most things – on my facebook newsfeed. Between a photograph of a recent graduation and an article from buzzfeed was a bright yellow picture that caught my eye. On it, an unfamiliar face sat alongside a very familiar name – Saadat Hasan Manto.
I remember Manto from my first year as an undergraduate student at Delhi University. It is through him that I began to understand a history of partition beyond the bare accounts of textbooks, learning of a time and an India that I had never known. His name made me pause but what I was struck by was the image that accompanied it. In delicate black and white brushstrokes, leaning slightly away from the viewer, a thoughtful looking man stood smoking a cigarette. His hair was pushed back, his jacket hung open. He was not what I expected.
Then again, I am not sure that I expected anything at all. In the peculiar way that some writers can become a part of your consciousness with no images to accompany their names, Manto – with his striking portraits of Partition – has become a name without a face.
This is what Shiraz Hussain, the man behind the fascinating Khwaab Tanha Collective, wants to correct.
In his hands, the greats of Indian literature – Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Ghalib, Amrita Pritam – emerge in incredibly detailed portraits, their faces alongside their words, reaching out to new audiences in refreshingly new ways.
Over the past year, Hussain has created illustrations for dozens of works of Urdu literature, bringing generations of Indian writing to modern mediums, using gifs, videos, and social media platforms to create a contemporary, multi-lingual catalogue of great literature.
To better understand what this project means for the place of an ancient language in a dynamic digital age, I speak to Shiraz Hussain.
The title of your project Khwaab Tanha Collective, translates loosely to ‘ a loner’s dream’. What is the significance of this title to your work?
This title has many stories and few intersecting meanings. As a teenager I remember how Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead strongly affected me, how this man does not compromise on his artistic perspective … his take on the world was quite moving. Like the protagonist, I believe that the occurrence of a dream or an idea is quite lonely at first. Later, one can share one’s dream and vision with others. And the other word in the title – collective – is a bit ironic since I am alone in this endeavor though I have planned to collaborate with musicians and actors in future. The conceptual artist Shea Hembrey, who creates artwork through fictional characters, also inspired me.
Your work introduces new audiences to Urdu literature at a time when a lot of young Indians are unaware of its ubiquity or significance. What do you think your position as an artist achieves in this regard?
Degas has said that art is not what you see but what you make others see. With Khwaab Tanha, I try bending things which most people see as a straight line. Celebrating our literary giants in visual culture is a big responsibility. I have to tune a visual frequency which is “hash tag wow’’ for the youth and “waah” for the older audience. It’s totally wonderful and motivating that ‘Khwaab Tanha’ is connecting spreading love among literature enthusiasts not only from India but also from Poland, America, and Pakistan.
There are sections of this nation that maintain an opposition to Urdu and view it as a ‘foreign’ language. What do you believe your art can achieve in the face of such responses?
What they are calling a ‘Foreign language’ is actually a language which was born by the people, for the people, and of the people of India.
I am similarly saddened by the act of angry protesters, where they deface Hindi and English nameplates in Bengaluru because they want to have Kannada everywhere. Love your language but don’t disrespect or hate others.
One of my friends recently showed me a picture of two women on a social media website. To my surprise they were holding ‘Khwaab Tanha’ posters in Urdu and Hindi at jantar Mantar, protesting the terror attack on Amarnath pilgrims. At that moment I realized I am not alone to believe in ‘Khwaab Tanha’ and I never will be.
Urdu writing has, in the pre Independence era specifically had a distinct, irreverent, radical, and humour laden element. Do you think this aspect of the language and culture of Urdu can serve a valuable function today?
The beauty and design of this language that it can adapt, survive, and flourish even in the most unfriendly environment. Urdu is around us but we don’t realize or recognize it easily.
For example, in Bollywood movies Urdu is everywhere. Film writers and lyricists simply can’t do without using Urdu words and poetry styles.
Our minds are like parachutes – they work well when they are open. Urdu can function astonishingly well but for that we have to open up first.
Your work has adapted to new digital forms such as gifs. What potential do you think these forms have for art projects like yours? Do you have plans to expand into other forms like animation or short films?
As an artist, I work in multiple disciplines – my personal drawings are different from Khwaab Tanha. When I work on poets and their couplets, my work is not abstract.
I keep experimenting with different visual styles like GIFs, short videos and even audio clips to make the experience of Khwaab Tanha more enriching and engaging.
At present, I am planning some short videos with my friends at the National School of Drama – musicians and performance artists. If all goes well, I will be out with a wonderful line of art works in the third quarter of this year, called ‘Soorat nikli’.
How do you view the status of Urdu literature in Indian academia today? For instance, as a student of literature in India, I had fairly limited exposure to Urdu writing, even in translation. Do you see a need or a way to correct this?
To be frank and straight forward, the status of this language is not very good. But we cannot always blame the ‘Sarkar ‘for this cold behavior. We have to work towards solving this problem. I agree that Urdu has fairly limited exposure and the line of translation is quite skinny. Quite recently in a meeting at Urdu Ghar at Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu, which is the premier organization working for the promotion and dissemination of Urdu, we were discussing the availability and importance of translation of contemporary writers and how necessary buying and not borrowing is when it comes to Urdu books, magazines and newspapers. You are free to like and share a moving picture of a beggar at red light but you are equally free to get up and feed a starving soul. As a visual artist I am working and trying in the best possible way I can. As a writer, you can act in way which is best known to you. There should be more employment when it comes to Urdu. This problem needs actual participation, apart from addressing the ‘foreign language’ treatment from some lunatics.
Though the state of this language is serious, I am not disheartened at all because I am witnessing an emerging crop of writers and literature enthusiasts very eagerly learning the nuances of Urdu, from all regions and religions of India. There is a thin silver lining which is widening slowly.
While much of the dust has been cleared on the triple talaq issue, the concept of halala still continues to be shrouded in confusion. It is shocking that Muslims are treating halala as a means of fulfilling their immoral imputes, giving it a derogatory connotation.
Representational image. Courtesy: satyavaijayi
In Islam, ‘Halala’ is a term that finds its roots in ‘Halal’ that translates to something that is permissible, and therefore ‘lawful’. In context of marriage then, it means that a divorced woman can become ‘Halal’ (lawful) for her husband again after the process of Nikah Halala.
Islam dictates that a Muslim man has the liberty to divorce and remarry the same woman twice. However, if he decides to dissolve the marriage for the third time, he can only remarry the same woman if she first marries another man, consummates the marriage and only if the man dies or willingly asks for divorce, can the woman go back to her first husband and remarry him.
Once the wife is divorced she becomes haram (forbidden for the husband).it is a highly erroneous belief that if she wants to remarry the earlier husband she will have to consummate her marriage with another man and then get a divorce from him to become eligible to join her former husband. This is not an issue of how you debate or argue a case to make it a perfect crime. It is a matter of one’s spiritual intention. it is a matter of one’s connection with the Supreme. Halala is actually a provision which allows a woman to remarry a husband if such circumstances occur in the normal course and are not pre-engineered. The Qur’an visualizes pre-ordained marriages between the estranged couple while laying down this stipulation.
What is being talked of today are pre-planned halala marriages to circumvent the Islamic law of talaq.
What is being talked of today are pre-planned Halala marriages to circumvent the Islamic law of talaq.
The Qur’an expounds:
“So if a husband divorces his wife (for a third time), he cannot, after that remarry her until after she has married another husband and he has divorced her. In that case, there is no blame on either of them if they re-unite, provided they can keep the limits ordained by Allah. Such are the limits ordained by Allah which He makes plain to those who know”. (2:230).
A man is entitled to take his wife back twice after two respective talaqs and for a third time also before the expiry of her Iddat (menstrual cycles) after he gives her a talaq for the third time. But after that the separation is irrevocable. She is then free to be married to any other person of her choice. If then in the normal course of life a dispute between them develops leading to first talaq by the second husband, she is again free to be married to any person of her choice including the second husband (by whom she has got the first divorce) and also including the first husband as well.
The relevant point here is that a halala cannot be planned in advance, as a nikah between her and the second husband with an understanding of a divorce afterwards will not be valid. If she does so, it will be an illegitimate relationship with the second husband and with the first husband also with whom she comes to live after a pre-planned halala.
Imam Sufian Sauri says: “If someone marries a woman to make her halala (for her ex-husband) and then wants to keep her as wife, he is not permitted to do so unless he solemnises a nikah afresh, as the previous nikah was unlawful.” (Tirmizi)
The distorted interpretation is used as a ploy to circumvent the Shariah which is not just emphatic on this rule but is very stringent about it.”
In his ‘Marriage, Divorce and Re-Marriage (Halala) in Islam’, Zafar Iqbal Kalanauri elaborates this theology:
“There is no concept of halala in Islam. This is something that has been made by some Muslims and unfortunately is now seen as part of the Shariah by some Muslims. The rule of the Holy Quran is that if a man divorces his wife for the third time in one marriage contract, then the wife cannot go back to the man unless she (genuinely) marries another man and then (genuinely) is divorced by that man… this rule should not be dealt with by pre-planned marriage and divorce.”
Prophet Muhammad declared halala as profane, Caliph Umar considered it worth stoning, and Caliph Usman considered it devoid of the trait of the nikah (marriage contract).
There are two Hadiths (sayings of Prophet Muhammad):
• It was narrated by Ali that the Prophet said: God’s Curse be upon the one who marries a divorced woman with the intention of making her lawful for her former husband and upon the one for whom she is made lawful.(Sunan Abu Dawood, Book 11, 2071-Sahih)
• It was narrated that Ibn Abbas said: The Prophet cursed the Muhallil (upon the one who marries a divorced woman with the intention of making her lawful for her former husband) and the Muhallal Lahu.(upon the one for whom she is made lawful.) (Sunan Ibn Maja, Book 9, Hadith 1934-Sahih)
Article 25 of the Indian constitution speaks of religious freedom. It begins with the words, “Subject to morality, health and public order, and all other fundamental rights, people shall have freedom of religion.” Conditions come first; parameters come first, permission comes later.
The Article does not say that everybody will have unrestricted freedom of religion or what he believes to be freedom. It begins with, “Subject to.…” Other provisions mean right to equality, equality before law, gender justice, etc. It is subservient to other articles within this part. If there is a conflict, other provisions prevail.
Thus halala marriage is thus just not immoral; it is against the national laws.
Moin Qazi is the author of the bestselling book, Village Diary of a Heretic Banker. He has worked in the development finance sector for almost four decades .
The hate crimes on Muslim community in Britain have increased manifold in recent times since the terrorist attacks took place in Manchester and London
A police official seen pouring water on the body of one the victims who was attacked by a suspected noxious substance on July 25, 2017. Courtesy: Daily Mail
Acid attacks have emerged as a new weapon in communal violence in Britain and the Muslim population, specially Bangladeshi communities living in Britain, have become the primary targets of this aggression.
Frequent acid attacks on Bangladeshi communities have been spreading fear and anxiety among the Bangladeshis living across the Britain. Parents can no longer breathe a sigh of relief until their children return to the safety of their homes.
At least eight acid attacks have been launched in last month and a half in different Bangali-inhabited areas of East London. The latest acid attack was on two Bangladeshi youths at Tower Hamlets on July 25 this year.
The hate crimes on the Muslim community in Britain have increased manifold in recent times, after the terrorist attacks in Manchester and London. Muslim women have been facing physical assault because of their attire.
Bangladeshi community activists in London have organised a meeting to discuss and protest the series of acid attacks. The meeting was chaired by Councilor Maiyum Mia.
Maaj Selim, a renowned face in Britain’s anti-racism movement whose father was killed by the white supremacists in Birmingham last year, said: “What is going on in Britain right now is not acid attacks, it is racially-motivated acid terrorism.”
KM Abu Tahir Chowdhury, a senior leader of the Bangladeshi community in Britain, said that more than 400 acid attacks have been recorded in London and Wales by London metropolitan police in the last six months.
“Most acid attacks have been taking place in the Newham, Barking and Tower Hamlets areas, where a large number of Bangladeshi people live,” Tahir added.
Asked about the reason behind such frequent attacks, Tahir replied: “The current government of Britain has reduced the number of police officers in the name of budget cuts, which is a vital reason behind the increased number of crimes.”
“During the tenure of former Mayor Lutfur Rahman, 41 policemen were recruited in Tower Hamlets with the council fund, but the number has been reduced to six in recent times.”
“It is quite difficult to maintain law and order in such a big area with such a small number of policemen,” he added.
Former councilor and leader of ruling Conservative Party Dr Anwara Ali said the government has to undertake three initiatives to prevent acid terrorism.
Firstly, the availability and sale of corrosive substances must be controlled. Secondly, strict punishment should imposed on perpetrators and thirdly, awareness campaigns need to be arranged across the country.
President of the UK-Bangla Press Club Reza Ahmed Faisal Chowdhury Shoaib said: “In 2014, some 200 acid attacks took place in London while the number increased to 431 in 2015.”
“According to the statistics, it can be derived that an acid attack has been taking place every 20 hours.”
Experts opine that the rise of extreme nationalism in the changed world order is one of the primary reasons behind the persecution of migrant communities taking place in many parts of the world. As more and more Muslims become the victims of hatred in the streets and underground stations in London, a metaphorical wall is being built between native Britons and migrant communities that undermines tolerance and leads to more enmity.
Recently, the Italian daily La Repubblica published an unusual and shocking beach story. Evidently, a private Venice swimming spot on the famous Chioggia beach is decorated with posters glorifying Benito Mussolini, Italy’s former fascist dictator, born July 29 1883.
Benito Mussolini’s bust and crypt in San Cassiano cemetery are a sensitive topic in Predappio, Italy. Saiko/Wikimedia, CC BY-ND
The owner, 64-year-old Gianni Scarpa, has been openly displaying Mussolini’s ideas on the walls of the Punta Cana beach club for years, some of them adorned with Nazi symbols. Scarpa is also inclined to shout messages glorifying the fascist order through a loudspeaker, reported La Repubblica.
La Repubblica, July 9 2017.
Apologias for fascism and Nazism have been a recurrent issue in Italy since the second world war, and it goes beyond extreme-right nostalgia. Today, 72 years after Mussolini’s death, Italians have yet to make peace with their past.
But many of Scarpa’s clients spoke on his behalf. While they were not “fascist enthusiasts”, they insisted, a business owner should be able to do as he wishes in his own establishment.
An embarrassing cadaver
The controversy has reopened a debate about how fascism should be dealt with in Italy.
A few days after La Repubblica’s story, Emanuele Fiano, a member of parliament from the Democratic Party came up with a new law to “severely punish those who are apologetic of Italian fascist or German Nazi propaganda”.
The proposal was quickly condemned as “liberticidal” by both the populist left-wing movement Cinque Stelle and extreme-right parties such as the Lega Nord.
In recent years, the national discussion on fascism past has focused on a museum, which, former prime minister Matteo Renzi announced in 2016, would be partly funded by the Italian government. The landmark, first proposed by Mayor Giorgio Frassinetti of the Democratic Party, would be located in his northern Italian town, Predappio, and could open as soon as 2019.
Though it is home to just 6,500 people, Predeappio has been famous since the end of the second world war. It is the birthplace of Mussolini, the site of his family mausoleum and the place where the body of Il Duce himself was finally put to rest in 1957.
Though Mussolini was executed in 1945, his body saw several postmortem adventures and controversies. It was carried around by both fascist nostalgics and the post-war Italian authorities – who wanted to avoid any form of glorification – and eventually hidden in various spots across Italy, including in a convent near Milan.
The plaque at the entry of the Mussolini family crypt reads:
I would be naive to ask to be left in peace after death. There can be no peace around the tombs of the leaders of those major transformations we call revolutions. But everything that has been done cannot be effaced… [M]y only wish is to be buried next to my parents, in the cemetery of San Cassiano. – Benito Mussolini
A fascist pilgrimage
Some 50,000 people visit Predappio every year to pay homage to Il Duce, especially on anniversaries like his birth (July 29 1883), his death (April 28 1945), and the March on Rome, which brought Mussolini to power (October 28 1922).
The town, which has had left-wing leadership since 1945, struggles to deal with these tourists, though their presence enriches the local economy. The pilgrimage has encouraged the commercialisation of fascism in Predappio.
Today, vendors sell t-shirts, mugs, and glasses printed with the slogan, “I love Duce”. There are even wine labels commemorating Mussolini, including “Nero di Predappio, Eia Eja Alala”, “Vino del camerata” (which references Mussolini’s armed squad, the Black Shirts) and “L’Italia agli Italiani” (Italy for the Italians).
‘La Duce Vita’, a 2012 documentary by Cyril Bérard et Samuel Picas about the fascist pilgrimage to Predappio.
A museum to counter fascist ideas
Not everyone agrees with the idea of adding a Fascism museum to the mix.
Some agree with him. The Italian historian Marcello Flores and museum promotors Marie-Anne Matard-Bonucci and Maurizio Ridolfi, believe the initiative will change the way people look at Predappio, disassociating it from fascism and Mussolini.
They point to the positive impact of similar sites, including Berlin’s former Gestapo headquarters (now a documentation centre), which have been transformed to teach the public about the horrors of Nazism. But many well-known historians and intellectuals oppose the fascist museum plan. Giulia Albanese, Patrizia Dogliani, Simon Levis Sullam and Carlo Ginzburg, among others, argue that the museum would actually reinforce Predappio’s symbolic association with fascism.
The museum would be surrounded by various shops that would, inevitably, make the celebration of this bellicose 20th-century ideology official. And in any case, Adolf Hitler did not get a memorial in Braunau am Inn, his hometown, they have reminded Italians, nor has El Ferrol in Spain, dedicated a museum to General Francisco Franco.
Instead, the historians say, the museum of fascism should be located in Milan or Rome, two cities that played central roles during the fascist era.
But the proposed landmark could make it seem that fascism is solely identified with Mussolini, thus absolving Italians of their collective responsibility for the 1925-1940 ventennio period, when the country turned fascist.
This is one thing that all parties can agree on: rather than reflect on the crimes perpetrated under Mussolini, Italians have preferred to focus on passive narratives in which they are the victims. Collective Italian history depicts a the nation that suffered greatly from fascism and revealed its true anti-fascist self once those leaders fell.
This vision has allowed Italians to disregard fundamental questions of national history, including the extent of popular support for fascism, Italians’ responsibility in the persecution of Jews, colonial crimes and so on.
The Bel Paese, or beautiful country, has yet to come to terms with its fascist past.
Sabina Loriga is Directrice d’études- historienne , TEPSIS
This article was first published on The Conversation. Read the original.
This article was published in collaboration with the journal Past Futures, accessible through the platform Politika, from the French and international social sciences laboratory Labex Tepsis.
A recent conference on freedom of expression threw up issues around relationships between ex-Muslims and reformist Muslims – and the ideological confusion of their allies.
Public art protest organised by Victoria Gugenheim in solidarity with persecuted freethinkers, at the conference in London. Photo: CEMB.
In the ten years of its existence, the Council for Ex-Muslims of Britain (CEMB) has organised annual conferences to draw attention to issues facing ex-Muslims, their status as apostates and blasphemers, the distinction between Islam and Islamism, islamophobia and anti-Muslim racism, the links with other religious fundamentalisms, and religion and women’s rights.
To mark CEMB’s tenth anniversary, the international conference on Freedom of Conscience and Expression that took place in London last month was bigger and bolder than any before it. Appropriately, substantial time was devoted to the journeys and testimonies of women and men who asserted their right to live free from religion and found themselves at best forsaken by family (and that’s no easy option) and at worst risking death and imprisonment.
Whenever speakers gather from around the world I’m reminded of the truism that context is everything. At this conference, those who came from Muslim majority countries tended to be harsher in their condemnation of Islam – one even called it a “virus” – than speakers who have lived in the west where minority status, security concerns and tendencies to see all Muslims as terrorists have obliged them to tread a careful path between the religion and its politicisation.
Jimmy Bangash, a gay Pakistani living in Britain, broke with that pattern in a session called ‘Out, Loud and Proud,’ saying he struggled with the distinction between Islam and Islamism. He referenced the case of Jahed Chaudhury, the first Muslim gay man in Britain to marry, who was spat at and threatened with acid attacks by Muslims. Bangash said it was disingenuous to call this Islamism when it was simply people following Islam.
With that remark, Bangash landed on a central faultline in the conference between those who were practising, progressive Muslims and those who felt that the door marked ‘exit’ was the only option as Islam was essentially unreformable. Could these two groups of people work together in a secular alliance or do atheists and ex-Muslims feel silenced because their critique of religion is seen as offensive by some believers?
Could these two groups of people work together in a secular alliance or do atheists and ex-Muslims feel silenced because their critique of religion is seen as offensive by some believers?
These simmering tensions surfaced during a panel entitled ‘Secularism as a Human Right’. Chris Moos, council member of the National Secular Society, lit the fuse when he said it was not helpful to describe religious people as ‘stupid’ (in reference to comments made earlier at the conference) if you are trying to build an inclusive secular movement. He argued for more religious people to be part of campaigns for secularism, but said he feared they stayed away feeling their beliefs “were on trial”.
In her closing statement on this panel, Karima Bennoune, UN special rapporteur on cultural rights, emphasised that while the struggles of atheists are important, they are separate from those of secularists. This drew a passionate response from Maryam Namazie, founder of CEMB. Namazie said her “whole life has been bulldozed by Islam”. She expressed frustration at lacking space to say that Islam offends her, for fear of offending some of her religious sisters in a secular alliance.
Gita Sahgal, director of the Centre for Secular Space, argued from the floor that atheism got a raw deal in secular circles. She also talked passionately about the price paid by some ex-Muslims for whom “simply to pronounce their atheism was to fall into a human rights void”, losing their homes, jobs, custody of children and all their civil and social rights.
Ex-Muslims in Muslim majority countries have had to undertake dangerous journeys to becoming visible in order to find and give support to other ex-Muslims. Ex-Muslims in the west have had access to many more potential allies. But, as many speakers reiterated, finding the right allies can be a minefield.
In another conference session, Benjamin David, editor of Conatus News, talked about the ‘regressive left’, the ‘liberal left’ and the ‘progressive left’. Later, David Silverman, president of American Atheists, delivered a high-octane, humorous presentation on ‘wrong left’ and ‘wrong right’ allies. Although talking of the American context, much of what he said applies to the UK too.
A slide from Silverman’s talk at the conference in London.Though deliberately reductionist, Silverman’s talk made some serious points. Black and minority ethnic (BME) feminists in the west, and particularly in Britain, have never received support from those who should have been their natural allies – the left – in their struggle against religious fundamentalism, particularly Islamic fundamentalism.
Silverman noted that the ‘wrong left’ believe that criticising Islam is racism, and in fact make no distinction between Islam and Islamism. He said the ‘right to not be offended’ has been gaining ground among left-liberal circles, shutting down free speech.
A recent example of this is the refusal by organisers of the Pride 2017 march in London to support Maryam Namazie and other ex-Muslims against a complaint filed by the East London Mosque which which described a CEMB placard saying “East London Mosque incites murder of LGBT” as itself “inciting hatred against Muslims”. The mosque said it had a “track record for challenging homophobia in East London”.
In a statement, Pride organisers said their community advisory board was considering whether CEMB could join the next march in 2018. “If anyone taking part in our parade makes someone feel ostracised, discriminated against or humiliated, then they are undermining and breaking the very principles on which we exist,” it said. “Pride must always be a movement of acceptance, diversity and unity. We will not tolerate Islamophobia”. (That old chestnut!)
the ‘right to not be offended’ has been gaining ground among left-liberal circles and shutting down free speech
At the London conference, Asher Fainman, president of the Goldsmiths University Atheist Society, deplored how universities had become bastions of the ‘right to not be offended’. He described an infamous incident when he invited Namazie to speak and her talk was repeatedly disrupted by students from the Islamic Society. They literally pulled the plug on her Powerpoint presentation when she showed cartoons of Jesus and Mo.
Namazie has been disinvited from talks at a number of universities on the basis that she is an Islamaphobe (a favourite tactic in shutting down criticism). At the conference, Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of Index on Censorship, said it was a tragedy that the right to free speech was increasingly associated with the right – though it is too important a right for progressive people to relinquish.
A slide from Silverman’s talk at the conference in London.I am not sure there is a ‘right right’ or what its position would be but, in Silverman’s framework, the ‘wrong right’ is racist because it posits Christianity as morally superior, therefore justifying all critiques of Islam. This position leads logically to support for ex-Muslims but this support is the kiss of death because it further alienates potential left supporters.
Silverman described the paradox that “the right doesn’t care about rape culture, homophobia or sexism unless it is in Muslim culture and we have a left that cares a lot about these things unless it is in Muslim culture. The right says Islam creates terrorists, the left says that criticising Islam creates terrorists”.
In this landscape, organisations like CEMB, Southall Black Sisters and Centre for Secular Space have been trying to occupy that lonely space where the primacy of universal rights is respected, regardless of brickbats from the left and right, of the ‘wrong’ or ‘right’ kind. Challenging religion should have no greater consequences than the crossfire of intellectual debate.
Rahila Gupta is a freelance journalist and writer. Her work has appeared in The Guardian and New Humanist among other papers and magazines. Her books include, Enslaved: The New British Slavery; From Homebreakers to Jailbreakers: Southall Black Sisters; Provoked; and ‘Don’t Wake Me: The Ballad of Nihal Armstrong (Playdead Press, 2013). She is co-authoring a book with Beatrix Campbell with the title Why Doesn’t Patriarchy Die? Follow her on twitter @ RahilaG
