[Reader-list] After the Charlie Hebdo Massacre, Support those Fighting the Religious-Right

[Patrice Riemens]

bwo Harsh Kapoor/ Multitudes-infos


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http://www.sacw.net/article10356.html

After the Charlie Hebdo Massacre, Support those Fighting the Religious-Right

After the massacre in Charlie Hebdo in Paris on January 7, 2015,
expressing indignation, as so many are doing, is not enough.

A quick look at the English-speaking media shows that whilst many
condemn the violence itself, they also assert that Charlie Hebdo
courted (and maybe deserved?) a strong response from “Muslims”.
Charlie’s regular cartoonists did not spare Islam, any other religion,
nor fanatics and bigots.

This trend in the media requires our attention. Apparently
secularists, agnostics and atheists must keep silent and do not
deserve the kind of respect that believers are entitled to; nor can
they enjoy free speech to the same degree.

In the name of “respect” of religions and of the religious sentiments
of believers, it is indeed the fanatical religious-Right that is being
supported and given centre stage. Meanwhile, those who are on the
forefront of countering armed fundamentalists are left to their own
devices. It is high time to give these secularists prominence, to
recognise their courage and their political clarity and to stop
labelling them “Islamophobic”.

In October 2014, secularists – including atheists, agnostics and
believers from many countries, in particular many Muslim-majority
countries, met in London to denounce the religious-Right and to demand
being seen as its alternative. It is high time to learn from their
analysis and lived experiences.

The tragic massacre in Paris will undoubtedly give fuel to the
traditional xenophobic far-Right and the immediate danger is an
increase in racism, marginalization and exclusion of people of Muslim
descent in Europe and further. We do not want to witness “anti-Muslim
witch hunts” nor do we welcome the promotion of “moderate” Islamists
by governments as official political partners. What is needed is a
straightforward analysis of the political nature of armed Islamists:
they are an extreme-Right political force, working under the guise of
religion and they aim at political power. They should be combated by
political means and mass mobilisation, not by giving extra privileges
to any religion.

Their persistent demand for the extension of blasphemy laws around the
world is a real danger for all. France has a long – and now growingly
endangered – tradition of secularism; which allows dissent from
religions and the right to express this dissent. It has had a rich
tradition to mock and caricature powers that be – religious or
otherwise. Let us keep this hard won right which cost so many lives in
history, and, alas, still does – as Charlie Hebdo’s twelve dead and
numerous wounded demonstrate.

Signed:
Marieme Helie Lucas, Algerian Sociologist and Secularism is a Women’s
Issue Founder
Maryam Namazie, Iranian-born Spokesperson of Council of Ex-Muslims of
Britain, One Law for All and Fitnah and Co-host of Bread and Roses TV
Karima Bennoune, Professor and Martin Luther King Jr. Hall Research
Scholar, University of California, Davis School of Law
Ali al-Razi, Ex-Muslim Forum
Amel Grami, Professor at the Tunisian University of Manouba
Anissa Daoudi, Birmingham University, Head of Arabic Section
Ayesha Imam, Coordinator of the Nigerian Women’s Rights Organisation BAOBOB
Braema Mathi, Human Rights Activist, Singapore
Chris Moos, Secularist Activist and Researcher
Christine M. ShellskaPresident of Atheist Alliance International
Codou Bop, Groupe de recherche sur les femmes et les mois au Sénégal
Daayiee Abdullah, Imam of Light of Reform Mosque
Deeyah Khan, Norwegian Filmmaker and Founder/CEO of Fuuse
Esam Shoukry, Defence of Secularism and Civil Rights of Iraq and Left
Worker Communist Party of Iraq
Fahima Hashim, Director of Salmmah Women’s Resource Centre in Sudan
Fariborz Pooya, Founder of the Iranian Secular Society and Co-host of
Bread and Roses TV
Farzana Hassan, Writer
Fatou Sow, International Director of Women Living Under Muslim Laws
Fiammetta Venner, Writer and Filmmaker
Gita Sahgal, Founder of Centre for Secular Space
Gona Saed, Campaigner and Activist
Hala Aldosari, Women’s Health Researcher and Women’s Rights Women’s Activist
Harsh Kapoor, South Asia Citizens Web
Houzan Mahmoud, Kurdish Women’s Rights Activist
Imad Iddine Habib, Founder of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Morocco
Inna Shevchenko, Leader of FEMEN
Julie Bindel, Writer
Kate Smurthwaite, Comedian and Activist
Laura Guidetti, Marea Italian Feminist Review
Lila Ghobady, Iranian Writer and Filmmaker
Magdulien Abaida, Libyan Activist and President of Hakki (My Right)
Organization for Women Rights
Meredith Tax, Centre for Secular Space
Mina Ahadi, International Committees against Stoning and Execution
Nadia El Fani, Tunisian Filmmaker
Nina Sankari, Vice President of Atheist Coalition of Poland
Nira Davis-Yuval, Founder member of Women Against Fundamentalism and
the International Research Network on Women in Militarized Conflict
Zones
Peter Tatchell, Director, Peter Tatchell Foundation
Ramin Forghani, Founder of the Ex-Muslims of Scotland and Vice-Chair
of the Scottish Secular Society
Safak Pavey, MP for Istanbul, Turkish Parliament
Sara Hakemi, Secular Greens and Giordano Bruno Foundation
Siamak Bahari, Political Activist and Editor of Children First Publication
Sultana Kamal, Bangladeshi Human Rights Activist
Taslima Nasrin, Bangladeshi-born Writer
Tehmina Kazi, Director of British Muslims for Secular Democracy
Soad Baba Aïssa, Founder of Association pour la mixité, l’égalité et la
laïcité
Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society
Waleed Al-Husseini, Palestinian blogger and Founder of the Council of
Ex-Muslims of France
Yasmin Rehman, Women’s Rights Advocate

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