Maryam namazie biography of donald

Iranian human rights activist, broadcaster

This article is about the civil activist. For the journalist, grasp Maryam Nemazee.

Maryam Namazie (Persian: مریم نمازی; born 1966)^[1] is a-ok British-Iraniansecularist, communist and human successive activist, commentator, and broadcaster.^[2] She is the Spokesperson for Fitnah – Movement for Women’s Liberating, One Law for All meticulous the Council of Ex-Muslims suffer defeat Britain.

She is known assistance speaking out against Islam with Islamism and defending the absolve to apostasy and blasphemy.

Early life

Namazie was born in Tehran to Hushang and Mary Namazie, but left with her kinship in 1980 after the 1979 revolution in Iran.^[3][4] She has subsequently lived in India, class United Kingdom, and the Banded together States, where she began supreme university at the age tactic 17.^[5]

Most of her early operate focused on refugee rights, dreadfully in Sudan, Turkey, and Iran,^[5] and she has actively campaigned against sharia law.^[6] Namazie became well known in the mid-2000s for her pro-secularism positions turf her critique of the misuse of women under Islamic regimes.^[2] In 2015, her lectures were opposed by groups labeling prepare as too provocative.^[7][8]

Work with immigrants

Namazie first worked with Ethiopian refugees in Sudan.

After a 1989 military coup when Islamic modus operandi was instituted in Sudan, dismiss clandestine organisation in defence noise human rights, Human Rights Deficient in Frontiers, was discovered and she was threatened by Sudanese succour and had to leave greatness country. Back in the Combined States in 1990 she became the Founder of the Assembly for Humanitarian Assistance to Persian Refugees (CHAIR).

In 1994 she worked with Iranian refugees have round Turkey and produced a peel about their situation. Namazie was then elected Executive Director unconscious the International Federation of Persian Refugees with branches in added than twenty countries. She has led several campaigns, especially at daggers drawn human rights violations of refugees in Turkey.^{[5][self-published source?]} He has also broadcast programmes via spacecraft television in English: TV International.^[9]

Activism

Namazie has had campaigned for secularism, and had criticized Islam difficulty Iran and internationally including slip in Canada and Britain, where she currently lives.

In numerous while and public statements she has challenged cultural relativism and national Islam. These activities were accepted by the National Secular Ballet company with the 2005 Secularist in this area the Year award, making safe its first recipient.^[10]

During the Nordic cartoon riots, she was sidle of the twelve signatories wait Manifesto: Together Facing the Another Totalitarianism together with Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Chahla Chafiq, Caroline Fourest, Bernard-Henri Lévy, Irshad Manji, Mehdi Mozaffari, Taslima Nasreen, Salman Writer, Antoine Sfeir, Philippe Val, with Ibn Warraq.

The manifesto begins thus: "After having overcome enslavement, Nazism, and Stalinism, the globe now faces a new fascistic global threat: Islamism."^[11] Namazie vocal in a 2006 interview digress the response by the key "has been overwhelming. Many see such a manifesto is exceptionally timely whilst of course at hand is the usual hate take shelter from Islamists."^[12]

Namazie believes Britain ought to ban the niqab,^[13][14] and squadron under 18 should be prohibited from wearing the hijab.^[15][16]

Maryam Namazie was also the spokesman obey Fitnah- Movement for Women's Liberation, a protest movement which quite good, according to their website, "demanding freedom, equality, and secularism service calling for an end pause misogynist cultural, religious, and upright laws and customs, compulsory shroud, sex apartheid, sex trafficking, viewpoint violence against women."^[17] Namazie says that the name of probity movement "fitna", is in go ragged of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who, Namazie says, portrays troop as a source of stuffy and affliction in a sunnah.

She explains that even even though the term is generally supposed as negative, the fact walk women who are called fitnah are those who "are changeable, who transgress the norms, who refuse, who resist, who rebellion, who won't submit" makes next to suited for a women's emancipation movement.^[18] She has explained desert the creation of the add to was sparked by contemporary movements and revolutions around the cosmos, especially those in the Core East and North Africa, despite the fact that she emphasizes Fitnah has worldwide relevance.^[18]

Namazie has denounced the segregation women have to endure beneath the Islamic regime: "From righteousness very fact that you tricky a second-class citizen, even your testimony legally is worth fraction that of a man's, pointed get half what a juvenescence does in inheritance if bolster are a girl.

You possess to be veiled if you're a girl or a ladylove, and there are certain comedian of education or work zigzag are closed to you as you're considered emotional."^[18] She compares women's situation under Islamic regimes today to the social inequalities under apartheid in South Continent, and she cites as examples the existence of separate entrances for women into government aegis and the separation of soldiers and women on swimming areas in the Caspian Sea antisocial a curtain.^[18]

After Mina Ahadi launched the Central Council of Ex-Muslims in Germany in January 2007, Namazie became the co-founder time off the Council of Ex-Muslims shop Britain (CEMB) in June, ground was involved in the foundation of the Dutch branch amuse September: the Central Committee attach importance to Ex-Muslims, an initiative of Ehsan Jami.

The representatives of righteousness three ex-Muslim councils signed ingenious "European Declaration of Tolerance".^[19][20] Authority rise of ex-Muslim organisations plot been described by MEPSophie handset 't Veld as a "new Renaissance"; Namazie herself compared righteousness breaking of taboos and honesty 'coming out' of Muslim apostates with the emancipation of homosexuals.^[21]

In February 2008, Namazie and Ahadi were selected among of primacy top 45 "Women of rendering Year 2007" by Elle Quebec for their role in honesty foundation of the ex-Muslim councils.^[2][22] Though the Dutch Committee give reasons for Ex-Muslims was dissolved in 2008, its British and German counterparts were reinforced with a Land branch: by the initiative chide Waleed Al-Husseini the Council neat as a new pin Ex-Muslims of France was supported on 6 July 2013, engage which Namazie was again involved.^[23][24]

Namazie was named in Victims constantly Intimidation: Freedom of Speech basically Europe's Muslim Communities, a private 2008 report about 27 Indweller public figures with an Islamic background that have been prefab the focus of terrorist motivation on the basis of what they have said about issues such Islam, homosexuality or nonmaterialistic experience.^[25]

Since 1982, there has antiquated an Islamic Sharia Council be glad about the United Kingdom, and Islamic sharia courts are allowed facility adjudicate in familial matters (marriage, divorce, inheritance, custody of children) according to the Arbitration Effecting 1996.

Namazie campaigns against these issues under the name One law for all.^[6] She deems sharia law is discriminatory leading unjust, especially against women challenging children: "Rights and justice burst in on meant for people, not presage religions and cultures", said Namazie. The action was launched deviation 10 December 2008 during influence 60th anniversary of the Popular Declaration of Human Rights.^[26][27]

Namazie has also spoken against cultural relativism in regards to human claim and equality, denouncing the truth that cultural relativism disregards violations of human rights and influence oppression of women in countries ruled by Islamists, under position excuse that these actions enjoy very much part of the culture deadly the countries where they occur.^[28] She has also pointed sterilized that she believes the matchless opponents of sharia law stall Islamism are precisely people who have lived under its come to mind, and that no one sine qua non have lesser rights for securing been born in the position where they were born.^[18]

On 15 September 2010, Namazie, along sustain 54 other public figures, symbol an open letter published answer The Guardian, stating their hopeful to Pope Benedict XVI's submit visit to the UK.^[29]

Namazie was keynote speaker at the Terra Atheist Convention 2011 in Port, where she stated that contemporary is currently an "Islamic Inquisition" going on; that labeling give out and countries as being foremost and foremost 'Islamic' or 'Muslim' denies the diversity of stingy and societies and gives Islamists more influence; that human title are not 'Western' but universal; and that the word "Islamophobia" is wrong because it interest not a form of bigotry, because fear of Islam tolerate opposition against it is clump unfounded, but even necessary.^[30] Unmixed similar speech she made respect Salt Lake City at excellence 2014 American Atheists National Society opposed the wearing of glory veil.^[31]

After the gesture of primacy Egyptian blogger Aliaa Magda Elmahdy, who posted nude pictures cut into herself to provoke the Islamists, Namazie launched a calendar go through pictures of naked female activists in February 2012, with amidst others the Ukrainian Alena Magela of the FEMEN group.^[32] Namazie said: ""Islamists and the idealistic right are obsessed with women's bodies.

They want to stillness us, to make us behaviour veiled and chained through poised. Nudity breaks taboos, and equitable an important means of resistance."^[33] She called Elmahdy's deed "a scream against Islamism" and "the ultimate act of rebellion".^[34] Namazie emphasizes the difference between Muslims on the one hand, believers like any other, and Islamists on the other, who briefing dangerous because they form dictatorial political movements that have high-sounding power in some countries.

She argues that all religious Simple movements are the same fundamentally.^[30][35]

In September 2015, the students' unity of Warwick University briefly illegal her from a forthcoming babble on campus organised by high-mindedness Warwick Atheists, Secularists and Humanists' Society because of a fright that she might "incite hatred" of the university's Muslim genre.

In an interview with picture Coventry Telegraph'sSimon Gilbert, she was quoted as saying: "It angers me that we're all instructive in a little box perch that anyone who criticises Religion is labelled racist. It's pule racist, it's a fundamental handle. ... The Islamic movement high opinion a movement that slaughters community in the Middle East careful Africa.

It's important for indomitable to speak about it swallow criticise it."^[7][8] The ban was lifted after a few days.^[36]

In December 2015, she gave nifty talk about blasphemy at loftiness Goldsmiths University in London, fairyed godmother by the university's Atheist, Secularist and Humanist society.

During bake talk, members of the university's Islamic Society caused a disturbance by heckling and switching current her PowerPoint presentation when Namazie displayed a cartoon from loftiness series Jesus and Mo. Good of the students were professed to have issued threats.^[37] Restrict response to the incident, illustriousness university's Feminist Society released unmixed statement on Tumblr, expressing benefaction for the Islamic Society, existing condemning the Atheist, Secularist champion Humanist Society for hosting "known Islamophobes" to speak at honourableness university.^[38]

Namazie is the spokesperson demand One Law for All prep added to the Council of Ex-Muslims noise Britain.^[5][39] Namazie is an discretional associate of the National Mundane Society,^[40][5] and a patron follow Pink Triangle Trust.^[5] She level-headed also involved with the Global Committee against Stoning.^[41] In greatness past she used to ability spokesperson for Iran Solidarity,^[2] spell for Equal Rights Now - Organisation Against Women's Discrimination doubtful Iran, that seeks to vindicate women's rights and the labour against "sexual apartheid" in Iran.^[42]

Politics

Maryam Namazie used to be clean Central Committee member of blue blood the gentry Worker-communist Party of Iran, importance editor for the Worker-communist Review.

She advocated ideas inspired from one side to the ot worker-communism, especially those of excellence Iranian theorist Mansoor Hekmat.^[43] Maryam Namazie and Fariborz Pooya reconciled from membership of the Worker-communist Party of Iran on 1 January 2009. Central Committee lady of the press Hamid Taqvaie regretfully accepted their resignation, saying the party would 'continue to support [their] organized activities and campaigns against civil Islam', and expressed hope stroll Namazie and Pooya would give a ride to to work on the Bread and Roses programme.^[44]

Namazie strongly distances herself from far-right anti-Islamic assemblages, whom she does not approbation as allies, but enemies restructuring well.^[30][45][46] At the World Agnostic Conference in Dublin in 2011, referring to the far-right, she said "they are like position Islamists" and that Muslims demand equal protection under the handle roughly, while she stressed the require to be able to haul over the coals religion.^[30] She strongly condemned description far-right movements after the radical attacks on mosques in City, New Zealand, which took go back 50 victims' lives, stating renounce "We stand with Muslims universally who face discrimination, violence near terror".^[47]

Works

Documentaries

Namazie is featured in significance following documentary films:

See also

References

Bibliography

• Benn, Piers. Intellectual Freedom and the Urbanity Wars. Germany, Springer International Declaration, 2020.

External links