"Ex-Muslim" group launches in Britain

[DigitaL VampirE]

PARIS (Reuters) - "Ex-Muslims" hoping to change the terms of debate about Islam in Europe will launch a British group in London on Thursday.

The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain will be the latest addition to groupings that began in Germany in February and spread to Scandinavia in May. A Dutch group will hold its launch in September.

The activists, many of them Iranian exiles, support the freedom to criticize religion and the end to what they call "religious intimidation and threats."

"Too many things in the media and government policies have been geared to pandering to the political Islamic movements and Islamic organizations," Maryam Namazie, head of the British group, told Reuters by telephone from London on Wednesday.

"I hope we'll get a lot more attention and begin to change the debate," said Namazie, who left Iran in 1980 after the Islamic revolution there.

Leaving Islam is considered a crime punishable by death in some Muslim-majority countries. Muslims in Europe practice their faith less than their co-religionists in the Middle East but few openly proclaim themselves apostates or atheists.

There are more than 15 million people of Muslim origin in western Europe, mostly in France, Germany and Britain. Spokesmen for Muslims are often religious leaders, some more conservative theologically or active politically than the silent majority.

Since the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, many Muslims in Europe have complained they are suspected of being terrorists or supporting extreme religious views.

Namazie said the launch of a Central Council of Ex-Muslims in Berlin inspired groups elsewhere to follow suit. The Central Council of Ex-Muslims in Scandinavia is based in Sweden with branches in Denmark, Norway and Finland.

Namazie said the British group had about 25 activists so far. She said expressions of support or interest had come in from the United States, France and Australia.

France, whose five million Muslims make up Europe's largest Islamic minority, has many non-observant Muslims but few describe themselves as atheists.

Several small groups call themselves "secular Muslims" who respect France's separation of church and state. They include some believers who want to keep religion out of politics.

Namazie said many ex-Muslim activists were Iranian exiles who did not fear reprisals from Muslim militants because they already had long experience opposing an Islamic government.

"We have been apostates for a long time," she said.

By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor|Wednesday, June 20

[DigitaL VampirE]

Islam: Group argues many Muslims scared to leave the faith
A group saying it represents large numbers of "ex-Muslims" is urging policy-makers to ignore the faith.

Campaigner Maryam Namazie said 25 founding members were being named at the body's Westminster launch, representing people scared to speak.

The Council of ex-Muslims believes it represents the views of a majority of secular-minded Muslims in Europe.

The Muslim Council of Britain, the largest umbrella body in the UK, declined to comment on the launch.

Ms Namazie said the new organisation would be a branch of a growing network of secular "ex-Muslims" who oppose the interference of religion in public life.

It is supported by the British Humanist Association and National Secular Society and is associated with groups in other European countries, principally Germany.

Iranian-born Ms Namazie is a human rights activist whose family fled the country during the 1980 Islamic Revolution. She has frequently challenged religious thinkers for the way she says they try to control the lives of individuals, particularly women.

The new group would be an alternative voice to bodies like the Muslim Council of Britain, she told the BBC, saying many people who disagreed with the opinions of religious leaders were scared of speaking out.

Ms Namazie urged governments to stop dealing with Islamic organisations that were pushing their values on other people and limiting free speech.

"We are taking a stand for reason, universal rights and values, and secularism. We are quite certain we represent a majority in Europe and a vast secular and humanist protest movement in countries like Iran," she said.

"People can have their beliefs but they must be kept in the private sphere."

"We don't think people should be pigeonholed as Muslims or deemed to be represented by regressive organisations like the MCB," she said.

Apostasy debate

Ms Namazie added: "Those of us who have come forward with our names and photographs represent countless others who are unable or unwilling to do so because of the threats faced by those considered 'apostates' - punishable by death in countries under Islamic law."

In some parts of the Islamic world, apostasy is punishable by death - Italy gave asylum in 2006 to an Afghan man who said he would have been killed for converting to Christianity.

Other thinkers, including European scholars, argue that the call for punishment is too literal and ignores a key section of the Koran that says people cannot be compelled to religion.

The UK government and local authorities have policies of dealing directly with faith bodies, including providing funding. However, ministers are debating whether to change the rules to ensure money goes on boosting cohesion between different peoples.

By Dominic Casciani|Thursday, 21 June 2007