Campaigning against Sharia law and for human rights

Dear Friend,

Our battle against Sharia law persists, but we continue to need your help. Since we last wrote to you, we held a very successful conference on Sharia Law, Women’s Rights, and Secularism (see conference report and video footage here). This was held to mark the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and was our most well-attended conference yet. We continue to take part in debates around the world and to oppose sharia and other faith-based laws from a human rights perspective – the only organisation in Britain to do so exclusively.

An Appeal

In our last letter, we informed you that we would write to every MP in the House of Commons and every Peer in the House of Lords, and will send to each one a copy of our report ‘Sharia Law in Britain – A Threat to One Law for All and Equal Rights’. Also included with each letter and report will be an invitation to a debate in the House of Commons on 28 June 2011, which will question the practice of sharia law under the powers of the Arbitration Act 1996 given its anti-woman and anti-child agenda. Final preparations for this are being made as I write.

To make our debate in the Commons as successful as possible in highlighting the problems related to sharia, we are asking you to contact your MP to draw his/her attention to this debate, which will take place on 28 June. They will receive further detail by the end of May. Please inform your representative in Parliament that sharia law operates in a way which is not in the public interest as it discriminates against women and children as a matter of course. Examples you can cite include that under sharia, the testimony of a woman is worth only half of a man, and fathers get child custody rights regardless of the circumstances of the case. You may also highlight a growing campaign among sharia advocates to effectively decriminalise domestic violence for Muslims in Britain (see ‘MAT exposed as liars’).

The Future

One Law for All will continue to battle against religious laws and tribunals and stand up for human rights. In the coming weeks, my co-spokesperson Maryam Namazie and I will be speaking at events in Oxford, London, Birmingham, Lymington, Newcastle, Dublin, Ireland and Genoa, Italy. On 4 June, Maryam will be giving a talk on the Islamist Inquisition at HowTheLightGetsIn philosophy festival at Hay on Wye and debating Islam with Lauren Booth and Iain Edgar. She will also be in Australia for a two-week speaking tour in August. Further details of debates we will contribute to can be found on our website.

Later in the year, we will release a guidebook to highlight women’s rights in British law – with regard to divorce, child custody, domestic violence and other issues – and to inform vulnerable women that they do not have to abide by sharia law; we will provide detailed information to anyone who wishes to avoid these councils and tribunals. This will be accompanied by a video which will be posted on YouTube and similar websites. And please keep an eye out for our ‘Enemies Not Allies’ report which will be posted on our site soon.

I want to thank you once again for your donations and/or support. Please do continue to support our work – every penny makes a real difference to us. And nothing we do would be possible were it not for your help.

Warmest wishes
Anne Marie Waters
Spokesperson
One Law for All

To donate to the crucial work of One Law for All, please either send a cheque made payable to One Law for All to BM Box 2387, London WC1N 3XX, UK or pay via Paypal.

We need regular support that we can rely on and are asking for supporters to commit to giving at least £5-10 a month via direct debit. You can find out more about how to join the 100 Club here.

The One Law for All Campaign was launched on 10 December 2008, International Human Rights Day, to call on the UK Government to recognise that Sharia and religious courts are arbitrary and discriminatory against women and children in particular and that citizenship and human rights are non-negotiable. To join the campaign, sign our petition.

For further information contact:
Anne Marie Waters and Maryam Namazie
Spokespersons
One Law for All
BM Box 2387
London WC1N 3XX, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 7719166731
onelawforall@gmail.com
www.onelawforall.org.uk