Join us on November 21

You should care about the people of the Middle East

Maurice writes: ‘Delete me from your contact list... I really don't care about the Middle East and its people!!!’

Maryam Namazie responds: Maurice, you should care about the people in the Middle East because they are doing your dirty work.

You are most likely on my mailing list because of an interest in Sharia law. Well, the people there are on the frontlines of the battle against the political Islamic movement. They are the ones that are stuck in ditches and stoned; hung in city centres from cranes for being gay or for ‘acts incompatible with chastity;’ flogged for organising May Day rallies; tortured and murdered for being political opponents or apostates; and daily losing their children and loved ones to this machinery of terror.

All because of a movement that was incidentally brought to centre stage by Western government policy of establishing an Islamic belt vis-à-vis the former Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Despite the decades of repression, though, they continue to refuse and resist.

Today, Students’ Day in Iran is a good case in point. Tens of thousands came out onto the streets across Iran to demand an end to dictatorship and for freedom. Hundreds were arrested and many more wounded.

There are many video clips that you should see of today’s protests and many others that the western media fails to cover but I want you to see just one of them. In this one, a woman is hit in the face by a policeman; she falls to the ground. A man rushes to her aid and is beaten (remember he does this even though it is illegal for men and women who are not immediate family to touch each other because of compulsory sex apartheid). Another woman rushes to protect the young man who once again goes to the aid of the woman who had fallen to the ground.



This brief video clip captures a passing glimpse of the brutality of the Islamic regime of Iran but also more importantly the courageous resistance and humanity of the unfolding revolution that will bring the regime to its knees and herald a new dawn not just for people in the Middle East but for you as well.

A humanity that you would do well to learn from.

The right to asylum is a basic human right

Andy writes: I agree with your organisation on all aspects apart from "Defend the right to asylum for those who have fled Sharia." This has already destroyed my culture and everything that makes my country England. I am white, Saxon and proud of it! I will not allow anyone to take that away from me. And I will go beyond the limits to stop my country falling into foreign hands!

Maryam Namazie responds: Andy, you couldn’t possibly agree with our organisation. You clearly don’t understand where we’re coming from though it is very clear where you are coming from.

We are opposed to Sharia law because it is unfair, medieval, brutal, and barbaric in the same way that Canon law or any religious law is. It belongs to another era. You are merely opposed to it because you think Sharia law is ‘foreign,’ not ‘white’ and not ‘Saxon.’ You most likely have no problem with ecclesiastic courts and bishops in the House of Lords even today and probably long for the days of the inquisition and crusades.

Moreover, we are opposed to Sharia law because it violates rights and freedoms – and not just of people living in Britain but everywhere. You are opposed to it because you believe it has ‘destroyed [your] culture.’ You couldn’t care an iota for the ‘Muslim minority’ in this country or the masses languishing under Sharia in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan or Afghanistan. You think that ‘others’ don’t deserve the same rights and freedoms as you. And that is why you couldn’t begin to understand the need and right to asylum for those who have resisted or suffered under Sharia. In my opinion, Sharia law is so brutal, so inhuman, so intolerable, that every man, woman and child fleeing it deserves the right to asylum.

And by the way, it isn’t your culture being destroyed that we need to worry about – especially since you seem to have very little of a culture worthy of the 21st century. This progressive culture is something that has been fought for tooth and nail by the working class and progressive social movements in every corner of the world for centuries. It has been a battle fought for in Britain, Canada, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan… vis-à-vis the ruling class and very often vis-à-vis nationalism, ethnocentrism, fascism and religious dogma. It belongs to everyone and not just those who are ‘white’ and ‘Saxon.’

Also, I am not sure how long we – those of us who are not ‘white’ and ‘Saxon’ – will be considered ‘foreign?’ Is there a cut off date we should know about so we have something to look forward to?

Finally, you say you will go ‘beyond the limits to stop [your] country from falling into foreign hands.’ In this age of global capital where practically everything you eat, your football stadium, clothes and car are ‘foreign,’ an attack on vulnerable asylum seekers seeking protection is racism pure and simple.

Clearly, we too will do anything we can to build a vast social movement to stop this country and our world from falling into the hands of Islamists and fascists alike.

And we aim to win.

Join daily acts of solidarity with the people of Iran (15 weeks have past – 37 more to go)

Join November 21 rally in London against Sharia law or organise rallies in your own cities

Every day for the past 15 weeks, people aged 16-85 have done everything from singing, doing a puppet show, blogging live, painting, banging on a pot, to giving a speech and sitting or standing still with a placard in order to show their solidarity with the people of Iran for half an hour in London’s Trafalgar Square and more recently in other city centres.

We plan to do this for an entire year to show that every day is a day of solidarity with the courageous people battling the Islamic regime of Iran and demanding a society worthy of the 21st century.

You can see photos and film footage of the various actions here.

If you would like to contribute to these daily acts during the remaining 37 weeks, contact us. We need all the support we can get! You would need to be 16 years of age or over, and spend the half hour doing whatever you’d like from 1730-1800 or earlier during the winter months.

You could also join One Law for All’s Nov 21 rally in London against Sharia law in Iran, Britain and elsewhere. The rally will be held in Hyde Park from 1200-1400 hours. You can find more details here. And if you can’t get to London, why not organise an act or rally on November 21 in your city centre? Just tell us about it beforehand.

You can also set up Iran Solidarity groups at your schools and universities, neighbourhoods and workplaces – similar to the anti-apartheid groups that helped get rid of racial apartheid in South Africa. Iran Solidarity Vancouver, Toronto, Aachen, Frankfurt, Vienna and Oslo have already been established.

Moreover, please don’t forget to sign up to the Iran Solidarity petition if you haven’t done so.

We have a responsibility and duty to unite to support a hugely important movement in Iran that will help the people of Iran and the world in heralding a new dawn and break the back of the political Islamic movement internationally.

For more information, visit our website or blog or contact:
Maryam Namazie
Iran Solidarity
Campaign Organiser
BM Box 2387
London WC1N 3XX, UK
Iransolidaritynow@gmail.com
Tel: +44 (0) 7719166731

New Channel is back!

New Channel TV has started its regular broadcasting after a 2.5 months interruption. You can see it live here or tune in via satellite:

Hot Bird 8
13 degrees East
Transponder Number: 14
Frequency: 11470 MHz
Polarity: Vertical
Symbol Rate: 27500
FEC: 5 /6

NCTV (New Channel TV) is the Voice of the revolution in Iran!

NCTV, New Channel TV, is the first 24/7 TV station that is run independently by the Worker-communist Party of Iran. It is accessible in the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa. It is also accessible live via the internet.

NCTV broadcasts programmes in Farsi, Turkish, Arabic and Kurdish. Its English programmes currently comprise of TV International, Third Camp TV and Secular TV.

Despite the enormous costs of operation, NCTV is run almost entirely by the public, and through sponsorships. Furthermore, its staff consists entirely of volunteers, whether technical staff or producers.

NCTV is not only the voice of a better world and a TV channel through which people are educated to confront the Islamic regime of Iran, but it is a tool to organise. Workers for example, call directly from their workplace, asking for advice to run their strikes successfully. And that's a routine practice.

NCTV however is always challenged by the financial pressure. Become a fan and/or support NCTV via sponsorship! Your tiny, little help counts and it shortens the life of anti-humane Islamic Republic of Iran.

For details check NCTV site or call at:
Phones: +001 505 333 4147 + 001 310 856 9897

There’s no place for Sharia law in Britain

One Law for All welcomes the October 31 counter-demonstration organised by British Muslims for Secular Democracy against Islam4UK, which is demanding Sharia law for Britain.

Islam4UK is a another front organisation for Anjem Choudary’s al-Muhajiroun, which also includes Islamic Council of Britain, Islamic Sharia Court of UK, Society of Muslim Lawyers, London School of Sharia, Global Issues Society, Islamic Dawah Foundation and more.

According to One Law for All spokesperson, Maryam Namazie, ‘Islam4UK’s demand for the imposition of Sharia law in Britain is absurd. What is not absurd, however, is the fact that Sharia law is already being imposed on countless men, women and children for many years under the guise of multi-culturalism. If Sharia law isn’t good for Britain, then it isn’t good for Britain’s ‘Muslim minority’ either. I urge the organisations that have come to the fore against Islam4UK to join our efforts to get rid of existing Sharia councils and tribunals - that is the difficult but crucial task at hand.’

One Law for All calls on groups and individuals taking part in tomorrow’s rally to join us on November 21 from 1200-1400 hours in Hyde Park to demand an end to Sharia here in Britain and everywhere and in support of universal rights and secularism.

For more information, contact One Law for All.

Laws should safeguard rights not violate them

Sanam writes: Aren’t Sharia courts in Britain only dealing with civil matters?

Maryam Namazie responds: Of course the Sharia councils and Muslim Arbitration Tribunals are not sentencing people to death by stoning for sex outside of marriage or hanging apostates like myself from cranes in Trafalgar Square. That is - according to Suhaib Hasan, one of the ‘judges’ at these Sharia courts or councils and a spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Britain, the job of Islamic states. This, however, doesn’t mean that he can’t dream: ‘Once just only once if an adulterer is stoned nobody is going to commit this crime at all. We want to offer it to the British society… If they accept it, it is for their good and if they don’t accept it they’ll need more and more prisons.’

Despite mountains of evidence to the contrary, we are told that we need not worry. Ibrahim Mogra of the MCB says the Sharia councils only cover ‘small aspects of Sharia for Muslim families when they choose to be governed with regards to their marriage, divorce, inheritance, custody of children and so forth.’ Mogra implies that those who avail themselves of Sharia law will 'choose' to do so. It is interesting how pro-women's ‘choices’ the political Islamic movement becomes when it is vying for power and influence in the west.

Despite their deceptive claims, in the real world, even ‘small aspects of Sharia’ increase intimidation and threats against the most vulnerable women and girls, deny them rights they have and deserve and leave them hostage in virtual Bantustans at the mercy of the likes of Suhaib Hasan and Anjem Choudary.

And for those rejoicing that Sharia law in the UK is a ‘moderate interpretation,’ I need to remind them that a ‘small aspect’ is not the same as a ‘moderate interpretation.’ As Hasan says to a woman who questions his ruling in one of these kangaroo courts: ‘there is no exception to this rule; in the Sharia there is no exception, you have to accept it.’

Marriage, divorce, child custody may be ‘small aspects’ to Mogra and the Muslim Council of Britain but they are important pillars in the oppression of women living under Islamic law. Much of the struggle for women's rights has taken shape in countries like Iran against these very aspects.

And by the way, laws are generally meant to safeguard rights not violate them. Many of the laws that Sharia courts aim to avoid have been fought for by progressive movements over centuries in order to improve people’s, women’s and children’s position in society and often vis-à-vis religion in power.

It is dangerous to incorporate religious laws

See a video clip of my interview on Sharia Law UK for BBC Our World broadcast early October 2009 responding to why it is dangerous to incorporate religious law:

It is not racist to criticise Islam

Laurie writes: ‘Great isn't it! I sign your petition and sent the link to friends, liberal freethinkers (like me, I thought) requesting they consider adding their names. I might as well have asked them to join the BNP! If it's not that then it's a stony silence and clear indication that there is to be no discussion on this matter. Having read your last email I can see this is going to be your biggest problem. I think the only way out of this is a full open debate, with the headline "ISLAM IS A RELIGION - NOT A RACE!" unless we can separate these two fundamental issues there is no hope of moving forward.’

Maryam Namazie responds: You rightly say that Islam is a religion not a race. Therefore, like any religion or belief, it has to be open to criticism and even ridicule. This becomes even more important in this day and age give that it is the ideology behind a political movement that is wreaking havoc across the world. It must be criticised and ridiculed because that is how throughout history reaction has been pushed back. Our criticism is often all we have to fight this movement.

Islamophobia - and now by the way the Church has asked that Christianity-phobia also be included in UN rights terminology –are not racism because criticisms of a religion, idea, a belief and even the practices that result from beliefs – even a phobia and hatred against beliefs have nothing to do with racism against real live human beings. Just as an attack on the belief and practice of Female Genital Mutilation is not an attack on girls who have been mutilated, just as a criticism of Judaism or the Israeli government is not an attack on Jews and just as Monty Python’s Life of Brian is not an attack on or racism against Christians.

Saying it is racism is merely part of the effort to silence criticism of religion and the political movement that holds it up as its banner.

You can see a video clip of my response to an Islamist at a public meeting in Canada in 2004 where I talk about how Sharia law is Islamic law and why criticism is not racism. This was the first public meeting of the successful International Campaign against Sharia Courts in Canada:



You can also read more on this in my 2006 speech in defence of free expression here.

Having said this, though, I must add that this in no way means that racism does not exist. Or that because the BNP, EDL, the Stop Islamisation of Europe or Geert Wilders criticise Islam, they are not pushing forward a racist agenda. They are. But I have already addressed that elsewhere.

We will have nothing to do with the English Defence League

Tony writes on the One Law for All website: This group should join forces with the English Defence League and help them in their fight against Islamic extremism and Shariah law in the UK.

Maryam Namazie responds: One Law for All will never ever join forces with the English Defence League. As I have said before, the far-right’s version of Britain is not very different from the Islamists’ one and we won’t stand for either.

I know the EDL tries to hide its true intentions – sort of like the BNP claiming not to be racist in order to join the mainstream. But even without a mission statement on its website and with a disclaimer on its forum, it isn’t hard to see that the EDL is a racist organisation.

First off, just their name makes me shudder. English Defence League reveals nationalism, exclusivity, segregation… I think it is very clear who they are - and are not - including in their version of ‘English.’

And it is also clear who they are from the hooligans and thugs who join their rallies. The EDL says it can't be blamed for those it attracts but of course it can and it must. Send out right-wing messages of nationalism and ‘England for the English’ and you will get the racists and fascists doing Nazi salutes and demonising those perceived to be different.

And it is also clear who they are from their tactics, one of which is organising demonstrations in front of mosques and terrorising people passing by or entering. Look, if you are concerned about the political Islamic movement and mosques being funded by Islamic states to promotes Islamism, then by all means demonstrate but why not do it at the Qatar embassy (if you are concerned about the Burnley mosque for example) or for that matter Jack Straw’s office (who is thought to be responsible for the Emir of Qatar’s £1.5 million gift to the mosque). Yes I am opposed to faith schools but I wouldn’t stand with a group that brings out thugs in front of an Islamic school and threatens children going in who are sent their by their parents…

How you show your opposition is just as important as what you oppose – if not more.

Clearly, being opposed to Sharia is not nearly enough if it isn’t done within a framework of defending the rights of all and not just the 'English.'