Written by administrator | 04 April 2013

Image: Asif Mohiuddin. Source: The Daily Star

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Atheist Alliance International (AAI) urges global governments to petition the government of Bangladesh to immediately release bloggers who have been arrested for allegedly "hurting religious sentiments” and, further, to demand that the state take resolute steps to protect atheists and religious minorities from real and pressing threats of violence.  On 2 April, police arrested Subrata Adhikari Shuvo, Mashiur Rahman Biplob and Rasel Parvez. The following day, authorities detained blogger Asif Mohiuddin, a writer who was attacked on 13 January by militant Islamists. The attack on Asif was followed a month later by the violent murder of blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider.

“That a government will arrest people for exercising free speech and expression when those people are themselves under threat from religiously-inspired criminals is a tremendous injustice and an outrage to humanity,” said AAI President Carlos A. Diaz.  "This is contrary to basic human rights and Bangladesh's own constitution."  The arrests of the bloggers, three of whom were paraded in handcuffs at a press conference on 2 April, came after pressure from Islamists, who have organised a march to the capital on the weekend of 6/7 April to demand the death penalty for atheist bloggers.  “That the government has caved-in to a violent sectarian movement, by arrests and shutting of websites, does not bode well for the country’s future,” Diaz said. “The state should act to ensure a vibrant civil society by protecting free expression, especially the expression of minority viewpoints.”

AAI calls on the international community, concerned individuals and organisations to take a firm stand in supporting freedom of expression and freedom of conscience. Religious tolerance and pluralism are strongest when freedom of expression, including freedom to challenge religious viewpoints, is protected for all peoples.

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Written by He R. Lock & She R. Lock, News Team | 03 April 2013

Imagine living with the constant fear that an angry mob would torture you to death if they found out you are a free thinking person.

That’s how many agnostics and atheists live in Pakistan. Being Pakistani and an atheist is undoubtedly a dangerous combination. This does not even begin to make sense until you bring the context into the picture, which is a religious verdict about apostates being punishable by death.  So much for 'thinking freely or differently’. This religious ruling is the prime factor that puts the life of Pakistani atheists in danger. In fact ‘thinking’ is just as big of a sin in Pakistan as thinking differently. You are doomed if you decide to use your so-called god-given mental faculties and engage in critical thinking because thinking in matters of faith is a sin in itself.

Despite the fact that revealing yourself as an atheist in Pakistan is like having a death wish, some are brave enough to publicise their atheism. Yet most atheists living in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan have no choice but to live in disguise as Muslims. They are often called ‘in-closet atheists’ which is not far from reality. The constant dread, dismay and the pressures have taken a significant mental toll on atheists in Pakistan as religion takes hold on the majority of Muslims in the country.

Another significant factor jeopardising the life of atheists living in Pakistan is the Penal code of Pakistan, which has laws decreeing the death penalty for various religious offences. This may or may not come as a surprise to free thinking people all over the world, but the famous ‘Blasphemy Law’ proposes death penalty for merely defiling the ‘sacred’ name of Holy Prophet Muhammad. So far many innocent people have fallen prey to the draconian law of blasphemy:

”An estimated number of 1,274 people have been charged under the stringent blasphemy laws of Pakistan between 1986, from when they were included in the Constitution by General Zia ul Haq, until 2010.” (Source: Dawn News)

The exhaustive list of people accused, jailed and even killed by radical Islamists ‘in the name of Allah’ can be accessed here.

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Written by Danika, News Team | 31 March 2013

Image: Protesters rally at the Philippines’ Supreme Court in Manila to protest the four-month suspension.  Source: Kalatas

On Tuesday 19 March, the Philippines’ Supreme Court issued a four-month suspension of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act. The new law would have required government health centres to provide free contraceptives and schools to teach sex education.

The suspension, which is intended to allow opponents until 18 June to present their arguments, was issued after petitions were received from religious and pro-life groups seeking to overturn the law, who are now claiming the move as a ‘partial victory’. 

The law came as a result of disturbing statistics in the Philippines, which revealed increased rates of teenage pregnancies and the maternal and child death rate. The maternal death rate alone has increased by almost 40% since 2006. These statistics have been linked to poor knowledge of sexual health and little or no available family planning advice. The President of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino, has thrown his support behind the law: ‘Items like sex education for instance, how can anyone argue that there is such a need, it shouldn't be deriving your knowledge from your peer group who are actually as ignorant as you.’ The President’s office reported that despite the suspension, there is confidence that the law will be retained.

Even if it is retained, opposition to the law will likely remain. 80% of the Philippines’ population of 100 million identify as Catholic and as yet the Catholic Church in the Philippines and elsewhere has vociferously opposed any reproductive health law. There is hope, however. On the day the suspension was announced, protesters gathered at the Philippines’ Supreme Court in Manila, claiming that the Supreme Court should be held “accountable to the 15 women and children who will die each day” until the law is reinstated. 

Written by Indonesian Atheists | 28 March 2013

Karl from Indonesian Atheists, an AAI Affiliate, talks to the Jakarta Globe about "You Ask, An Atheist Answers":

Discussions between atheists and theists, or those who believe in the existence of God, are fragile events that rarely, though not impossibly, manage to do anything more than reinforce just how disparate the two factions’ stances are. This profound divergence is evidently true in Indonesia, where the concept of atheism is still seen as remarkably foreign, to put it mildly. 

Stigmas and assumptions about Indonesian atheists often paint them as smart-aleck contrarians with a penchant for hedonistic nihilism who leave the burden of proof to believers. 

To disprove this widespread view, two Indonesian atheists have taken up the call, Karl Karnadi and Virgi Albiant, the latter of which is a pseudonym used by the founder of “Anda Bertanya, Ateis Menjawab” (“You Ask, an Atheist Answers”), an Internet-based forum and community that aims to build a friendly bridge between believers and non-believers. 

Read the full article here.

Written by Carlos A. Diaz | 27 March 2013

Yesterday AAI tweeted a link to an Atheist Revolution article that trivialised harassment of women in the atheist community.  The tweet (and related Facebook post) have been deleted and this apology posted on the Butterflies & Wheels blog:

Hi everyone, tweeting that link was a mistake, a big one. One of our Social Media collaborators twitted the link from what looked to him as a sensible source with a title that seemed on the same page as we are.  He wasn´t aware of the fact that the article is far off from our stance on harassment: we don´t condone it, we don´t defend it and we certainly will not accept it in our community, end of story.  We are completely committed to promoting women feeling safer in our community (something we should all strive for) and to stopping this senseless harassment that plagues us.

We have an anti-harassment policy that is mandatory for all conventions we help organize or give funding to and we are always open to receiving suggestions or requests for help regarding this, and any other issue (email: president [at] atheistalliance [dot] org).

I personally apologize for the slip up and hope you understand we, in no way, share any view other than the fact that we all must work together against harassment in our community, we must all feel safe discussing ideas among ourselves and not blame the victims in order to hide the shortcomings our community has.

Written by George Thindwa, Association for Secular Humanism | 19 March 2013

We are very concerned about Witchcraft based violence in Malawi.  Here is the story that should make you very disturbed. The attached two photos is that of Margaret. One where she is alone and of course on the second photo I am there standing with her.

Margaret Wisele (50) who has her leg chopped off  with a machete because she was accused of witchcraft. This happened on 21st  January 2013. The  local hospital had to finally amputate her on 25th January 2013. This was done at Zomba Hospital.  

She was hacked on 21st Jan 2013 by three boys from her village. She was accused of being a witch. On this day, there was a funeral of a grandson to Margaret`s sister. And the village blamed her for the sudden death. And these three boys picked themselves out of the group at the funeral to go and kill Margaret. Since the incidence in January the local police did not arrest the perpetrators for reasons best known to themselves. 

However, with our influence the perpetrators have now been arrested now. The arrest was made yesterday,  on 18th March 2013-one and half months after the event.  We went to see Margaret on Monday 18th March, 2013 at her village.

We should be buying her walking clutches or artificial leg in the near future. Margaret is well. Except that she feels some pain on her amputated leg sometimes.