Ex-Muslim Conference attacks Sharia Law proposals

Delegates at the one-day conference organised by the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain last week at Conway Hall in London called repeatedly for the banning of sharia law in Britain. Speakers on the platform and members of the audience also criticised the proliferation of religious schools and the spread of veiling among Muslim women.

Speakers at the event included Richard Dawkins, who gave a talk about the Turkish creationist Harun Yahya, a fantasist who has produced a sumptuous book full of falsification, ignorance and sheer stupidity in which he claims to completely dismantle evolution and prove creationism to be a fact. To the delight of the audience, Professor Dawkins illustrated the Turkish idiot’s doctoring of photos in the book, his complete misunderstanding of the subject, his ignorance of biology and zoology. However, Mr Yahya’s efforts to have Richard Dawkins’ website banned in Turkey have been only partially successful. See a recording of the speech here.

NSS Executive Director Keith Porteous Wood announced after the talk that he had drafted a letter for a peer making a formal complaint about the banning of the website to the EU’s Enlargement Commissioner. The Commissioner issues reports on the obstacles to countries — such as Turkey — to joining the European Union. A further letter from an MEP is planned.

Also on the platform was Mina Ahadi, creator of the ex-Muslim movement and winner of our Secularist of the Year prize last year, and NSS honorary associate Johann Hari, the Independent journalist, who spoke passionately about the place of Muslims in British society.

NSS president Terry Sanderson joined a panel which tackled religion in education, and took the opportunity to re-iterate the NSS’s complete opposition to so-called “faith schools” – a stance that elicited enthusiastic applause.

Keith Porteous Wood, who chaired the debate on education, said: “It was a magnificent day, truly stimulating and engrossing. I congratulate Maryam Namazie and the rest of the Council of Ex-Muslims for a meticulously organised event with never a dull moment.”

More information and video of the event here

17 October 2008