On Sunday 20 June 2010 Stand up and be Counted!
Join us for a Rally organised by One Law for All against Sharia and religious laws
and for secularism and universal rights
Where: Richmond Terrace junction with Whitehall opposite Downing Street (SW1A 2).
(Please note venue change from Trafalgar Square made by police; closest underground: Westminster.)
View Larger Map
When: Sunday 20 June 14:00-16:00 hours
Then join us for a March organised by Iran Solidarity to show solidarity with people in Iran who are at the forefront of battling Sharia law and political Islam
Where: From Downing Street to the embassy of the Islamic regime of Iran (16 Prince’s Gate, London SW7 1PT; closest underground: Knightsbridge).
When: 16:00-17:00 hours
The event will end at 17:30 .
Hundreds will be demonstrating in London against Sharia and religious laws and in support of secularism and universal rights on Sunday 20 June 2010. The rally organised by the One Law for All Campaign will be held from 1400-1600 hours at Richmond Terrace junction with Whitehall opposite Downing Street (SW1A 2). (Please note venue change from Trafalgar Square made by police; closest underground: Westminster.)
On the day, the Campaign will make public its new report entitled: Sharia Law in Britain: A Threat to One Law for All and Equal Rights. In the report One Law for All outlines what Sharia law is, how it is practised in Britain and exposes the way in which Sharia Councils and Muslim Arbitration Tribunals are circumventing British law and human rights legislation. The report also reveals the gross injustices to women and children in particular and reiterates the need to end Sharia and all religious courts on the basis that they work against, and not for, equality and human rights.
After the One Law for All rally, there will be a march organised by Iran Solidarity from 1600-1700 hours. The march will move from Richmond Terrace Junction to a protest at the embassy of the Islamic regime of Iran. According to Spokesperson, Maryam Namazie, “whilst racist and far Right groups like the English Defence League and the British Nationalist Party blame ‘Muslim immigration’ for Sharia law in order to further their inhuman agenda, it is people living under Islamic laws or the many who have fled Sharia and sought refuge here who are the principal victims of Islamism, and in the forefront of the struggle against it. Within this context, the One Law for All Campaign and the fight against Sharia law in Britain is an important front in the ongoing battle of people in Iran and everywhere against Islamism and for freedom, equality and secularism.”
The march will culminate in a protest rally in front of the embassy of the Islamic regime of Iran (16 Prince’s Gate, London SW7 1PT; closest underground: Knightsbridge). The event will end at 1730 hours.
Notes:
1. Confirmed speakers and performers at the London rally include: AK47 (Street Poet); Asad Abbas (Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain); R Y Alam (Poet); Adam Barnett (Musician); David Fisher (Singer/ Songwriter); AC Grayling (Philosopher); Lilith (Street Poet); Lyrical Agent (Emcee); Rony Miah (Lawyers’ Secular Society); Maryam Namazie (One Law for All and Iran Solidarity); Gerard Phillips (National Secular Society); Naomi Phillips (British Humanist Association); Fariborz Pooya (Iranian Secular Society); Brent Lee Regan (Emcee); Yasmin Rehman (Women’s Rights Campaigner); Gita Sahgal (Activist); Muriel Seltman (Activist); Sohaila Sharifi (Equal Rights Now); Peter Tatchell (Human Rights Campaigner); and others. We will also screen a segment of a major new film for HBO called For Neda by director Anthony Thomas.
2. June 20 marks the day when 27-year-old Neda Agha-Soltan was shot dead by the Islamic regime of Iran’s security forces at a protest in Tehran. Her demand for freedom in the face of all-out repression has made her a symbol of people everywhere. According to Maryam Namazie, “It is very apt for us to remember Neda in our battle for equal rights in Britain or wherever we happen to live. Neda’s murder and Sharia law in Britain are intrinsically linked; both are the result of the rise of the political Islamic movement of which the Islamic regime of Iran is a cornerstone.”
3. To read responses to Frequently Asked Questions including on the affinity between the far right and the Islamists; Islam matters because of political Islam; Secularism is an important vehicle to protect society; We will have nothing to do with the English Defence League; Criticising Islam is not racist; Laws should safeguard rights not violate them; There’s no place for Sharia law in Britain; The right to asylum is a basic human right; and more, go to: https://onelawforall.org.uk/about/faq/
4. To donate to the crucial work of One Law for All, please either send a cheque to our address below or pay via Paypal by visiting: https://onelawforall.org.uk/donate/.
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 at the above link.
5. For more information, contact:
Maryam Namazie
One Law for All and Iran Solidarity
BM Box 2387
London WC1N 3XX, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 7719166731
onelawforall@gmail.com
iransolidaritynow@gmail.com
www.onelawforall.org.uk
www.iransolidarity.org.uk
http://iransolidarity.blogspot.com
103 Comments
Ed Cool
In spirit of solidarity
Andy Fraser – Time to Face the Music ساعت به صورت موسیقی
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA2aTUt5IBw
Klaus Syfuss
I shall be there .http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=376150639438&ref=mf#!/group.php?v=info&ref=mf&gid=57877219870
kope
can muslims pratice sharia law in musilms’s country?
====================
Please read my blog read how islam will win the
clash of civilization.
http://www.xanga.com/hfghj23458654fgha
Tony
Islam and Civilisation and a ridiculous contradiction!!
All you nuts go on about is the crusades which happened 800 years ago!!!! 800 years!! Most countries were primative then none more so than the savages in Arabia.
What about the Jews?? they were persucuted only 70 years ago and they do not force their religion on everyone. They get on with their lives and try and make something of themselves rather than try and force their religion onto the rest of the world.
You carry on with your barbaric stonings and persecution of women wearing Darth Vader outfits and let the civilised world in the 21st century live without YOUR religions persecution and violence.
Have you not noticed that wherever there is trouble in the world Muslims are involved. Why is that?????? Doesnt matter if its Christians or Hindus or seeks or whoever, Muslims manage to start trouble with everyone.
The most amazing thing is that they are so shameless that they castigate the very countries that give them the freedom of speech that they would not be allowed if they had stayed in their native lands.
That is not racist to say that is sheer hypocrisy and I would say that aginst any colur of skin that seeks a home in another culture and then expects that culture to change to suit the minority.
The old sayings are generally longstanding for a good reason i.e. “when in Rome do as the Romans do” as an adjunct to that should read the words ” or dont go to Rome in the first place!”
juniper
Kope, sorry to disappoint you but there is no “clash of civilisations”.
Islam is not a civilisation, it is a death cult. Any book that states on its first page,”Kill all Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians, those who are not muslims,” is a manual for genocides and oppression.
Your English does need to improve, more than you realise.
sofia
listen u don,t have the right definition of Islam and its easier for christain and jews to kill muslims and get away with it , without being sociated with bad names and hatred.
Heliosphan
Kope,
I’ve just read your blog and can safely say that it is one of the most misguided things I’ve ever read.
You think the spread of Islam can be stopped by banning bikinis and pornography? What are you on?
Made me laugh though, well done – I assume it isn’t a serious blog?
kope
Heliosphan
people are converting to islam beacause immorality in the west not because there is a god
Tony
The spread of Islam will only be stopped when the truly peacful religions are forced into a corner by Islamists and then forced to defend thousands of years of believe. In fact religions far older amd far more truly respected than Islam. That stems from a dimwit Mohammed saying the words of God.
How is that anmy different to Jesus and his fanciful stories.
Two ordinary men who have been used to control simple people and make them live in fear so they would be afraid of wiats for them in the after life.
As Pat Condell says brilliantly. If there are Islamic vestial virgins awaiting in heaven for the Islamic martyrs, then the Martyrs wont be allowed to touch them as the virgins, brothers and fathers would kill the “sex fiends” in order to protect their virgins honour!!!!!
Oh dear another hole in the fantasies of religious fairytales.
We mock scientology about aliens coming from another world to colonise Earth. Why is that anymore unbelievable than “walking ion water” “touching the blind and they can see” “making the parylised walk by saying get up and hop around”
If our god is so kind and caring why not send a new messiah for a day. let him do some miracles. everyone would see with the world news.
Everyone would then believe what this messiah told them and the wars would stop as there would be no argument anymore as what was fact and fiction.
Just one day. No, god likes to watch all the wars that he could stop easily.
A bit like making two children and letting them smash each other to pieces. After all we are all children of God arent we??
kope
Tony
If you’d care to rewrite your comment in coherent , I’d be happy to respond. As it is, I’ve no idea what you’re trying to say.
Deirdre
Kobe: you are a wholly misguided neo-puritan. Your generalisations about breasts verge on the comical; you really imagine that a classical statue of a nude goddess really represents dress codes in classical Greece? Or that Victorian women went around semi-nude, as in the Rossetti painting which you also display?
As it happens theocrasy in Iran has not put an end to pornography, as an Iranian friend of mine discovered when he briefly returned to visit his family.
I’ll be there on 20 June
LeeSouthend
1st off I intend to be there on 20 June
2ndly What are you smoking Kope I looked at your blog and if women offend you go live someware where they live inside mobile prisons then you wont have to look at them. Main point I think is nobody here is interested in your view on women. And no I dont think the world will end because of a bit of calf on show.
Daniel de Culla
Maybe I’ll go. I am withj You and against Sharia & Religious Laws.
You’re Yes. All Love to the People resisitng religios roles.
Every Best Wish & Atheist Kisses.
Jacqueline Hanna Youssef
It’s fair to say that many leading Muslim women are more concerned about how existing British equality measures and human rights laws can be used to improve their position and voice in society
Many area in Sharia law are not compatible with life in the 21st century. Wise up UK !
Sameer
There is no God but Allah and mohammad s.A.W is the messenger of God.`
any 1 having misconcept about that
visit. dr. zakir naik
AL
@Sameer — Why do I need a doctor if I don’t believe in Allah? Or God? or any religious ** to be honest.
saira
i agree with Sameer!! you got a problem with Islam ESP YOU TONY!! go see Dr Zakir Naik! the only thing that will will help, you sorry excuse of a human being is the lack of education! maybe if you get out a bit more and actually try to find out abt the true religion of ISLAM and not feed off the misconceptions that free masons are creating, will you then know the truth about this world and the next!
Phil K
The voice of the bigot – screaming at others about bigotry while wallowing in the sea of extremism and religous fanatacism
Why are you in the west, then ?
Why do you demand the inhuman and backward sharia law, yet won’t live in a muslim country to “enjoy” it ?
No wonder the politically correct and islamists form an unholy alliance – both extreme hypocrites.
Frrank
As much as I would love to show support beyond words, I am afraid I have to miss it for my undergrad exams
Good luck anyway!
S.B
Ash-hadu -an-la-ilaha illal-laha, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammad-an Abdo-hu wa Rasulo-uhu! All you petty small minded people! Open your damn eyes. Islam will NEVER be wiped out, its everywhere because its the only TRUTH. This is the only religion I see that doesn’t force itself on to anyone and if you have proof that its forced then show me? La iqra fi al deen (Let there be no compulsion in religion) Adhere to that and whoever doesn’t isn’t a Muslim. Living in England I have seen every religion being preached apart from Islam, from people knocking on my door, people approaching me etc but never ever have I had a Muslim preach to me. Whos seen those annoying people down Oxford St with there drums and bells chanting “harry krishna” and that man at Liverpool Street with his speaker phone ” If your a sinner go to hell”. You’ll never catch a Muslim doing that because we keep our religion to oursleves. We don’t pick and choose what we do, you either do it the right way or don’t. All you petty people who say” our women have no rights, Muslims are terrorists” you need to educate yourselves and stop listening to the media. If you haven’t noticed its the British and American forces who are the terrorists, killing innocent people. There business does not belong in those countries, look how long they have been there and you still haven’t achieved anything- apart from being murderers. Educate yourself before you start talking fraff. Why would Muslims be killing there own people in there own country? Think about it….THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT MUSLIM. There frigging terrorists in our countries, look closely you never see what these people look like, why?? Because they want to make Muslims look bad and make out that its our people. The quran states: By killing one person is like killing the whole of humanity.
This is war on Islam….why? Because its the truth. No other religion is being attacked! Everyone just needs to unite and relax themselves. Live your own life and have your own belief. Leave ours alone. Sharia law will never be wiped out!! Get over it people!
Assalam Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatu 😀
Obama Smythe-Chingford
“This is the only religion I see that doesn’t force itself on to anyone”
see http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_57-pakistani-hindus-convert-to-islam-under-pressure_1388695
“La iqra fi al deen (Let there be no compulsion in religion)” – Look up abrogation
“By killing one person is like killing the whole of humanity” substitute person for muslim and humanity for ummah
“There business does not belong in those countries”.First Iraq war was by invitation from Saudi government. Maybe you forgot the twin towers, hence Afghanistan
and so on and so on…
Either you don’t know your own religion or you are practising Taqiyya
saira
wat are u on abt seriously?! i only got the first comment as it had a link attached to it so i’ll comment on that. to the point. JUDGE ISLAM BASED ON WHAT ISLAM TEACHES. do not judge based on what individuals are doing. you can not say ALL Jews/Christians/Hindus etc are evil or bad because one individual or a group of them are found to be paedophiles. they religion does not teach them to behave like that. they just sicko. so if individuals or a group of individuals are forcing religion on people then the rest of the muslim world or islam is not to blame. stop being so narrow minded!!
Obama Smythe-Chingford
narrow minded?????, You said you don’t understand (got was your words) the other points I made. If you don’t understand go look them up..Otherwise who is being narrow minded? AND THERE IS NO NEED TO SHOUT
Katie
More utter rubbish !
Nowhere in the Koran does it say cover hair, no where !
The words are ‘draw your shawl /scarf over your bosom ‘ & dress modestly. Not bandage yourself from top to toe. That is a jealous mans rule ….. pure & simple.
Katie
A typical rant from an uneducated person who seems to think that those who are against Islam & Sharia are unable to read. Most of us have read the Koran…… in our own language, ENGLISH, unlike most muslims who learnt it in a language they do not know… Arabic.
This is where so much ignorance is shown as to what that book contains. You defend a religion which is based on a book of violence. Muhammad’s words are violent. He was continually making war.
Just as muslims are doing to this day worldwide.
Demanding & taking over countries / territories,but this time by stealth. They will not win.
The bible says many things too, BUT WE HAD ENLIGHTENMENT. We have moved on….. Muslims want to live in the past & stifle progress.
We want to move forward learning all the time, we are going through a new learning curve right now & will become better people by moving forward not backwards.
Building edifices to past myths is not progress.
Phil K
So why are you in the west, then ?
Brainwashed fanatics are repugnant, yet the darlings of the corrupt middle class politically correct.
S.B
AND before you lot start mocking how Muslim women dress…..it says in the Bible the women should cover there hair, if you cannot do that then shave it!!
Jacqueline Hanna Youssef
Will share & invite people, sorry cannot go to London
All my best wishes & good luck
Please don’t be violent
Mohammed
Zakir Naik is a liar. I don’t know how he got a doctor degree. He is just a person used by Organized religion to evangelize people to believe in Islam.
There are many moderate muslims who will support this campaign against Sharia law. Sharia law devalues Women and this is the real truth
saira
SHARIA law is the only law that gave women rights and gives them value. islam teaches women to be valued as gold and men as silver. Islam shows how to protect women from evils that it is surrounded by not by strolling down the street in a bikini at 2 in the morning and then get raped by some sicko because she was out by herself and dresses so inappropriate to attract sicko!! SO GET UR HEAD CHECK MUPP3T!!
Katie
Oh dear, what poppycock. Tell that to the Taliban. Women are only for breeding in Islam
They are treated worst than animals in most of the Islamic world.
Bernard Hurley
In a society that truly valued women they would have the right to stroll down the street in a bikini alone at 2 am without the fear of being raped. Now there are parts of the UK where I strongly advise women not to do this because our society has not reached such a state.
When my daughters were teenagers, I would describe what I thought the situation was and say things like “I don’t want to restrict you but this is what society is like, but, in the end, you must make up your own mind.” For the most part they acted in ways I thought sensible, sometimes not, but no harm was done. But make no mistake about it, if one of them had been raped, it would be the rapist I would blaim.
Obama Smythe-Chingford
The “principles” of sharia include (apart from the stoning etc) Half value for a womans word and death for those who leave the religion. These two simple examples show the ridiculous nature of this despicable gangsta code. I have yet to hear a lucid argument as to why these things are correct, apart from the old refrain”coz god sez so”. The response I expect here are the usual demented “football hooligan” like rants and abuse and how I don’t understand. I understand perfectly that people who are fanatics can’t see past their own ego.
Igor
I just think it will end in extreme violence with whole countries being nuked. So time is ticking and that is the truth
saira
ur right there Igor!! tick tock tick tock!!
MaryamNamazie
You sound like an Islamist – you want to nuke everyone – holding everyone responsible for Islamism. Just as they want to kill everyone in the West – holding everyone responsible for US-led militariam.
brian
god hates sin the good peaple can pray for a way to deal with law but correct not buy killing who has nerver been lost i have i know animalas can get streased love will conker if its found in time and then whoever is then relesed to live in conpastion
EDL
Can any one organising this event please consider joining the edl they are exactly saying what you are and yes i do not denie it we have raceists in our groupe they are not welcome but obviosly they dont stand up and tell us so it is very hard to kick them out dont judge us by 2 stupid peoples actions just like the majority of us dont judge you for the terroist attacks. thank you this could be a prosperous alliace for us both. No Extreamisem nazis or Islamic
MaryamNamazie
No we are not saying the same thing as the EDL – in fact the exact opposite – we are as opposed to the EDL as Islamism. EDL members are not welcome and will be thrown out of our rally.
To find out more about our position on the vile EDL, click here: https://onelawforall.org.uk/about/faq/
MaryamNamazie
If you want more information on the vile EDL, here is a good article on them.
Now if only the Guardian would cover our events so that the public can see alternative ways to battle Sharia from an anti-racist and human rights perspective – of course not that I have much hope in the Guardian…
Katie
Good luck to your march.
I will be with you in spirit.
Sharia must be stopped. Muslims demands must be stopped. It’s time to strike back…….. they think we want to go back 1400 years to barbaric , uncouth ways.
Let me say to them all …… NEVER …. NEVER….NEVER… EVER !
MaryamNamazie
Please read our report “Sharia law in Britain: A Threat to One Law for All and Equal Rights” to find out more about this issue. Stop scapegoating Muslims! Here is a bit from the report: In just a few decades, we have witnessed the rapid rise of Sharia law in Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Indonesia’s Aceh Province, Nigeria, Somalia, Pakistan, Sudan, and Europe, including Britain. This is not because people have become more devout Muslims and are demanding Sharia law when they didn’t before but because of the rise of Islamism. Sharia law is fundamentally the demand of Islamic states to limit citizens’ rights.
Whilst the far Right blames “Muslim immigration” for the implementation of Sharia law in Britain (in order to further its racist and inhuman agenda), it is the people living under Islamic laws or the many who have fled Sharia and sought refuge here who are the principal victims of Islamism, and in the forefront of the struggle against it.
Katie
The EDL are not vile. Had you cared to follow them you would see the vile group are UAF thugs, who ALWAYS create trouble when the EDL are about, cleverly they make sure the EDL get the blame.
Take note, it’s called politics.
MaryamNamazie
Katie – well obviously you belong in their ranks and not ours. For others who want to know more about the EDL, here is a good article in the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/may/28/english-defence-league-protest-bnp. BTW yes it is politics – and not football hooliganism…
Paul Davis
I certainly support this campaign and would attend, however, you’ve inadvertently arranged it for Father’s Day and I won’t be able to attend. As much as I’d like to, family comes first.
Please please don’t arrange these things for days that might make it difficult for people to join in.
MaryamNamazie
Yes unfortunately we wanted to mark Neda’s killing in Iran – Happy father’s day and hopefully we will see you at another event.
peace
seriously people you need to sort out your misconceptions. in islam there is no violence and people who are violent and they call themselves muslims are not really true muslims. i have no right to say who is and is not and i know everyone has a right to their opinions but please could you be more polite and less ofensive.
thank you
Susan
PEACE: You write ‘ in islam there is no violence ‘
So sorry but you should read the Qur’an. My friend is at her 5th Qur’an and with this one, she cut out and pasted all the verses relating to violence.
A GRAND TOTAL OF 566 VERSES of which the great majority tells you to decapitate, burn, broil, boil etc anybody that does not agree with you. Taqqiya at its best. And peace to you.
BLunted
Um, if you have a copy of the Qur’an, you may want to reread 8:37-8:40…
Humanist Reasoner
This is cool, I see you can actually reply directly beneath specific posts here. I’m reposting this message originally posted at the bottom of the page.
@Peace, you are committing the “No true Scotsman fallacy” If Islam does not lead people automatically to peace then people have to become peace loving of their own accord. This means that your definition of someone who is a Muslim is just someone who is already peaceful and until they are proven to be peaceful then they are not a true Muslim. So Islam is not the path to being a peaceful person but is only the noddy badge awarded after someone becomes peaceful of their own efforts. What good then is Islam? To say that violent Muslims are not true Muslims is also to commit the neo-platonic fallacy. You see, anyone could on the very last day of their lives commit a heinous crime which is extremely peace breaking and despite the fact that they were a Muslim all their lives and were good all their lives this one act is enough for anyone to claim that “they were obviously not a true Muslim”. This means that one can never be considered a true Muslim until they are dead and while being a Muslim they never did any bad such as break the peace. So until a Muslim is dead it would be fair to not yet judge them as a common Muslim or a true Muslim but instead to treat them all the same based on their stereotype. And we have to go by stereotypes in extraordinary circumstances because no one has the time to vet each and every votary individually.
Basically you have no idea what you are talking about. Seems to me then neither is Islam a path to clear thinking.
Humanist Reasoner
So, since we can never tell who was a “true Muslim”, or not, until they are both dead and reliable records show they never committed any bad while alive, the title or label of “Muslim” is utterly meaningless while someone is still alive. The label only makes sense once someone is dead
This all implies further that someone who says he is a Muslim just means he is someone who believes that if by the time he dies he has never done any bad he will prefer to be called “Muslim” rather than be called, for instance, “a virtuous person” or some such other option – even though at this stage the two titles given are supposed to mean the same thing.
This all simply means that they have a fetish for words – for the choice of words related to someone who died having never done bad. It implies that the word “Muslim” does not mean a certain religious votary or any such thing it is just a word that simply means “Died having never done any bad since the day it was decided not to ever again do any bad” Utter nonsense, this “No true Muslim” crap! The cult of word fetish!!
Humanist Reasoner
When on one end of the street you have, marching, a crowd of protesting Muslims and on the other end a crowd of protesting Christians really the key difference between these two crowds is simply what they prefer a person be called once that person has died having never done bad in their lives. And anyone who can be shown to have done bad each crowd will protest that they do not wish to award them the title of Christian or Muslim, depending which word your fetish subscribes to.
So when you are in debate with a Muslim about heinous acts committed by their fellow votaries and they start off about “No true Muslim” and the like we need to remember that they have actually changed the subject to something quite irrelevant – they have changed the subject to one about their preferred title to give someone who has died having never done bad. And it is always the case that it is not such people being discussed but rather the discussion is strictly about people who do commit heinous crimes or bad things.
They need to be reminded that the subject in debate is not about the preferred definition but is instead about the heinous acts committed by people who subscribe to this definition. The debate is about the coincidence that so many people who subscribe to such a definition while alive fail to aspire to themselves be so defined. These are two different matters and since they are not mutually exclusive, since they can both be true at the same time, the mentioning of the definition is utterly irrelevant to the topic at hand – usually heinous acts committed by such votaries.
Sure, a person might very well prefer that someone who has died having never done bad be called a Muslim rather than an atheist or a Christian but that has nothing to do with the fact normally being discussed that many people who subscribe to such definitions tend to commit so much bad – more than people who do not subscribe to their definition or preferred word to denote a virtuous person deceased.
Lineswine
Koran Chapter9, verse5. Here, let me refresh your memory about islam & violence…
[9:5] Once the Sacred Months are past, (and they refuse to make peace) you may kill the idol worshippers when you encounter them, punish them, and resist every move they make. If they repent and observe the Contact Prayers (Salat) and give the obligatory charity (Zakat), you shall let them go. GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful.
Bernard Hurley
Comment by peace “in islam there is no violence and people who are violent and they call themselves muslims are not really true muslims.”
For you and your concept of Islam and the community you live in this may be true. However there is a is a highly politicised Islamic movement that uses the Islamic scriptures (you may say distorts) as justification for some of the most horrific atrocities we have seen in recent years. You may say yours is the “true” Islam, but they would say the same of their version of Islam. If you are sincere in your opposition to such people I suggest you join the rally on 20th.
stuporstupor
Hey I am very interested in joining this campaign , however I am terrified this march will somehow be joined/ hijacked by members of the far right or the english defence league.. who do not stand for the same things I believe and are calling for an entire ban on islam and total hatred for muslim belief… can somebody reassure me please?
Thanks so much…
MaryamNamazie
You should come. None of our rallies have been hijacked and we won’t allow it to be. I will personally throw anyone out who is affiliated with the EDL, far right, the BNP, Stop Islamisation of Europe. We have to take back our streets, defend our citizens, and push back Islamism and the far right. We can only do it if we work together. So we need you to be there.
Sally Hughes
Dear all,
I am coming to the rally on Sunday 20th and I very much want to join the vigil for Neda and the people of Iran as well.
Unfortunately I cant do the march as I am slightly disabled and cannot walk far.
I don’t know London very well (I am coming from Herefordshire for the day) so could anyone advise the best way of getting from Richmond Terrace to the Iranian embassey by public transport?
Thank you
MaryamNamazie
I’m really glad you are coming Sally. I know there will be others who can’t march. Muriel Seltman who will be speaking on the day will be organising those who won’t be able to march so just go up to her or one of the organisers on the day and we will make sure you get to the embassy.
stormcrow
EDL.peacefully protesting against millitant islam and sharia law.does exactly what it says on the tin.BUT,the EDL just like you cannot vet every single person that turns up for a march and you would be very foolish to think you could.
as for the guardian.please tell me you dont read that irrelivent piece of crap.the daily sport tells more of the truth than the guardian.
oh!!and one last thing.will you be inviting the laughable uaf/swp on your little outing.you know,the people who SUPPORT sharia law for this country.
MaryamNamazie
I am getting tired of EDL-ers saying EDL is peaceful and not racist when the evidence is clear. Look you get the supporters you deserve. There is a reason why racists, and football hooligans are drawn to your events. Because that is what you represent. The reality is that people who join you or your events have an affinity to racist politics – just as those who join the Socialist Workers Party have an affinity to Islamism. It is not enough to say one is opposed to Sharia – Islamists also say they are opposed to innocents being killed. Scratch beneath the surface – and they don’t really believe many people are innocent; in fact they target the innocent because they have no respect for humanity. You are anti-Sharia first and foremost because you are racist, anti-immigrant and anti-anyone who doesn’t look like you. Yes I know you have a Sikh and some token ‘minorities’ in your group. Well, the Islamic Republic of Iran has women in its Islamic Assembly – that doesn’t make them pro-woman now does it. Frankly I despise the EDL and the far Right as much as I despise the Islamists. Now if someone writes to me to say the EDL isn’t so bad – well all I can say is you are not welcome in our ranks. Any political movement aims to mobilise its ranks – the freedom lovers – who also want freedom for others, the secularists – who want the separation of all religion from the state not just the one they perceive as a ‘foreign’ religion, the humanists – who put people before ideologies and beliefs and religion, the universalists – who want the same rights and freedoms for everyone not just the English (and only the one who looks white)…
Green_Infidel
oh please. You compare the EDL to the Islamic Republic of Iran with their token positions for women or Jews. While I don’t support hooliganism or chanting about “paki-bashing”, as some of its supporters do, where exactly has the EDL supported any discrimination against non-whites or anybody else?
This splintering (I am guessing for the sake of proving to the media your non-far-right credentials) is not helping. Is having most of the media stacked against you, condoning political Islam to various degrees, not enough?
Samzii Islam
this is so unfair….musilms shuold have the rights for there own cieteria, leave us alone, you english people are just jelouse that islam is spreading and we will make sure that it will spread more, watch one day u EDL are going to regret it.
MaryamNamazie
Of course people have a right to their beliefs – the issue is not a question of religious belief but stopping a tool for restricting citizens by Islamic states. It is about challenging Islamism and pushing it back. BTW there are many Muslims who are part of this campaign here and everywhere. But as we have said many times before too – in our opinion the EDL, BNP, SIOE are no better than the Islamists. I have written about this in our FAQs – here is one of the pieces:
The Islamists blame Westerners for Western government policies – no matter how many of them come out and say ‘not in our name.’ For the Islamists, all Israelis are fair game; so is every single man, woman and child in America and so on and so forth. That’s why they target buses and discothèques. They too say that the people in the West elected those governments and therefore must be held accountable. In the world according to them, the people in America elected Bush so they deserved September 11; the people in Britain elected Blair so 7/7 was fair game.
And in the world according to the likes of Stephen Gash [SOIE], the millions languishing under and resisting Sharia law deserve what they get no matter how many are killed, tortured, burnt, stoned and hung from city squares…
Johnny
Threats, threats and more threats… You choose words the western world despises. I really feel sorry for the ‘right’ muslims because people like you make them look really bad and eventually they will pay the price. Clear your head and start thinking.
Lloyd Copper
This is excellent.I have had enough of these tyrants thinking they can do whatever they want in the name of ‘religion’. No God would ever approve of some of the barbaric acts that are done in the name of Allah.Forcing a woman into the ground then throwing rocks at her head until she bleeds to death is not a holy act.The public is becoming so afraid of offending Muslims and they use such violent tactics to “punish” those (including Muslims) who have the courage to speak out against it. I desire peace and inclusion, even though most Muslims would not accept my sexuality.NO TO SHARIA LAW!
tool
So wearing Stone Island or Burberry makes you less relevant in the battle against relegious laws? the majority of The EDL are not racist.
MaryamNamazie
If you are implying that the poor and working class are automatically reactionary – well they’re not. It’s just your bunch that is – irrespective of class.
BTW this is the last post I will allow on the EDL – I am not going to let some far Right fringe group waste any more of our time and take focus away from a day that is as much about standing up to racist thugs as it is about standing up to Islamist ones.
wontellya
4 words- MUSLIMS ARE THE BEST!
Richard
4 words – no you are not.
Neither are atheists, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians.
It’s just your belief, that’s all.
Personally I think having an imaginary friend is everybody’s right – if they so chose – but to think that makes you “the best” or better than people who don’t share that idea is just plain silly and childish.
Or as Thor (what happened to him?) might have put it
ner ner na ner ner, my Dad’d bigger than your Dad.
Johnny
Yeah, right! Wrong slogan, dude. Like I said earlier: clear your head and start thinking. A ´supreme race´ does not exist on this earth. We are all equal.
MaryamNamazie
The EDL are taking to the streets with their far Right and racist politics. See a Guardian investigative piece on them here.
The Islamists – also a far Right movement – are gaining influence as we speak. Read our report on Sharia Law in Britain if you have any doubts.
Are you going to stand by and let them take centre stage or are you going to fight back – with us – against both of them.
We can push them back and defend 21st century humanity if we unite.
We are more in numbers and in strength – we only need to stand up and be counted.
Will you stand with us on 20 June – to remember our beloved Neda murdered in Iran, to show solidarity with people eveywhere living under and resisting Sharia law, to defend universal rights, secularism and equality, asylum rights, citizenship rights and to oppose racism and fascism and cultural relativism.
Join us. We need you to be there…
For more information on the 20 June rally, click here.
Islam Friend
You are somewhat mistaken Maryam, whilst I wholeheartedly agree that unfortunately the EDL has attracted some racist, football hooligan, thug types there are many of us that are more “moderate” members of the EDL. I am a member of the EDL, my wife is not English, I have very many black & asian friends, my best friend is a muslim and he came to my house today for dinner – my family also regularly eats at his house with his (muslim) family…do you consider me to be racist?
Of course I cannot speak for other EDL members, but from where I am standing it seems both you & I are in total agreement….please remember that not all EDL members are racist thugs, just as not all muslims are radical terrorists!
MaryamNamazie
Sorry we are not in total agreement.
Again the numbers of Black people someone knows is neither here nor there. I know a footballer – does that make me one or even mean I like football… not sure why this argument is being used as the main argument in defence of EDL – either there isn’t much more to defend or poor logic has taken hold of supporters.
You have Black people in the EDL – as you have white people in Islamist organisations. Not sure what that says about the organisations in question…
More importantly, you make a mistake comparing EDL with Muslims. Of course most Muslims are not terrorists and most British are not racists. But the EDL and polical Islam are rightwing political movements and ideologies that are inhuman and reactionary.
Finally, you should be very uncomfortable about the EDL rather than apologizing for it if you aren’t racist, which I am sure is the case. No other alternative – of course there is – you should be standing with us against both racism and Islamism.
The EDL supporters remind of the pathetic excuse of a European left that stand with Islamism because their enemey’s enemy is their friend. I think a lot of people are falling for this very poor logic in defending the EDL. Having said that though, I think people fall for organisations they have some affinity to.
Piotr Jankowski
This is so stupid – your answers to EDL people. Can a racist have black friends? You Maryam accuse EDL of racizm, and when they argue there are people of various origin in their ranks, you say it is irrelevant. I really support the OLfA aims, but sorry to say you are a fanatic type as well. So please remeove my adress from the mailing list.
Fathers Day ok
It’s fathers day? So take dad along to enjoy the rally against Sharia & religious laws. Dad wants to stand up and be counted!
Jane
Dear Maryam
You are so wrong about SOIE wishing further violence on those who wish to leave Islam.They openly support all minorities oppressed by Islam
and those muslims who wish to leave Islam.You need to go further than
pushing back Sharia-you need to push back Islam!
Humanist Reasoner
@Peace, you are committing the “No true Scotsman fallacy” If Islam does not lead people automatically to peace then people have to become peace loving of their own accord. This means then that your definition of someone who is a Muslim is someone who is already peaceful otherwise they are not a true Muslim. So Islam is not the path to peace but is the noddy badge awarded after someone becomes peaceful of their own efforts. What good then is Islam? To say that violent Muslims are not true Muslims is also to commit the neo-platonic fallacy. Basically you have no idea what you are talking about. Seems to me then neither is Islam a path to clear thinking.
Worried_muslim
Ok Maryam, just spit it out… When will you people (the undercover right wing), plus the EDL, BNP and all far right groups Unite and get rid of the muslims???!!! That is your secret agenda, isn’t it?? At least the EDL come out right with it, they hate muslims. You decorate your islamophobia with politicising it to appeal to pro-freedom people. Decent people may i also say. not sneaky undercover secret services person like you, employed by the CIA and you know what. Just drop us a line here and there before you get us in an ambush. Now the EDL wants to march in Muslim communities, next you lot will burn mosques.. Call me paranoid, but I can feel that normal muslims are persecuted by you people.
Roger
Maryam I support your cause but I am saddened by your fanatical hatred and attitude towards others that also oppose political islam and sharia law in the EDL. This attitude will not win you many fans and limit the growth of your movement in this country. If this doesn’t bother you then fine.
Also I understand that you are a Marxist. Therefore you are in no position to be bad mouthing people on the right when you support communism, one of the greatest evils of the world. Just ask the people of north korea. Having been at your last event and talking to people, most did not agree with your extreme left views. However they support the anti sharia cause, which is more important. I suggest you do the same with people such as the edl who may have a different political persuasion.
Lucas
It’s a pity I’m not able to attend these sorts of things. Lord knows religious laws have to be stopped, especially Sharia.
Well, I’m there in spirit. Keep up the good work, and the best of luck from Canada.
Humanist Reasoner
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Islam Friend
I was not comparing the EDL to muslims, you obviously did not properly read what I was saying…I agree with the message the EDL is trying to say, we are not racist, we do not hate muslims…on the contrary, we welcome all races and religions to support the EDL. I agree that some BNP type lowlife racist scum has infiltrated the EDL, we are working hard to eradicate that element from the EDL.
I hope you realise by now that the EDL is not a right (or left) wing organisation, you are obviously a very well educated woman – in an extreme Islam country you could be murdered simply because you are educated…we are fighting for the same thing & the same cause Maryam, I suggest you join the EDL, we would welcome you & I know you are a great speaker, you would be a great help to get rid of the fascist right wing scum that we don’t like and don’t want in the EDL
AK47
I do think that there are racists in the EDL although personally I do not necessarily think you are a racist group as a whole. I think the media has put out a lot of spin with regards to the EDL and SIOE and therefore I would suggest that non-racist EDL and SIOE members join One Law For All because otherwise One Law For All will be wrongly accused of associating with racists if the groups did ever decide to work in solidarity. I would fear if this organization and my own associated with the EDL or SIOE we’d all be viewed as right wing nationalists (I know that is wrong) and therefore it would be more strategic for tolerant EDL and SIOE members to join us. The racists within your groups have got you a really bad name and the press have manipulated this to destroy the validity of your groups. I do agree that all progressive minds need to come together against Islamic extremism and Sharia. However racists and neo-Nazis must be flushed out. Their struggle is contrary to our own because two right wing extremes, Islamism and Racist Nationalism, do not make a free society.
AK47
I think as freedom lovers we should fight against all extremes and that is what sets One Law For All apart from the EDL and SIOE. They need to check the extremists within as well as those out with their organizations. Let’s also not forget that Muslims are the first victims of Sharia.
Non-Racist
To me,it seem’s like every Minority,organisation,whatever,are missing the fundamental,s.Unless we drop,the many diversified Minority concept’s and come under one banner,a Non-Racist one,one “Where Everyone Is Equal”Racism will just carry on.A New Approach is needed,an approach for all like minded people to be involved in,without the stigma of a name that seem’s to benefit only that Minority ?One name,One banner,for EveryOne.Get real people or just listen to rhetoric for the next four hundred years.Go in Peace,may your God walk with you
Yaseen Abdullah
I totally agree with the name of the website, there should only be one law and that is the law of our creator so that is the Sharia
What ever you guys say and do there will be no law on this earth that will help prevent problems except for the law of our creator, one may ask why the answer is simple The one who creates knows what his creation needs. Right or wrong?
democracy,communism have all failed. Sharia when it was fully implemented properly has and will never fail red in history of the great muslim leader Umar Abdul Aziz when he fully implemented it see what the levels of crime and poverty were like
People fail to realise that Islaam calls people to light from darkness calls to social values and accepting that which is good for us and leaving that is bad according yes to the one that craeted us as he knows what is best for us
This is why islaam is the fastes growing religion why so many women in UK and US are accepting it
I hope I havent offended anyone but surely happiness is Sharia
Humanist Reasoner
@Yaseen Abdullah
You talk about a law of a creator? There is no evidence of a creator. It makes perfect sense to ask if maybe this universe had a creator but we just do not have even the slightest shred of evidence for a creator.
The only laws we have ever had have been man made laws. These have been getting better with time – you only have to look at the ridiculously juvenile laws of the old Abrahamic Religious books to know how idiotic man once was and to know that only men could have written those laws as no extraterrestrial visiting entity would be so uncivilised to make such laws themselves.
Humanist Reasoner
@Yaseen Abdullah
If you want to know of calling people from the darkness into light, like calling people from Islam (ahumanism) to humanism, you need to study The Enlightenment.
Islam might be the fastest growing virus on this planet but this means nothing for it validity. Firstly, the only reason why there is so much food available so that primitive people might multiply to overpopulate the world is because of the technologies brought by secularist societies.
Ask yourself this – why does Islam only spread through backward uneducated disadvantaged and near hopeless societies? Why do the educated people of the west reject not just Islam but all religions?
There might be a creator – no body knows and no body has ever known – people have only ever pretended to know. But if someone then writes a book about imagined conversations or imagines messages from a creator then they are now a militant theist. There is nothing wrong with thinking there might be a creator, that is theism, but to write a book and talk about such speculations as what such a creator might want us to do and not to do – well, that is militant theism.
krissie
I cannot beleive that any free thinking woman or man can believe that shariah law is right. I t is (as is all religious concepts) rules made by men for men and totally for his pleasure and power over the weaker sex. How very macho of them. I see these males (that are allowed to marry a child at 1 years old and sexually abuse these babies and have full sex by the time they are 9 years old) as weak and feeble minded perverts with only sexual deviance and control on their minds then they are extremely mentally unstable. The only reason these evil beasts (yes beasts they are nothing less than animals)are gaining any headway (and sharia law is now allowed in the uk) is because weak like minded ‘christians’ (thats a laugh) such as the ‘Archbishop of Canterbury’ actually condone this sort of bullying behaviour as do the do gooders are letting everone run amock with normal sensible rules and punishments being dismissed.
George Abbots
I don’t wish to offend any muslims, but the law of our Creator is NOT Sharia. God treats everyone the same – sharia does not. Democracy, Communisim, and Islam have all failed. Not until God reigns on earth will we have peace, but He will not force it.
When Christ was on the earth, He taught the laws of God, most of which Islam ignores. When every knee bows and every tongue confesses without any force whatsoever – that Jesus is the God you should follow – then we will have peace.
David
Not worth posting on any anti muslim topic! Too much PC! Posts die just like our freedom! I am sick of what is going on here in Britain!!!!
Dave
krissie
Hi David
I totally agree with what you say. Governments have sold our country to these evil people who like to perform Shariah law. Especially on women. I will be at the next rally. I am not racist, colour and creed mean nothing to me. But i am anti evil and I see Shariah as evil. They are happy to cause suffering and pain especially to women. I hope that one day when Muslim women get their minds back from the brain washing they have recieved they will do as our grandparents did and fight to gain equality. Muslim men fear equality because for some reason that I do not comprehend they stronger by the brutal treatment of females from birth to death. My sincere is hope is that these people (if there is an afterlife and a god ( which I am absolutley sure there cant be) come back as a female in a muslim society.
Neil Jackson
Hi All; Here’s hoping to a peaceul and productive day protesting against Sharia. But please, I ask you, stop tarring the EDL with the racist/fascist label. As a member of the EDL, I’d like you to know that I am not racist and that the EDL are not a racist organisation. But like any large group drawn from the working class, there are problems; problems which are being tackled.
As an EDL member I oppose both types of fascism, both the BNP and the Islamists, so please don’t make the assumption that me and my friends are fascists. Warm Regards, Neil Jackson
Stephen
Hi Maryam,
Hope you are well. This is my first time visiting this site. I just saw it linked from Indymedia Ireland. Your cause looks a good one.
You haven’t, on this page at least, shown what differences there are in policy between you and the EDL. Labelling someone as “racist” or “rightwing” is meaningless in itself without further explanation. These are just functioning as insults. No one should be persuaded by them.
Some members of the EDL may wish to join you. This is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your commitment to the impartial application of principle, in keeping with the spirit of “one law for all”. I would caution you against viewing it as a threat.
There need be no contradiction between welcoming members of an organisation into your ranks while at the same time condemning some of that organisation’s policies. All that needs to happen is for the member in question to share your disagreement with those aspects of his organisation’s policies. Relying on labels without mentioning policy details risks crating the appearance of prejudice and smug superiority, and weakens your case.
Best Wishes,
Stephen
zainab
Dear Maryam,
I did want to join the march until I saw your own words on this page that people like me who sympathise the EDL & the SIOE are ‘not welcome.’ I feel that instead of uniting, you divide and pigeonhole people. You clearly think that you can win this fight alone and own a monopoly on the truth. In your struggle to defeat fascism, you have become like those people you seek to defeat. I hereby withdraw my support to your organisation, financially or otherwise. Good luck with your campaign.
zainab
PS. The EDL and the SIOA for instance, a sister or SIOE, welcome anybody in their fight against Islam/Islamism/the Shariah. Even people who like to judge. We are all in this together. You should join them one day, before you pass judgment.
zainab
I mention the SIOA because they had a succesful demo in NY lately attended by 10,000 people demonstrating against the 911 mosque.
Jem
I completely agree with OneLawForAll’s aims, but I would like to ask is there any truth that OLFA has links to communist groups? This is something that would put me off attending any future demonstrations
Stephen
Thanks Jem,
Hope you’re well. Here’s my advice.
Forget who it has links with and ask what it stands for. That is all that matters. And if it happens that’s what other groups such as communists or race nationalists stand for, so be it. You agree with them thus far, at least. Hell, maybe you should join them. Just stick to what seems right to you and let others do what they want. Don’t do things depending on what others do.
Best Wishes,
Stephen
Im Forgiven
This is the US of North America and not the US of the Middle East or any other Continent. The US of North America was founded under The US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. And because of these foundations not only Americans but also you “Muslims” are able to worship your god in our land. In the other hand we Christians cannot worship our GOD in the Middle East or in any Nations (Islamic) that has the Sharia Law, b/c if we do, we are put to death or persecuted.
Gavin
One Law for All is the only way for humanity to survive. If we allow shiara law to take over the west we can kiss goodbye to human rights and progress. It is not racist to be against islam, its just common sense. Islam is an evil cult set up by some guy called mohamoud in the dark ages and still spreads like the plague. Muslims need to e educated in order to combat the brainwashing carried out by islamists. Action needs to e taken now before its too late
krissie
Hi Gavin
Spot on. These are religions made by nothing more than a comtrolling man to control anyone weaker. Hand to hand combat on the otherhand would be another matter. They are cowards hiding under skirts and pretending to be strong by using like minded people to enslave the weak. Shame on British governments for allowing these freaks of nature to use Sharia law. We have perfectly good laws in this country and they should be forced to abide by our laws or pay the consequences. If they dont like our wonderful caring country that lets face it gives them a better lifestyle than they have in their homeland, then let them go back to their pathetic supersticious lifestyles in their own country.
Khalid
Well one can say that I am lying or some one else ,any one can access the internet and can find truth about Islam and sharia stories full of horror and bloodshed to hell with them.
I support one law for all and Humanism