The One Law for All campaign is organising a rally against Sharia and all
religious-based laws in Britain and across the world and in defence of human
rights and secularism on November 21 in London. Rally organisers are calling
upon those who cannot get to London to organise rallies or acts of solidarity in
various cities across the globe.
A public show of opposition is crucial at a time when Sharia law is on the rise
in many places and is being touted as a ‘right’ and a ‘choice’ when it is
anything but these things.
Contrary to the misinformation peddled by their proponents and the far Right,
Sharia courts are the demand of the political Islamic movement. They are not the
demand of ordinary Muslims or those labelled as Muslims (since there are just as
many differences of opinion and belief in all so-called Muslim communities as
among others). Do not forget that these very “Muslims” are the first victims
of and dissenters against Sharia law.
If it were really the desire of “Muslims” to be stoned to death for sex
outside of marriage, hanged for being gay, executed for being apostates, flogged
for eating during Ramadan, forcibly veiled and segregated from childhood,
Islamic states and the regressive Islamic movement would not need to resort to
such indiscriminate violence and brutality.
Only recently, this ‘cuddly’ Sharia law convicted Lubna Hussein of
‘indecency’ for wearing trousers in the Sudan, sentenced a man to be flogged
for drinking alcohol in Malaysia, and sentenced a 75 year-old woman, Khamisa
Sawadi to four months in prison, 40 lashes and deportation in Saudi Arabia for
meeting with two young men who were not relatives who brought her bread. Just
today, on October 11, 2009 – a day after the International Day against the Death
Penalty – the Islamic regime of Iran executed juvenile offender Behnoud Shojaee;
there are at least 160 juveniles on death row in Iran, including for
homosexuality, apostasy, sex outside of marriage and involvement in school or
street fights that have resulted in murder.
In this year alone, MPs in the Indonesian province of Aceh unanimously passed a
law which stones adulterers to death and Sharia was introduced across the
country in Somalia and in Pakistan’s Swat region. And as if Sharia law were not
enough for ‘liberated’ Afghanistan, its parliament recently passed a new
“rape law” for ‘Shias’ which requires, among other things, that women submit
to sex with their husbands at least every four days, with few exemptions.
And it is not just men, women and children who are targeted by Sharia; even
mannequins (wax models) are. This week, again in Iran, the police warned
shopkeepers that they should not display female mannequins without a hijab or
showing bodily curves. The list goes on and on.
Of course, when it comes to Britain, Sharia councils and tribunals do not issue
stoning sentences but that is not because they think it is wrong to do so – it
is because this is the ‘duty’ of Islamic states. (Even here, though, Sharia
judges have been known to advocate stoning.) And whilst there is a significant
difference between letting Islamic courts and councils decide on civil matters
and giving them jurisdiction in criminal cases, this difference is a matter of
degree only; the fundamentals are the same. In fact, discriminatory family and
personal status codes are important pillars in the oppression of women in
Islamic states. Losing custody of your child at a pre-set age irrespective of
the child’s welfare, being told to remain in an abusive relationship or having
your forced marriage rubberstamped with the approval of these sham courts can be
just as destructive.
Whether in Pakistan, Somalia, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan or Britain,
Sharia law concerns us because we are concerned about human rights and peoples’
freedoms. Sharia and religious laws in general do not belong to the 21st
century. We will not let the political Islamic movement drag us back to the
Middle Ages.
So November 21 is an important day for all of us to oppose Sharia and all
religious laws and defend human rights and secularism. Join us in London’s Hyde
Park from 1200 until 1400 hours. If you can’t come to London, why not organise
a rally or act of solidarity in the city centre where you live on the same day?
If you coordinate it with us beforehand, we could upload photos and film footage
of your acts on our website.
We will also respond every day beginning Monday 12 October to one question or
comment emailed to us or posted on our website here: [link] until November 20 so that we can
help to draw attention to this important campaign.
And please don’t forget to donate to One Law for All. We urgently need money to
do all that still needs to be done to get rid of Sharia. Every bit helps so
please do take the time to send us a cheque made payable to One Law for All or
by donating via Paypal by visiting https://onelawforall.org.uk/donate.html
Thank you.
We look forward to a successful rally in London and elsewhere.
Warm wishes
Maryam
Maryam Namazie
Spokesperson
One Law for All
BM Box 2387
London WC1N 3XX, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 7719166731
onelawforall@gmail.com
www.onelawforall.org.uk