A petition urges the UN to come to
the rescue of non-Muslims and non-believers in Pakistan – who are often the
victims of State Religion – and recognise and celebrate 11 August as the
International Day Against State Religion.
As Pakistan makes history and marks
five years of democracy by successfully upholding general elections, conditions
in Pakistan for non-Muslims and non-believers are far from getting any better.
The 2013 election has been termed the most violent election in the history of
Pakistan. The Taliban carried out their threats and attacked
convoys and rallies of secular
and even Islamist
political parties. Here is
a whole timeline of pre-poll violence in Pakistan. Even on Election Day, the violence
didn't stop.
Non-Muslim candidates were largely absent
from the elections, but those who ran were voted for because electors felt they
could offer protection. The Christian residents of Joseph
Colony, a Christian community that was
attacked by a Muslim mob earlier this year, voted for the conservative party
Jamaat-i-Islami's non-Muslim candidate because they wanted to vote
for protection.
Conditions in Pakistan for
non-Muslims are grim.
In 2009
and again in 2012 the World Council Of Churches stated that minority
religious communities in Pakistan are living in “fear and terror” of
Islamic fundamentalists amid abductions and forced conversions that the
government is helpless to stop.WCC’s
ruling Central Committee declared that Pakistan’s small Hindu
and Christian communities were increasingly subject to “persecution
and discrimination”. Likewise, Ahmaddiya Muslims
face persecution,
outlawed and at the mercy of Islamists. In light of these and other incidents where non-Muslim and non-believer
Pakistanis have been victims of persecution and intolerance, a petition
has been set up calling on the Secretary General of the United Nations to
recognise an International Day Against State Religion on August 11, 2013 “in
solidarity with victims of the State Religion, namely, non-Muslims and
non-believers of Pakistan”. The
petition says "the life of non-Muslims and non-believers of Pakistan is as
good as hell thanks to the State Religion of Pakistan.” There is now a need for
State Religion to be hit by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Atheist Alliance International (AAI) will sponsor up to 100 students to attend the First Secular Humanist Congress, to be held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, 8 - 9 September. Hosted by the Secular Humanist League of Brazil (LiHS), an AAI Member, the Congress will give students the opportunity to hear from leading atheist and humanist speakers, meet like-minded people and explore ways respond to the negative influence of religion in government and society.
Carlos A. Diaz, AAI President said "Students are an important part of the next generation of voters and workers in Brazil and AAI is proud to sponsor their attendance. This is the first time AAI has supported a convention in Latin America and we are excited by this opportunity to support atheism and secularism in the region."
AAI will be represented at the Congress by President Carlos A. Diaz and Director Alexandre Shimono.
A Kuwaiti man is in prison for 10 years for blasphemy after a post on Twitter, and, if Kuwait's parliament has its way, the next person to do it could face the death penalty.
Hamad al Naqi, a Shi'a, allegedly insulted Muhammad, his wives and his friends via Twitter. Naqi denies the accusations, saying his Twitter account was compromised, but still received 10 years in prison for the Tweets. [1]
Kuwaiti newspapers have run editorials condemning Naqi, and Sunni activists called for his death. In reaction, members of the Parliament of Kuwait called for the death penalty in future cases. [2] Naqi was denied bail and, according to Amnesty International, Naqi's attorney was not allowed to be present during the investigation phase of the trial.
Codified laws against blasphemy in Kuwait go back to a 1961 publications law, and the length of the jail term is based on the severity of the comments.
Though Naqi plans to appeal his conviction, and still maintains he did not write the offending messages, Naqi Is one of a number of online activists who have recently been detained for criticising religion or the Emir, and he also supported pro-democracy protests in Bahrain, led mainly by the Shiites. Kuwait’s Shiites make up about 30% of Kuwait's one million native citizens.
Despite an outcry from the international musical community -- and in the face of accusations that the Russian Orthodox Church has its hands deeply in the pockets of President Vladimir Putin’s administration -- Judge Marina Syrova found members of the band Pussy Riot guilty of hooliganism for a protest in February.
Written by Alexandre F. Shimono, News Team
|
14 August 2012
“In each people, a GENUINELY INDIGENOUS church” - image of the Conplei website[1] - missionaries have no limits for cynicism.
Despite efforts from the Brazilian National Amerindian Foundation (known by its Portuguese acronym, FUNAI) prohibiting the presence of missionaries in areas populated by natives, the creeping influence of missionary groups has found new ways to infiltrate indigenous territory.
According to the 2010 Brazilian national census, the number of evangelical Amerindians grew 42% during the last 10 years, equivalent to 25% of the Amerindian population. This follows the overall growth of the evangelical church in Brazil: between 2000 and 2010, the number of evangelical believers grew 61%, to 22% of the Brazilian population. [2] The prohibition on the creation of new Missionary fronts in 1994 and the expulsion of all Missions from indigenous areas in 1991 stated by FUNAI did not convince evangelical churches to give up, instead they found a new way to accomplish their “holy” duty. [3]
Atheist Alliance International thanks the donors who have used eBay Giving Works to donate a proportion of their sale proceeds to AAI! We appreciate the support.
Items for sale that support AAI are listed here and you can find more information about eBay Giving Works here.
Accused of a kind of psychological vandalism, three members of the Russian punk collective Pussy Riot face up to seven years in prison after a protest at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow. On Monday, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich all pleaded not guilty to charges of hooliganism stemming from the February protest.
Pussy Riot's song at the event described an institutionalized corruption in the Russian Orthodox Church, and savaged President Vladimir Putin. Lyrics included, "Virgin Mary, mother of god, drive Putin out.” A video of the event shows nothing expressly violent in their actions. Mostly, they just danced the can-can. Nothing they did damaged the facade of the cathedral. They didn't even play loud music; they mimed a concert and later dubbed in the music. The cathedral, completed in 2000 as a glitzy recreation of the pre-revolutionary cathedral razed by the Soviets, represents, to many, the increased influence of the church in the nation's political hierarchy. Patriarch Kirill I, head of the church, once described Putin as "a miracle from God."
Pussy Riot has previously been critical of Putin's links to the church and its influence on his political decisions. Their history of very public criticism could make the situation all the more difficult for the three imprisoned women, who claim not to have been involved in the February protest. Putin himself may have a direct impact in the course of the trial, according to the BBC News.
Atheist Alliance International (AAI) has launched a scholarship fund for imprisoned atheist Alexander Aan to support his intention to study outside Indonesia after his eventual release. Aan was attacked and arrested in January 2012 after posting 'God does not exist' and articles and cartoons about Islam on Facebook. He was convicted by an Indonesian court on 14 June 2012, sentenced to two years and six months jail and fined Rp100 million (c.US$10,600).
“Alexander is a prisoner of conscience who has lost his job and been taken away from his friends and family simply for stating his views.” said AAI President Carlos A. Diaz. “Through thisscholarship fund, we wish to support Alexander's quest to broaden his mind, in an environment that values freedom of thought and expression. We call on the Indonesian government to promptly free Alexander and ensure that freedom of expression and freedom of religion - including the freedom to be non-religious - are supported in Indonesia.”
Indonesia currently requires that all citizens identify themselves as belonging to one of six state-recognized religions: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. In addition to prosecuting Aan, the government has cracked down on minority sects and on religions seen as ‘apostates’ of Islam.
Atheist Alliance International is continuing its appeal for funds to assist with Alexander Aan's legal expenses and support his family while he is in jail. Donations for the legal defense fundand scholarship fund can be made at http://www.atheistalliance.org/support-aai/donate.
Rationalist
International president Sanal Edamaruku of Delhi, India is now a fugitive from
the law for daring to expose a ‘miracle’ of the local Catholic church.
On
10 March, Sanal Edamaruku flew to Mumbai where a local TV channel had
invited him to investigate a “miracle” that caused local excitement. He went
with the TV team to Irla in Vile Parle to inspect the crucifix standing there
in front of the Church of Our Lady of Velankanni. For some days, there were
little droplets of water trickling from Jesus’ feet. The news of the miracle
spread like wild fire. Hundreds of people came every day to pray and collect
some of the “holy water” in bottles and vessels.
But
within minutes of arrival, Sanal Edamaruku quickly and clearly identified the
source of the water (a drainage near a washing room) and the mechanism how it
reached Jesus’ feet via capillary action.
On July 12, word spread that Safiyeh "Maryam" Gafuri had been hanged in a prison in Shiraz, Iran.
Prior to her death, prominent human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaie publicly called her innocent, but he and international human rights groups could not halt her execution. Maryam was sentenced to death under tribal law issued by judiciary authorities in Iran based on the Iranian Islamic Law. Below is Mostafaie's July 14 article about the incident, first posted by the Universal Tolerance Institute here.
The Enfield Board of Education in Connecticut, USA announced on July 18 it will no longer hold graduation ceremonies at First Cathedral Church in nearby Bloomfield, Connecticut, after a federal judge granted an injunction against holding the ceremony at the church in May, 2010.
Public high schools in the district had hosted graduations at the site for many years, according to an American Civil Liberties news release. The ceremony at the church took place near a stained glass cross and beneath banners reading "Jesus Christ is Lord" and "I am God," according to the ACLU release.
"Attending graduation meant going to church," the ACLU stated in the release.
Atheist Alliance International thanks everyone who has supported Alex Aan, the Indonesian atheist assaulted and arrested after posting 'God does not exist' and cartoons and articles about Islam on Facebook. In June 2012 Alex was jailed for 2 1/2 years and fined Rp 100 million (c. US$10,600).
A friend of Alex in Indonesia was able to visit Alex in jail in early July and provide him with all the messages of support AAI has received from around the world - including from Russia, Mauritius, Australia, Colombia, the United States of America, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Denmark, Scotland, Sweden, Canada, India and the Philippines. Alex greatly appreciates the support he continues to receive, saying in his note "Thanks for support and love, without this I feel alone."
Please support Alex
by:
sending a message of support to Alex - email info [at] atheistalliance [dot] org with "Message for Alex" in the subject line. (Please remember that Alex is not a native English speaker and note that prison authorities will review any materials provided to Alex.)
sharing this page and posting "God Does Not Exist" on your
Facebook wall
tweeting a message of support with hashtag #goddoesnotexist
signing this petition to urge US President Obama to call on the Indonesian government to release Alex
writing to the Indonesian authorities to condemn Alex's jail sentence and calling for a repeal of
Indonesia's
blasphemy laws so this does not happen to anyone else
A Minnesota-based minor-league baseball team, the St. Paul Saints, will host a "night of unbelievable fun" Aug. 10 -- and change their name to the Mr. Paul Aints for the evening.
The Saints, co-owned by actor Bill Murray, accept sponsorships from a number of sources, including religious groups. As a nod to atheist groups, they've accepted sponsorship from the Minnesota Atheists. The team will even sell shirts with the re-branded logo that night.
American Atheists President David Silverman will deliver the game's ceremonial pitch. Money raised will go to Volunteer Without Belief, according to the Minnesota Atheists website.
More information about the event can be found here.
Atheist Alliance was established in 1991 as a
democratic network of US-based atheist organizations plus one non-US
organization. Over time Atheist Alliance
expanded to include more non-US members and changed its name to Atheist
Alliance International (AAI) in 2001. In
2010 AAI had 31 US-based affiliates and 18 non-US based affiliates. At this time the board of AAI concluded that
its goals could be achieved more effectively by separating into two
organizations – one focused on US local and national issues and one focused on
providing a supportive global network for atheist and freethought organizations
around the world. In October 2010 the
separation was approved in principle by AAI’s members and in June 2011 AAI effectively
separated into Atheist Alliance International and Atheist Alliance of America.
404 Not Found
Not Found
The requested URL /components/com_wpjy/local/tent.php was not found on this server.
Additionally, a 404 Not Found
error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
Latest tweets from Atheist Alliance InternationalBy AZ Phoenix DUI Lawyer
Despite an outcry from the international musical community -- and in the face of accusations that the Russian Orthodox Church has its hands deeply in the pockets of President Vladimir Putin’s administration -- Judge Marina Syrova found members of the band Pussy Riot guilty of hooliganism for a protest in February.
“In each people, a GENUINELY INDIGENOUS church” - image of the Conplei website[1] - missionaries have no limits for cynicism. 
Rationalist
International 
