Atheist Alliance International

Issue 10 | July 17, 2019

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Hello :

Two steps forward and one back, that seems to be the way secularism progresses.

After Istanbul voters rejected Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he made them vote again -- and lost by the biggest landslide in 35 years! The Muslim authoritarian President looks likely to lose his mandate in the next Turkish general election.

Meanwhile, blasphemy became a sackable offense in the UK when an Asda worker lost his job for sharing an ‘anti-Islamic’ video made years ago! This is especially bizarre because the religion that comedian Billy Connelly actually mocked was Catholicism! See here: https://youtu.be/Zlh4ia6XWGU

To tell us what you think, or to share news from where you are, email me, John Richards at aai.insider@atheistalliance.org.

president's message

Atheist Alliance International’s Board continues to grow. We recently added Fotis from Greece as our Campaign Manager and Manoj from India as our World News Director. This will help the organization take on more campaigns and inform atheists around the world on what is happening in their region. Welcome, Fotis and Manoj.

We conducted a mid-year review and are on track for our goals in 2019. Our outgoings continually decline so we can spend more money on campaigns and helping atheists. AAI is also in a position to add on more projects for the remainder of the year. If you any suggestions, we would love to hear from you.

The Fundraising Director position still remains vacant. If you know of anyone who has experience in this field and is interested, please complete the nomination form on our website.

-- Gail Miller, AAI President

We are staging a Convention!

AAI has commissioned a UK company to put on a weekend of talks and entertainments for atheists on the Sussex coast next spring. Richard Carrier has kindly agreed to be the Keynote Speaker! More information will become available when the website is launched in September.

You will be among the first to hear and to get access to Early Bird priced tickets!

-- John Richards, Publication Director

Outreach Director News

A few weeks ago, I was appointed to help people who are at risk of execution or imprisonment simply for being an atheist and to assist them with making life in a highly religious country a little bit better. This is especially important when they have no way of emigrating to a more tolerant land. I already have some modest success stories to tell…

Some of the approximately 25 atheists - mainly Ex-Muslims from Pakistan and other Middle-Eastern countries - who contacted AAI in June have been referred to other organizations that are currently better suited to help and support them at this time.

One atheist asked for help because he has been harassed by his religious community for simply not believing in the God of his culture. He has decided to stay in Pakistan and to pretend to be a Muslim until he has finished his studies, which seems to be the best option for him right now.

A Bangladeshi Ex-Muslim blogger and human rights activist has realized that it is wiser to use aliases when blogging or posting on social media in order to minimize the risk of punishment for his activism.

Most importantly, Atheist Alliance International has started a fundraising campaign in order to help secular groups become Government approved sponsors for refugees like Mohsen and his wife Shaghayegh Sadeghigoodarzi. They had to escape their home and loved ones due to a death sentence in Iran. Desperate victims like this need help getting asylum visas from the United States or Canada. You can read more about Mohsen and Shaghayegh here:
https://www.facebook.com/donate/2127791777519703/

-- Elisabeth C. Mathes, Outreach Director

Uganda Meetups

AAI’s affiliate in Uganda, HALEA, has been hosting Meetups in Kampala since March. Picture for Ugandan article. They’ve held three this year and will continue. The Meetups include a panel to speak on topics such as “Can Someone be Good without God?”. Our VP, Bill Flavell, and Publications Director, John RIchards, have contributed video presentations.

It is a challenge to host these events in a religious country like Uganda, but they are managing to get a small crowd of people each time. Kato Musaka, President of HALEA, says a lot of atheists are shy to come out but they continue to look for ways to broaden advertising of the meetups to increase attendance.

HALEA (Humanist Association of Leadership, Equality and Accountability) has been active for a long time in Uganda promoting the rights of non-believers along with other groups such as gays and lesbians. The organization also works hard to bring secular education to schools there. AAI is proud to have them as an affiliate and to support them financially.

-- Gail Miller, President

The God Delusion now FREE in Arabic

Recognizing the difficulty many Muslims have accessing books on skepticism, atheism and evolution, Richard Dawkins is making his most popular titles available for FREE DOWNLOAD in Arabic, Urdu, Farsi, and Indonesian. The titles being made available include River Out of Eden, The Magic of Reality, The Blind Watchmaker, and The God Delusion.

The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science, now a division of The Center for Inquiry, has launched The Translations Project to provide professional translations of Dawkins’ books into the languages most widely spoken by Muslims around the world.

learn more

PICKS from our blog

Check out the editor’s picks from our blog.

Eight reasons Christianity is false

Is there any evidence that proves Christianity is false? Actually, there is. Rather a lot.

learn more

What did our ancestors know?

Humans have believed in a supernatural realm for 10,000+ years but how did we discover it?

learn more

Six things atheists do wrong

To help theists review their beliefs, here are six things to do and six to avoid.

learn more

If evolution needed faith

If evolution had to be believed by faith, how would you persuade people it is true?

learn more

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