Atheist Republic celebrates the recent release of Iranian atheist activist and blogger Soheil Arabi from prison! While Soheil is still facing legal hurdles before he can be truly freed from the stranglehold of the Islamic Republic of Iran, his recent release is a massive victory and relief for Iranian atheists and their allies.
On Friday evening, November 12, San Francisco Police Department responded to a call from the Islamic Center of San Francisco. According to the police report, members of the mosque were inside when they heard sounds of glasses being shattered.
The Council of Europe (COE) pulled out ads for a campaign aimed at countering discrimination against European Muslim women who chose to wear head coverings. The Council of Europe is an inter-governmental human rights group with 47 member states. CoE also took down its Twitter post related to the campaign.
On Monday, November 8, Pakistan announced that it had lifted the ban on the radical Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labiak Pakistan (TLP) after causing violent protests that lasted days, leaving six police officers and four demonstrators dead.
On Friday, November 5, a gathering of right-wing Hindu groups barred entry to a public ground in the Sector 12 area of Gurugram, a place frequented by Muslims for prayers. Guragram, still popularly referred to as Gurgaon by locals, is a satellite city outside New Delhi, India.
On Tuesday, October 26, the Supreme Administrative Court of Greece banned kosher and halal slaughter methods. These forms of ritual slaughter are religious requirements for Jews and Muslims. Both ways require animals to be slaughtered without anesthesia.
On Tuesday, October 26, shops and houses were attacked during a rally in Panisagar, the North Tripura of the Tripura district in India. A mosque was also vandalized during a rally by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). VHP, a right-wing non-political organization, was protesting the violence unfolding in Bangladesh.
On October 30, Deva Chand (26), a Hindu gym trainer was shot in the head in Model Town, an upscale neighborhood in Northwest Delhi. Chand was shot by his brother-in-law, Shahnawaz (21), and Hrithik (20), both of whom are Muslim.
Iran’s use of Qisasor the legal principle of retribution has been put into the spotlight again. Earlier this month, a criminal court in Tehran, Iran, sentenced a man to forced blinding. According to the victim, the defendant stabbed him in the eye, causing irreparable damage.
Mina Ahadi, the founder of the Central Council of Ex-Muslims, received death threats after protesting the broadcasting of the Muslim call to prayer. Authorities in Cologne, Germany, know too well that these are not empty threats and have placed Ahadi under police protection.
