On July 11, 2021, Muhammad Aslam (referred to as Muhammad Ali in other sources) reported to the Defense B police station that his step-sister had been murdered and raped. Aslam discovered her sister’s body on the floor during his visit to her house on July 9. The victim is Nayab Nadeem, a 29-year old Pakistani model who recently returned from a trip to Dubai.
Authorities arrested six family members in Peoria, a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona, for allegedly trying to kidnap a 20-year-old female relative because she has a non-Muslim boyfriend — and she is approximately 5-months pregnant. The victim later told police how she feared dying at the hands of her relatives because they believe she brought dishonor to them.
The state of Kano in northern Nigeria implemented a ban on mannequin heads. The new ban was announced by the Kano State Hisbah Corps, an Islamic police force funded by the government. At the start of July, the Hisbah Corps announced that mannequins with female heads are prohibited in "shops, commercial and private residences, and other public places."
On August 15, 2021, Afghanistan's capital fell to the Taliban. As the city falls, the country's president abandoned the presidential palace, joining Afghans' exodus scrambling to leave the country. Heavily armed Taliban fighters started setting checkpoints and occupying the government district. Ultimately, the Taliban entered the presidential palace.
Online groups of India-based atheists have seen a rise in number in the past decade. In the last five years, the number of online communities made up of ex-Muslims from almost zero to a handful. These groups boast memberships of over 100 people, with one group's membership reaching 300 individuals.
100 members in an online community is a pretty low figure. That is, if you approach the figure from a perspective that does not include the possibility of life-threatening violence and social stigmatization. Being an ex-Muslim has its inherent problems.
Merve Taskin, a Turkish Instagram influencer, is expected to appear in court for publishing photos that were deemed to be obscene. The pictures in question came from a trip she took with two of her friends to the Netherlands to celebrate her 22nd birthday.
Gerald Darmanin, France’s Interior Minister, in an interview with RTL radio in February 2021, commented on the proposed Anti-Separatism Bill. Darmanin describes the bill as tough but necessary, calling it “an extremely strong secular offensive.” The bill passed the lower house of the French parliament on Friday, July 23, 2021. Darmanin sponsored the bill with the support of his party, La République En Marche.
Kurt Westergaard,a Danish cartoonist for Jyllands-Posten conservative newspaper since the 1980s, dies at age 86. According to the Danish Berlingske newspaper’s interview with the family, he died in his sleep after suffering from deteriorating health.
In a press release posted on the Ex-Muslims of North America's website, the group's director, Sarah Haider, responded to a letter from the Director of Content Policy Stakeholder Engagement for Facebook, Peter Stern. In her response, Haider explained how and why Facebook's new Content Policy is facilitating harm for marginalized groups such as atheists and other non-religious communities.
