Petition to restore WordPress in Turkey

From MediawatchWatch
Please sign the Petition

The Turkish government has blocked WordPress, a blog publishing system, in all of Turkey because of a private defamation case. Because this censorship silences the voices of thousands of Turkish bloggers, we are petitioning for their rights to free speech.

Banning WordPress is a clear violation of free speech that effects the citizens of Turkey, WordPress bloggers, and readers all over the world. Certainly these disputes can be handled more judiciously by the Turkish courts.

We, the undersigned, respectfully ask the Turkish authorities to reconsider the decision to block WordPress.

Please sign the Petition

 
Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain

Join us at www.ex-muslim.org.uk

We, non-believers, atheists, and ex-Muslims, are establishing or joining the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain to insist that no one be pigeonholed as Muslims with culturally relative rights nor deemed to be represented by regressive Islamic organisations and 'Muslim community leaders'.

Those of us who have come forward with our names and photographs represent countless others who are unable or unwilling to do so because of the threats faced by those considered 'apostates' - punishable by death in countries under Islamic law.

By doing so, we are breaking the taboo that comes with renouncing Islam but also taking a stand for reason, universal rights and values, and secularism.

Stop female genital mutilation in Kudistan

From Stop FGM in Kurdistan

Petition to:
Head of Kurdistan Region Parliament, Presidency of Kurdistan Region,
Kurdistan Region Counsel of Ministers

We ask your esteemed assistance to issue legislation to stop female genital mutilation in Kurdistan and to establish practical procedures to end this abnormal practice.

This request comes after attempts over many years to end this practice. But recent surveys suggest that female genital mutilation is still ongoing in a fair part of Kurdistan . Sixty percent of girls and women are circumcised in various parts of Kurdistan .

Girls are forced to cut away a very important part of their bodies and suffer long-term physical and psychological conditions. They also become more susceptible to certain diseases.

Many traditional authorities in the Muslim world justify female genital mutilation by saying it has become mandatory in Islam. But it is not rooted in Islam. The practice is a crime against women. This is why it is conducted in silence and secrecy. Science has also rejected the practice. Numerous human rights charters classify it as physical and psychological violence. At present, international organizations like the UN, WHO and various women organizations consider female genital mutilation to be a major crime against females.

Thus, imposing immediately a resolution and law to stop this practice should be the principle duty in front of Kurdish authorities. Countering this problem is essential if the international community will continue to depict the Kurds as among the progressive nationalities which believe in female rights, counter violence against women and grant women the rights they deserve. The democracy which Kurdistan enjoys since the toppling of dictatorship should enable us to talk about problems freely and bring reforms.

This petition will be published as an Open Letter in different Kurdish newspapers on World Women Day and delivered to the Kurdish Parliament in Arbil in April.

Until now hundreds of Kurdish and Iraqi persons signed it. You can support it, sending an email to stopfgmkurdistan@yahoo.com

Just family murderers

From Stop Honour Killings

In Syria, recently, two sixteen year-old-girls were murdered in so-called 'honour' killings in the space of two days. On the 21st January Sheren was murdered by her brother; she was six months pregnant. Zahra was murdered on the 22nd by her brother; a newlywed, she had been kidnapped by a family friend in the first month of her marriage. Her kidnapper was convicted and jailed; however her 'honour' was percieved as being permanently tarnished, a stain that could only be removed by her blood.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, some experts estimate that 200-300 murders are committed in the name of 'honour' every year.

Syrian law allows for reduced sentences in the case of a murder committed in the name of so-called 'honour': according to Article 548 of the Syrian Legal Code:

1. He who catches his wife, or one of his ascendants, descendents or sister committing adultery (flagrante delicto) or illegitimate sex acts with another and he kills or injures one of both of them benefits from an exemption of penalty.
2. He who catches his wife, or one of his ascendants, descendents or sister in a suspicious state (attitude equivoce) with another and he kills or injures one of both of them benefits from an exemption of penalty.

This and other articles create an environment where so-called 'honour' crimes are effectively decrimninalised.

According to NESASY, the organisation for Syrian women, these murderers rarely serve more than a few months in jail, even when they are tried and convicted. After the shocking murders of Sheren and Zahra, many Syrian voices are united in calling for reforms the Syrian Legal Code, including the grand mufti of Syria; to send a clear signal that the brutality of so-called 'honour' killing can no longer be tolerated, that tolerating such crimes brings shame to the country.

We ask you to join with NESASY and other progressive Syrian organisations in calling for legal reform.

To support NESASY's campaign (which has over 10,000 signatories already from within Syria) please send an email with your name, address [and organisation if relevent] to nesasy@gmail.com with the subject line "I agree for Stop women killing. Stop honor crimes!"

An appeal for help from Iraqi women

To remove Article No 7 from the Kurdistan regional constitution!

or see  www.petitiononline.com/15122006/petition.html
See also Organisation of Women's Freedom in Iraq

Article 7 of the proposed constitution for Kurdistan is an open threat to the rights and freedoms of the people.

An appointed committee to prepare a draft constitution for Kurdistan Region has suggested the following formulation in article No 7: This Constitution stresses the identification of the majority of Kurdish people as Muslims, thus the fundamental tenets of Islamic Sharia law will be considered as one of the major sources for legislation making.

This campaign declares that such an article prepares the ground for forced Islamisation of law in Kurdistan in the future. This poses a grave threat. We consider it a major attack on the basic rights and liberties of the people of this region. In particular, it will have worrying consequences for the rights of women and for the space for secular and progressive opinion in Kurdistan to find a voice. We want to make the world aware of this threat and mobilise to counter it.

There is no question that making Islamic Sharia Law a base for law making in Kurdistan will inevitably produce attacks on freedom of thought and expression and restrictions on civil rights. Gender apartheid will be practiced. We have seen the consequences of Sharia law in countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan. We need only to look to the south of Iraq where the Islamic Shitte parties are in power and are forcing through Islamisation with an inevitable rise of bloody sectarianism, attacks on modernity and civilisation itself as consequences.

This is unacceptable to the all progressive and secular opinion the world over. Therefore article No 7 should not be allowed in the proposed constitution as a permanent article. Instead, we must demand for the separation of religion from the state and education system.

Religion is a private matter for the individual. It is a basic requirement of freedom of thought and expression that every individual must be able to practice any religion of their choice. By the same token, people must be free to have no religion. No one should be tortured, discriminated against or abused because of having or not having a particular religion.

This international campaign calls upon all people worldwide and in Kurdistan - freedom loving women, men, secularists and progressives - to stand up to a proposal which inserts Islamic Sharia into the constitution of Kurdistan. We call them to support and join this campaign.

We call upon all democratic, social, cultural organisations and women’s organisations to prioritise this campaign, and sign this petition to register their support.

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Opposing the teaching of mythology in schools

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Abolish all faith schools and prohibit the teaching of creationism and other religious mythology in all UK schools

or see http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/faithschools/

Faith schools remove the rights of children to choose their own religious, philosophical and ethical beliefs. They also sanction ethnic segregation and create tension and divisiveness within society. Schools should be places where children are given a free education, not centres for indoctrination. Creationism and other religious myths should not be taught as fact regardless of the funding status of a school. Abolishing faith schools will provide children with more freedom of choice and help to promote a fully multi-cultural, peaceful society.

Result: Fobbed Off

The petition attracted 19,107 signatures

The government response read:

The Government remains committed to a diverse range of schools for parents to choose from, including schools with a religious character or "faith schools" as they are commonly known.

Religious Education (RE) in all schools, including faith schools, is aimed at developing pupils’ knowledge, understanding and awareness of the major religions represented in the country. It encourages respect for those holding different beliefs and helps promote pupils’ moral, cultural and mental development. In partnership with national faith and belief organisations we have introduced a national framework for RE.

In February 2006, the faith communities affirmed their support for the framework in a joint statement making it clear that all children should be given the opportunity to receive inclusive religious education, and that they are committed to making sure the framework is used in the development of religious education in all their schools and colleges.

The Churches have a long history of providing education in this country and have confirmed their commitment to community cohesion. Faith schools have an excellent record in providing high-quality education and serving disadvantaged communities and are some of the most ethnically and socially diverse in the country. Many parents who are not members of a particular faith value the structured environment provided by schools with a religious character.

Make a Pledge

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Perhaps they would benefit from reading God Delusion

I will arrange for my MP to receive a copy of Richard Dawkins' book "The God Delusion" but only if 645 other people (one per UK constituency) will do the same for other MPs.

— J Christie

www.pledgebank.com/church-and-state

Update: Success

14th April

Copies of Richard Dawkins The God Delusion will now be sent to all British MPs