Dear friends

I wanted to thank you for your support of the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain. As you know we were in desperate need of financial help and are grateful for the donations of many generous individuals and groups.

What we do – breaking the taboo that comes with renouncing Islam and challenging a movement that sentences apostates to death – is considered ‘controversial’ to say the least and makes it almost impossible to get support from mainstream funders. Also, we haven’t been able to secure charity status.

In its refusal letter the Charity Commission says: “Under English law the advancement of religion is a recognised charitable purpose and charities are afforded certain fiscal privileges by the state. The prohibition of any such financial privilege as called for in the demand made in Manifesto would require a change in law. Similarly a separation of religion from the state and legal and education system would appear to require both constitutional reform and change to the law.”

There is something fundamentally wrong when the Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain can’t get charity status but the Sharia Council legislating misogyny in its sharia courts can. And how absurd that defending secularism is not a charitable object but advancing religion is, particularly in this day and age when we are living under an Islamic Inquisition.

Much of the struggle for change throughout history has included demands for changes in the law and in religion’s role in the public space. And this is something the Council of Ex-Muslims will continue to do with your support.

Again, thank you. Please do continue to support us in any way you can; every little bit helps go a long way in the fight that lies ahead.

Warmest wishes

Maryam

Maryam Namazie

Spokesperson, Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain

1. See Maryam’s speech at the Dublin World Atheist Conference on the Islamic Inquisition.

2. See our Manifesto.

3. See an updated list of members.

4. See the latest media coverage of our activities.

5. To donate to the crucial work of CEMB, please either send a cheque made payable to CEMB to BM Box 1919, London WC1N 3XX, UK or pay via Worldpay by visiting here. We also need regular support that we can rely on and are asking for supporters to commit to giving at least £3 a month via direct debit. You can find out more about how here.

6. The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain was launched in June 2007. The launch video has been seen by over 190,000 people.