Hundreds will be demonstrating in London against Sharia and religious laws and in support of secularism and universal rights on Sunday 20 June 2010. The rally organised by the One Law for All Campaign will be held from 1400-1600 hours at Richmond Terrace junction with Whitehall opposite Downing Street (SW1A 2). (Please note venue change from Trafalgar Square made by police; closest underground: Westminster.)
On the day, the Campaign will make public its new report entitled: Sharia Law in Britain: A Threat to One Law for All and Equal Rights. In the report One Law for All outlines what Sharia law is, how it is practised in Britain and exposes the way in which Sharia Councils and Muslim Arbitration Tribunals are circumventing British law and human rights legislation. The report also reveals the gross injustices to women and children in particular and reiterates the need to end Sharia and all religious courts on the basis that they work against, and not for, equality and human rights.
After the One Law for All rally, there will be a march organised by Iran Solidarity from 1600-1700 hours. The march will move from Richmond Terrace Junction to a protest at the embassy of the Islamic regime of Iran. According to Spokesperson, Maryam Namazie, “whilst racist and far Right groups like the English Defence League and the British Nationalist Party blame ‘Muslim immigration’ for Sharia law in order to further their inhuman agenda, it is people living under Islamic laws or the many who have fled Sharia and sought refuge here who are the principal victims of Islamism, and in the forefront of the struggle against it. Within this context, the One Law for All Campaign and the fight against Sharia law in Britain is an important front in the ongoing battle of people in Iran and everywhere against Islamism and for freedom, equality and secularism.”
The march will culminate in a protest rally in front of the embassy of the Islamic regime of Iran (16 Prince’s Gate, London SW7 1PT; closest underground: Knightsbridge). The event will end at 1730 hours.
Notes:
1. Confirmed speakers and performers at the London rally include: AK47 (Street Poet); Asad Abbas (Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain); R Y Alam (Poet); Adam Barnett (Musician); Ismail Einashe (One Law for All); David Fisher (Singer/ Songwriter); Lilith (Street Poet); Lyrical Agent (Emcee); Rony Miah (Lawyers’ Secular Society); Maryam Namazie (One Law for All and Iran Solidarity); Gerard Phillips (National Secular Society); Naomi Phillips (British Humanist Association); Fariborz Pooya (Iranian Secular Society); Brent Lee Regan (Emcee); Yasmin Rehman (Women’s Rights Campaigner); Gita Sahgal (Activist); Muriel Seltman (Activist); Sohaila Sharifi (Equal Rights Now); Peter Tatchell (Human Rights Campaigner); and others. We will also screen a segment of a major new film for HBO called For Neda by director Anthony Thomas.
2. June 20 marks the day when 27-year-old Neda Agha-Soltan was shot dead by the Islamic regime of Iran’s security forces at a protest in Tehran. Her demand for freedom in the face of all-out repression has made her a symbol of people everywhere. According to Maryam Namazie, “It is very apt for us to remember Neda in our battle for equal rights in Britain or wherever we happen to live. Neda’s murder and Sharia law in Britain are intrinsically linked; both are the result of the rise of the political Islamic movement of which the Islamic regime of Iran is a cornerstone.”
3. To read responses to Frequently Asked Questions, go to:
http://www.onelawforall.org.uk/about/faq/. The responses are entitled:
The affinity between the far right and the Islamists; Islam matters because of political Islam; Secularism is an important vehicle to protect society; We will have nothing to do with the English Defence League; Criticising Islam is not racist; Laws should safeguard rights not violate them; There’s no place for Sharia law in Britain; The right to asylum is a basic human right; and many more.
4. To donate to the crucial work of One Law for All, please either send a cheque to our address below or pay via Paypal by visiting: http://www.onelawforall.org.uk/donate/. We need regular support that we can rely on and are asking for supporters to commit to giving at least £5-10 a month via direct debit. You can find out more about how to join the 100 Club at the above link.
5. For more information, contact:
Maryam Namazie
One Law for All and Iran Solidarity
BM Box 2387
London WC1N 3XX, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 7719166731
onelawforall@gmail.com
iransolidaritynow@gmail.com
www.onelawforall.org.uk
www.iransolidarity.org.uk
http://iransolidarity.blogspot.com
9 Comments
I’ll be there.
Yeah Sharia law is one of the biggest problems facing this country and the world
, I ‘ll be there as well to support my radical secularist fundamentalist, blasphemous, un-Godly brethren , we can have a booze-up, swap girlfriends and have a bacon sarnie afterwards 
and just to remind people that i won’t be going, because i am opposed to this campaign for the reasons i wrote about both succinctly in the guardian and at more length here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/nov/21/sharia-law-ban-judaism
http://www.spittoon.org/archives/3755
its effect, if successful, would also force most of the jewish community to emigrate en masse, beside being effectively unworkable. far better to concentrate on the specific points i identify as being problematic.
b’shalom
bananabrain
Whatever floats your boat Yeasin
.
Bananabrain, this reminds me that I need to work on my piece about how it’s women who are most vulnerable to abuse of power under religious laws (and other observances). You’re tough to argue with so I’m not in a hurry, but I haven’t forgotten.
Faisal, this demonstration sounds like a useful alternative to the events in Tower Hamlets on the 20th – now a counter-demonstration to a non-existent counter-demonstration of a non-existent conference. The new group United East End is carrying on with its plans for a mobilisation on the 20th, for ‘unity’ and ‘against fascism’, but it feels to me like a consolidation of the power of the East London Mosque and associated groups to speak for the ‘Muslim Community’ . Very depressing after the good vibe after the election.
Rachel
Are you referring to the EDL march in Tower Hamlets that was supposed to happen on the 20th? As far as I know, it’s been cancelled after the Troxy pulled the plug on the Zakir Naik show (organised by City Uni ISOC!)
http://www.spittoon.org/archives/6630
The EDL have moved their attack to the Wembley Arena on the 26th, to reconvene on another Zakir Naik gig to be held there.
In a way I’m glad to see a ‘flash mob’ direct action on a Zakir Naik show. I’m sorry it has to be by the EDL.
yes, that’s what I mean by a counter-demonstration to a non-existent counter-demonstration of a non-existent conference.
The Troxy conference is cancelled, the EDL aren’t coming, but the new anti-fascist group ‘United East End’ is still planning a mobilisation. A possible outcome of this is to breathe life back into the Respect milieu in preparation for the October mayoral elections.
Rachel,
“A possible outcome of this is to breathe life back into the Respect milieu in preparation for the October mayoral elections.”
You’re right. ‘United East End’ – It’s a re-skinning of the Trots-IFE alliance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISPvm9AB6s0&feature=youtube_gdata
the thing is, rachel, i’m not sure i’d entirely disagree with you about that – but i also believe that women (and to a certain extent minorities) are the most vulnerable to abuse of power under almost any circumstances, so i would appreciate that as a factor to consider in your argument, which i look forward to reading.
that’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me all day!
b’shalom
bananabrain