Mina Ahadi: Abuse of Women’s Rights in Iran Calls for a New Revolution

By Scott Douglas Jacobsen  (Interviewer) and Stephanie Wimmers (Translator) Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Mina, what is your family background regarding religion, geography, culture, language, and education? Mina Ahadi: I was born in Abhar, a little town in Iran. My mother tongue was Turkish but we learnt and spoke Persian in school. My father was active in […] Read more

Tear Gas and Arrests Follow Turkish Women’s Rights Protests

On March 4, Turkish protesters were on the streets of Ankara, Turkey, for the advancement of women’s rights and were met with arrests and tear gas. At a gathering ahead of International Women’s Day, which is on March 8, the marchers ignored calls to disperse their protests. This was not taken well by the riot […] Read more

Male Circumcision Violates Human Rights

Male circumcision, widely regarded as harmless, still violates the bodily autonomy of children and carries many medical risks. Ahead of a vote in the Icelandic parliament, a bill to outlaw male circumcision has ignited controversy across Europe, with conservative religious figures – Jewish, Islamic and Christian faith leaders among them – rallying together in common […] Read more

French Embassy in Burkina Faso attacked by jihadist terrorists

A terrorist attack on the French Embassy in Burkina Faso on Friday, March 3, believed to be targeting the anti-terror force G5-Sahel has killed dozens. A jihadist terror attack on the French Embassy in Burkina Faso claimed dozens of lives on Friday, March 3. There were two attacks, with one on the French Embassy in […] Read more

Tunisian Freethinkers are Under Attack

Tunisian Islamist extremists are threatening and attacking freethinkers, a sign of increasing violence in Tunisia following the 2011 revolution. Last week, Tunisian citizen Nacer Amari, a member of an organisation called Tunisian Freethinkers, announced on Facebook that the president of the organisation had been stabbed and assaulted by Islamic extremists outside a bar in Tunis. […] Read more

Andrew Copson: Humanism and Secularism in Modern Society

Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of Humanists UK and President of IHEU, talks to Conatus News about humanism and secularism in modern society. Scott Douglas Jacobsen: I wanted to talk about humanism: the hows and whys, the theoretical and practical. To begin, what is humanism properly defined in its most general sense? Andrew Copson: In English, […] Read more

Confronting Superstition in Postcolonial Mozambique

In Mozambique, murders of albinos, bald men, and other superstition-fueled crimes are common. Where do these ritual killings come from? Recently, there have been reported incidents of harmful acts that are connected with traditional beliefs and practices across the region. For instance, some people attacked traders and fishermen for ‘tying the rain’. They alleged that […] Read more

Comparisons Between Female Genital Mutilation and Male Circumcision are False and Dangerous

By: Dr Zuhdi Jasser, Dr Waqas Khan, and Dr Shaaz Mahboob, in partnership with America Matters The comparison between Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and male circumcision on a medical basis is false and endangers women who are subjected to it. Introduction The April 2017 federal indictment of multiple Muslim physicians for the crime of female […] Read more