- Indian Muslim Cleric Arranged Murder of Man for "Hurting Religious Sentiments"
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/indian-muslim-cleric-kills-man-hurting-religious-sentiments
Location: India
On January 25th, Kishan Boliya was shot by two men in retaliation for a Facebook post he made on January 6th. Kishan’s post was considered objectionable and hurtful towards the ‘religious feelings’ of the Muslim community. Two Muslim clerics, Mohammad Ayub Javrawala and Maulvi Kamargani Usmani, were arrested on January 28th for the murder of Kishan. Two other suspects, 25-year old Shabbir Chopda and 27-year old Imtiaz Pathan, were arrested later that same day, following the clerics’ arrest. Usmani runs an organization whose goal is to oppose anyone who insults the Prophet Muhammad. According to Imtiaz Shaikh, police superintendent of the Anti-Terrorism Squad, there is proof of the cleric Usmani contacting the alleged murderers via Instagram. Allegedly, Usmani arranged for one suspect to acquire a gun and instructed him to contact the other suspected murderer. As of February 5th, a total of eight persons have been arrested in connection to the murder, and the police are treating this incident as an act of terror.
- “After-School Satan Club” Sparks Outrage
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/after-school-satan-club-sparks-outrage
Location: Ohio
The Satanic Temple affiliated program, the “After-School Satan Club,” has recently sparked a bit of satanic panic in the small town of Lebanon, Ohio. The pushback against the After-School Satan’s Club occurred recently, even though the club has existed across the nation for years. In 2016, Satanic Temple’s co-founder Lucian Greaves announced that they would create an alternative to the evangelical and fundamentalist Chrisitan after-school club called the “Good News Club,” with plans to operate in any school where the Christian Good News Clubs meet. Parents were also outraged in Moline, Illinois after flyers about a “Satan’s Club” began circulating in the school. One parent expressed frustration online, asking, “How is this even a thing? Who approved this?” On January 20th, the city school district of Lebanon, Ohio, released a statement supporting the After-School Satan Club in response to the concerned parents, stating: “The district does not and is not legally allowed to discriminate against any groups who wish to rent our facilities, including religiously-affiliated groups.”
- Australian School Requires Families to Denounce Homosexuality
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/australian-school-requires-families-denounce-homosexuality
Location: Australia
On January 28th, Citipointe Christian College in Brisbane, Australia, received complaints due to enrolment contracts that openly criticize homosexuality and impose conservative religious views. The school is asking students' parents to sign a statement that recognizes acts such as incest, beastiality, pedophilia, homosexual and bisexual acts as immoral and “sins offensive to God” and also against the school’s values. An online petition, against the school’s transphobic and homophobic rules, has received 141,000 signatures out of the 150,000 signature target. Pastor Brian Mulheran, principal of the College, sent an email to all the parents in response to the criticism stating the rules are established to “ensure that we retain our Christian ethos, which is the foundation of what has made the college what it is today.” A group of parents decided to take their complaint to the Human Rights Commission.
- Iran Executes Two Men on 'Sodomy' Charges
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/iran-executes-two-men-sodomy-charges
Location: Iran
On January 30th, Iran executed two men, Mehrdad Karimpour and Farid Mohammadi, after finding them guilty of charges related to homosexuality. The two were charged with "sodomy by force," a term used by the Islamic Republic of Iran to describe homosexual rape. Some argue that the two were wrongfully convicted. In July 2021, two other men were executed for homosexuality-related charges, who were also imprisoned in Maragheh prison. According to the Human Rights Activist News Agency, Iran has executed at least 12 prisoners on alleged "rape” charges in 2020. At least 16 prisoners were executed for similar charges in 2019 and 23 in 2018. Under Iran's harsh laws, crimes such as sodomy, rape, adultery, armed robbery, and murder are punishable with the death penalty. Javaid Rehman, the U.N.'s independent investigator on human rights in Iran, reported in October 2021 that Iran has been implementing "at an alarming rate."
- Hindu Holy Men Demand that India Be Declared a “Hindu Nation”
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/hindu-holy-men-demand-india-be-declared-hindu-nation
Location: India
On January 29th, a gathering of Sadhus, holy people in Hinduism, passed a resolution that called for the Indian government and the state government of Uttar Pradesh to declare India a “Hindu Rashtra”[Nation]. The group also demanded the release of the recently arrested militant hate-leaders, Yati Narasinghanand Saraswati and Waseem Rizvi. Narasinghanand was arrested earlier this year on multiple charges, including inciting violence, specifically against Muslims. Along with him, Waseem Rizvi is also at the forefront of the extreme right-wing movements in Uttar Pradesh. Narendra Anand Giri, who organized the gathering of the Sadhus, implied the threat of a possible bombing if demands their were not met. The group plans to force the current administration to adopt their call to turn India into a Hindu state by influencing the Hindus of the country to “start writing and terming the country a Hindu Rashtra.”
- Egyptian Bill to Jail Wife-Beaters Reignites Religious Debate
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/egyptian-bill-jail-wife-beaters-reignites-religious-debate
Location: Egypt
On February 1st, Amal Salama, a female lawmaker, proposed to the Egyptian parliament that the penalty for wife-beating should be increased. According to Salama, the current penal code in Egypt does not provide “appropriate penalties” for domestic violence. Currently, there is no law that specifically criminalizes domestic abuse against women. Salama is proposing imprisonment up to 5 years for domestic violence. This bill reignited conversation in the Arab-speaking world about religious proclamations on wife beating, and specifically focused on comments made by Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Mosque and former President of Al-Azhar University, one of the world’s most important centers of thought for Sunni-Islam. Al-Tayeb had stated in a TV show two years prior, that “Wife beating is not an imposition or sunnah, but it is permissible to confront the disobedient wife and to break her pride in order to preserve the family…” Mabrouk Attia, a Professor at Al-Azhar University, also opposes the proposed legislation, stating that “Wife beating is fixed in the Quran and Sunnah, with specific controls.”
- Televised "Profane" Baptism Triggers Vatican Bishops
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/televised-profane-baptism-triggers-vatican-bishops
Location: Italy
On February 2nd, Achille Lauro, an Italian rapper and singer, along with New York’s Harlem Gospel Choir, performed his song “Domenica” at Italy’s Sanremo music festival. Wearing only black leather pants and dark eyeshadow, the hip-thrusting Achille finished the performance by kneeling on the stage, hands clasped in front of him as if in prayer, and poured water from a bowl over his forehead, portraying a faux baptism that Italian bishops described as “profane.” The Vatican and Italian Catholic Bishop Antonio Suetta protested against the performance stating it contained “words, attitudes, and gestures that are not just offensive to religion, but to human dignity.” The bishop stated that initially he did not want to speak up against the performance to stop it from getting any attention. However, he couldn’t help but protest when Italy’s RAI state television broadcasted the performance. Meanwhile, the singer Lauro contends that the performance was intended to be a birthday gift to his mother.
- New French Law Bans LGBT “Conversion Therapy”
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/new-french-law-bans-lgbt-conversion-therapy
Location: France
On January 25th, with an overwhelming 142 votes to 0, the French National Assembly officially passed a new law that bans LGBT so-called “conversion therapy.” The new law also imposes criminal penalties on those who practise the pseudo-scientific “therapy.” These penalties include a possible sentence of several years in jail and fines up to €45,000 ($34,000 USD) for cases involving children and vulnerable adults. According to MP Laurence Vanceunebrock-Mialon, the law sends out a strong signal because the law condemns those “who consider a change of sex or identity as an illness.” Elisabeth Moreno, Frances’s Equalities and Diversity Minister, condemned conversion therapy by calling such practices “barbaric.” The French president, Emmanuel Macron, expressed his support over Twitter saying, “let’s be proud of it … because being oneself is not a crime.” Similar laws have been passed in countries such as Canada, Germany, Brazil, Ecuador, Malta, and Albania.
- Wrongfully Imprisoned Atheist Mubarak Bala Finally Appears in Court
Location: Nigeria
On February 1st, nearly two years after his arrest in April 2020, Mubarak Bala appeared for the first time at the High Court of the state of Kano, Nigeria. Mubarak, the president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, was arrested for comparing the Prophet Muhammad to a terrorist on a Facebook post. Bala was illegally denied access to a lawyer for more than five months after his arrest. Fifteen months into his prison time, Bala was charged with causing a public disturbance under Sections 210 and 114 of the Penal Code of the state of Kano. Bala was not present at the court when his charges were first read. Bala’s arrest and lack of due process has been condemned by numerous international organizations, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Humanists International insisted that “all charges laid against Bala should be dropped immediately and unconditionally.” Wole Soyinka, a Nobel-Prize Laureate from Nigeria, called Bala’s arrest a sign that a “plague of religious extremism has encroached” upon Nigeria.
- Atheist Republic Sells First NFT: Sexy Kali Collection!
https://opensea.io/collection/goddess-kali-ma
During the original backlash that Atheist Republic faced for blasphemy against the Hindu Goddess Kali, the many Hindu-nationalists targeting us and our supporters successfully banned many accounts and removed our Sexy Kali art from Twitter. However, with the power of blockchain technology, we can make sure that Kali can’t be censored! Atheist Republic has recently launched a Sexy Kali NFT collection, ensuring that the message of Sexy Kali can be spread in a format in which she can’t be removed! The goal behind the Sexy Kali NFT collection is to bring Sexy Kali back to Twitter, where Hindutva has the upper hand, but this time it’s on the blockchain, so no force on the planet can remove this art! The idea is that anyone can buy a Sexy Kali NFT at very low prices, and spread the blasphemy by posting about the resale of your NFT on Twitter using the hashtag #SexyKali! We’ll help boost your listing by retweeting it from our large and active Twitter account. Once the collection picks up some steam, you might be able to resell it at a higher price than your original purchase, but the main goal is to bring Sexy Kali back to Twitter, so make sure you tweet about it using the hashtag #SexyKali. Many people are suspicious of the turbulent nature and sometimes scammy nature of NFTs, but we are not giving financial advice or making promises of profits or returns on investment, so this isn’t a scam. There are only 10 Sexy Kali NFTs, so make sure to check out the Sexy Kali Collection on OpenSea, and spread the blasphemy!
