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POPULARMost frequently read articles from the current issue:Simply Human The big issue States of disbelief Always read the small print DISCUSS!Debated in the NH forum:
Atheism is a pretty pointless creed. Should France ban the veil in schools? Scientific proof of God? The Brights - a good idea? Secularism - can it work? Go home Mr Bush and take your ghastly empire with you! PLAY! |
New Humanist event - Only Joking: How humour makes us human27 Jun 07 -- 6pm, Wednesday 4 July, RSA, 8 John Adam St, London, WC2N 6EZOrganised by New Humanist in association with the RSA, Only Joking: How humour makes us human will feature Rationalist Association president Jonathan Miller in discussion with cartoonist Martin Rowson and comic writer Natalie Haynes. The event will be chaired by NH Commissioning Editor Laurie Taylor and will ask: What is this uniquely human capacity called humour? What evolutionary function does it serve? Is it a source of unity or division, sharing or derision? What is a sense of humour and is it really possible to lack one? The event is completely free and all are welcome. However, you MUST BOOK ONLINE in advance. Simply visit the listing on the RSA website and follow the links. Incidentally, Natalie Haynes features alongside regular contributors Martin Rowson and Laurie Taylor in the new issue of New Humanist, which is out next week. Highlights include an exclusive interview with Richard Curtis, a look at the volatile nature of Turkish politics and a humanist farewell to smoking. We've just gone to press following a full redesign and it's safe to say that New Humanist is now the best looking intellectual magazine around. Why not request a free trial copy by clicking here  "A Movement of Universal Human Rights"21 Jun 07 -- Council of ex-Muslims challenge politicised IslamThis morning (21 June) saw the launch in Westminster of the Council of ex-Muslims of Britain, with its leaders emphasising that it is a challenege to "a politicised Islam" and "reaction in the world today". The Council aims to break the taboo that comes with renouncing Islam and show that it is possible to leave the religion. Spokesperson Maryam Namazie emphasised that this should be a personal and private decision, "but because of the role of religion in the world today, it is necessary to do it publicly." Dismissing accusations of Islamophobia, she added that the movement is not an attack on individual Muslims, but rather on an ideology, in particular Islam in power, which she sees as "committing the holocaust of this century." The organisers of the council are confident their movement will expand on a global scale. Mina Ahadi, the founder of the original German Council, declared: "This is a movement of universal human rights and I believe we will push political Islam back." The Council's website can be viewed here Grayling on Council of ex-Muslims20 Jun 07 -- New Humanist contributor admires their courageRegular NH contributor AC Grayling has praised the immense courage shown by those involved in the Council of ex-Muslims of Britain, which launches in Westminster tomorrow (21 June). Posting on the Guardian's Comment is Free site, Grayling credits the Council with lighting "a torch of hope in a dark quadrant of the world's affairs." He includes the full manifesto of the Council, viewing it as a "bill of rights which is absolutely necessary for everyone, non-religious and otherwise, to adopt now that the world is again experiencing... widespread religion-generated difficulties." The Council launch takes place at 11am tomorrow in the Wilson Room, Portcullis House, Westminster. Launch of the Council of ex-Muslims of Britain19 Jun 07 -- 11am Thursday 21 June, Wilson Room, Portcullis House, WestminsterThe Council is made up of former Muslims who are now not religious and who are coming forward with their names and photographs to break the taboo that comes with renouncing Islam. Their aim is to provide a network to support the many former Muslims in Britain who need a space in which to explore their own changing identities, and who need support in living their lives with integrity. Successful branches are already operating in Germany, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Speaking at the launch will be Maryam Namazie, spokesperson for the Ex-Muslim Council of Britain, other initiators of the organisation, Mina Ahadi, founder of the original Ex-Muslim Council of Germany and Mahin Alipour, coordinator of the Scandinavian branch of the organisation. The launch is supported by the British Humanist Association and the National Secular Society, and New Humanist will be there to report on the event. More information will follow online and in the magazine. Meanwhile, here's Mina Ahadi in Der Spiegel discussing the aims of the German organisation. You can view the Council's manifesto on Maryam Namazie's blog. RSA Lunchtime Debate: The World We Have Won: transformations of eroticism and intimacy since 194519 Jun 07 -- 1pm, Wednesday 20 June, RSA, 8 John Adam Street, London, WC2N 6EZNew Humanist contributor and human rights activist Peter Tatchell chairs a debate with Professor Jeffrey Weeks of South Bank University. His book "The World We Have Won" is a major study of transformations in erotic and intimate life since 1945. Professor Weeks argues that we are living in a world of transition, in the midst of a long, unfinished but profound revolution that has transformed the possibilities of living out our sexual diversities. If you are interested in attending the debate visit the RSA's website here. |
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News
No Bull28 Jun 07 -- Death sentence for sacred animalRemember Shambo, the TB-infected sacred bull from Wales? Despite protests from Hindus, who threatened to protect him with a human shield, the Welsh Assembly have declared he will be put down  Read more news
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