Bangladesh is moving to restore faith in Allah as a constitutional principle, while Egyptian students face compulsory religious education with no secular alternative. In Iran, a singer faces 74 lashes for performing without a hijab, as humanists at the UN push Syria to protect the right to leave and criticize religion.
Unbelief Brief
On September 28th, Bangladesh's home minister, Salahuddin Ahmed, told newspaper editors that his government would restore the phrase "Absolute Trust and Faith in Almighty Allah" to the constitution's preamble and to Article 8, in place of secularism, as one of the fundamental principles of state policy. The 1972 constitution, written after independence, declared secularism one of the state's founding principles. President Ziaur Rahman removed it in 1977, inserting "Absolute Trust and Faith in Almighty Allah" in its place and adding "Bismillah-ar-Rahman-ar-Rahim" at the head of the preamble — changes ratified through the Fifth Amendment. Bangladesh's Supreme Court struck that amendment down as illegal in 2010, and the Fifteenth Amendment restored secularism the following year. Ahmed's committee now proposes to undo that restoration — and to do it as elected policy. His party took a two-thirds majority in February's election, held alongside the referendum that endorsed its reform program, with Jamaat-e-Islami emerging as the largest opposition bloc.
Turning now to Egypt which is reinforcing religion through its schools. Religious education there now carries a Quran-memorization requirement: students must memorize two of the Quran's thirty sections, over each stage of schooling. The education minister, Mohamed Abdel Latif, confirmed the requirement in August.
Under the new Baccalaureate that replaces Egypt's old secondary certificate, religious education is compulsory across every academic track. A student has to score at least 70% to pass, though the grade does not count toward the aggregate that decides university placement. The course itself comes in only two versions — Islamic or Christian — assigned by the religion on a student's national ID. A student who is neither must still sit one of the two courses, and may not opt out. There is no secular alternative and no track for the non-religious, who, on an Egyptian ID, have no way to be recorded as such to begin with.
An Iranian appeals court has upheld a sentence of seventy-four lashes against a 29-year-old singer, Parastoo Ahmadi, for performing without a hijab. In December 2024 she livestreamed a concert from a historic desert caravanserai, singing in a sleeveless dress, with no headscarf, before an empty hall, and the recording drew millions of views. Public singing by women is restricted in Iran, as is appearing unveiled. The IRGC called the performance a symptom of social and moral decay.
Moving now to the recent 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Addressing Syria, which is drafting a permanent constitution, Humanists International told the Council that laws punishing "apostasy" and "blasphemy" are fundamentally incompatible with international human rights law. The organization urged the council to protect “the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and belief for all, including those with no religious belief”.
We support efforts like these wherever they arise. The freedom to dissent from religion, to leave it, criticize it, or reject it altogether, is a fundamental right, and any law or institution that denies that freedom must and should be challenged.
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Until next week,The Team at Ex-Muslims of North AmericaP.S. We’d love to hear from you! Share your feedback at [email protected].