The right to blaspheme is fundamental—and it’s under attack.
In as many as 33 Muslim-majority countries today, most of which have Islam as their state religion, daring simply to speak out against religious customs, express one’s lack of belief, or otherwise say anything deemed offensive by religious authorities is enough to brand one a criminal. If victims are lucky, they might live in purportedly “lenient” countries and get off with a fine and a brief prison sentence. If they are unlucky, they may live in one of the roughly dozen countries in which either blasphemy or apostasy (leaving Islam) is a capital offense. That is, if violent fundamentalist militants don’t find them before the state does.
But even outside the Muslim world, intolerance for those who speak freely about Islamic doctrine is endemic. While apostates can be put to physical death in several Muslim-majority countries, they can face social death in the West, frequently cut off from friends and family and even sometimes subject to abuse.
The Dispatch Returns with New Insights
This week's Unbelief Brief exposes the harsh realities faced by women and dissenters worldwide.
The Unbelief Brief
Dissent Dispatch: Your Weekly Update
In this week’s Unbelief Brief, we look at charges against an Iranian actress for dancing in public and Erdogan’s vow to purge military officials for supporting a secular democracy.
Welcome to This Edition of Dissent Dispatch
This week’s Unbelief Brief spotlights mob violence in Bangladesh, a terrorist attack in Afghanistan and Iranian citizens growing dissatisfaction with their government.
The Unbelief Brief
Welcome to the Latest Edition
This week’s Unbelief Brief covers another victim of Iran’s draconian hijab law and the return of a conservative Islamic political party in Bangladesh.
Hello and Welcome
This week’s Unbelief Brief looks at the Taliban’s decree against the sound of women’s voices and how Pakistan’s Supreme Court is kowtowing to extremists. In EXMNA Insights we delve deeper into Islam’s disdain for dogs and the prohibition on keeping them as pets.Persecution Tracker Updates: Afghanistan and Pakistan meting out harsh blasphemy punishments
The Unbelief Brief
Welcome to Another Edition of Our Newsletter
This week’s Unbelief Brief brings you yet another disturbing enforcement of Iran’s hijab law, another clothing law in Tajikistan, and finally takes you state-side to Texas.
This Week's Dispatch Awaits You
Thanks for joining us! This week we bring you Iranian human rights statistics and honor killings in The Unbelief Brief. We also discuss female athletics, the hijab, and the Olympics in EXMNA Insights.
The Unbelief Brief
Welcome back
The Unbelief Brief: the Paris Olympics have incited multiple issues, and a new Gallup poll shows a fascinating update on creationism.
