Welcome Back to This Week’s Insights

This week’s Unbelief Brief takes us from Bangladesh’s unsettling proposal to remove secularism as a guiding principle of the state, to Spain’s encouraging steps toward repealing its outdated blasphemy law, and finally to the murky complexities of a Sri Lankan monk’s imprisonment over incendiary anti-Muslim rhetoric. Finally, in EXMNA Insights we explore what Religious Freedom Day means to us.

Unbelief Brief

A disquieting development out of Bangladesh, where a grassroots movement of student activists forced out the government last year: a commission established by the interim head of government, Muhammad Yunus, has recommended the removal of “secularism”from the constitution as a core principle of the state (along with “socialism” and “nationalism”). The new reframing of the constitution would establish four new core principles—“equality, human dignity, social justice, [and] pluralism”—while keeping “democracy,” which exists in the current constitution. The explicit removal of secularism as a principle of the state is deeply disturbing, particularly in a country where prosecutions for blasphemy are still relatively common and tend to target religious minorities and nonbelievers. Not even the Pope is willing to go that far. This change will likely lead to a further backsliding of religious freedoms and possibly send a tacit signal to vigilantes, intentional or not, that the state is “on their side.” We hope that the final draft of a new constitution does not take the form outlined in the commission’s recommendation.

Things are more encouraging in Spain, which is reportedly considering the repeal of its own antiquated blasphemy law. The government “said it had proposed legislation to stop religious groups seeking to prosecute people for blasphemy,” as Reuters reports:

“Patxi Lopez, the Socialist party's parliamentary spokesperson, said on Friday that the bill would repeal a law that imposes fines on people who mock religious beliefs.

He said the law ‘rarely achieves convictions and yet it is constantly used by extremist and fundamentalist organisations to persecute artists, activists (and) elected representatives, subjecting them to costly criminal proceedings’.”

This is welcome news. Although Spain’s law is largely unenforced, most European countries have axed their blasphemy laws in writing as well as in practice, and it’s never too late to bring that closer to 100%.

Finally, a development out of Sri Lanka, where a Buddhist monk Galagodaatte Gnanasara was sentenced to nine months in prison for “anti-Muslim remarks,” including that “Islam is a cancer that must be eradicated.” It would be easy to jump to the conclusion that this is an outrageous infringement of civil liberties—and, ultimately, it is—but the situation is a bit more complicated than first glance would suggest.

Galagodaatte has a history of violent rhetoric. He has blamed “outsiders,” including “the white people” and Muslims, for all of Sri Lanka’s problems, and co-founded the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS)—an organization whose members carried out terrorist attacks against Muslims in retaliation for “an attack on a Buddhist driver.” Gnanasara refused to condemn the attacks, which killed 3 and injured dozens, instead suggesting they were justified. The BBC also reports that he is “linked” to Ashin Wirathu, a similarly hardline Buddhist in Myanmar who would not deny the characterization of himself as the “Burmese Bin Laden.” In spite of all this, Gnanasara’s jailing is not compatible with a true commitment to free speech, and we disagree with the charges.

EXMNA Insights

Religious Freedom Day is a powerful reminder of the right to believe—or not believe—freely. It’s a cornerstone of liberty, ensuring people can follow their conscience without fear of persecution.

But too often, atheists, nonbelievers, and skeptics fall through the cracks in discussions about religious freedom. This day isn’t just about protecting faith; it’s about protecting freedom from belief as well.

As we honor Religious Freedom Day, let’s remember that true freedom means safeguarding everyone’s right to question, doubt, and dissent. No one should be overlooked in the fight for this fundamental human right.

Until next week,

The Team at Ex-Muslims of North America

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