'One Law For All' activist speaks at UofT

Do we have a duty to criticize Islam? For Maryam Namazie, the answer is a resounding "yes." Namazie is the spokesperson for several human rights campaigns and organizations, such as Equal Rights Now, an organization that aims to eradicate women's discrimination in Iran. On Monday, March 16, she delivered a lecture at the Centre for Inquiry entitled "Freedom of Expression and Political Islam."

A self-professed atheist and communist, Namazie looks to the left for the solution to the problems raised by political Islam. She maintains that the right wing ignores the amount of political power bestowed on religion. The war in Iraq, she argues, only strengthened political Islam by showing the "same capacity for infinite brutality."

In her talk, Namazie chastised "misguided liberal attempts" at inter-faith and multicultural efforts. For Namazie, the argument that all religions should be treated equally is flawed because it applies the language of human rights to religious institutions instead of human beings.

Despite her personal aversion to religion, Namazie asserted that private religious belief is acceptable. "The reason Islam is a problem," she said, "is because it's a part of the political sphere. [Politics should hold that] the human being and nothing else sacred." A staunch defender of free speech, Namazie accused the Canadian Human Rights Commission and other such organizations of being more concerned with defending Islam than defending people. "Get over your post-colonial guilt," she urged.

Recently, Namazie has garnered attention as the spokesperson for the One Law for All Campaign against Sharia, or Islamic, law in Britain. The campaign is aimed at preventing Sharia law from being established in Britain, but opposes any form of religious law in secular society. Since its inception in December, the campaign has accumulated over 10,000 signatures.

Sharia law, Namazie says, is a discriminatory system that is "imposed very often by brute force." For Namazie, the introduction of Sharia law in Britain would change the fabric of society for all citizens.

Namazie was born in Tehran but left with her family in 1980 when the country became an Islamic Republic. Moving to India and the U.K., she finally settled in the United States, where she attended university.

In 2005, Namazie successfully advocated against the establishment of Sharia law in Canada. But in Britain, Sharia courts have slowly started to gain legitimacy. The courts are classified as tribunal hearings, making their decisions legally binding. The tribunals mainly deal with issues such as divorce, domestic violence, and financial disputes. For Namazie, however, these "'mundane' issues are some of the greatest pillars of women's rights."

Not surprisingly, Namazie has received countless death threats. During her speech, one woman found the speaker's rejection of religion a bit too much. Interrupting Namazie's assessment of Christian charities (Namazie sees religious intervention as the wrong way to approach philanthropy), the woman rose from her seat. She loudly voiced her opposition before storming out of the lecture. Namazie kept her cool as the audience cheered the dissenter's departure. "It's fine," she said, "as long as she doesn't shoot me.