About

Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, One Law for All and Maryam Namazie have been organising conferences since 2008 in order to defend freethought, free expression, universal rights and secularism and oppose Islamism, fundamentalisms and bigotry.

Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain was established in June 2007 to break the taboo that comes with leaving Islam, highlight the plight of ex Muslims, and challenge apostasy and blasphemy laws. CEMB stands against all forms of bigotry and unequivocally defends reason, freedom of conscience and expression, rights and secularism. Over the last 17 years, CEMB has provided assistance to thousands of ex Muslims worldwide, created support groups, solidarity actions and educational materials and helped establish Ex Muslims International.

One Law for All campaigns against Sharia and religious arbitration in the UK, Iran and across the globe. Sharia and religious law are discriminatory against and promote violence against women. Religious laws and theocracies have no place in the 21st century. One Law for All campaigns to end religious laws and theocracy and promote secularism and the separation of religion from the state, education, law and public policy as a minimum precondition for the respect of women’s rights.

Maryam Namazie is an Iranian-born campaigner and writer. She is Spokesperson of Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain and One Law for All. She is the instigator behind the Celebrating Dissent conferences, the largest gatherings of ex-Muslims in history since 2014. In his 2020 book ‘Leaving the Allah Delusion Behind: Atheism and Freethought in Islam,’ Ibn Warraq documents atheism in Islam and the rising ex-Muslim movement. In it he writes, ‘If it were not for Maryam Namazie’s tireless efforts, I doubt if the ex-Muslim atheist movement as a whole would have had the success it is experiencing now.’ During decades of activism, Maryam has organised numerous actions, including more recently #Hair4Freedom and #BodyRiot in support of women in Iran, executive produced Women Leaving Islam and published The Woman’s Quran.

The Islamic regime of Iran’s media outlets have called Namazie ‘immoral, a harlot and corrupt.’ Her TedX talk on ‘Creativity in Challenging Islamic Fundamentalism’ was censored and labelled ‘distressing and objectionable.’ Namazie has faced many attempts at censorship, including by Warwick University Student Union and Goldsmiths Islamic Society.

Maryam and the CEMB have been featured in a 2016 film by Deeyah Khan called ‘Islam’s Non-Believers.’ She was also a character in DV8 Physical Theatre’s ‘Can We Talk About This?’ She is winner of numerous awards, including IBKA Sapio award (2022), the 2017 Henry H. Zumach Freedom From Religious Fundamentalism award; 2016 International Laicite Prize from the Comité Laïcité République; the National Secular Society’s Secularist of the Year Award (2005); and the Julia B. Friedman Humanitarian Award (1987). She has written numerous articles on women’s rights issues, free expression, Islamism, and secularism in various media outlets and co-authored Sharia Law in Britain: A Threat to One Law for All and Equal Rights (One Law for All, June 2010), Enemies Not Allies: The Far-Right (One Law for All, August 2011), and The Political and Legal Status of Apostates in Islam (CEMB, August 2017).