The One Law for All Campaign against Sharia Law in Britain will hold an anti-racist rally in London on 7 March 2009. The rally, opposing Sharia and religious-based tribunals and laws in Britain and elsewhere and defending citizenship and universal rights, will be held in Trafalgar Square from 3.30 pm to 4.30 pm.
Maryam Namazie writes: At 4:30pm there will be a march to Red Lion Square and then a public meeting at Conway Hall from 6:00-8:00pm. Registration for the public meeting will open at 5:00pm. From 5:30pm onwards, there will be live music by Raised Voices, pastries and refreshments. The entry fee to the public meeting is £5, including refreshments but we won’t turn anyone away. If you plan on coming, please send in your booking form before the event (by March 5) so that we can reserve a place for you. Posters have been prepared for the rally by Dan Simon and Reza Moradi and they are on the campaign website. Please feel free to download them and bring them along to the rally to ensure that there are enough placards for everyone.
The campaign now have over 9,600 signatories to our petition. Please sign up to it if you haven’t already and tell others about it too. For background on the campaign, the nature of Sharia courts and tribunals and on whether it is Islamophobic to oppose Sharia law please see the latest interview with Maryam Namazie and Bahram Soroush on Fariborz Pooya’s Secular TV: http://www.onelawforall.org.uk/mediaPages/SecularTV.html.
Also to see what a Sharia judge really means for people and women in particular, watch a recent BBC TV’s Big Questions programme in which I participated: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAKRvBe_-EA
By the way, we have set up a Helpline (which will be launched at our public meeting) for those who need help with and legal advice on Sharia Council and Muslim Arbitration Tribunal decisions. We are specifically targeting women and children who may not be aware of their rights under British law or fear to seek advice or go to British courts due to pressures and/or threats. Confidentiality and the safety of those who call us will be our main priorities. We will be collaborating with other advice organisations such as AdviceUK in order to provide high standard quality services and in order to find the best possible solutions for those who come to us for help and support. Yassi Molazadeh, our Legal Coordinator, has already established a legal team to carry out research needed in order to bring a halt to these courts but we do need lawyers, barristers and solicitors to provide pro bono legal advice to those who come to us for help; they can help us as and when they are available. We also need volunteers to receive training in order to staff the Helpline and provide general information and referrals.
We are also going on a speaking tour across Britain and internationally after the March events in order to inform the public about and raise awareness on Sharia councils and tribunals. If you’d like us to come and speak in your area, just contact our Outreach Coordinator, Goranka Gudelj, to arrange it.
All our work is being run by volunteers so if you want to help in any way, don’t hesitate to contact us. We need all the help we can get.
And please don’t forget to donate! All this work costs money and we can’t do it without your financial support. No amount is too small (or for that matter too big).
To donate, for more information, to download flyers, posters or a booking form for the March 7 London public meeting or to sign the petition, visit our website: www.onelawforall.org.uk.
You can also contact us via:
BM Box 2387
London WC1N 3XX, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 7719166731
[email protected]