LONDON RALLY AGAINST SHARIA LAW PLANNED

A rally will take place this Saturday in London to show opposition to anti-gay Sharia law, and other religious laws around the world which are used to deprive people of their human rights.

“Organised by the One Law for All campaign, Saturday’s rally is in opposition to all religious laws in Britain and worldwide,” said campaign spokesperson, Maryam Namazie.

“In particular, we are showing solidarity with people who are resisting Sharia law and defending universal human rights and secularism,” she said.

Expressing his support for the One Law For All campaign, gay human rights defender Peter Tatchell of the LGBT group OutRage! added that, “This protest is in solidarity with Muslims worldwide who are campaigning against the inequalities and inhumanities of Sharia law. We reject all religious laws and courts, including those inspired by Judaist and Christian fundamentalism.

“We oppose interpretations of Sharia law that stipulate the execution of women who have sex outside of marriage, of Muslims who renounce their faith (apostates), and of Muslims who have same-sex relationships,” he said.

Speakers at the Hyde Park event will include Tatchell, philosopher AC Grayling, columnist Johann Hari, Bangladeshi feminist writer Taslima Nasrin, Southall Black Sisters’ Pragna Patel and Women Against Fundamentalism’s Rahila Gupta.

Conservative impetrations of Islamic Sharia law, which are practiced in a number of Muslim states – often in tandem with secular civil law, have been criticised for imposing severe punishments on gays and lesbians, including the death penalty.