- Mysterious Serial Poisonings of Schoolgirls Haunts Iran
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/mysterious-serial-poisonings-schoolgirls-haunts-iran
Location: Iran
Hundreds of schoolgirls in Iran have been hospitalized since November 2022 after seemingly being poisoned. The victims, mostly girls, experienced symptoms of nausea, headaches, difficulty breathing, coughing, and heart palpitations. Some reports suggest that radical Shia fundamentalists are responsible for the chain poisoning of girls' schools, claiming that women should not receive an education. Iran’s deputy health minister Younes Panahi has confirmed that the girls were deliberately poisoned, contradicting earlier statements from the education minister, Youssef Nouri, who had called the incidents “rumors.” No one has been arrested for the poisonings, and President Ebrahim Raisi is blaming “foreign enemies.” No one has been arrested for the poisoning incidents. Nevertheless, the victims' parents protested against the government’s lack of action.
- Autistic Teen Suspended & Threatened with Death After Dropping Quran
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/autistic-teen-expelled-threatened-death-after-dropping-quran
Location: United Kingdom
An autistic student in England was suspended from school and received death threats after allegedly “desecrating” a Quran. The incident began when the student lost a wager with friends and was told to purchase a Quran, which he brought to school and gave to another student who recited a passage. It was also revealed that an unrelated boy knocked the Quran off the student’s hands, causing it to fall on the floor. Afterward, the autistic student picked up the Quran and placed it in his bag. Rumors quickly spread that the Quran was thrown, spat on, and burned, but an independent Muslim counselor refuted these claims. Four students were suspended, and a meeting was held to discuss the incident and soothe the Muslim community. The student’s mother apologized on his behalf and revealed that he had been receiving numerous death threats. Humanists UK condemned the decision to suspend the students involved in the incident, saying it was “horrendous” for the school to be “pressured into excessive disciplinary action by a religious group.”
- Iranian Feminist Artist Censored by American University, Sparking Backlash
Location: United States
Macalester College, a private liberal arts college in Minnesota, recently shut down and censored an art exhibition by feminist artist Taravat Talepasand after some Muslim students were offended by it. Talepasand's works often criticized Islamic conservatism and the oppression of women under Islamist regimes. Some artworks the college claimed to have shocked and offended students' sensibilities include a risqué drawing of a woman in hijab lifting her clothes and showing her underwear and another lifting her niqab to reveal her underwear while raising the middle finger. The exhibit also featured porcelain sculptures of women in niqabs revealing their breasts. Not pleased with her artworks, some Macalester’s student body members submitted a petition demanding to shut down the exhibition, claiming that Talepasand’s works caused "deep pain" and even “perpetuated harm” against Muslims. Macalester covered the artwork with black curtains, which critics called censorship. Administrators at Macalester eventually re-opened the exhibit, albeit with less censorship. The entrance doors were taped up so that people could not see the artwork. Visitors were also shown a content warning of “upsetting or unacceptable images.”
- First-of-Its-Kind Caste Discrimination Ban in Seattle is Historic in the US
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/first-its-kind-caste-discrimination-ban-seattle-historical
Location: United States
Seattle has become the city in the United States to explicitly ban caste discrimination. The legislation was introduced by Kshama Sawant, Seattle’s only socialist and Indian American council member. The new policy will ban discrimination based on caste in employment, public housing, and education. Under the law, anyone who experienced discrimination based on caste can file a case against those who discriminated against them. The Seattle Office for Civil Rights will enforce the law and handle complaints related to caste discrimination. The measure applies to all forms of caste discrimination, crossing religious and national boundaries. Several activists and human rights groups cheered when the Seattle City Council unanimously passed the new measure. However, not everyone was convinced that the policy was necessary. Among them was Sara Nelson of the Democratic Party, who warned that the measure could hurt South Asians and generate more discrimination against them. She also described the new ordinance as “a reckless, harmful solution to a problem for which we have no data or research.”
- Kidnapped, Trafficked & Sold for $250: The Story of a Kashmiri Child Bride
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/kidnapped-trafficked-sold-250-story-kashmiri-child-bride
Location: Kashmir, India
Al-Jazeera recently published in-depth reporting on the trafficking and forced marriages of Indian women in India-administered Kashmir. Young women were typically promised jobs and a better life, but were then instead sold as brides. Interviews with victims were featured. One of these women was 29-year-old Nazima, kidnapped from her home state of West Bengal and then transferred 1,600 kilometers away to Kashmir, where she was forced to marry a man 20 years older than her, who paid the traffickers $250 for a bride. Although Nazima was treated well by her husband, another woman, Arsheeda, who was 13 years old when she was bought, suffered from domestic abuse. Human trafficking is a major problem in India, with over 1,700 cases recorded by the NCRB in 2020 alone. However, the problem is believed to be vastly underreported. Many individuals and human rights groups are raising awareness about the issue.
- Middle Eastern Governments Crackdown on LGBT Community Via Dating Apps
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/middle-eastern-governments-crackdown-lgbt-community-dating-apps
Location: MENA region
Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report detailing how governments and security agencies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have been using social media and dating apps to target LGBT people, resulting in harassment, imprisonment, and public outing. One of the dozens of cases the report documented was that of Yazid, a 27-year-old gay man from Egypt. Yazid’s ordeal started when he met a police officer pretending to be a gay man on Grindr. He narrated how authorities arrested and tortured him until he was forced to sign papers confessing he was “practicing debauchery” and publicly outing himself. The report also highlighted instances of private individuals and gangs extorting LGBT individuals. In Lebanon, for example, some people reported being extorted and told HRW how they were threatened with being outed to their families and the authorities if they failed to pay the extortionists a certain amount of money. The lack of effort by major tech companies to sufficiently invest in content moderation and protection in Arabic was also questioned. HRW called on MENA governments to respect LGBT rights and for major tech companies to invest in their Arabic content moderation processes to help protect this particularly vulnerable community.
- Controversy in Turkey as Religious Body Approves Marriage to Quake Orphans
Location: Turkey
Turkey's religious body, the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), faced harsh criticism for issuing a fatwa that allowed adoptive parents to marry their adopted children. The ruling was issued in response to a question about adopting children whose parents died in the massive earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria. “While Islam praised those who aid or take care of orphans, it does not recognize adoption as a legal status.” the body’s High Council of Religious Affairs wrote. The three-paragraph-long edict explained that adopted children could not inherit property from their adoptive parents. But the fatwa maintained that there is no obstruction to adoptive parents marrying their adopted children, even though marriage was not mentioned in the original question. Various organizations and individuals criticized the ruling for violating Turkey's civil code and paving the way for child abuse. The Diyanet retracted the fatwa in their second statement and emphasized the importance of respecting Turkey's laws.
- Why a Cube-Shaped City in Saudi Arabia is Upsetting Muslims
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/why-cube-shaped-city-saudi-arabia-upsetting-muslims
Location: Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has unveiled plans for a cube-shaped megastructure in Riyadh, called "The Mukaab," which has drawn criticism for its resemblance to Islam's most sacred site, the Kaaba. The project, which is part of the Vision 2030 blueprint to diversify the kingdom's economy, is expected to be completed by the end of the decade and will feature residential units, hotel rooms, office space, and entertainment and culture venues. Inspired by the styles used in the Najd region in Saudi Arabia for the design and architecture, the building features overlapping triangular forms. However, some social media users have pointed out that the design is far too similar to the Kabba. The Kabba is a cube structure at the center of Islam's most important mosque, Masjid al-Haram, in Mecca. The Muslims consider it the House of God and the Qibla (direction of prayer) when performing Namaz. One Twitter user said, "This is a strange choice, or is it just me? The New Mukaab, like the Kaaba but with shopping venues...?"
- Indian Woman Escapes Human Sacrifice Plot
https://www.atheistrepublic.com/news/indian-woman-escapes-human-sacrifice-plot
Location: India
A 23-year-old woman recently filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court, alleging that her stepmother was planning to kill her as part of a human sacrifice ritual. The petitioner accused her stepmother and other relatives of being followers of black magic after coincidentally learning about their intention to kill her to perform a human sacrifice ritual. She also heard about her younger brother's demise, who underwent the same ritual when he was only ten. Knowing that her family has strong political connections in her state of Madhya Pradesh, the petitioner lamented that the authorities there would probably fail to grant her legal protection. Fortunately, with the assistance of a fellow student, she boarded a train at 3 AM on February 16 and reached Chennai the following day. "I state that my life is not safe. I cannot return to my native place or anywhere in North India where there is no security for my life," her affidavit read. After learning about her circumstances, the sitting judge condemned the fact that even in the 21st century, heinous acts such as human sacrifice are still prevalent in India. The State Public Prosecutor assured the woman that the police would provide the necessary legal protection to the petitioner.
- The Pakistani Government is Mad at us Again
https://twitter.com/AtheistRepublic/status/1254040004852101122
https://twitter.com/AtheistRepublic/status/1254082115328606208
https://twitter.com/AtheistRepublic/status/1316423943507640320
Hold onto your seats because we've got some juicy news! Last Friday, we received an email from Twitter, and when it's a legal email from Twitter, it's either nothing to worry about or a potential disaster. We've had our accounts banned before and had to fight tooth and nail to get them back. But this time, Twitter has received a request from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), claiming that our account at Atheist Republic has violated the laws of Pakistan. And what did we do to warrant this? We dared to exercise our freedom of expression. We've got a shirt design featuring a rainbow Kabba with the phrase "Allah is Gay." And get this - all of these tweets are from 2020! That's right, the Pakistani government is digging up old tweets to go after us. We're proud of our designs and are not afraid to share them with the world. Make sure to get your very own "Allah is gay" merchandise at our website! With your support; we will always continue to exercise our right to freedom of expression and stick it to those who seek to silence us.
