Censorship is the first line of defense for orthodoxy, and fighting it is essential to the health of a free society.
One of the most common undercurrents of repressive Islamic regimes is speech control. States’ constitutions may theoretically guarantee freedom of expression, but in practice, most Islamic nations impose broad exceptions to this rule. Restrictions target religious and political dissent alike.
Of particular concern in the digital age is the weaponization of social media. Ideally a tool to facilitate the free flow of ideas, social media content is routinely subject to regime-imposed blocks in Muslim-majority countries, often with the cooperation of the companies themselves. Meanwhile, special laws enacted in these countries in the last decade have singled out online speech for prosecution—often under the false pretense of controlling misinformation and hate speech, sometimes more explicitly stating the aim to curb political and religious dissent.
Globally, social media companies enforce their guidelines in problematic ways, in some cases discouraging an atmosphere of free expression. Ex-Muslims in particular are affected by this. Algorithmic responses to community violations are frequently abused with targeted reporting campaigns, and community standards recently implemented by Facebook provide that content attacking “ideas” and “concepts” can be subject to removal under certain circumstances.
These conditions pose a threat to the principle that one should be always free to express oneself openly—a principle vital for ex-Muslims’ ability to live free from fear and persecution.
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Happy Fourth of July! As we celebrate America's Independence, our Unbelief Brief highlights threats to the nation's core ideologies and principles. We also bring you an important case in our Persecution Tracker Updates.
The Unbelief Brief
Final PRIDE Edition
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This week in The Unbelief Brief, we bring you updates from Turkey's controversial new curriculum, Quebec's debate on religious head coverings, and a tragic honor killing in the Netherlands.
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As we celebrate Pride Month, we’re excited to bring you this week’s Unbelief Brief and highlight some of the ways the Qur’an discusses homosexuality. At Ex-Muslims of North America, we proudly stand in support of our LGBTQ+ community members and allies.
Welcome to our first Special Edition of Dissent Dispatch!
Welcome to volume 3 of Dissent Dispatch!
In this edition, you'll find some long-awaited updates on cases featured in our Unbelief Brief, as well as our Persecution Tracker.Plus, we're thrilled to unveil the ⭐️winning artwork⭐️ from our "Draw Muhammad Day Contest," exclusively in this newsletter!"