News

So you may have noticed that due to pressures on my time – some of this news is no longer so ‘hot’. For my own convenience (no other ulterior motive), I’d like to redirect you to my blog – Aotearoa-Motives which is updated more frequently. Please also refer to our Facebook page.

This week the Saudi Arabian ‘justice’ system yet again showed their contempt for human rights, by upholding the May 2014 sentence of 10 tears in prison and 1,000 lashes for Raif Badawi. Saudi Arabian online activist Raif Badawi’s crime was creating an online forum to promote public debate. Badawi co-founded the Saudi Arabian Liberals website … Read more…

“Secularism is probably the one big issue for our century. This century is not, as many still think, marked by a religious or spiritual revival. What we are actually witnessing is the rise of extreme-Right political movements, working under the cover of religion. Everywhere. No one is spared… Secularists are being attacked in many places … Read more…

For a number of months now, a team of journalists (including Maryam Namazie, Fariborz Pooya, and Bahram Soroush) have been making some hard-hitting yet very rational videos on topics that matter to us, as humans, Muslims and ex-Muslims. These programmes provide some clarity and insight to key issues of morality, ethics, life and death. Highlights … Read more…

This is a dire situation that Amnesty International (and many others) are publicising at the moment. What right have the Pakistani government to define ultimate truth? Especially ‘truths’ based on some very questionable literature (i.e. Quran and Hadith) MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH UNDER BLASPHEMY LAW Mohammad Asghar, a British man suffering from mental illness, has … Read more…

Okay, so its not exactly breaking news as such … but thank goodness Al Jazeera is now broadcasting its English language news and current affairs channel free-to-air in New Zealand. The channel was added to Freeview on 1 Nov 2013 (almost 3 months ago now). It totally puts the TVNZ news programming to shame. Kiwis … Read more…

Raif Badawi, a Saudi blogger, has been in jail for almost one year now for daring to ask questions. In July 2013 he was sentenced to seven years jail and 600 lashes. Now the Saudis want to drag him back to court to face charges of apostasy (changing one’s religious affiliation) which carries the death … Read more…

The current Egyptian situation is complex and messy. There have been atrocities of all kinds, and members of all groups seem to have been both victims or perpetrators at some place or time in the last few weeks. The real losers are the people and democracy. There are no winners in this situation. We call … Read more…

Raef Badawi was potentially facing a death sentence, for his actions. The BBC News website says “Raef Badawi, co-founded the Free Saudi Liberals website, an online forum for public debate. He was arrested last year and convicted on Monday [29 July] of setting up a website that undermined general security. Amnesty International considers Mr Badawi … Read more…

The NZ Prime Minister John Key, is suggesting that NZ is known to host people who have trained in al-Qaeda camps in Yemen and elsewhere. The Islamist threat is being used to support the proposed amendments to legislation supporting the Government Communications Security Bureau (CGSB). Most NZ residents will be aware that these proposals have … Read more…