The
Central Committee for Ex-Muslims ( ) is a Dutch
committee that aims to aid Muslims who wish to leave Islam
through the constitutional right of freedom of religion. In addition,
the committee fights to break the
taboo on
apostasy in the
Muslim world as well as start a debate on the
violation of
women's rights in
cultural societies.
The committee has urged the Dutch government to offer more help to
ex-Muslims in exile.
Ehsan Jami and
Loubna Berrada founded the committee
in 2007, with the help of several advisors and other former Muslims
such as
professor Afshin Ellian who is known to be a fierce
critic of
Shi'ism.
The committee officially started its activities in September 2007
after announcing its foundation to the Dutch public in a broadcast
on
Radio 1 on 2 May
2007.During the broadcast, Jami announced a wish to offer a helping
hand to Muslims who want to abandon their religion since Islamic
society does not allow apostasy.
Jami pointed out abandoning Islam is an option in most Muslim
societies, as long as it is not spoken out and one continues to act
as though one is still a believer. Open apostasy in Islamic
societies, Jami explained, leads to expulsion and death threats - a
manner of conduct he strongly opposes. Later that week, Jami
appeared on Dutch television show '
Schepper & Co' defending his remarks
by pointing out he, as a politician, has the duty to verbalise
worries that exist in society, thereby making full use of Dutch
society's
freedom of speech.
Sharia schools say that they will kill the ones who leave
Islam, Jami said. Gaining support from the
Dutch government to permit freedom of
conscience is a fundamental aspect of the committee's action
plan.
Co-founder Berrada quit the committee in June 2007 because she felt
Jami acts too aggressively towards the entire religion of Islam,
stating: "I don't wish to confront Islam itself. I only want to
spread the message that Muslims should be allowed to leave Islam
behind without being threatened"
See also
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