Secular refugee aid

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The Secular Refugee Aid e. V. is a German association that campaigns for religiously persecuted people (e.g. after apostasy ) and for non-religious refugees. The association (English name: Atheist Refugee Relief) was founded in Cologne in 2017 as a migrant self- organization. The board consists of Rana Ahmad , Mahmudul Haque Munshi and Stefan Paintner. Further groups and associations were formed in Munich (2019), Austria (2019), Hamburg (2019) and Switzerland (2020).

Secular Refugee Aid e. V. - Atheists help
Atheist Refugee Relief Germany
(SF-AH (German) , ARR (English) )
logo
purpose Support non-religious refugees through practical offers of help
Chair: Rana Ahmad, Mahmudul Haque Munshi, Stefan Paintner
Establishment date: 2017
Seat : Cologne
Website: atheist-refugees.com

history

The association “Säkulare Refugee Relief” (English name: “Atheist Refugee Relief”) was founded in Cologne in 2017 and presented to the public on November 17th, 2017 as part of the celebrations for the tenth anniversary of the Central Council of Ex-Muslims . The association goes back to voluntary, informal initiatives of humanitarian aid and refugee aid in the secular scene. He received start-up funding of 10,000 euros from the Giordano Bruno Foundation .

Rana Ahmad's flight from Saudi Arabia to Germany in autumn 2015 is considered to be the founding story of the association. Ahmad wrote a book about it, "Women are not allowed to dream here", which reached the top 10 of the Spiegel bestseller list in 2018 and attracted widespread attention to the human rights issues of the secular refugee aid. She later said of the public response: “Apparently people were amazed that a young woman in Saudi Arabia secretly reads Darwin , Dawkins and Nietzsche and thereby becomes an atheist. Unfortunately, the German public still has the wrong idea of ​​the people who are fleeing to Germany from Islamic countries. Many of them are by no means strictly religious, but have - like me - a particularly strong aversion to any form of religious tutelage. They just want to live in freedom and make their contribution to a functioning society. "

Goals and self-image

The association is regarded as a migrant self-organization and, according to its own information, would like to support religiously persecuted people (e.g. after apostasy ) and non-religious refugees with practical offers of help and improve their living conditions through political work. The association sees itself in the tradition of evolutionary humanism and the Enlightenment . According to the website, he advocates tolerance and renunciation of violence between cultures and ideology groups - regardless of whether they are religious or non-religious. The guiding principle of the association is based on the free-democratic basic order , the humanistic Amsterdam Declaration and the basic principles of the open society, namely liberality (orientation towards the ideal of freedom), equality (orientation towards the ideal of equality), individuality (orientation towards the individual instead of the Collective) and secularity (orientation to secular forms of establishing norms).

Political demands

The association approaches German politics with the following political demands (selection):

  • “Effective state protection of religiously persecuted and non-religious refugees in Germany, not only against state repression and threats from the governments of their countries of origin (e.g. Iran, Saudi Arabia), but also against militias, family and clan members. The German state can, among other things, lift the residence obligation or residence requirements to protect against persecution and improve the processes for data protection and the protection of privacy, sensitize the police and security authorities to foreign criminal networks in Germany, take diplomatic measures and arrange for expulsions and entry bans. "
  • "Training of administrative staff, especially in municipalities and at the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) with regard to the special need for protection."
  • "Psychological and medical treatment offers that are specifically aimed at reducing the consequences of psychological and physical abuse (e.g. after corporal punishment, torture, imprisonment, house arrest, kidnapping, blackmail, coercion, rape, child sexual abuse, genital mutilation)."
  • "Participation in consultation and implementation processes of German foreign policy, development policy, foreign cultural policy and human rights policy with the same recognition, rights and the same opportunities to influence as religious organizations."
  • "Improvement of the goals, structures and instruments of international cooperation between Germany and the European Union in the prevention and follow-up of religious causes that lead to persecution and flight."
  • "Political support in dealing with human rights violations in the countries of origin, especially in cases of state-sponsored persecution and, for example, in clarifying state and organizational liability, class actions, compensation payments and proceedings before the International Criminal Court."

From politics, among others, Bärbel Kofler (SPD), human rights commissioner of the federal government, commented on the concerns of the association ; Michael Blume , State Commissioner Against Anti-Semitism in the State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg; Doris Schröder-Köpf (SPD), State Commissioner for Migration and Participation of the State of Lower Saxony and Serap Güler (CDU), State Secretary for Integration in NRW .

Management and organization

The board consists of Rana Ahmad , Mahmudul Haque Munshi and Stefan Paintner. The work is carried out on a voluntary basis and without employed staff (as of 03/2020).

The following members and supporters from the countries of origin appear in public:

  • Bangladesh: Mahmudul Haque Munshi
  • Iraq: Amed Sherwan, Worood Zuhair
  • Iran: Mina Ahadi , Mohamad Hosein Tavasolli, Farid Mahnad
  • Mauritania: Yahya Mustafa Ekhou
  • Pakistan: Alia Khannum
  • Saudi Arabia: Rana Ahmad , Loujain Sultan

The following public figures have acted as supporters:

activities

The association offers those affected practical help in their contacts with authorities, doctors and lawyers, and accompanies them in taking up language and integration courses. In addition, he supports them in participating in events and appearing in the press, radio and television in order to clarify the situation in the societies of origin. The association is in regular contact with politicians and representatives from ministries and authorities.

Information on countries of origin

The association informs on its website that in 12 countries (Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Qatar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan and United Arab Emirates) apostasy can be punished with death. Pakistan had no death penalty for apostasy, but blasphemy, and the blasphemy threshold could be very low. The "crime" of criticizing a religion would not always be called "blasphemy" or "blasphemous slander"; some countries forbid "defamation of religion"; sometimes it is covered by hate speech laws, in which "violation of religious feelings" or "insult to religion" is named. Of the countries with blasphemy restrictions, 43 have imprisonment.

Cooperations in Germany

The association has so far carried out joint activities with:

Cooperation abroad

The association provides emergency humanitarian aid in acute crises for individuals and groups in various ways.

In July 2019, the association announced a cooperation with Humanist Global Charity (formerly Brighter Brains Institute, USA). This is intended to support humanitarian aid centers, schools, kindergartens and hospitals in the countries of origin.

Political work

In June 2019 Board of Directors reported with representatives of the European Humanist Federation to the European Asylum Support Office issues (European Asylum Support Office, EASO) and other participants at an event in the European Parliament about the increased need for protection religion Free refugees in Germany. For example, non-religious refugees in Germany would see themselves threatened by state repression by the governments of their countries of origin as well as by militias, family and clan members. Specifically, the association named shadows by the Saudi authorities and the activities of Shiite militiamen of " Al-Salam-313 ". The latter had been raided shortly before with more than 500 forces in eleven German cities. According to the Ministry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia, “Al-Salam-313” is suspected of politically and religiously motivated crimes in Germany. The ARD then reported that “obviously” refugees, journalists and bloggers in Germany who critically deal with the Shiite militias were being intimidated.

distribution

The association supports the founding of groups and legally independent associations for secular refugee aid in other places where those affected live. The following offers of help are currently available (order according to the time of publication):

Media coverage

The secular refugee aid is regularly the subject of reports. In chronological order (selection):

  • Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (June 16, 2016) Escape from religion
  • Deutsche Welle TV Arabic (August 15, 2016) Saudi-born atheist Rana Ahmad: my family or the state would have killed me if I hadn't fled; the hijab robbed me of my childhood via Middle East Media Research Institute
  • Image (August 21, 2016) Rana couldn't stand life under the Nikab any longer. So I freed myself from the fabric cage
  • hpd (October 24, 2016) Heroic atheists among us. Escape from religion
  • hpd (January 17, 2018) Rana Ahmad: "Women are not allowed to dream here"
  • Badische Zeitung (March 5, 2018) Rana Ahmad: "I love Germany"
  • Deutschlandfunk (October 10, 2018) Asylum Policy. Escape from Allah
  • Deutsche Welle (February 19, 2019) Threatened Saudi women in Germany: "We'll get you"
  • ZDF (February 27, 2019) From Saudi Arabia to Cologne-Why Rana Ahmad fled her homeland
  • Bayerischer Rundfunk (April 26, 2019) Disbelief as a reason for asylum? The secular refugee aid in Bavaria
  • Achgut (September 18, 2019) Rescue for atheist refugees
  • World (September 27, 2019) Escape from Islamic countries. Reason for asylum atheism?
  • ZDF Frontal 21 (March 31, 2020) Women who fled Saudi Arabia - fear of persecution in Germany

Varia

  • The association's chairwoman Rana Ahmad came to Germany via the Balkan route in autumn 2015. Previously, she had failed several times when trying to get a Schengen visa. The smuggling by boat to Greece was successful on the third attempt.
  • Some of the members and supporters of the association are in a particular threat situation. Deutsche Welle quotes board member Mahmudul Haque Munshi in the article "Atheism is life threatening" (2018) with the statement: "Recently I received 4,500 death threats on my Facebook page in a single day." His name is on a so-called "global hit." List ”, which lists the names of Bengali refugees abroad who are to be killed.
  • When asked where she got her strength and courage from, Rana Ahmad said on Deutschlandfunk: “I was so scared until everything in me broke. Now I'm not afraid anymore. Of nothing. "
  • Before her flight, Rana Ahmad was one of millions of readers in Islamic countries who could only secretly download Richard Dawkin's “ Der Gotteswahn ” from the Internet in an unofficially translated version. After her escape and the establishment of the Secular Refugee Aid, she met Richard Dawkins on November 12, 2018 in Berlin and was interviewed by him. The video has been viewed over 300,000 times on YouTube. Today she works for the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science. The foundation has now set up a translation project with which professionally translated versions of groundbreaking books on science and nature are offered free of charge in Arabic, Urdu, Farsi and Indonesian on the Internet.

Web links

Secular Refugee Aid eV - Official Website (German)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Self- image and practical work . Secular refugee aid. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  2. ^ Bylaws - Atheist Refugee Relief. Accessed April 1, 2020 (German).
  3. ↑ Secular refugee aid is presented to the public - Atheist Refugee Relief. Accessed April 1, 2020 (German).
  4. ↑ "One of the most important political movements in the world". Retrieved April 1, 2020 .
  5. ↑ The founding story: Ranas Escape - Atheist Refugee Relief. Accessed April 1, 2020 (German).
  6. ↑ Rana Ahmad, Sarah Borufka: Women are not allowed to dream here. My breakout from Saudi Arabia, my way to freedom . btb, Munich 2018, ISBN 978-3-442-75748-0 , p. 320 .
  7. ↑ SPIEGEL bestseller paperback non-fiction books. Book report, accessed April 1, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Between the fronts. Mina Ahadi and Rana Ahmad fight against Islamism and xenophobia. In: bruno. The annual magazine of the Giordano Bruno Foundation 2019 (PDF; 7.8 MB), p. 11. Retrieved on April 1, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Mahmudul Haque Munshi on the board of secular refugee aid - Atheist Refugee Relief. Retrieved on May 29, 2020 (German).
  10. ^ Self- Image and Practical Work - Atheist Refugee Relief. Accessed April 1, 2020 (German).
  11. ↑ Political Demands - Atheist Refugee Relief. Accessed April 1, 2020 (German).
  12. ^ Voices on secular refugee aid - Atheist Refugee Relief. Retrieved on May 28, 2020 (German).
  13. ↑ Mahmudul Haque Munshi on the board of secular refugee aid - Atheist Refugee Relief. Retrieved on May 28, 2020 (German).
  14. ↑ Mahmudul Haque Munshi. Retrieved April 1, 2020 .
  15. ↑ Claudius Prößer: Amed Sherwan and his CSD shirt: “A little self-irony would be good” . In: The daily newspaper: taz . July 27, 2018, ISSN  0931-9085 ( online [accessed April 1, 2020]).
  16. ↑ Iraq's growing community of atheists no longer peripheral | Nazli Tarzi. Retrieved April 1, 2020 .
  17. ↑ Interview with Mina Ahadi on the criticism of Islam in Germany - Atheist Refugee Relief. Accessed April 1, 2020 (German).
  18. ↑ Apostasy in the Islamic state of God Iran as a reason for fleeing - Atheist Refugee Relief. Accessed April 1, 2020 (German).
  19. ↑ "If I were to return to Iran, I would be executed". Retrieved April 1, 2020 .
  20. ↑ March 2019 - Atheist Refugee Relief. Accessed April 1, 2020 (German).
  21. ↑ November 2018 - Atheist Refugee Relief. Accessed April 1, 2020 (German).
  22. ^ ZDF research - allegations of espionage against Saudi Arabia. March 31, 2020, accessed April 1, 2020 .
  23. ↑ Islam - an alternative to human rights? - Atheist Refugee Relief. Accessed April 1, 2020 (German).
  24. ↑ Press release: About the endangered situation of religiously free refugees in Germany [Video] - Atheist Refugee Relief. Accessed April 1, 2020 (German).
  25. ↑ Secular refugee aid is presented to the public - Atheist Refugee Relief. Accessed April 1, 2020 (German).
  26. ↑ Press release: Event “Human Rights: Freedom of Belief” - Atheist Refugee Relief. Accessed April 1, 2020 (German).
  27. ^ Criminal liability for criticism of religion and apostasy - Atheist Refugee Relief. Accessed April 1, 2020 (German).
  28. ^ Social work free from religion - collaboration with the Brighter Brains Institute - Atheist Refugee Relief. Accessed April 1, 2020 (German).
  29. ↑ Secular refugee aid speaks in the EU Parliament - Atheist Refugee Relief. Accessed April 1, 2020 (German).
  30. ^ Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): Who is Al-Salam-313? | DW | May 22, 2019. Accessed April 1, 2020 (German).
  31. ↑ Alex Bühler, Marc Bach: Iraq / Europe: "Al Salam 313": An Iraqi rock gang intimidates dissidents in Europe. ARD, October 20, 2019, accessed on April 1, 2020 .
  32. ↑ Refugeeism as a reason for asylum: Kickoff for the secular refugee aid in Munich on April 11th | Covenant for freedom of the mind. Retrieved April 1, 2020 .
  33. ↑ cubic: Support the Austrian Secular Refugee Aid! |. Accessed April 1, 2020 (German).
  34. ^ Secular refugee aid: Now also in Hamburg. Retrieved April 1, 2020 .
  35. ↑ Charlotte Sophie Meyn: Saudi Arabia: Escape from religion . In: FAZ.NET . ISSN  0174-4909 ( Online [accessed April 1, 2020]).
  36. ↑ Saudi-born atheist Rana Ahmad: my family or the state would have killed me if I hadn't fled; the hijab robbed me of my childhood. Deutsche Welle TV Arabic via Middle East Media Research Institute, August 15, 2016, accessed April 1, 2020 (Arabic, English).
  37. ↑ Rana could no longer stand life under the Nikab - So I freed myself from the fabric cage. Retrieved April 1, 2020 .
  38. ^ Escape from religion. Retrieved April 1, 2020 .
  39. ↑ "Women are not allowed to dream here". Retrieved April 1, 2020 .
  40. ^ Badische Zeitung: "I love Germany" - Love & Family - Badische Zeitung. Retrieved April 1, 2020 .
  41. ↑ Asylum Policy - Flight from Allah. Accessed April 1, 2020 (German).
  42. ↑ Esther Felden, Nina Raddy: Threatened Saudi women in Germany: “We'll get you”. Deutsche Welle, February 19, 2019, accessed April 1, 2020 .
  43. ↑ From Saudi Arabia to Cologne: Why Rana Ahmad fled her homeland. Retrieved April 1, 2020 .
  44. ↑ Disbelief as a reason for asylum? The secular refugee aid in Bavaria. April 26, 2019, accessed April 1, 2020 .
  45. ^ Rescue for atheist refugees. Retrieved April 1, 2020 .
  46. ↑ Marcel Leubecher: Atheism as a reason for asylum: On the flight from Islam . In: THE WORLD . September 27, 2019 ( online [accessed April 1, 2020]).
  47. ↑ Women who have fled from Saudi Arabia. Retrieved April 1, 2020 .
  48. ↑ Charlotte Sophie Meyn: Saudi Arabia: Escape from religion . In: FAZ.NET . ISSN  0174-4909 ( Online [accessed April 1, 2020]).
  49. ↑ Astrid Prange De Oliveira: Atheism is life-threatening. Deutsche Welle, December 19, 2018, accessed April 1, 2020 .
  50. ^ Marie Wildermann: From Saudi Arabia to Germany. An atheist's escape. Deutschlandfunk, January 24, 2018, accessed on April 1, 2020 .
  51. ^ Richard Dawkins, Rana Ahmad: Richard Dawkins interviews Saudi Arabian atheist author Rana Ahmad. In: YouTube. Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science, February 25, 2019, accessed April 1, 2020 .
  52. ^ Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science. Retrieved April 1, 2020 .
  53. ↑ Translations Project | Richard Dawkins Foundation. Retrieved April 8, 2020 .
  54. ↑ Richard Dawkins in conversation with Rana Ahmad - Richard Dawkins Foundation. Retrieved April 1, 2020 .