Events Detail

 The Center for Religious Freedom

held a discussion on

Defection from Islam: The Politics of Belonging & the Cost of Religious Freedom

With

Ziya Meral

Monday, October 5, 2009

9:30 – 10:30 AM

Ziya Meral discussed the often overlooked human rights abuses and violence faced by apostates from Islam at the hands of states, religious extremists, and families. He argued that these harsh reactions to changing one's religion are shaped by a mixture of theological, cultural, and socio-political factors, exacerbated by current global political tensions. Mr. Meral drew from his personal experiences as a Muslim-background Christian as well as his studies of Islamic jurisprudence, of laws regarding religious freedom in Muslim-majority states, and of the treatment of those who leave Islam in Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Jordan, Kuwait, and the UK.

Mr. Meral is a writer and researcher, an expert on religious freedom in the Middle East, and a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge.  He has published widely on Middle East politics and human rights, is a regular commentator in the international, British, and Turkish media, and is the author of the widely acclaimed report "No Place to Call Home: Experiences of Apostates from Islam and Failures of the International Community," published by Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

This lecture is part of the Center for Religious Freedom's fall series on "Lifting the Theocratic Iron Curtain: Examining the Application of Muslim Blasphemy and Apostasy Rules in the Contemporary World"

Betsy and Walter Stern Conference Center
Hudson Institute
1015 15^th Street, NW
Sixth Floor

Washington, D.C. 20005