Atheist Refugee Relief (German: ''Säkulare Flüchtlingshilfe e. V.'') is a
non-governmental organisation
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...
founded in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
in 2017 in defence of
human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
of
apostates
Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that ...
and
nonreligious
Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and a ...
. The board consists of
Rana Ahmad, Mahmudul Haque Munshi and Stefan Paintner. Further groups and associations were formed in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
(2019),
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
(2019),
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
(2019),
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
(2020) and
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
(2020).
Organization
Founding in 2017
Atheist Refugee Relief reports that the personal story of
Rana Ahmad's flight from Saudi Arabia to Germany in 2015 has been the inspiration to form the relief organization and the wider support network. The
Giordano Bruno Foundation
The Giordano Bruno Foundation (german: Giordano-Bruno-Stiftung, abbreviated: gbs) is a Germany-based non-profit foundation under public law that promotes evolutionary humanism and the enlightenment. It was founded by entrepreneur Herbert Steffe ...
provided 10,000 euros in seed funding. In November 2017, Atheist Refugee Relief was presented to the public on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the
Central Council of Ex-Muslims
The Central Council of Ex-Muslims (German: ''Zentralrat der Ex-Muslime'', ''ZdE'') is a German association ( Verein) advocating for the rights and interests of non-religious, secular persons of Muslim heritage who have left Islam. It was found ...
in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
.
Board
In 2020, the board of directors consists of
Rana Ahmad, Mahmudul Haque Munshi and Stefan Paintner.
Members and supporters
From the countries of origin, the following refugees and activists spoke about their case in public:
* Bangladesh: Mahmudul Haque Munshi
* Iraq: Amed Sherwan,
Worood Zuhair
* Iran:
Mina Ahadi
Mina Ahadi ( fa, مینا احدی, Minâ Ahadi, born 1956) is an Iranian-Austrian political activist. As a Communist political activist, she is a member of the Central Committee and Politburo of the Worker-communist Party of Iran.
Advocacy
...
, Mohamad Hosein Tavasolli, Farid Mahnad, Sina Nasiri
* Mauritania: Yahya Mustafa Ekhou
* Pakistan: Muhammad Ajeef, Alia Khannum
* Saudi Arabia:
Rana Ahmad, Loujain Sultan
*Syria:
Abdulrahman Akkad
Abdulrahman Akkad (Arabic: عبدالرحمن عقاد; born in Aleppo on May 17, 1998) is a Syrian political blogger public speaker and human rights Activist He currently resides in Berlin.
Early life and education
Akkad was born in 1998 in ...
The following persons have endorsed the organisation in public:
*
Hamed Abdel-Samad
*
Lale Akgün
Dr. Lale Akgün (born 17 September 1953 in Istanbul, Turkey) is a German politician and member of the SPD. She served as an MP for Cologne II electoral district in the German Bundestag from 2002 to 2009.
Life
Lale Akgün's Turkish family m ...
*
Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ath ...
*
Michael Schmidt-Salomon
Michael Schmidt-Salomon (born 14 September 1967 in Trier) is a German author, philosopher, and public relations manager. As chairman of the Giordano Bruno Foundation, a humanism, humanist organization that is Religious skepticism, critical of reli ...
Activities
Practical help
In Germany, the organisation offers practical help to refugees in their contacts with authorities, doctors and lawyers, and assists them to find access to suitable language and integration courses, or physiological and psychological therapy after human rights violations. It is in regular contact with politicians and state authorities. In countries of origin, the organisation provides emergency humanitarian aid in acute crises for individuals and groups in various ways.
Information about countries of origin
The organisation informs that in 13 countries worldwide (Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Qatar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates) the human right to freedom of religion and belief is punishable by death on charges of
apostasy
Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that i ...
or
blasphemy
Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...
. Moreover, prison sentences can be imposed in more than 40 countries and in many countries important aspects of human rights, such as the right to self-determination, are violated.
Official perspectives
From German government, several statements concerning Atheist Refugee Relief have been made and have been posted on the organisation's website, including
Bärbel Kofler
Bärbel Kofler (born 24 May 1967) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who has been serving as Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development in the coalition government of ...
, Representative of the Federal Government for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid at the
Federal Foreign Office
, logo = DEgov-AA-Logo en.svg
, logo_width = 260 px
, image = Auswaertiges Amt Berlin Eingang.jpg
, picture_width = 300px
, image_caption = Entrance to the Foreign Office building
, headquarters = Werderscher Mark ...
; Michael Blume, Representative of the State Government of Baden-Württemberg against Anti-Semitism; Serap Güler, State Secretary at the Ministry for Children, Family, Refugees and Integration of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and
Doris Schröder-Köpf
Doris Schröder-Köpf ( Köpf; born 5 August 1963) is a German journalist and politician. She was the fourth wife of former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Her articles have been published in newspapers and magazines including ''Bild'' and ...
, State Commissioner for Migration and Participation of the State of Lower Saxony.
See also
*
Abdulrahman Akkad
Abdulrahman Akkad (Arabic: عبدالرحمن عقاد; born in Aleppo on May 17, 1998) is a Syrian political blogger public speaker and human rights Activist He currently resides in Berlin.
Early life and education
Akkad was born in 1998 in ...
*
Giordano Bruno Foundation
The Giordano Bruno Foundation (german: Giordano-Bruno-Stiftung, abbreviated: gbs) is a Germany-based non-profit foundation under public law that promotes evolutionary humanism and the enlightenment. It was founded by entrepreneur Herbert Steffe ...
*
Rana Ahmad
*
Worood Zuhair
References
{{reflist
External links
Official Website
2017 establishments in Germany
Anti-Islam sentiment in Germany